What Is a Speech Language Pathologist?

Effective communication is essential to everyday life. When you have trouble communicating, it can affect every aspect of your life, from your career to your personal relationships. That’s where speech language pathologists come in.

A speech language pathologist — coupled with a speech coach like Yoodli — can change the game. 

Learn what a speech language pathologist is, how they help, why they’re important, and how Yoodli can help advance speech language pathology.

What Is a Speech Language Pathologist?

A speech language pathologist — also known as an SLP or a speech language therapist — is someone who has an expertise in communication. 

You can find a speech language therapist in schools, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and private practices, for example. 

What Does a Speech Pathologist Do?

Speech language pathologists can help people in a variety of ways. Some of the main aspects of speech they address include: 

• Stuttering
• Communication in social settings
• Speech sounds
• Your voice and how it sounds
• Language
• Literacy

How Much Does a Speech Language Pathologist Cost?

In order to start speech language pathology therapy, you’ll typically have to get an official evaluation, which can cost $200 to $300. Although prices can vary, a speech language therapist can cost anywhere from $100 to $250 per session. 

Luckily, Yoodli — which offers personalized speech coaching and valuable insights — is a free complementary tool.

How Does a Speech Language Pathologist Help?

A speech language pathologist’s goal is to help their clients advance their speaking skills, literacy, and communication abilities. 

When working with clients, a speech language pathologist’s job is to create a plan for individuals undergoing speech language therapy that targets areas they need to improve. 

Yoodli, an AI-powered speech coach, can complement speech language therapy. This free tool provides users with individualized, judgment-free feedback on their speaking, listening, and communication skills, as well as their body language. 

You can simply upload a video of yourself speaking (or record directly on our platform), and Yoodli does the rest, providing insights on your pacing, word choice, filler word usage, and even your eye contact. 

Yoodli is helpful for anyone looking to improve their speaking skills and can benefit even the best public speaker. 

For example, when evaluating entrepreneur and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, we can see that someone with extensive public speaking appearances could improve. 

Using Yoodli, we can see that Zuckerberg’s speech was 4% filler words, as he used 91 fillers while speaking to a Harvard computer science class. It seems he could also work on his word choice. To become better communicators, we all need insights and dedicated practice. 

When you upload or record a speech, you can get these same analytics that are personalized to your speech patterns.  

Watch Zuckerberg’s full speech below (or visit Yoodli to see this one and even more speeches):

That’s precisely why a speech coach like Yoodli and speech language pathology go hand-in-hand.

Why Are Speech Language Pathologists Important?

Speech language pathologists are important because — to put it simply — they change people’s lives. Communication is so key to everyday life, and when you have trouble communicating, it only adds more stress to your plate. 

Speech language pathologists focus on improving your basic communication skills, as well as your fluency and body language, among other areas of improvement. Like Yoodli, speech language therapists narrow in on your speech patterns to develop a personalized plan of action for you. 

Because everyone is different, there’s no universal path to effective communication. While some people excel at body language — making eye contact and using hand gestures, for example — others struggle immensely to move naturally when speaking, especially in public. 

Speech language pathologists and speech coaches like Yoodli stress the importance of individualistic learning, training, and practice to advance your speaking skills and ensure you’re able to achieve compelling, effective communication. For some people, that might mean successful public speaking. For others, holding a simple conversation or learning how to succeed at impromptu speaking could be the focus. 

The Bottom Line

A speech language pathologist will use helpful strategies to work on and improve your speaking abilities in a holistic manner. 

Yoodli can complement the work of a speech language pathologist by providing a judgment-free platform for not only speaking practice, but also individualized analytical insights about the way you communicate. 

The path to effective communication might take a little bit of hard work, but it’s so worth being able to rely on successful speaking skills.