How to become better at reading lips: Speechreading tip #1

This post is for those of you who have hearing loss and rely on lipreading to understand speech.

This week, I'm going to share with my blog the first of five "speechreading tips".  I wrote them for my textbook that is coming out in December from Plural Press ("Foundations of Aural Rehabilitation, 5th Ed").  I will post a speechreading tip each week until all five appear.  By spacing them out, you'll be able to focus on one at a time.  Try to be mindful of implementing this first one over the course of the coming week.

Speechreading Tip #1: Watch the face. This seems obvious, but you can be distracted by other events in the room or by a handheld device. If you feel a little self-conscious and think that your conversational partner wonders why you never look away (e.g., Do I have jam on my cheek?), explain your speechreading strategy in a concise way (e.g., It helps me to look at your face because I rely on reading lips to understand words). By saying this, you also provide implicit and subtle instruction: You are saying without actually saying, "Make sure I can see you when you speak."
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