Archive for the 'Public Speaking' Category

I often observe people interact with each other, and more often than not, I see that one person dominates the conversation, while the other person or group of persons look on, and even when they try to say something, they are overshadowed by the more dominating personality.

In a conversation, everyone has to have an equal chance at saying what they want, and this is one of the most flaunted rules in conversation etiquette, according to my observations.

Often, we fail to recognize these faults in our own interactions, perhaps because they are so habitual that they are no longer noticeable, but if you wish to correct your mistakes, or simply improve your conversational skills, here are some tips for you:

• Do you ever ‘listen’ to what the other person is trying to say, or do you always talk and talk, and never bother to listen to what is being said? If so, then you are making one of the most common conversation mistakes, something which can bring a standstill to what is being discussed.

Are you afraid of speaking in public? Speaking in public can become most stressful issue for most of you.

At times, the fear of public speaking can become more serious problem for you, if you fail to take necessary steps to overcome it.

Even though you like to avoid the problem completely, it is very hard to implement this in your real life.

Whether you work alone or with a group of people, you need to speak in a large group of people to achieve certain important tasks in your life.

If you want to achieve something meaningful in your life, often you need to speak either in large or small groups.

To overcome the fear of speaking in public, here are certain necessary guidelines for you.

1. Give up your idea that you have to be perfect!

Most of you can face fear of speaking in public, as you can have fear of making mistakes in front of large crowd. However, your fear of mistakes only makes you to commit more mistakes.

In fact, mistakes can provide you better feedback for improving yourself. Never try to think of your mistakes, just give your best and don’t expect it to be perfect.

Here are the solutions for the problems encountered in public speech.

These solutions increase the quality of speech and help in delivering a great speech.

Volume:

Solution: Volume depends upon the extension and regularity of expiration, energy and resonance combined in a given tone.

The voice grows with use, and daily practice is therefore necessary to acquire roundness and volume. The abdominal muscles should be developed by daily respiratory and physical exercises.

• Charge, Chester, charge!
• Oyez! oyez!
  All persons having business to do with the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern district of New York draw near give your attention and you shall be heard.
• The following should be combined with the same vowel sounds, first in loud whisper, then in loud voice, exhausting the breath on each sound: P, t, d, v, k, bl, br, ch, dr, dw, fl, fr, gl, gr, hi, kr, pi, pr, si, sm, sn, sp, sq, sk, sh, st, sw, tr, th, tw, wh.
• Katherine, Queen of England, come into the Court.
• In calling tone repeat:
• Ship ahoy!
• Thou, too, sail on, 0 Ship of State.

The most common problems for public speakers are vocal defects. The most common vocal defects are breathiness, throatiness, and nasality.

If you practice the following exercises will remedy these defects.

Breathiness:

Problem: This is caused by allowing breath to escape un- or non-vocalized.

Solution: The remedy lies in applying to the vocal cords just the quantity of breath required to produce a given tone.

• Inhale deeply. Exhale on singing ah. Apply the air very gently to the vocal cords, hold back the unused breath and aim to increase the purity of tone.
• Count from one to ten in a loud whisper, inhaling after each number. Repeat with half breath and half voice. Repeat with pure tone. Project into the distance.
• Practice the following in pure, clear-cut voice: hup, he, ha, haw, hah,
• Ho, hoo.

Throatiness:

Problem: This defect arises from smallness of throat or rigidity.

Solution: Relax all throat muscles and practice exercises for depressing the root of the tongue, raising the soft palate and lowering the larynx.

• Practice the various tongue exercises, keeping the lips perfectly still.

Mis-speakings are the words that often not done right. Here is a list of words:

• Make clean our hearts.
• A big black bug bit a big black bear.
• Ceaseth, approacheth, and rejoiceth.
• Little ache, little lake.
• The old man, angered at the raillery of this question, and at the cherubic smile of superiority with which it was asked, launched forth in an abjuratory tirade, insisting that he did not regard himself sacrificable to the juggernaut of orthoepy.
• Bring me some ice, not some mice.
• The clumsy kitchen clock click clicked.
• What whim led White Whitney to whittle, whistle, whisper and whimper near the wharf, where a floundering whale might wheel and whirl?
• A blue trip slip for an eight-cent fare, A buff trip slip for a six-cent fare, A pink trip slip for a three-cent fare.
• Nothing daunted, the young man continued: “You said, ‘According to precedent it was obligatory upon him to plait his hair as his Nomad parents had done, but instead he, precedent to stepping under the mistletoe, indulged in fulsome praise of himself, hoping thereby to induce a favorite girl to join him. But she, being averse to undergo an ordeal so embarrassing, refused; whereupon his features became immobile with chagrin/ this is a verbatim quotation. You sometimes consult a dictionary? “

There should be sudden recoil of the lips in ip, of the tip of the tongue in it, and of the back of the tongue in ih.

Repeat rapidly. Also with ib, id and ig.

For elasticity:

Jaw:

• Relax jaw. Move from side to side and forward and back.
• Repeat while singing ah.

Lips:

• Open the mouth and bring the lips together quickly and firmly, aiming at equal pressure.

With lips tightly closed, compress the breath against lips and cheeks, resisting with these muscles and finally forcing the lips open.

Tongue:

Open the mouth, keeping the tongue flat, with tip lightly touching the lower teeth. Without arching, the tongue thrust it straight forward and draw it back as far as possible several times.

Again, open the mouth wide, and in dotting fashion continue with the tongue along the upper and lower lips.
Reverse.

• Fold back tip of tongue with the aid of the teeth.
• Groove tongue.
• Make lapping movement of the tongue.
• To depress the base of the tongue, carry the point of the tongue forward between the teeth; then draw the whole tongue vigorously backward, as if trying to swallow it.

The practice of sounds is very important for effective speech.

You have to pay close attention for some types of sounds.

Here are some tips.

• You can enhance your skills by daily practice and focusing specifically upon related articulation exercises and drills. These are best done out loud.
• You have to pay close attention to how you form, articulate and say or enunciate words, phrases and sounds. Phrase well and audibly.
• Certain combinations of letters might be more problematic than others, or you might not think you have a problem at all. It is still worthwhile to practice these with frequency.

Exercise:

• Read the following sound very slowly.
• Being well spoken, fluent and audible is critical for/in public speaking.
• Harness the flexibility of your vocal instruments and organs. Especially your lips and tongue.

List of elementary sounds: