Mar 28, 2006 07:05 PM
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(Updated Mar 28, 2006 07:08 PM)
Speaking well can have a dramatic effect on your professional and private life. You may not realise how important the sound of your voice is, or how much you yourself judge other people by the way they sound. It is true that the impression you make on others often owes much more to how you speak - the pitch and expressiveness and clarity of your voice, for example - than to what you actually say.
A few aspects that will help you reach the highest level you are capable of speaking are listed below.
POSTURE If your posture is poor, you will represent a poor image of yourself. Good posture is the natural alignment of the body. When sitting you should be able to draw a straight line from the ear to the shoulder to the hipbone, and if you are standing, from the hip down to the knee. The act of clenching your fist can stifle your voice, so it is essential that you be calm and relaxed at all times.
CONTROL YOUR BREATHING Breath is the source of energy of voice and speech. A few don'ts: 1] Don't take a deep breath before starting a speech, your instinct will be to hold your breath. 2] A voice underpowered by drawing too little breath would tend to come across as excessively quiet. 3]Uncontrolled breathing an also affect your ability to communicate; your message will pale beside the jerky style of your delivery. Well-controlled breathing can bring stress under control. Breathing exercises help develop your voice control.
PACE, PAUSE AND RHYTHM The way you breathe adversely affects your pace and rhythm. By drawing in large amounts of oxygen into the lower half of your lungs, you will not need to pause for breath so often. Keep a steady flow of words; a continuous chatter or a slow, ponderous speech may be extremely annoying. Pausing at natural breaks i.e punctuation, will give you a moment to think about what you are going to say next.
INTONATION AND EMPHASIS Every voice has a natural middle note. Some speakers pitch their voices too high or too low due to tension. Learn to identify and adapt your middle note, you will sound most natural. Practise using pitch to reflect the emotional content of your speech.
The placing of an emphasis-the amount of stress put in a syllable- often affects the meaning of a sentence. For instance, bring down your hand only on words that need emphasising. Caution yourself against exaggerated actions.
PRONUNCIATIONFaulty pronunciation stems more commonly from bad habits of the speech organs rather than malformation or malfunctioning. A person's accent, really a whole set of speaking habits, often marks him out as a'faulty' speaker. There are many words having two or more pronunciations. Some people suffer a crisis of confidence when faced with the choice and instead switch to a different -often a far less appropriate one. In order to avoid this embarrassment, consult a good dictionary for guidance and you can speak confidently the next time. Remember, only practice makes you perfect.
Now, a little more.
PREPARATION AND RESEARCH'The reason there are so few good talkers in public is that there are so few thinkers in private'
Be sure you know exactly what the organizers of an event at which you have to speak expect of you. Ask them about the audience. You will be be able to decide better what to speak if you know who you will be talking to. Keep in mind the audience's knowledge of the subject and their attitude towards it. Make sure you know when you are exactly speaking, and for how long. Gather required material for your speech. Do the necessary research on the subject.
EFFECTIVE DELIVERY To make an impact on an audience, clear structure and well-judged content need to be matched by effective delivery. Try to look at your audience most of the time. Good speakers always communicate an element of spontaneity. TIP: Use short sentences and simple language. CHeck that you are making your points crisply.
TAKING QUESTIONS This is the time for you to amplify and build on what you have said in your speech. At the outset of a speech, it is helpful to let the audience know that they can ask questions at the end. TIP: Repeat the question loudly and clearly so that the entire audience can hear it; it also gives you a little extra time to prepare your answer.
Ultimately'CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY'
Well. I hope this review has been useful to you.
Slen
