Pronunciation tongue twisters to test your talk talent.

Proper diction is as important to customer service as diapers are to a baby. In the answering service world, pronunciation is key. So how can you keep your customer service department speaking clearly? You’ll need our pronunciation tongue twisters for starters.

Tongue twisters, which are nonsensical phrases that rely on alliteration (the repetition of a sound starting with a similar letter) to trip up the speaker, have long been used as a linguistic tool to aid language and speech development. Just as athletes have to do physical warm ups, and singers have to vocalize, folks whose positions require a considerable amount of speaking would benefit from a few exercises designed to get the tongue, teeth and lips working in proper order. Below is a list of tricky rhymes and phrases, guaranteed to trick you at least once or twice. Start off slowly, then build up and see how quickly you can say them over and over without error.

A

Ann Anteater ate Andy Alligator’s apples, so angry Andy Alligator ate Ann Anteater’s ants.

B

Betty Botter had some butter,
“But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
It would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter—
That would make my batter better.”

—-

So she bought a bit of butter,
Better than her bitter butter,
And she baked it in her batter,
And the batter was not bitter.
So ’twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.

C

A cheeky chimp chucked cheap chocolate chips in the cheap chocolate chip shop.

D

Do drop in at the Dewdrop Inn

E

Elegant elephants.

F

A flea and a fly flew up in a flue.
Said the flea, “Let us fly!”
Said the fly, “Let us flee!”
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

G

Three gray geese in the green grass grazing.
Gray were the geese and green was the grass.

H

“Hello, Harry Healy!” hollered Holly Hartley.

I

Ike ships ice chips in ice chips ships.

J

A gentle judge judges justly.

K

My cutlery cuts keenly and cleanly.

L

Larry sent the latter a letter later.

M

Much mashed mushrooms.

N

Ninety-nine knitted knick-knacks were nicked
By ninety-nine knitted knick-knack nickers.

O

The owner of the Inside Inn was outside his Inside Inn, with his inside outside his Inside Inn.

P

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Q

Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly…

R

Reading and writing are richly rewarding.

S

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

T

The tip of the tongue, the teeth and the lips.

U

Unique New York.

V

Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.

W

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,
And chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

X

X-mas wrecks perplex and vex.

Y

Yellow leather, yellow feather.

Z

This is a zither. Is this a zither?