I finally found a good analogy to explain the importance of substitution when you are learning how to read lips!

Substitution is your friend when you are learning how to read lips.

Think of substitution as your brain’s Visual Autocorrect. When you see a word that doesn’t quite fit the conversation, you don’t get stuck on the error. Instead, you let your mind automatically ‘toggle’ through its visual matches until the sentence clicks into place. It’s not about guessing; it’s about choosing the right piece for the puzzle. All you need to know is which sounds look alike, and then get lots of practice to be able to do it in real time.

Here’s the playlists for my free Lipreading Challenge and more substitution shenanigans!

Related post: When you’re learning how to read lips No. 36