When people begin speech therapy, they often assume that most of the progress will happen during the actual appointments. On the surface, this makes sense. Therapy sessions are where new strategies are introduced and practiced and skills are demonstrated. Yet one of the most important truths about speech therapy is that meaningful change rarely happens because of the hour spent in the session. Instead, lasting improvement and change is built through the moments of practice that happen between sessions.
This can sometimes feel disappointing. Many people hope that attending the therapy itself will be enough to create change. However, there is also something empowering about practice being the key to success. It means that progress is not limited to the time spent with your speech-language pathologist. Every conversation, every practice session, becomes part of the therapeutic process. I often tell my clients that every conversation is an opportunity to practice.
The idea of the importance of practice is supported by decades of research on how people develop expertise. I have been thinking about this lately because I have been reading an interesting book: Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. The authors, Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool explore what separates highly skilled performers from everyone else. They examined musicians, athletes, chess players, surgeons, and many other individuals who have reached extraordinary levels of performance. They conclude, interestingly, that exceptional performance is often far less about talent than people believe and far more about how individuals practice.
Although the book is not specifically about speech therapy, many of its lessons apply directly to communication. In fact, some of the principles described in Peak align remarkably well with what speech-language pathologists have known for years about learning and motor skill development. One of the most important messages is that simply repeating an activity is not enough to produce significant improvement. Many people assume that if they do something often enough, they will naturally become much better at it. Sometimes this happens, but often it does not lead to improvement. Repetition alone can strengthen habits, but it does not necessarily improve them.
Think about driving a car. Most adults have spent thousands of hours driving. Yet most people do not become professional race car drivers simply because they have accumulated experience behind the wheel. The reason is that everyday driving is largely automatic. People rely on existing habits rather than intentionally working to improve specific aspects of their performance.
I was particularly struck by a passage in which the authors describe a hypothetical music student. The instructor asked the student, “Did you practice the piece?” “Yes,” replied the student. When asked to explain how she practiced, the student explained she simply “played the piece about 10 times last night.” The authors note the student did not work specifically on tough portions of the piece, or get feedback by having someone listen or recording themselves, or try to play the piece without errors. The student had no goal, no improvement, and did poorly on her hypothetical music test, since she did not practice effectively.
Communication can work in much the same way as these exampled. Most adults spend countless hours speaking every week. They participate in conversations with family members, coworkers, friends, and strangers. Yet if a person has difficulty with speech clarity, fluency, vocal quality, pronunciation, or social communication, simply continuing to communicate in the same way may not produce meaningful change. Repeating existing patterns tends to reinforce existing patterns. I compare this to pathways in the snow, the more you walk down a given path, the more it becomes reinforced, and the harder it is to choose another path.
This is where practice becomes important.
The type of practice described in Peak is often referred to as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is different from simply doing something over and over. It involves paying attention to performance, working on specific goals, receiving feedback, and pushing slightly beyond one’s current level of ability (often referred to in SLP circles as the zone of proximal development). Improvement occurs because the individual is actively trying to change something rather than merely repeating what they already know how to do.
Speech therapy frequently relies on this principle. A therapy session is often designed to help identify a specific target and create opportunities to practice it in a focused way. The goal is not simply to talk more. The goal is to talk differently. Whether someone is learning to articulate a sound more clearly, reduce a stutter, strengthen their voice, improve conversational skills, or expand an accent pattern, progress depends on repeatedly practicing the desired skill while paying attention to how it is being produced.
This can sometimes feel less exciting than people expect. Deliberate practice is often effortful (read: difficult!). It requires concentration. It may involve slowing down, monitoring one’s performance closely, and correcting mistakes. There are times when it feels easier to return to familiar habits (walking back on the familiar path in the snow). Yet this challenge is actually a sign that learning is occurring.
One of Ericsson’s most influential observations was that experts spend a great deal of time working on skills they have not yet mastered. They do not simply repeat tasks they can already perform comfortably. Instead, they focus on areas that are difficult. They identify weaknesses and spend time addressing them. This is one reason why improvement can feel uncomfortable. Growth often occurs at the edge of current ability (hence the name zone of proximal development).
Many clients experience this during speech therapy. A communication strategy may feel awkward when it is first introduced. A new speech pattern may require significant attention. A person learning to slow their speaking rate may feel unnatural at first. Someone working on a stronger voice may feel like they are speaking too loudly, even when they are not. I recently had a client say that the new way was having her speak made her feel like a robot. These experiences are common because the brain is learning a new way of performing a familiar task.
Another important concept discussed in Peak is the development of what Ericsson called mental representations. This term refers to the internal models that people build as they gain expertise. These mental representations allow individuals to recognize patterns, anticipate challenges, and monitor their own performance more effectively.
Consider a professional musician. Years of training allow them to hear subtle differences in pitch and timing, that many listeners would never notice. Their brain has developed sophisticated internal models for evaluating performance. The same would be said for expert soccer players, they see and decode the game differently than weaker players.
A similar process occurs in speech therapy. As clients gain experience, they often become better at noticing aspects of their own communication. They may begin to recognize when their speech becomes less clear, when their voice becomes strained, or when they are speaking too quickly. They may become more aware of conversational habits that affect communication success. This growing self-awareness is often a sign of progress rather than a sign that communication is getting worse. I also tell clients that awareness itself is a sign of progress, because they are building that mental representation. This is why, in some cases, clients report feeling as though they are making more mistakes after beginning therapy. Usually, this is not because performance has declined. Instead, it reflects increased awareness. They are noticing details that previously went unnoticed. Awareness plays a critical role in learning. It allows individuals to make adjustments in real time and to continue improving outside of therapy sessions. Over time, skills that initially required conscious attention can become more automatic.
Another lesson from Peak involves the importance of feedback. Improvement is difficult without information about how we are performing. A golfer who never watches where the ball lands will struggle to refine their swing. A musician who never hears their performance will have difficulty identifying errors. The same principle applies to communication. Feedback helps people understand what is working and what needs adjustment. In therapy, feedback may come from the SLP. Outside of therapy, it may come from recordings, self-reflection, or trusted communication partners.
Effective practice however, involves observation, not perfectionism. Mistakes are not evidence of failure. They are information. They provide clues about what needs attention and where learning opportunities exist. One of the encouraging messages in Peak is that human abilities are often more adaptable than people realize. Many individuals assume that communication abilities are fixed. They believe they are simply “bad speakers,” “quiet people,” “poor communicators,” or “stuck” with certain speech patterns. Research suggests that these assumptions are often inaccurate. The brain remains capable of learning throughout life. Adults continue to acquire new skills and can modify existing patterns. Often this happens when practice becomes intentional and clients really commit to it. I tell almost every client of mine: my job is to teach you how to practice.
This all requires consistency. A few minutes of focused practice performed regularly often produces greater results than occasional marathon practice sessions. Learning is strengthened when the brain is given repeated opportunities to revisit and reinforce a skill over time. This is one reason why I often recommend relatively short but more frequent practice sessions (say 3 times a day for about 10-12 minutes). Communication is a complex skill that benefits from repetition distributed across many days and situations. Small, consistent efforts tend to produce stronger long-term learning than infrequent intensive efforts.
Ultimately, the lessons from Peak reinforce something that speech-language pathologists see every day. Progress is not usually determined by talent. It is not determined by motivation alone. Progress is largely determined by what happens during practice, often tied to who commits and gets curious about the process.
Therapy sessions provide guidance and direction. Practice provides the mindful repetitions that allow new skills to take root. Together, they create the conditions necessary for meaningful change. Improvement is rarely instant. It is often gradual. Yet each practice opportunity contributes to a larger process of learning. The goal is continued growth. I tell my clients to keep choosing the harder path through the deep snow, over the well-worn path they have been walking for all these years. With time, the deep snow gets packed down and a new well-worn pathway is formed.
Reference
- Ericsson, K. A., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the new science of expertise. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
