Archive for the 'Public Speaking' Category

Knowing when to giving prominence to words or parts of speeches to best let their meaning surface is another part of the public speaking art.

Putting the emphasis where it rightfully belongs:

Tactics to affect this is change in force, inflection, pitch, movement, pause, and feeling.

The below TWO aspects work closely together and have to be considered and practiced BOTH on their own and synergized together.

1. It is essential that you understand exactly what it is that you are saying and want to say
2. Practical use and mastery of placing emphasis where and when it belongs.

Understanding meaning, sequence, relation and importance is crucial.

Force and loud exclamation is often used to make a point when speaking to or in front of a large audience. This is oftentimes also underscored by lots of physical movements.

If you want to be and remain natural in your style regardless of the stage or size of the audience, inflecting and changing the tone of your voice is a great way of dealing with these issues of emphasis.

You do not have to shout or raise your voice or become animated or over-exaggerated.

It is not enough to know how to breathe and relax. It is also important to know when and how to take a moment, stop briefly, take a breath, before proceeding, pausing to reflect and, then moving right along.

The definition of pause is, it is a physiological and psychological manifestation of the principle of action and reaction that underlies all vocal expression.

Pausing is one of the most efficient ways to pace and set your speech up to not get lost yourself or lose others in the process, while you are up there.

It is a true art to master the “pregnant pause”, like asking a rhetorical questions and having it hang in the air, or briefly stopping but for a moment and letting the silence speak for itself.

It is a delicate balance and masterful craft. It showcases thinking and richness, variety of thought. If you do not seem rushed and at ease, taking your time, somehow audiences find it easier to follow and listen to.

It comes across almost more wholeheartedly. If you just rush, and skims over the content, it makes others wonder if you know it at all, have a hidden agenda or even might make some anxious.

How you take care of yourself has a lot to do with your speech and performance as a public speaker as well.

Here are some general tips to bear in mind for taking care of your ‘vocal instruments and ensemble’ you are entrusted with!

• You should make it an utmost priority to guard your system, balance and keeping the voice in tip-top shape and conditioning and generally stay healthy. No-one is going to do it for you.
• Daily routines including physical exercise, bathing, fresh air, sleep, food and clothing are essential.
• Avoid cold, wet and damp air and climate shortly after an exercise or voice work-out for example. It sounds like common sense, but we do not always take the extra care required.
• Watching the one and volume of our at times somewhat loud and animated conversation, whispering and unbridled, incessant laughter, should be avoided too, as they strain the vocal cords as well.
• Cold or iced drinks are not good for the throat, but if used they should be taken slowly and in small quantities.
• Always breathe through the nose and try and practice keeping your mouth firmly closed at all times.

There are different physical aspects of your vocal utility and talents.

Your body is a wonderful enabler of speech process and outcome.

There is great interplay of a couple of individual and collective “organs” if you will, to effect speech.

We take a quick, brief overview at some of them.

Larynx:

• It can be found at the top ring of the windpipe, the two shield cartilages, and epiglottis or lid.
• It contains the voice-box and vocal cords for producing sounds

The pharynx:

• The cavity into which the mouth and nose open

The glottis:

• Mouth of the larynx (membranous or muscular crevice)
• The edges of the larynx which constitute the vocal cords or glottis lips.

The vocal cords:

• Often described as two slight, elastic bands
• They are both situated in the larynx,
• Immediately below the “Adam’s apple.”  
• To produce sound they vibrate and  are thrust forward into the air-stream escaping from the lungs

The trachea or windpipe:

• A cylindrical, cartilaginous  and membranous  tube
• It is the common  air passage to the lungs   

Here are the relaxation exercises that improve the quality of your speech.

Find out how to perform these exercises and practice.

Exercise for your arms:

Stand relaxed and upright. Place your hands to your sides and lower your shoulders.

Relax and release the arms, let them hang Inhale deeply and raise the arms until they are way above your head.

There should be no straining at this point. Hold your breath and reach and stretch as high as you can and are able to go. Exhale and lower your arms again.

Exercise for your hands:

Do the same procedure as for the arms, but clasp your hands together, when you reach above your head position. Next start gently rocking, swaying and moving them side to side as you keep breathing in and out.

Breathing exercise:

Inhale and exhale as normal. Rise up your arms on the next inhale (still relaxed) and now hold your breath and your arms at this horizontal position. Try and reach and stretch as far as your arms will let you go. Slowly exhale and return to resting position.

Exercise for your whole body:

Before starting any of these exercises, it extremely important that you have to master the breathing techniques and basics and give them each a try.

A variety of breathing exercises are:

Cleansing breathing through your nose:

Place your right thumb on your right nostril. Close it totally, firmly, but gently.

Do not apply too much pressure. Now inhale slowly and fill your lungs to its full capacity.

Change your hands and close your left nostril while exhaling slowly through the right nostril until there is no air left. Repeat with the reverse, starting with the thumb now closing the left nostril.

This will raise your awareness and the importance of breath in speech, which most people tend to ignore. The stronger your mastery of this basic technique, the better your speaking will be! Without even a word spoken, you have taken strides already in improving your speech.

Breath-holding exercises:

While counting upwards from one to five, inhale deeply through your nose, lungs and diaphragm. Now keep the breath in until you count to five in your minds-eye.

If you have interest in honing your vocal instrument for public speaking, you need to start with the foundational element, namely the currency of speech known as ‘breathing’.

Learning how to take, control and manage it effectively is essential and a basic skill to master for any and every student of public speaking.

If you breathe through your nose, the air that you take in is purified and when it reaches your lungs and leaves your lips, it can be optimized and leveraged in full.

If you do this regularly, you will counteract some of the discomforts so common in public speaking, like dry mouth, cough and even sore throat.

Try and get as much fresh air as you possibly can and take some cleansing breaths through your nose before you start.

Fill your lungs and exhale through your nose. Think, in with the good, out with the bad. The premise is really simple and the reward is HUGE!

Breathing technique:

Proven public speaking discipline and research, advocates the abdominal breathing technique which entails breathing but from the inner walls of the diaphragm as the best way to breathe and enable speech.

Variety is the spice of life and it can be suggested a lot.

Vary your daily 15 minute routines and shuffle the exercises around to custom-fit your individual, personal needs and requirements.

All areas and aspects can do with some focused and targeted practice.

Give close attention to areas like: deep breathing, voice and sound articulation and the use of your voice or instrument.

Up to 45 minutes daily can be dedicated to verbal expression exercises, projection and practice out loud.

Here are some things which you have to include in your daily life.

Breathing exercises:

For the first week, new habits take time to form and establish themselves, so we suggest starting off by deep breathing exercises. This will help you relax and also become aware of your voice and activity, what makes you nervous and so on.

Only practicing inhaling and exhaling deeply repeatedly for about five minutes every day is all it will take!

Breathing from deep within you will become second nature before you know it. You can do it as you go along your daily business and execute your tasks and routines in and around the house and office.