10 Essential Steps to Communicate Effectively As a Speaker

Being able to communicate effectively through words has been a much-coveted secret for centuries. Take the blarney stone in Ireland, for example. The blarney stone is part of the Blarney castle in Ireland and it is tradition that those who kiss this stone are given the gift of the gab. If you want to have the gift of the gab but kissing the blarney stone is out of the question, maybe you could benefit from the 10 basics of communication and public speaking.

1. Education
In order to be an effective speaker, you need to know what you are talking about and be able to practice what you have learned in your speaking. This does not mean that in order to be an effective communicator we need to be a walking encyclopedia. It just means that we must be willing to learn and share what we know with others.

2. Listening
Have you heard of the expression that we were given one mouth but two ears, so we should listen twice as much as we speak? In order to speak well, we must be able to listen to what others have to say. If you learn to listen to the sound of your own voice while speaking, you will also learn to be confident in what you are saying and say it with conviction and meaning.

3. Humility
Humility is an attribute that should be learned and practiced to become effective at communicating and speaking. We make mistakes often, such as slurring our words, stuttering or even mispronouncing our words. Instead of getting yourself worked up over this, try asking the group if you are pronouncing a word right or make light of the situation and turn it into something humorous.

4. Make Eye Contact
By making eye contact, you can keep your audience interested and bring further conviction and meaning to your words. Just keep in mind that, when you are speaking to a large group of people, you should try not to let your mind wander and keep yourself focused.

5. Add Humor
Unless your main aim is to bore to sleep every one in the room, you need to add some humor and liveliness to your speaking. Not only will a lively humorous speech hold your audiences attention, it will also help them to perceive you as an approachable person.

6. Learn To Interact
If you learn to interact with people, you can even further enhance your speaking. Find out about the people that you are going to be speaking with, learn what makes them tick and what their interests are. This is a great source for ideas.

7. Look For A Mirror
We mentioned about listening to the sound of your own voice earlier and how this method can help you with your speaking and conviction. Add to this technique by watching yourself speaking in the mirror. You will be surprised at how effective this method is for correcting the stress areas of your speech.

8. Say It With A Smile
How can you expect others to enjoy your speech, if you look like you are speaking at a funeral? Speak and smile as you are talking. This will convince your audience that you mean what you say and you enjoy speaking to your audience.

9. Pick A Role Model
Everyone has had a role model some time in his or her life. A role model is a person that you like to watch and learn from, someone that you admire. Find a great public speaker whom you admire, watch how they speak and use emphasis. Then try to implement their tricks into your speaking.

10. Be Prepared
Preparation is important to your speaking. Everyone does things to their own liking. Try a few different things until you find the right way for you. Some people scribble a few notes at the last minute, others use small index or palm cards to keep them on track, while others resort to writing prompts on their hands.

These 10 steps are set out to help you with one goal and this is to empower yourself with the basic steps to becoming a great speaker - without needing the blarney stone!

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