Have you ever wondered how effective lip reading is? Lip reading is the building block of non-verbal communication that helps you to communicate with people.

Lip reading enables you to look at the shape of the communicator and guess what they are trying to say. Although it can be pretty challenging initially, you’ll start to get the hang of it as you push.

Approximately 40% of sounds in the English language can be seen on a speaker’s lips. For instance, “mop,” “pop,” and “bob” look exactly the way you speak. The lips take such a shape that even if you don’t hear someone, you’ll still be able to anticipate the words they are saying.

If you are a good lip reader, then you’ll be able to see approximately 4 to 5 words in a particular 12-word sentence.

In this article, you’ll be knowing how effective lip reading is and whether it’s beneficial or not. So read till the end to learn it all!

Lip Reading: Is it a Simple Task?

Imagine you are attending a business meeting where all the employees around you are whispering, mumbling, or covering their mouths while speaking.

Just picture yourself there. Won’t that be very frustrating for you? Indeed it will be. That’s how frustrating it can be for many hard-of-hearing people. And anticipating each and every word through lip-reading can indeed be a hard nut to crack!

In various studies, it has been found that approximately 30 to 45 percent of the words in English can be identified through reading lips. Even the best and talented lip readers are incapable of grasping an entire message just by depending entirely on lip reading.

But there are a handful of skilled people who can interpret the words through body language, facial cues, and the context in which the conversation is proceeding.

When a hearing-impaired person carries his conversation just by lip-reading and body language, you can not even guess what a challenge he’s facing to maintain a basic conversation.

There are times when people get annoyed and try to cut the conversation short. Even people tend to avoid these deaf and hearing-impaired people.

One of the major reasons these hard-of-hearing people face such issues is not being able to communicate and speak with others. And honestly, just with the help of lip reading, it surely can be a tough job to consistently communicate with someone.

Moreover, these hearing-impaired people lack the confidence and courage to speak up in front of a group of people.

Honestly, one of the main reasons for not being able to speak or communicate with lip reading is the hindrance of society and the continuous fear of what others will think.

When you have too many negative thoughts whirling in your head, it surely can be tough to concentrate on something. And the fear of people and society can be one of the significant reasons for not being able to master the skill of lip reading.

The Benefits And Effectiveness of Lip Reading

The moment you get the grip of lipreading, you’ll know that it can indeed be one of the most influential and beneficial skills for you, especially if you suffer from hearing impairment.

You’ll see that communication becomes comparatively easy and you’ll be able to improve your daily life activities.

These are the following things that you can improve due to lip reading:

Confidence

When you start improving your lip-reading skills, you’ll notice that you’ll begin to feel more confident during a conversation. However, there might be some ups and downs that won’t bother you much because most of the time, you’ll ace the conversation you’re having.

You’ll even be able to interact with people with more confidence and improve your communication skills.

Control

Lip reading will even enable you to observe the environment more clearly and will give you the upper hand to have absolute control over a conversation.

You’ll find yourself calm and active while having a conversation with someone. A good discussion will help you build more connections with people and not even see you differently.

So, when you have complete control over your conversation, you’ll be able to quote your words more clearly, and this will allow you to have a better connection with people.

Independence

Lip reading gives you the liberty to speak your own words and has the independence to communicate with people despite having a condition.

This skill of yours will even allow you to easily dissolve with people because after you have mastered lip-reading, you’ll never feel different from others and will never feel isolated.

Bottom Line

Lip reading has indeed been proven to be very effective and beneficial among people of different backgrounds and ages.

Although, lip reading requires a lot of practice and dedication to master. And initially, it might seem very challenging. But as you keep practicing, you’ll notice that your biggest weakness turned out to be your biggest strength.

The more you practice, the more you master this skill! So, till then, keep practicing and sharpen your lip-reading skills!!