Lip reading really helps me understand others, but it is not a perfect thing and it is overstated how powerful it is. It is not just looking at the lips but also the tongue and teeth. It also is not perfect either, like it can be inaccurate at times.

It definitely can come naturally to you, it does to me. I have relied on it for so long that I have been lip reading since I was a teenager. My mind kind of just automatically does it and I hear a faint whisper from the lip reading, like it happens without even trying for me.

This does however produce some odd results, like GIF memes with mouths I hear a whisper of what my mind automatically reads from the images. It is also doubly interesting when the caption does not match what is being said. Like a GIF of a person literally screaming is "AAAAAAAA".

But if you do talk to someone who really needs all they can get to understand what you are saying, do not speak as rapidly and make sure they can see your mouth. But please do not speak super slow because that is worse, unless it is requested to do so.

If you move your mouth slowly and exaggerated, you pretty much are using only AEILORUWY at which point it is gibberish. Also CDG sound the same, as do MN sort of. So you are not being cool or funny, you are just being annoying.

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Awoo Space

Awoo.space is a Mastodon instance where members can rely on a team of moderators to help resolve conflict, and limits federation with other instances using a specific access list to minimize abuse.

While mature content is allowed here, we strongly believe in being able to choose to engage with content on your own terms, so please make sure to put mature and potentially sensitive content behind the CW feature with enough description that people know what it's about.

Before signing up, please read our community guidelines. While it's a very broad swath of topics it covers, please do your best! We believe that as long as you're putting forth genuine effort to limit harm you might cause – even if you haven't read the document – you'll be okay!