6 Чарівних букв

В українській мові є чарівне слово з шести букв – дякую! Не соромся його казати своєму співрозмовникові. Це не лише підбадьорюватиме його, але й ти стаєш сам від цього кращим. Тому не думай «хлопці зробили гарну роботу» чи «як добре, що у мене є така подруга» - просто скажи це! І чому б не подякувати комусь прямо зараз?

Пам’ятай, що для ефективного спілкування тобі необхідні три найголовніші речі: правильні запитання, уважне слухання та знання мови тіла. Задавай запитання, відповіді на які дадуть тобі ту інформацію, яку ти хочеш. Слухай уважно, намагайся якомого чіткіше зрозуміти співрозмовника та перепитуй. Слідкуй за своїми жестами, мімікою, емоціями, адже вони можуть тобі допомогти або ж завадити передати думку.

Це головні поради та настанови для ефективного спілкування, проте це не межа. Тому пізнавай більше та ставай справжнім «майстром слова».

     

Many people underestimate the importance of public speaking and the benefits of it. They still haven't realized that success in public speaking can offer a world of opportunities for them. Formally or in casual situations, all of us need to speak in public somehow. It is no secret, one of the deciding criteria of selecting a potential employee depends very much on his or her communication skills.

You will find the importance of public speaking skill in your private life too. When you need to talk to your child's teacher or at a community meeting, you employ the same public speaking techniques. You need to present yourself well and convey your ideas or complaint or any message clearly and professionally to be heard.

Public speaking improves your personal development. Whenever you have delivered an effective presentation and your audience responded positively, it will build your confidence and self-worth.

The importance of public speaking is undeniable. Master your presentation skills today and enjoy the benefits of public speaking.

A

Quotations on communication

Give your comments on the quotations below.

• There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first to get into your subject,

then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.

• There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liers.

• Much speech is one thing, well timed speech is another.

• Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.

• There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking.

• Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.

• The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.

• All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.

• There are always three speeches for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you give.

• As long as there are human right to be defended; as long as there are great interests to be guarded; as long as the welfare of nations is a matter for discussion, so long will public speaking have its place.

B

Read the following statements about public speaking; choose the most impressive ones and comment on them in small groups of 3-4 students.

Did you know?

• Studies have shown that professionals consider communication skills more important than technical skills, and that effective speaking before a group is considered to be the main indicator of likely career advancement.

• A study done at the University of Minnesota revealed that if you stand up and give a presentation using visual aids, your audience is 43% more likely to be persuaded and is willing to pay 26% more for the same product or service.

• Words alone account for 7% of the impact in face-to-face communication, voice quality 38%, and visual factors 55%.

• It has been estimated that an audience will forget more than 75% of what they hear within 24 hours.

• Thomas Jefferson suggested that the most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. Concise language reflects the principle of KISS – ‘Keep It Short and Simple’.

• Most people speak at a speed of 120-200 words per minute. But the mind can absorb information at 600 words per minute.

• Of all the information the mind stores, 75% is received visually, 13% through hearing, and 12% through smell, taste and touch.

• Visual aids improve learning by 200%, retention by 38%, and understanding complex subjects by 25% to 40%.

• The attention span of the average audience member is 12 seconds.

• Research shows that people generally prefer low voices to high-pitched ones. In a recent study at Wake University, North Carolina, Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts were found to have the lowest and sexiest voices.

• The human brain processes images 400,000 times faster than text and a presenter who uses visuals in their talk will improve audience recall on average by 400%. Use of colour makes visuals 85% more memorable.

• The longest speech in the House of Commons was six hours long, a record set in 1828.

• The shortest Presidential inaugural speech was given by George Washington in 1789. It was 135 words long.

• William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural speech with 8,445 words. He died the next month of pneumonia from being exposed to the cold and wet during his speech.

C

Test Your Public Speaking IQ

To test your public speaking IQ, define True / False statements.

When speaking before a group:	True	False
Try to memorize your speech. Try to fight your nerves. Speaking fast is good. If you take a deep breath, you could faints. Always know your audience. People know when you are nervous. Taking a drink beforehand will calm you.

Answers

1. False. It’s not necessary to memorize a presentation, especially if you tend to be nervous and forgetful. Many excellent speakers use a script or notes. The trick is to learn how to use them effectively!

2. False. Never fight your nerves. Instead, you can learn techniques that will help you harness your nervousness and energize your presentations.

3. False. People need time to hear and absorb what you are saying. Speaking too fast doesn’t give your audience time to digest your presentation.

4. False. When you hold your breath and your body doesn’t get enough oxygen, you can feel faint and lightheaded. Breathing deeply helps calm your nerves and also improves vocal quality.

5. True. It’s always important to know who your audience will be so that you can alter your content and delivery to their level of knowledge. You wouldn’t want to deliver a paper full of technical terms.

6. False. People don’t necessarily know when you’re nervous. You could feel your heart pounding and your knees shaking but if you look and sound confident, your audience may never know.

7. False. You may fool yourself into thinking you’re calm, but alcohol dehydrates and can slow you rather than soothe you.

How did you score?

6-7 correct: You’re a public speaking pro! 4-5 correct: There’s room for improvement. 1-3 correct: You may want to sharpen your public speaking skills.

D

Read the facts about “fear of public speaking” and discuss them in small groups of 3-4 students

1. Some surveys and research results show that most people rather die instead of talking in front of a live audience. The Times survey found that 41% of the 3000 respondents listed "fear of public speaking" as their number one fear, while 19% listed "death."

2. Fear of public speaking has negative effects on careers and influences success in life negatively when you do nothing about it.

3. Three out of every four individuals suffer from speech anxiety: that's 75 percent.

4. Up to 5 percent of the world population, yes, hundreds of millions aged between 18 and 54, experience this kind of social phobia in any given year.

5. Women and men are equally affected. Although there is fear of public speaking statistics that presents figures in which more women suffer from speech anxiety related problems.

6. More men than women seek treatment to cure fear of public speaking. Some public speakers have turned to beta-blockers or hypnosis therapy to find relief.

7. Social phobias often start with shyness in childhood or early adolescence, and progress during adolescence, according to scientific studies of fear of public speaking statistics.

NOTE:

Public speaking fear is called by many terms, like speech anxiety, stage fright, fear of speaking, speech phobia or performance anxiety. It's a social phobia that is related to self-presentation in front of an audience. Scientists call it sometimes social anxiety disorder. Their medic term is glossophobia, it comes from the Greek words glossa and phobos. Glossa means tongue and phobos stands for fear or dread.

1. Listen to five experienced presenters talking about what still makes them nervous every time they give a presentation. Underline the speakers whose worries you share.

Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Speaker 3
Speaker 4
Speaker 5

2. Complete the following expressions from the extracts in 1 using a single verb.

a) your mind b) your mouth c) your mike d) the audience e) everything

blank dry funny quiet wrong

3. Complete the expressions from the extract in 1.

up (3) down (2) out about over of to

a) you dry ……….completely

b) your equipment breaks ……….

c) you run ………. ……….time

d) you run ……….schedule

e) you pace ……….and……….

f) you wave your arms……….

g) your heart speeds……….

h) your legs turn ……….jelly

Answer the questions

1. Do you remember the last time you made a speech in front of the audience?

2. How did you feel?

3. Did you fail or succeed in making this speech? Why do you think so?

4. Do you know anyone who is very good at public speaking?

5. What helps that person to be successful in speaking?

6. Can anyone learn to be a good public speaker?

Are you a good public speaker? If you want to know what kind of speaker you are, work through this quiz and note down your responses to the questions. At the end you’ll have the chance to convert your answers into points to see how well you scored.

1. What do you do with your hands while speaking in public?

a. Keep them perfectly still

b. Gadget

c. Gesture enthusiastically

d. Gesture naturally

2. How do you feel about smiling?

a. I only smile when I’m happy

b. I only smile when I’m relaxed

c. I can force a smile when I’m nervous and that helps me to relax

d. I am confident and relaxed in front of an audience and smiling comes

naturally

3. How do you remember what to say in a presentation?

a. Prompt cards with the main points for each topic

b. Everything is scripted word for word

c. Presentation slides have all the relevant information on them

d. Just try to memorize it all

4. Can you control your nerves?

a. I go to pieces in front of an audience

b. I am relaxed as long as I have prepared carefully

c. I thrive on the excitement of flying

d. I get stage fright, but I’m okay once I get into it

5. What is your presentation style?

a. I read from my script and rarely make eye contact with the audience

b. I talk naturally about my subject and interact with the audience where

appropriate

c. I deliver the presentation as I have practiced it, but can’t handle interruptions

from the audience

d. The material speaks for itself

6. How do you look when you are presenting to an audience?

a. I tend to shake or sweat

b. I look nervous and my voice doesn’t sound natural

c. Even if I’m a bit worried, I don’t tend to let this show

d. I look nervous at first, but become more confident once I’ve got going

7. How do you keep your audience attention?

a. I interact with the audience and vary this pace of my presentation

b. My material is interesting enough to keep people’s attention regardless of

how I present it

c. I stop talking once I think people are getting bored

d. I use sound effects and lots of different fonts and colours in my presentation

material

8. How do you use humour in your presentation?

a. There is a joke on every slide

b. There is no humour at all. I want people to take me seriously

c. I use humour periodically to keep my audience relaxed and involved

d. I always start with a joke to get people’s attention

Answers:

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8

A 1 A 0 A 2 A 0 A 0 A 0 A 2 A 0

B 0 B 0 B 0 B 2 B 2 B 0 B 0 B 0

C 0 C 1 C 0 C 1 C 1 C 2 C 0 C 2

D 2 D 2 D 0 D 1 D 0 D 1 D 0 D 1

Rating:

0-7

You are not a natural public speaker, but everyone can learn to be more confident at it with practice.

8-11

You are a capable public speaker, but there is still room to improve your technique.

12-16

Congratulations! You are a great public speaker.

Pre-reading exercise Look through the statements below and arrange them in the correct logical order. Choose the appropriate outfit. Plan and prepare thoroughly. Be sure all necessary equipment is set up and in good working order. Know your audience Know the length of your speech. Practice it.

Read the text and check your answers.

Speaking in Public

Hard work and good ideas are essential to success, but your ability to express those ideas and get others to join you is just as important. Much of this verbal expression will be one-on- one or in small groups but sometimes you will be involved in more formal and public speaking in front of larger numbers.

If this thought makes you nervous you are not alone. Stage fright, speech anxiety, or talking terror is common to everyone. Surveys show that fear of speaking in front of groups is one of the greatest fears people have. Other surveys find people actually claiming that the thought of giving a speech is more frightening than falling off a cliff, financial difficulties, snakes, and even death!

The truth about public speaking, however, does not have to be stressful. If you correctly understand the hidden causes of public speaking stress, and if you keep just a few principles in mind, speaking in public will soon become an invigorating and satisfying experience for you.

WHY AND WHO

“Never overestimate an audience’s knowledge, never underestimate their intelligence.”

K. Chesterton

Before you begin to think about delivering a speech, you must determine why you are giving the speech.  Speeches serve a variety of purposes, but most of the times people assemble for a speech because they expect to hear or learn something they did not already know and therefore a speaker must satisfy these expectations.

Know your audience! Before you begin to prepare your material to present, you need to know what group of people will most likely comprise your target audience. It is important to speak at the level of understanding of that particular audience so as to ensure clarity and interest. One way to be certain to put an audience to sleep is to talk over their heads or far below their level of knowledge.

PREPARING

“In all things success depends in previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.”

Confucius

Plan and prepare thoroughly in advance. Successful speaking is determined by how well you have thought through what you are going to say before you stand up to say it.

You should know the subject you are going to be speaking on to the level of detail that will prepare you to answer questions from the group. Research, read, search the Internet, talk to experts, or whatever is required to gather the information so that you know your topic well. Remember, you will need to be able to offer specific facts or anecdotes if you are to create a lasting impression with your speech, so if appropriate, make sure to take at least mental notes of real-life examples to pepper throughout your speech.

Know the length of your speech by practicing it. Never say to an audience, “I’m running out of time, so I must hurry along.” Audiences will appreciate your respect of their time and will think more highly of you as a speaker because of that.

PERFORMING

“The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.”

Unknown

Start with a Bang!

People tend to learn better the first things they hear/see, so the first impressions or pieces of information that the audience will receive from you are really important. Therefore, remember to include all of the key point at the beginning of the session.

Grabs their attention and connects you emotionally to the audience:

• A provocative or dramatic statement

• A humorous anecdote (not a joke – it’s sure to offend someone in the audience!)

• Audience participation (a question, a survey of views, a reference to participants, etc.)

• An audio-visual « gimmick » (slide, video, tape, etc.)

• An object (a «prop», a product, a model, etc)

• An action (a demonstration, an unexpected entry, a song, a quotation, other «actors», etc)

• A reference to a current event

• A story which you have lived, giving only relevant details relive it as you speak