SPEAKING WITH PRECISION AND CONFIDENCE

Confidence is not born out of mere desire. It is cultivated through practice. - Terry Mante

CHALLENGE OF SPEAKING
THE ABILITY to speak is a universal human endowment. Ordinarily, every human being knows how to speak. However, many people do not know how to effectively communicate through the words they speak. This challenge becomes accentuated when one has to speak to a group of people.

Speaking to communicate effectively may be a natural gift for some people, but for the rest of us it is an artistic skill that can be learnt. Even for those who are naturally endowed with the gift of the gab, there is still a need to learn how to use their gift to communicate effectively.

Everybody who so desires can cultivate the ability to speak to people in a manner that makes sense and resonates with the people.

CONFIDENCE TO SPEAK
MANY people find it tough to speak in public because of fear – the fear of making mistakes, the fear of not making sense, the fear of offending people and the fear of being rejected. Nevertheless, this fear could be overcome. Here are some guidelines on how to overcome your fear of speaking:

1. Esteem yourself: Many people shy away from speaking in public because they feel inadequate. They have low regard for themselves. They freeze in the presence of others. They feel uncomfortable when they are the centre of attention. If that is your challenge, you should learn to appreciate that you are as human as everybody else and that no one is more human than you are. You can control how you feel by seeing yourself as a valuable person.

2. Equip yourself: In speaking to people, one thing that self-esteem cannot replace is knowledge. Before you can speak confidently on a subject, you must have command over it. Command is established by consistently filling yourself up with knowledge through voracious reading, active listening and intense observation. If you do this continuously, you will be ready when the time comes for you to speak.

3. Expose yourself: To be a confident speaker, you must speak. A speaker speaks. Avail yourself of opportunities to practise speaking. Volunteer to do the prayer, be the MC at your family get-together and say the vote of thanks. In conversations, let your views be heard after others have spoken. If you do this often, you will eventually learn to overcome your fears and establish yourself as a good speaker. Practice makes perfect.

DELIVERING EFFECTIVELY
SOMETIMES, when I see certain public officials make speeches on TV I feel pity for them and their listeners. They have a script on the lectern, tilt their head slightly so they can keep their eyes focused on the script and read with a fumbling voice. Their speech writers give them good scripts but they deliver the scripts poorly.

Every public speaker will tell you that the first few seconds or minutes always present a baggage of diffidence and uncertainty. Those who do not cave in in those initial moments are the ones we celebrate as outstanding speakers.
Effective public speakers act confidently. Confidence is not born out of mere desire. It is cultivated through practice. Even when you don’t feel confident, you must act confident. When you act that way, you infuse your audience with confidence and create an atmosphere that boosts your own confidence.

Celebrated speakers also know how to use non verbal elements of speech to drive home their message. Social psychologists and communication experts have found that non verbal communication constitutes about two-thirds of all communication between people. Learning to use non verbal cues would add flavour to your speech.

NON VERBAL CUES

1. Eye contact: This regulates the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and increases the speaker’s credibility. People who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest and concern.

2. Facial expressions: Smiling transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth and liking. So if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and approachable. Smiling is contagious and makes people respond favourably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen more.

3. Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you pose and move while you talk.

4. Vocal: Speaking in a monotone voice will present you as boring and dull. You must vary the pitch and speed of speaking.

© 2012 Terry Mante
T:: +233.268.816.545
E:: terrymante@live.com
PEDNET
Accra, Ghana