What do they do, and how do they work?
A lipspeaker is a hearing person who has been professionally trained to be easy to lipread. They provide communication support for deaf people by using spoken language and lipreading. To do this, they sit opposite the deaf person and silently repeat what the speaker is saying in a clearly lipreadable way. They clearly reproduce the shapes of the words and the natural rhythm and stress used by the speaker.
This means that the lipreader looks at the Lipspeaker but ‘listens’ to the speaker. The Lipspeaker’s job is to make sure that the speaker’s message is passed on in full.
However, if the speaker is talking very quickly, the Lipspeaker may need to ‘pare down’, so they will be thinking about how they can omit any redundant language so that they can lipspeak at a lipreadable pace and still pass on the message. The lipreader may also ask the Lipspeaker to fingerspell the initial letter of a particularly difficult word. They can also use facial expressions and gestures.
Sometimes, if a deaf person is used to supplementing their lipreading by relying on their residual hearing, they may ask the Lipspeaker to use their voice to relay to them what the speaker is saying.
Lipspeakers work in a range of situations in which a deaf person might find it difficult to lipread the speaker directly. For example, in workplace meetings or on training courses, or for medical consultations or court appearances. Sometimes they need to provide communication support because the speaker is not present. In a driving theory hazard perception test, they will lipspeak a client’s workplace telephone calls or the recorded instructions delivered through headphones. They also work with students in further and higher education. Lipspeakers are fully qualified and registered with the National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD).
Who would use this service?
This service would be used by a deaf person who relies on lipreading to communicate. The deaf person may have never heard of a Lipspeaker, so take the opportunity to share information about these beneficial services.
We would always recommend you ask the deaf person what service they would prefer, as this could change depending on the setting.
So what exactly does it take to be a lipspeaker?
Sara Scanlon lives in Berkshire and has been a lipspeaker for over 15 years. She is interested in working with others to promote access to communication for deaf people, and she is currently the Treasurer of the Association of Lipspeakers. Her most memorable professional experience so far has been lipspeaking for a deaf person who was swimming with dolphins!
“You must be really good at lipreading”. Many people say this to me when I tell them that I am a lipspeaker. At that point, I need to explain to them that the deaf person is doing lipreading; my job is to make the spoken language as visible as possible. How do I do this? Well, I have been trained to be easy to lipread.
This means that I know that someone who is lipreading me needs me to keep eye contact with them, to form my words clearly but without over-emphasis, and to slow my pace slightly but maintain the natural rhythm of my speech. My facial expression and gestures will also give the lipreader vital clues to help them understand what I am saying.
(Top tip – a slight shake of the head when saying something negative can really support the meaning; if you don’t believe me try looking in the mirror and notice how difficult it is to distinguish the word ‘possible’ from the word ‘impossible’ on the lips alone.)
I thoroughly enjoy using my lipspeaking skills to facilitate communication between deaf and hearing people. You do not have to be an expert lipreader to be able to use a lipspeaker. If you, or someone you know, might benefit from using a lipspeaker, why not give it a try?
