speech lip reading meaning

Speech Reading (Lip Reading): What We Should All Know and How to Help Facilitate

by Gil Kaminski

Reviewed by Tova Most, Ph.D. , Michal Luntz, M.D. , and Kathryn D. Girardin, Au.D.

on June 19th, 2023

When it comes to understanding spoken language without relying solely on the sounds we hear, two terms often come into play: lip reading and speech reading . These two terms are often used interchangeably, with 'lip reading' being more commonly used in everyday language. However, the term 'lip reading' can be misleading as it suggests understanding speech by solely observing the movements of the speaker's mouth. However, there is much more to speech reading than merely watching one’s lips move. Exploring this in greater depth can lead to enhanced communication and more inclusive interactions.

In this article

What are auditory cues.

What is Speech Reading?

How Can We All Contribute to Creating an Environment Accessible for Speech Reading ?

Auditory cues are the sounds we hear that provide us with information about the spoken message. For example, when you're having a conversation with a friend, the words they say, the tone and volume of their voice, and the speed at which they're talking are all auditory cues. These cues help you understand what your friend is saying and how they're feeling.

When you have hearing loss, auditory cues become less clear. This can make it harder to understand what someone is saying or how they're feeling. For example, you might not be able to hear the words they're saying clearly, or you might miss out on changes in their tone of voice that could tell you about their emotions. That's why people with hearing loss often rely on visual strategies, such as speech reading (lip reading), to fill in the missing auditory information.

What is Speech Reading (Lip Reading)?

Speech reading, is a comprehensive term that involves understanding speech by observing the movements of the speaker's mouth and face, nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, and body language. Regardless of hearing levels, speech reading provides additional information for processing speech. As hearing levels decline this strategy becomes incredibly important.

Speech reading takes into account the overall behavior of the speaker. It allows the reader to pick up on emotions, intentions, and other subtle clues that can help them better understand speech and enhance communication. It serves as a building block for understanding speech in situations where auditory cues, are insufficient or unavailable.

How Can We All Contribute to Creating an Environment Accessible for Speech Reading?

A first step we can practice in our daily life to create an inclusive and accessible communication environment is to be thoughtful about making it easy for others to speech read us. Some of the first things we can do include ensuring the speaker's mouth is visible and well-lit, not covering our mouths as we speak, and articulating our words clearly but not in an exaggerated way. It's also beneficial to maintain eye contact and use expressive body language to provide additional context. For example, if you work at a storefront, make sure people who need your assistance can see your face. Something as simple as that can make a world of difference and ease communication for everyone, especially for people with hearing loss.

Photo credits

Three Lips In A Row by Marija Vukovic from NounProject.com

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• Lip Reading

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Why lipread?

Communication is so important to all of us and encompasses all areas of our lives, whether it is in our working lives, our social lives or just the everyday, simple interactions with other people.

Those of us who have a hearing loss often feel very left out when our family and friends are in conversation because we are unable to follow accurately what they say.

Sometimes we can become frustrated and depressed and even reluctant to join the group or to go out to events where we know it’s going to be difficult for us.

This self-imposed isolation doesn’t help us as it escalates, and our bad feelings get worse. We can feel miserable.

So, what can we do? First, we have to try to be (and look) positive – people will want to be with us if we are friendly and open.  Secondly, we need to find a way of communicating better and this will depend on our own personal circumstances.

For many of us lipreading can help. Whilst it is not a magic wand, lipreading can help us to better understand what we see and hear, enabling us to take a more active part in conversations.

An interesting question – some people think of lipreading as a set of skills, whilst others believe it is an art.

It has been said that lipreading is not precise because some sounds and words look very similar and because it relies so much on the lipreader’s own background knowledge of language and on the quality of speech of the speaker.

This may be true but for many of us lipreading has enabled us to function, much more effectively, in the hearing world.

We consider lipreading as a way of using your skills, knowledge and general awareness – using any clues to help you make sense of what you are hearing, or if you have no hearing, to understand and follow what another person says – to enable you to take part in the conversation.

This is not always easy, because however good at lipreading you are, there are some situations that are difficult to work in (lipreading is especially difficult in large, noisy groups and meetings and where you are listening to speakers with no loop system in place).

Overall though, lipreading can be a lifeline, enabling you to be more confident and to take an active part in many large and small group situations.  For most of us using sign language is not an option because we live in the hearing world where very few people know how to sign.

Tips to help you lipread

Learning to lipread never ends. There are different formations to learn, different dialects, and every face is different, dealing in its own way with words. However, the more you learn, the more your confidence will grow, enhancing and strengthening your communication ability.

• Remember to ask people to look at you and speak clearly.
• Ask them not to cover their mouth and to speak a little slower and clearly but with normal rhythm and intonation.
• If possible ask them to face you and keep still.
• If possible find a quiet place to have your conversation – soft furnishings, carpets and curtains all help to absorb noise and make it easier to lipread.
• Make sure the room is well lit and the light is on the other persons face.
• If possible be at the same height and not too far away from the speaker.
• If you can tell people what is best for you – where you need to sit for different situations
• If you cannot understand, ask them to rephrase, repeat or write it down. Keep a pen and paper with you at all times, or use a small,  portable writing tablet .
• Wear one of our lipreading badges  or lipreading wristbands  to make people aware of your communication needs, or find a selection of products in our Lipreading Awareness Kit .

Don’t be surprised if you feel tired. Lipreading requires deep concentration, and you will need to give yourself frequent breaks, especially at first. When you get the chance, close your eyes and relax for a few minutes. Take time out!

Free online lipreading exercises

Lipreading Practice is a free website with lipreading videos and exercises to try at home. Visit the Lipreading Practice website.

Webpage updated: August 2023

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Mastering Lip Reading: Essential Tips and Techniques

• Hearing Aid Tips
• Hearing Loss

December 6, 2023

Lip reading is a vital skill for individuals with hearing loss, enhancing communication and comprehension in noisy or challenging environments. Whether you’re exploring how to read lips, how to lip read, or how to learn lip reading, this guide will provide you with the essential tips and techniques to master this invaluable skill. Stay tuned to unlock a new dimension in effective communication.

Learn more about the signs of hearing loss.

Table of Contents

The Basics of How to Read Lips

What is lip reading.

Lip reading is a multifaceted communication skill that allows you to understand spoken words by observing a speaker’s facial movements, gestures, and expressions. Often dubbed “the third ear,” lip reading transcends merely watching someone’s lips. It involves assimilating various visual cues to understand what is being said.

Essential Skills for Effective Lip Reading

• Learning to read lips involves honing specific skills that contribute to a more successful and enriching experience. These skills include:
• Mouth Movements: Pay attention to the speaker’s lips, teeth, and tongue to gather clues about what they’re saying.
• Facial Cues: Facial expressions, body language, and gestures can offer valuable context and emotional tone.
• Visual Assistance: Employ your vision to supplement what you’re hearing, making the auditory experience more robust.
• Contextual Understanding: Utilize prior knowledge to fill in comprehension gaps, as reading every spoken word accurately is challenging.

Interestingly, longer words and complete sentences are often easier to interpret than short phrases or individual words.

General Tips on How to Read Lips

• Quiet settings make it easier to focus on lip reading.
• Reading some people might be challenging due to mumbling or speech difficulties.
• Good eyesight is crucial, as lip reading relies on visual cues.
• Adequate lighting conditions are essential; reading lips in the dark is nearly impossible.
• Mastery in lip reading often correlates with the reader’s proficiency in their first language. For instance, English speakers will generally find it easier to lip read in English than in Spanish.
• Some lip shapes look similar, like “th” and “f,” making accurate reading difficult. That’s why paying attention to subtle facial cues is crucial.

Lip Reading vs. Speech Reading: The Distinction and Importance

Both terms, though often used interchangeably, have nuanced differences. Lip reading focuses mainly on the lips to extract speech information. In contrast, speech reading encompasses a broader range of cues like the tongue, cheeks, eyes, and even body language to decode the conversation.

Historically, the term “speech reading” has become more prevalent in the USA and Canada, while the UK still commonly uses “lip reading.” Regardless of the terminology, the core aim remains to understand spoken words better through visual cues.

Both methods are vital because they offer a comprehensive way to interpret the conversation, making you more adaptable and effective in different social settings.

Understand more about communicating with hearing challenges, including sensorineural hearing loss.  

Benefits of Lip Reading: Enhancing Communication and Social Interaction

Learning to lip read often feels like a revelation, akin to the world becoming accessible once more. It drastically improves your ability to communicate, fostering both confidence and essential social skills. Frustration and isolation can ensue when one struggles to understand spoken words, but knowing how to read lips is a bridge to vibrant human interaction.

The Empathy Factor: Benefits for Family and Friends

The benefits of lip reading aren’t just limited to those with hearing difficulties. Family members and friends who learn this skill gain invaluable empathy towards their loved ones. It allows them to understand better the challenges faced by those with hearing loss, empowering them to adjust their behavior for more effective communication.

Professional Advantages

For communication experts, learning how to lip read can be a game-changer. It equips them with the skills to engage more constructively with those with hearing difficulties in various scenarios, from business meetings and academic lectures to press conferences and social gatherings.

Preserving Connections and Building Relationships

The inability to communicate can make anyone feel disconnected, gradually withdrawing from social activities and even affecting important relationships. Lip reading maintains your link to your community, loved ones, and the world, preventing misunderstandings and disengagement.

Real-world Applications: Where Lip Reading Shines

Lip reading is a handy skill for deciphering conversations in challenging settings such as noisy parties or bustling public spaces. It helps you understand better, giving you the confidence to engage in social situations that would otherwise be daunting.

How Lip Reading Complements Hearing Aids

While hearing aids amplify sound, they don’t always provide a complete contextual understanding. Lip reading, also known as speechreading, supplements this by allowing you to visually interpret speech cues, thereby enhancing the overall auditory experience.

Discover more about the benefits of hearing aids . 

Additional Benefits

• Improved Listening Skills: Lip reading teaches you to focus on the speaker’s lips and contextual cues, refining your listening abilities.
• Boosted Confidence: The skill empowers you to navigate social and professional settings with greater ease, increasing your self-confidence.

Learning to lip read may require time and practice, but the multitude of benefits makes the effort worthwhile. 

Challenges and Common Mistakes in How to Learn Lip Reading

Lip reading, while invaluable, is not without its challenges. Success depends on many variables, like the speaker’s position, clarity, and environmental factors. Obstacles often arise in group settings, such as family gatherings, classrooms, and workplaces.

Varying Speaking Habits: The Individual Challenge

Lip reading can get complicated due to individual quirks, such as:

• Facial hair obscuring the lips
• Covering the mouth or looking down while speaking
• Unusual dialects or accents
• Rapid speech
• Talking over others in group settings

Dispelling Common Myths

To master the art of lip reading, you need to let go of some myths: 

• Effortless Understanding: Contrary to belief, even skilled lip readers can only discern about 60% of a conversation.
• Lip-Focused: Lip reading involves more than watching lips; it also depends on observing tongue and teeth movements.
• Uniform Skill Levels: Fluency in lip reading varies among individuals, depending on factors like prior hearing experience.
• Context-Independent: Lip readers rely heavily on context and outside cues, especially for similar-looking sounds like “th” and “f.”
• Longer Sentences Are Harder: Short, quick phrases make lip reading more challenging due to lack of context.
• Volume Helps: Contrary to the notion that louder is better, a slow, whispered speech pattern can make lip reading easier.
• Natural Ability: Lip reading requires practice and time; it’s not an innate skill.
• Universal Application: Regional accents and dialects can significantly affect how to lip read.
• Not Just for the Hearing-Impaired: Even those with good hearing can benefit from learning lip reading to enhance overall communication.
• Teaching Potential: While real-world experience is essential, numerous educational resources are available to hone your skills.

Even the most adept lip readers can only grasp 30-45% of a conversation. They must rely on context, body language, and other non-verbal cues for a complete understanding. For those with hearing loss, knowing how to lip read is a way to augment hearing aids, not replace them.

How To Learn Lip Reading

Navigating the world of lip reading can be challenging yet incredibly rewarding. To ease this journey, you should focus on the three pillars of lip reading: context, non-verbal cues, and lip patterns. Understanding these components enhances your lip-reading skills and provides a more comprehensive communication experience.

The Three Pillars of Lip Reading

• Context: Knowing the context helps fill in conversation gaps.
• Closed Arms: Signals anger or defensiveness.
• Open Arms: Suggests friendliness and openness.
• Shoulder and Hip Orientation: Reveals comfort levels and priorities.
• Leaning In: Indicates intimacy; leaning away suggests discomfort.
• Posture: Expansive posture signifies confidence, while slouching shows insecurity.
• Vowels: Usually, the lips remain more relaxed and open. For example, the lips barely move when pronouncing the vowel ‘a’ in ‘apple.’
• Consonants: These require more intricate lip movements. The lips may close, part quickly, or create a barrier for airflow, as seen in the ‘p’ sound in ‘pat.’

Practical Tips for Learning Lip Reading

• Watch TV: Focus on how lips move while talking. News anchors are ideal because they articulate clearly and face the camera. Use closed captions for additional guidance.
• Mirror Practice: Observe your own lips in the mirror while speaking. Try different syllables and sounds to understand how your lips move.
• Friends and Family: Ask them to talk clearly and slowly while maintaining eye contact. Progressively request for more natural conversational speed.
• Lipreading Classes: Enroll in a local class to benefit from structured learning and peer practice.
• Public Interaction: Confidence builds competence. Don’t shy away from public conversations. Most people will be understanding if you explain that you’re practicing lip reading.

Final Tips and Tricks for How to Read Lips

• Anticipate Conversation: Conversations have a logical flow. Knowing this helps you fill in missed words.
• Learn Common Patterns: Greetings like “Hi, how are you?” should become visually automatic.
• Check Educated Guesses: Confirm your assumptions within the context of the conversation.
• Practice Context-Specific Words: If heading to a doctor’s appointment, practice relevant medical terms.
• Clear Communication: If your partner isn’t transparent or moves too much, let them know what you need for effective lip reading.

Lip reading requires focus and can be exhausting. Be patient with yourself as you learn this valuable skill.

Check Your Hearing And Learn How to Lip Read To Enhance Your Conversations

Mastering the art of lip reading opens up a new world of communication, enhances social interactions, and complements technological aids like hearing devices. It’s a rewarding yet challenging skill that requires ongoing practice and dedication. As you continue your journey towards effective lip reading, remember to lean on the Three Pillars: Context, Non-Verbal Cues, and Lip Patterns for a more comprehensive understanding.

If you’re curious about your hearing capabilities, we recommend taking our online hearing test to gain valuable insights into your auditory health. This step helps you understand your current hearing levels and guides you in deciding whether lip reading could be a beneficial supplement. Take the test today and continue your journey toward more effective communication.

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Lip reading

Lip reading is a vital communication skill for many people with hearing loss. It’s the ability to recognise the lip shapes, gestures, and facial movements of a person when they are speaking, to gain a better understanding of what they are saying. 

We all lip read and watch a person’s facial expressions without realising it, especially in noisy situations. Becoming a good lip reader requires skill, concentration, and a great deal of practice. Many words look similar on the lips, it’s easy to mistake ‘biscuits’ for ‘big kiss’ for example.  

A good lip reading teacher will help you to tell the differences between words. 

How learning to lip read can help you  

Whether you’ve had hearing loss for years or are newly diagnosed, lip reading can help in times when you can’t follow everything that’s being said. 

You can learn to ‘see speech’ by practising at home with a mirror or a friend. But you’ll develop your lip reading skills more quickly if you go to a lip reading class run by a qualified teacher. You could also learn a lot more about managing hearing loss.  You will also learn how to fill in the gaps of speech that you can’t hear, and how to use clues from the context of the conversation.

Research has found that attending a lip reading class can give you greater: 

• confidence to communicate with others. 
• control over your hearing loss, as you develop new communication skills. 
• independence, as you’re less reliant on others to help you follow conversation. 

“Attending the lip reading class has helped me face my situation more positively. It’s both a form of therapy and a tool to improve communication. It demands commitment, but it’s so rewarding.” Sylvia, Hertfordshire 

Lip reading classes  

Lip reading classes are very informal and friendly. You can go at your own pace and the teacher will encourage you to relax. 

The teacher will demonstrate the different shapes that sounds make on the lips, so you can identify them. They will also help you to get an idea of what is said, so you can join in the conversation. 

Most classes will also cover other communication tactics that will both support lip reading and help you to manage your hearing loss. For example, you’ll be taught the best place to position yourself in a group so that you can lip read everyone, and how to be more assertive, so you feel comfortable asking people to repeat themselves or turn to face you.  

It’s likely that the classes will also include group discussions and look at equipment and organisations that can help with hearing loss. 

Find lip reading classes  

You can find lip reading classes on the Association of Teachers of Lip reading to Adults (ATLA) website or you can get in touch with our Contact Centre. 

Practice at home  

ATLA has produced a DVD which you can use at home for practice. To find out more, email [email protected]  

You can visit lipreadingpractice.co.uk  for information and video lessons to help you develop and practise your lip reading skills.  

Extra tips  

The following tips can help, and you’ll do these things naturally once you get used to lip reading: 

• Before you start a conversation, explain that you lip read. 
• Ask the speaker to face the light, so you can see their lips clearly. 
• Sit or stand at the same level as the speaker. 
• Clarify the subject of the conversation first. 
• If you don’t catch what the speaker says, don’t worry, just ask them to repeat it or to say it again in a different way. 

How People with Hearing Loss Learn Language

People with hearing loss and their families often need special skills to be able to learn language and communicate. These skills can be used together with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other devices that help people hear. There are several approaches that can help, each emphasizing different language learning skills.

Some families choose a single approach because that’s what works best for them. Other people choose skills from two or more approaches because that’s what works best for them.

Following are language approaches, and the skills that are sometimes included in each of them:

• Auditory-Oral Natural Gestures, Listening, Speech (Lip) Reading, Spoken Speech
• Auditory-Verbal Listening, Spoken Speech
• Bilingual American Sign Language and English
• Cued Speech Cueing, Speech (Lip) Reading
• Total Communication Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE), Signing Exact English (SEE), Finger Spelling, Listening, Manually Coded English (MCE), Natural Gestures, Speech (Lip) Reading, Spoken Speech

Communication Tools

American sign language.

American Sign Language (ASL) is a language itself. While English and Spanish are spoken languages, ASL is a visual language.

ASL is a complete language. People communicate using hand shapes, direction and motion of the hands, body language, and facial expressions. ASL has its own grammar, word order, and sentence structure. People can share feelings, jokes, and complete ideas using ASL.

Like any other language, ASL must be learned. People can take ASL classes and start teaching their baby even while they are still learning it. A baby can learn ASL as a first language. Also, experts in ASL can work with families to help them learn ASL.

Children can use many other skills with ASL. Finger spelling is one skill that is almost always used with ASL. Finger spelling is used to spell out words that don’t have a sign — such as names of people and places. [ View Video Clip ]

Manually Coded English (MCE)

Manually Coded English (MCE) is made up of signs that are a visual code for spoken English. MCE is a code for a language — the English language. Many of the signs (hand shapes and hand motions) in MCE are borrowed from American Sign Language (ASL). But unlike ASL, the grammar, word order, and sentence structure of MCE are similar to the English language.

Children and adults can use many other communication tools along with MCE. One that is commonly used is finger spelling, which is used to spell out words that don’t have a sign in MCE — such as names of people and places. [ View Video Clip ]

Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE)

Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE) (sometimes called Pidgin Signed English (PSE)) has developed between people who use American Sign Language (ASL), and people who use Manually Coded English (MCE), using signs based on ASL and MCE. This helps them understand each other better. CASE is flexible, and can be changed depending on the people using it.

Other communication tools can be used with CASE. Often, finger spelling is used in combination with CASE. Finger spelling is used to spell out words that don’t have a sign, such as names of people and places.

Cued Speech

Cued Speech helps people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing better understand spoken languages.

When watching a person’s mouth, many speech sounds look the same on the face even though the sounds heard are not the same. For instance, the words “mat,” “bat,” and “pat,” look the same on the face even though they sound very different. When “cueing” English, the person communicating uses eight hand shapes and four places near the mouth to help the person looking tell the difference between speech sounds. Cued Speech allows the person to make out sounds and words when they are using other building blocks, such as speech reading (lip reading) or auditory training (listening). [ View Video Clip ]

Finger Spelling

With Finger Spelling the person uses hands and fingers to spell out words. Hand shapes represent the letters in the alphabet. Finger Spelling is used with many other communication methods; it is almost never used by itself. It is most often used with American Sign Language (ASL), Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE), and Manually Coded English (MCE) to spell out words that don’t have a sign, such as the names of places or people. [ View Video Clip ]

Natural Gestures

“Natural Gestures” — or body language — are actions that people normally do to help others understand a message. For example, if a parent wants to ask a toddler if he or she wants to be picked up, the parent might stretch out her arms and ask, “Up?” For an older child, the parent might motion with her arms as she calls the child to come inside. Or, the parent might put a first finger over her mouth and nose to show that the child needs to be quiet.

Babies will begin to use this building block naturally if they can see what others are doing. This building block is not taught, it just comes naturally. It is always used with other building blocks.

Listening / Auditory Training

Most people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have some hearing. This is called “residual hearing.” Some people rely or learn how to maximize their residual hearing (auditory training). This building block is often used in combination with other building blocks (such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices).

Listening might seem easy to a person with hearing. But for a person with hearing loss, Listening is often hard without proper training. Like all other tools, the skill of Listening must be learned. Often a speech-language pathologist (a professional trained to teach people how to use speech and language) will work with the person with hearing loss and the family.

Spoken Speech

People can use speech to express themselves. Speech is a skill that many people take for granted. Learning to speak is a skill that can help build language.

Speech or learning to speak is often used in combination with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices that help people maximize their residual hearing. A person with some residual hearing may find it easier to learn speech than a person with no residual hearing. Since speech can only be used by a person to express him or herself other building blocks, such as hearing with a hearing aid, must be added in order to help the person understands what is being said so they can communicate with others.

Speaking may seem easy to a person with hearing. But for a person with hearing loss, speaking is often hard without proper training. Like all other communication tools, the skill of speaking must be learned. Often a speech-language pathologist (a professional trained to teach people how to use speech and language) will work with the person with hearing loss and the family.

Speech Reading

Speech Reading (or lip reading) helps a person with hearing loss understand speech. The person watches the movements of a speaker’s mouth and face, and understands what the speaker is saying. About 40% of the sounds in the English language can be seen on the lips of a speaker in good conditions, such as a well-lit room where the child can see the speaker’s face. But some words can’t be read. For example: “bop,” “mop,” and “pop,” look exactly alike when spoken. (You can see this for yourself in a mirror). A good speech reader might be able to see only 4 to 5 words in a 12-word sentence.

Children often use speech reading in combination with other tools, such as auditory training (listening), cued speech, and others. But it can’t be successful alone. Babies will naturally begin using this building block if they can see the speaker’s mouth and face. But as a child gets older, he or she will still need some training.

Sometimes, when talking with a person who is deaf or hard-of-hearing, people will exaggerate their mouth movements or talk very loudly. Exaggerated mouth movements and a loud voice can make speech reading very hard. It is important to talk in a normal way and look directly at your child’s face and make sure he or she is watching you.

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Understanding the Art of Lip Reading: 5 Things to Know

Read my lips! You may have heard that phrase when someone wants to hammer home a point, like a mother telling a child, “Read my lips. You're not having any more ice cream.”

While you usually might not think twice when hearing that phrase, for many hard-of-hearing people lip reading can be an invaluable communication skill.

Here are a few things you should understand about lip reading.

1. What is Lip Reading?

Lip reading, also known as speech reading, is exactly what you would expect. It’s the combination of using a person’s lip movements, facial expressions and other nonverbal cues to “read” speech.

Speech sounds that are hard to hear, such as the soft “p” in “sphere,” are easier to pick up visually, an especially important aspect for hard-of-hearing individuals. Phone conversations can be challenging due to the lack of nonverbal communication relied upon for lip reading.

Next time you’re out at a coffee shop or lounging at the park, take notice of how much all people rely on nonverbal communication.

2. The Confidence Boost

For hard-of-hearing people, lip reading can mean a world of difference in terms of their confidence in communicating. Some people feel embarrassed or frustrated when they have to continually ask others to speak up or repeat things. Lip reading can help hard-of-hearing individuals pick up on words or sounds they didn’t quite catch, meaning they can feel better about their communication abilities.

Communication confidence is vital in encouraging people to stay connected with family and friends and keeping engaged in the community.

3. Lip Reading Class

How can you learn to lip read? By taking a class, of course! Yes, you can learn to lip read by taking online courses, such as these free ones offered by lipreading.org . Another way you can learn is through your day-to-day communication. Just make an extra effort to focus on how people’s lips move relative to specific sounds.

With patience and practice, you can learn through everyday immersion.

4. Lip Reading Isn’t a “Complete Solution”

While lip reading can be incredibly helpful to hard-of-hearing people, there are many situations where it doesn’t suffice. It’s much harder to lip read in a dark room or talking to a man sporting a full mustache, beard and sunglasses, for example. Obscure angles and mumbling also hinder lip reading.

Hard-of-hearing individuals should ensure they have other solutions in mind rather than relying solely on lip reading.

5. A Few Other Things…

• Some movements made by the lips during sounds such as “th” or “f” are very similar. Learning to pick up on other subtle facial cues provides valuable context.
• Lip reading is easier in a person's native language.
• Developing a thorough understanding of the language can help lip readers reasonably predict what words might be said next. For example, if someone was telling you “three strikes and you’re _____” could you predict what word completes the sentence?

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What is Speechreading?

Speechreading is a type of aural rehabilitation which with training can be enhanced and tuned as a means of understanding someone better, but speechreading starts to first develop in everyone around four to eight months after birth. If a child is typically developing, at around 12 months of age, the infant will alternate between looking at the speaker’s eyes, lips and mouth, and then back to the speaker’s eyes. This gaze shift is the first audiovisual connection and leads to the development of speechreading when in situations that are less than ideal for receiving an auditory signal. (Seal, 2013) Speech reading has been compared to how we read the same text in different fonts or different styles of handwriting (Seal, 2013). We can recognize the sentence and make sense of it even though it is presented in a different way. The same is for reading lips. Lip reading is used to fill in the gaps of what one is missing through auditory perception.

There are two types of speechreading techniques to teach speechreading. The Analytic approach is more concerned with the smaller parts of speechreading such as learning how to identify how certain sounds look when they are formed on the lips. This approach helps somewhat, but when used alone it does not make a practical compensatory technique as it is difficult to identify every movement of the speaker’s lips while speaking in conversation. The approach usually results in lower success rates in everyday situations. The second approach is the Synthetic approach. This approach takes into consideration the meaning of the message as a whole rather than its individual parts. To practice this approach the patient will be given clues about the conversation such as key words or a topic and having the patient respond to what he/she heard. The basis of this practice is to use educated guessing based on context clues to fill in the gaps of what the speech reader did not hear. When using this technique, the patient can be limited to when the topic of the conversation is unknown and as a result misunderstands what is being said. These approaches may show some benefits in situations that are familiar and with known topics and vocabulary, but there is not much supporting evidence that either can improve the natural ways of speechreading, especially in unfamiliar situations where the topic of conversation is unknown or the vocabulary used is unfamiliar. (Anderson, 2016).

Speechreading can greatly help those who are deaf, hard of hearing, or even those with normal hearing levels to understand what is being said in conversation as well as enabling those to take part in conversations. The ultimate goal of auditory rehabilitation is to help integrate the patient into society and allow them to take part in communication situations throughout their everyday life.

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Lip Reading – 9 Tips To Try It Today

9 tips and 16 resources to learn lip reading.

“See with your ears and hear with your eyes.” Ken Kesey. American novelist, essayist, and counter-cultural figure

All sighted people lip-read. Lip reading is a skill we possess inherently; at the same time, it is a skill that can be learnt deliberately and mastered with practice.

While communicating, we follow the speakers’ lip movements to process their speech more effectively. We do this without even realizing it. When enjoying dinner at a noisy restaurant, we lip-read to understand our friends.

We lip-read to catch every word of the lecturer who is standing far from us in the lecture room. We do lipreading when learning a foreign language. Even infants* practice lip reading – they follow adults’ lip movements to learn how to pronounce letters and words.

What is Lip Reading?

Lip reading, also called speechreading, is the act of using visual cues of the speaker’s lip movements, body language and facial expressions to understand the meaning of what is being said.

We can’t help to be effective in communication. We use the whole arsenal of techniques – conscious and subconscious – to enhance our understanding of the speech we hear.

Effective lip-readers are said to have a listening eye. No surprise, lip reading comes as a lifeboat for deaf and hard of hearing people; the skill is vastly used in the communities they live and work in.

Beyond traditional settings

The use of lip reading, however, has gone beyond everyday situations and a limited number of communities.

New York Times reports that during matches in the National Football League, coaches gave instructions by shielding their mouths after finding out that their competitors used lip reading to steal plays from them.

Another amazing example is Sue Thomas. Exclusive lipreading skills helped her to build a successful career in FBI. Being completely deaf, she was proposed her position after transcribing a mute video dialogue that involved illegal gambling transaction.

Lip Reading – The Basics

Reasons to learn lip reading are quite a few but before getting down to practice, it will be useful to consider the main characteristics that make or break the effectiveness of lip reading.

The speaker and the angle. You should have a clear view of the speaker’s face; otherwise, lipreading becomes extremely difficult or practically impossible.

Certain linguistic and speech factors make lip reading particularly challenging. Mumbling, hard accents, a foreign language you do not master, industry-specific jargon are among the major ones.

Lighting. No matter how hard you try, it is very, very, very difficult to do lip reading in darkness. Make sure the speaker and you are in a sufficiently lit setting.

Context and body language. The more you know about the subject matter being discussed, the better is your lip reading experience. The bad news is – only 30% of meanings can be read on the lips. Having said that, efficient lip readers can get 100% of what is being said. The explanation is simple – the rest of the meaning is understood from context, gestures, facial expressions, etc.

Concentration. No matter how skillful a lip-reader you are, you will fail to communicate with confidence and be actively involved in a conversation if you are tired or stressed. Lip reading itself is very tiring and you will need constant focus to be able to communicate effectively.

Our Tip: Do you generally want to improve your learning skills? Here is a list of the best speed reading courses to develop fast and effective reading skills. You may also benefit from our tutorial on how to speed read .

Lipreading – 9 Tips To Get Started

1. Avoid lip reading single words; lip-read sentences

As you can recognize only 30% of English words by watching a speaker’s lips, you need context to be able to lip-read for thorough understanding. A sentence is the smallest unit that will provide the context you need to figure out what is being said. Even if you fail to understand some words in a series of sentences, you will be able to get the main meaning of the speech.

2. Do not watch solely the lips.

Facial expression and body language provide an immense amount of information. Use that information! Eyes, jaw, brows, arms, legs, body posture, gestures, personal space – each of them will help you fill in the gap of a missing word. Note that by deciphering the emotional side of the communication, you will succeed in the linguistic part more easily.

3. Know your “enemies”.

For a lip reader, certain letter sounds are more difficult to differentiate than the others. While you will easily see the difference between [o] and [k] when someone pronounces ‘only’ and ‘can’, you will have a hard time spotting the difference between the following sounds: [b] & [p] [k] & [g], [t] & [d], [f], [v], & [th] [s] & [zzzz] [m] & [n]

Try it yourself. Look into the mirror, pronounce these pairs, and you will see that they look identical on your mouth and lips. This is another factor that makes sentences and context so crucial in lip reading.

4. Pace is important.

You will find it easier to lip-read when the speaker slows down. If there are no specific reasons for you to feel uncomfortable, always ask the speaker to speak slowly so that you can follow the speech and get the meaning.

5. Watch TV.

A piece of advice that would otherwise seem an attempt to take away your precious time turns into a helpful tip when it comes to lipreading. Especially TV news is a great point to start as newscasters always speak facing the camera and have expressive lip movements.

6. Socialize!

Let your friends, relatives, and colleagues know that you are practicing lip reading. Ask them to help you whenever possible. Make the process fun for all of you!

7. Reach out for a mirror.

No one around at the moment? You can always ask a mirror to help you out. Say different words, recite a poem, say the alphabet – and follow the movements of your lips and mouth.

8. Take a lip reading class.

Google for nearby courses and training that will help you start learning and hone your skills in lip reading. Many organizations and centers are committed to creating equal opportunity communities, so it should not be difficult to find the one that fits your needs.

9. More than a skill – a character.

Lip reading helps develop traits such as persistence, determination, observance, and focus. By learning to read lips, you do not only enhance your understanding of people’s speech in various settings, but you also cultivate a character that will serve you far beyond communicating with people and understanding them.

Resources – Lip Reading

• Definition – Encyclopedia.com
• lipreading.org/vowel-eyedrills
• lipreadingpractice.co.uk
• wikipedia.org/wiki/Lip_reading
• lipreading.org/tips-for-lip-reading
• wikihow.com/Read-Lips
• lipreading.org/beginners-guide-to-lipreading
• nytimes.com/2016/08/07/magazine/how-to-read-lips.html
• theverge.com/2016/11/24/13740798/google-ai-lip-reading
• 121captions.com/2017/03/29/bad-lip-reading-jobs/

Lip reading tools for Android or iOS

• Playstore: play.google.com/store/apps/details?Readmylips
• iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-my-lips!/id400621810
• iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-my-lips/id325664983

Lip reading games

• Hearing Things Game by Hasbro
• Kims Game – Lipreading Practice
• Come Again?! The Ludicrous Lip Reading Game

Bad lip reading videos

• YouTube Channel

Lip Reading – Conclusion

Wrapping up our guide about lip reading. Acquiring a new skill is an engaging yet challenging experience. The onus for success is on you – the more persistent and motivated you are, the better results you will achieve.

Listening with your eyes will not supplant hearing; however, lip reading is a powerful tool to use in everyday life when hearing is hard or impossible. This invisible skill will help you feel more confident in myriad settings – at work, in social gatherings, while watching TV, sitting in a class, attending a workshop, learning a foreign language, following instructions of your coach, etc.

Let lip reading help you cultivate a strong character and concentration – skills and traits that will prove to be irreplaceable for your personal and professional growth.

   Lip Reading – 8 Tips

• Avoid lipreading single words; lip-read sentences.
• Do not watch solely the lips but also facial expressions and body language.
• Be aware of identical looking sounds. Context is crucial in lip reading.
• Pace is important. Ask the speaker to slow down if the situation allows it.
• Watch TV to master your lip reading skills.
• Involve friends and other people to practicing lipreading together. Socialize.
• Practice sounds, movements, techniques in front of a mirror.
• Take professional expertise and practice with a tutor.

Learn to hear with your eyes and never miss a word again!

Do you have trouble hearing in a noisy background?

Do you find yourself asking people to repeat themselves?

Do you misunderstand what others are saying and respond inappropriately?

If so, you might benefit from learning lipreading. Lip reading allows you to “listen” to a speaker by watching the speaker’s face to figure out their speech patterns, movements, gestures and expressions. Often called “a third ear,” lip reading goes beyond simply reading the lips of a speaker to decipher individual words.

Learn more about lipreading », our course offers:.

Interactive adaptive coursework: Our courses are based on the idea of deliberate practice: breaking down the lipreading skillset into individual skills, and providing an environment with high quantity, performance enhancing practices, and immediate feedback. Try it now »

Live lipreading practice: Using your webcam, you can test your skills, and practice with people all around the world. Check it out »

Lipreading Workbook Our lipreading alphabet book introduces all major phoneme types with playable samples, to show you how they look like on the lips. Try it Now »

Our clients are saying:

I've been practicing lipreading on your site for about nine months now but wasn't sure how well i was progressing. so last week i decided to watch the tv news and weather reports with the sound turned down to see how much i could follow. i was astonished (and delighted!) to find that i could understand a lot of what was being said. with one weatherman in particular i found that i could follow virtually every word he said. well done lipreading.org and thanks so much for this unique and excellent website. it really works! Des Watts

Just signed up today. Turns out that I read lips better than I thought. Your exercises are kind of fun! Frank James Crow

Thanks Nikki for finding this....promise it won't fall on deaf ears :) Pete Sandel

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How To Learn To Lip Read

For the hearing impaired, communicating in a hearing world can be a major challenge. Hearing loss affects all aspects of a person’s life, including their ability to maximize educational opportunities and fully participate in career options. Many people with hearing loss choose to learn and practice several communication techniques simultaneously, such as lip reading and sign language. This way, they are assured the ability to understand those around them, as well as make themselves understood.

Lip Reading: Myths vs Facts

• The physical environment—there must be enough light.
• Proximity—the person must be close enough and facing in the direction of the lip reader with their head up looking directly at the person.
• Limited distraction—it is most beneficial to have one-on-one contact or only a small group of people when communicating to limit distraction for everyone.

Lip Reading: The best ways to learn

• movies and television,
• friends or family members;
• social situations, such as lectures or skill demonstrations.

3 Major Components of Lip Reading

Non-verbal cues.

• Posture - is the person leaning forward in an intimate way (indicating trust and friendship) or sitting back with their arms crossed (indicating anger or apprehension)
• Facial expression – whether the person is happy, sad or angry is all communicated through the face
• Eyes – staring, blinking, and dilation are all ways that we interpret intent
• Mouth – is the person smiling or biting their lip indicating stress or worry
• Gestures – waving, pointing, giving a thumbs up – all ways of communicating through gesturing that adds clarity to lip reading
• Expression and tone – angry and agitated vs leaning inward to whisper are ways that tonal changes are communicated

Lip Patterns

Lip reading: tips & tricks, how helpful was this article, related articles.

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Lip reading of words with lip segmentation and deep learning

• Published: 08 June 2022
• Volume 82 , pages 551–571, ( 2023 )

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• Malek Miled 1 ,
• Mohammed Anouar Ben Messaoud 1 , 2 &
• Aicha Bouzid 1  

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Speech perception is recognized as a multimodal task, that is, it solicits more than one meaning. Lip reading, which superimposes visual signals to auditory signals, is useful and sometimes even necessary for understanding a message. Lip-reading is an area of great importance for a wide range of applications, such as silent dictation, speech recognition in noisy environment, improved hearing aids and biometrics. It is a difficult research subject in the field of computer vision, whose main purpose is to observe the movement of human lips from the video to identify the corresponding textual content. However, because of the limitations of lip changes and the richness of linguistic content, the increased difficulty of lip recognition slows down the development of lip language research topics. Recently, the development of deep learning in various fields gives us enough confidence to carry out the task of lip recognition. Unlike recognition of lip characteristics in traditional lip recognition, lip learning based on deep learning typically involves extracting features and understanding images using a network model. In this topic, we focus on the design of the acquisition, processing, and data recognition network framework for lip reading. In this work, we developed an accurate and robust algorithm, for lip reading. First, we extract the mouth region and segmented the mouth by using a proposed hybrid model with a new proposed edge based on a proposed filter, then we train our spatio-temporal model by the combination of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Bi-directional Gated Recurrent Units (Bi-GRU). Finally, we test our algorithm, and we get an evaluation of 90.38% of accuracy. The result shows the performance of our system by application of lip segmented as inputs to the proposed spatio-temporal model.

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Miled, M., Messaoud, M.A.B. & Bouzid, A. Lip reading of words with lip segmentation and deep learning. Multimed Tools Appl 82 , 551–571 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-022-13321-0

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Published : 08 June 2022

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-022-13321-0

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