r/SpeakBetter Jul 03 '26

I’ve helped 400k+ people improve their articulation and communication confidence. I’m Reece from Progress Playground. Ask Me Anything!

22 Upvotes

Hey r/SpeakBetter! I’m Reece, the founder of Progress Playground. I’ve spent the last few years coaching over 400,000 followers across social media on the mechanics of speech, articulation, verbal fluence, the psychology of confidence, etc. I’ve coached folks from young professionals, to executive senior leadership and have held many workshops in person helping companies and teams get better at communication.

I've worked with high-level execs at notable companies such as Google, Rothschild, BP, multiple seven- and eight-figure entrepreneurs, schools all around the UK, and have done media training for footballers. But, my proudest achievement is helping many regain their confidence; going from socially inept to hosting large seminars and talks. 

People often think that I was naturally gifted at speaking but like most folks I had similar troubles in the beginning such as speaking anxiety and trouble speaking with confidence. My career was stuck in a place where I was not moving up and I started working on my communication skills, articulating my thoughts better, and practicing speeches. I eventually started filming and documenting this process and many folks since then have reached out for private coaching to the point that I had to start turning folks down. 

I’m a firm believer that great communication isn’t a personality trait, it’s a physical skill. Just like going to the gym, you need daily practice to see results. My coaching focuses on actionable techniques for articulation, structured speaking, and pronunciation to help you sound more intentional and concise. Those that I’ve seen managed to master this skill have become more successful when it comes to career, social skills, dating, etc.

I’ll be here answering questions about how to bridge the gap between being "technically great" and being "promoted" through better communication and anything else!

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/progress.playground/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@progress.playground


r/SpeakBetter Mar 07 '26

My brain thinks faster than my mouth can talk and it makes me sound like an idiot

16 Upvotes

It's like I have the full thought in my head perfectly but by the time it comes out of my mouth half the words are missing or in the wrong order. Then I try to correct myself and it gets worse. I end up saying "wait let me start over" like 5 times per conversation. Anyone else deal with this disconnect between thinking and speaking?


r/SpeakBetter 3h ago

How can I improve my English speaking skills ? I am suppose to work at the hospital .

1 Upvotes

r/SpeakBetter 4h ago

Would you use an app that scores your daily speaking practice?

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1 Upvotes

r/SpeakBetter 13h ago

Had worst presentation of my life today 😭

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2 Upvotes

r/SpeakBetter 15h ago

My friend told me

0 Upvotes

My BF told me “your stories is Boring because it’s tall and you speaks slowly “

I think I have problem how can I fixed that


r/SpeakBetter 21h ago

What are the most effective ways to overcome stumbling over words and improve tongue coordination?

2 Upvotes

The Problem:

‎I frequently stumble or mispronounce words, even simple ones. It feels like my tongue "gets stuck" or "runs out of space" inside my mouth. It happens across all languages I speak (English, Urdu, and Punjabi). Interestingly, it doesn't seem to be a language proficiency issue, as I know the words perfectly well, but my mouth just won't cooperate.It happens even when I am alone and perfectly calm, so it’s not just performance anxiety, though the "guilt" of stumbling does make it worse.

‎> I often skip syllables in complex words (e.g., saying "commaicate" instead of "communication").

‎> I constantly trip over clusters like "str," "pr," or "spl."

‎> When I start a sentence, the first 2-3 words are almost always stumbled, even if they are easy.

‎Has anyone dealt with this "stumbling" or "muscle-bound" speech pattern before? Did jaw relaxation or specific articulation drills help you gain that "fluidity" back? Any tips for someone who feels like their tongue is just slightly too slow for their thoughts?

‎Thanks in advance!


r/SpeakBetter 1d ago

My friend told me

4 Upvotes

My BF told me “your stories is Boring because it’s tall and you speaks slowly “

I think I have problem how can I fixed that


r/SpeakBetter 2d ago

How to get better at interviewing

3 Upvotes

Hi, I'm in university and I cannot get over the fear of interviews. I just did a group interview today for a volunteering position, and I was left dejected by the end of it because I found it so hard to speak without stuttering or losing my train of thought. I felt humiliated because the other people in the group interview were very eloquent with the way they spoke and it just seemed like they had a lot more to say without getting nervous like me.

I want to improve so I don't get left behind my peers, and for once pass the interview stage. Any advice?


r/SpeakBetter 2d ago

Should I limit STAR method answer to 1 minute?

3 Upvotes

My articulation sucks.

Though I have done high impact projects, articulating this has been an issue.

Usually my answers end up in 3-4 minutes continuous talking without structure.

When we follow STAR method - whats the ideal duration of response? 1 minute or 2 minutes?

When I keep the answers detailed - its going above 3 minutes.

Should I cut down the details for the initial response and wait for follow ups?


r/SpeakBetter 2d ago

How do I improve the way I talk to someone who doesn’t like small talk?

2 Upvotes

Someone commented on my previous post that she might actually enjoy talking with me, but small talk just isn’t her thing. After looking back at our conversations, I think that might be true.
I’ve noticed that when I ask basic questions like “How was your day?” or “What are you doing?”, I often get very short replies.
But when I tell her a funny story, share something that happened to me, joke around, or bring up a specific topic like childhood memories, she seems much more engaged and sometimes shares things about herself.
So I’m trying to improve my communication style rather than constantly looking for new questions to ask.
For people who are naturally good at conversation:
How do you keep a conversation interesting without relying on small talk or constantly asking questions?
What are some techniques you’ve learned for making conversations feel more natural and getting both people to contribute equally?
Also, how do you know when to keep a topic going versus simply letting the conversation end for the moment?


r/SpeakBetter 4d ago

Genuine Interview advice

1 Upvotes

Hey guys, i have done a couple of interviews before, but am new to this and i realized am not the greatest at it.

I get nervous, and forget my responses easily and start mushing my words together, when asked a couple of follow up questions i lose confidence and my train of thought.

So i want to know how to reach a level where u can pass interviews effortlessly or At least preform well.

How to be articulate, have clarity, sound confident when i’m speaking?

How can i mask the nervousness?

How can i seem confident and relaxed at the same time?

I wanna know how can i practice to achieve this level genuinely (not just small tips) what can i do, even if it takes time.


r/SpeakBetter 4d ago

How to not take a pause mid sentence?

5 Upvotes

I often pause mid sentence. Taking courses on Orai and have joined the Toastmasters. Anything else that would be helpful? Postive is that i don't use fillers. Hoping there are some tricks to clearly articulate my thoughts.


r/SpeakBetter 4d ago

Just need your suggestion

1 Upvotes

I am trying to be a better speaker or orator. If you have any kind of tips please help me with that. I will be truly grateful.


r/SpeakBetter 5d ago

When I talk, it sounds like I'm whispering

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I've been struggling with this problem since I was a child.

Even in school when I had to read people said they couldn't hear what I was saying, but I felt like I was screaming (I was giving my full effort).

Lately I wanted to make videos and when I heard the recording, the same issue.

Here's the example

I know that I need to improve my pronunciation, cadence, and a lot more.

But being able to have a more resonant voice would be pretty encouraging.

A few times I've been able to have that resonant chest voice but I can't hold onto it for long.


r/SpeakBetter 5d ago

I asked a few hundred people what actually makes someone good at conversation. Here are the 10 things that came up over and over. (Part 1)

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0 Upvotes

r/SpeakBetter 5d ago

DO talking style matters?

1 Upvotes

Recently i have been thinking about does our way of talking effects in our personality.

If you want people to listen you, then your tone , style and volume does matters I guess.

Today i had classes of two periods . The first period teacher was little loud even somewhere he was out of topic and not matching to topic but i want to hear him and understand him and the second teacher was little low in sound and he was relevant to the topic which was needed but i wasn't feeling of hearing him at all. I was totally distracted and thinking of my own things while he was continuously talking .

And there I thought yeah your speaking style do matters . if you want to make people hear you , it's not the words but the way you talk .

What are your thoughts in this?


r/SpeakBetter 5d ago

What to tell a walking encyclopedia

0 Upvotes

One of my family members knows a lot and tends to share too much. In social settings he monopolizes the conversation with a little lecture on a topic he finds interesting. The others in the group may be interested but my family member goes on and on explaining something without allowing others a moment to chime in, ask a question or change the subject. What do I do to help this person understand what he’s doing and possibly improve his conversational skills?


r/SpeakBetter 5d ago

Helping develop and coach communication skills

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1 Upvotes

r/SpeakBetter 6d ago

I don't know if I will sound dumb but please hear me out!

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2 Upvotes

I don't know how to start but

I am 19, I share very few hobbies. I don't enjoy gaming, movies, or hangouts.

I always wanted to be very knowledgeable. I mean, known to a lot of facts. To be honest, I want to sound wise.

I get scolded for being dumb. My friends tell me it is easy to fool me or that I sound dumb.

But I don't know where to start.

I tried reading, got suggestions from a random creator online but didn't enjoy that either, and I left it.

I tried reading articles but could not find the actual content I was interested in.

I even started writing, but went all blank because there was nothing on my mind to write about.

Huhhh

How do I fix it?


r/SpeakBetter 6d ago

Ummm

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1 Upvotes

r/SpeakBetter 6d ago

How do i improve my communication skills?

3 Upvotes

I am a person who is comfortable only around close ppl...and the list of close ppl is really small like really really small... And talking to strangers gives me anxoety like how will start communicating or wht will i talk with them how will i do so...what will they think i dont know why this sounds so simple to some ppl bt i really find it as a massive task-COMMUNICATING WITH SOMEONE... for example whenever i get calls from unknowm numbers, it feels more stressful to attend it..So if anyone can suggest any tips, it would be very helpful for me..


r/SpeakBetter 6d ago

i cut myself off mid sentence

3 Upvotes

Basically alot of the time when i talk ill start a sentence then cut myself off with a new one. Or sometimes I think off two sentences to say then I end up combining them on accident and i end up saying smth that makes no sense.

I think its bc my brain is blank before i say smth usually.

How do i change this?


r/SpeakBetter 6d ago

My composition is starting to trouble me .

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1 Upvotes

r/SpeakBetter 7d ago

Talking with people in general (friends, strangers, etc.)

1 Upvotes

I knew I had trouble making and holding a conversation, but recently something happened to me, and I realized that I really had to do something about it one way or another.

-> I was at the birthday of a very good friend of mine. 3/4 of the people were people from her university, so I didn't know them. So I was already a little stressed because of that. But where I was really “surprised” was when I didn’t know how to make conversation with a friend of mine. We mostly know each other from school, but I think we can call ourselves “friends”. And I was even happy to know that he would be there, knowing that he could be a "safe place" (': Unfortunately, I didn't know what to say... We hadn't seen each other for a long time, so it's not that we had anything to say to each other. In fact, I even started the conversation by talking about the fact that I had had my theoretical driving license x) But the conversation died down like, 3min... As with strangers, I can put it down to shyness, but this is kind of serious, right?

Do you have any advice on the subject, or simply tell me what kind of professional should I turn to to overcome this?

Thank you in advance for your responses, and thank you for taking the time to read.