Tune up your public speaking skills

 If you should scan the jobs advertised in the newspapers and on the Internet, one skill requirement rarely omitted is for candidate to have good or excellent verbal and written communication skills. This is not surprising since many studies - for example, by A.B. North and W.B. Worth in 1998 - indicate that employers place a premium on communication skills for both employing and retaining individuals.

Betsy Stevens, in her article titled 'What communication skills do employers want? Silicon Valley Recruiters Respond', published in the Journal of Employment Counselling in March 2005, presented the results of a survey conducted among 104 Silicon Valley employers regarding the specific communi-cation skills employers favoured and their satisfaction with the communication skills of their new employees.

COMMUNICATION KEY

Her findings showed, inter alia, that employers were less than satisfied with the overall communication skills of their new employees, and that, most of all, they wanted new recruits with better oral presentation skills, particularly public-speaking skills.

Public speaking may be defined as the art of delivering structured speeches to an interested audience in order to inform, persuade or entertain them.

Although concise, this definition gives the impression that public speaking needs a large audience and a special occasion.

Some writers see public speaking a bit differently and present a simpler definition, that of defining public speaking as the act of making our thoughts, ideas and opinions public.

This suggests that we are in the realm of public speaking every time we open our mouths to speak in the earshot or presence of one or more persons. Hence, we are making public speeches when talking in a job interview, in a performance appraisal interview, in meetings, on the telephone, at social functions, when instructing others, reading aloud ... the list is almost endless.

In the world of work, having good public speaking skills will enable you to fluently and impressively express your thoughts, opinions and ideas in an organised way, and speak with sincerity and conviction so you can command attention, persuade others, and be considered knowledgeable and competent.

Improving this skill will move you from the background into the forefront and boost your career advancement prospects. Here are a few guidelines to get you started.

1. Do the groundwork. Preparation is the key to a good speech delivery. Research your audience and the occasion to select and develop a topic that is appropriate and relevant. Know your speaking strengths and weaknesses, practise your speech delivery, and take steps to minimise any presentation mishaps.

2. Be clear as to the reason or specific purpose of your speech. Why are you giving the speech? What do you want your audience to think, feel, and do after hearing you?

3. Do not try to say too much.

Develop a concise thesis statement and expound it with no more than five main points. The thesis statement is the central idea of your speech, representing the key thing you would want your audience to recall at the end of your speech. Support your main points with examples, statistics, testimonials, and other research-generated, factual material.

EYE CONTACT

4. Look at, and make regular eye contact with, audience members. This engages them and draws them into the centre of the conversation you are having with them. Establish eye contact at the very start of your speech.

5. Build attention-grabbing dialogue and actions into the body of your speech. Research suggests that the average adult's "undivided attention span" is just 15 to 30 seconds. Hence, maintaining your audience's attention is really about re-gaining their interests in your speech at regular intervals throughout your delivery with words, phrases and actions that jar them back to attention.

6. Read your audience's body language and respond accordingly. Watch the gestures, facial expressions, and movements of your audience's eyes and heads, as these will tell you if they are listening and understanding you. Adjust your speech delivery based on these cues.

7. Have a dynamic opening and a dynamic close. Memorise your introduction and conclusion so you can deliver them with passion and power. Your introduction, which may incorporate a story, a quotation, or a hypothetical question, should establish your credibility as speaker and make your audience want to listen to you. Your conclusion is your last word and you must make it memorable. Most conclusions either summarise what was said or restate the central idea of the speech. Try not to say 'thank you' at the end as this weakens the impact of your closing.

8. Fine-tune your language skills. Nothing spoils your speech more than bad grammar, bad punctuation, and poor articulation.

9. Warm up your voice and find the right tone. Do voice exercises to wake up the voice so you don't sound hoarse. Make your voice lively and interesting by speaking with a slightly raised, medium-pitched, modulating voice rather than with a low-pitched monotone.

10. Dress the part. For corporate appeal, wear non-revealing garments and sober jewellery. In general, avoid having an appearance that will detract from your speech.

Patricia Grant-Kitson is a human resource management and training consultant.