Oral Communication Skills
We all use oral communication skills, but there are those of us that have to really have good speaking skills because of our careers. Some of us use our oral communication skills to speak to large groups of people and to make presentations. Here are some tips for good oral communication skills.
Oral Communication skills that involve presentations require that you sufficiently know the topic you are going to speak about. Your material should be conveyed tightly; you should make your information to the point and very interesting. Even if the subject is boring you should try and be enthusiastic. Remember the listeners are also taking in visuals. If you look bored they will be bored also.
How you say something is just as important as what you say in oral communication skills. Your voice, appearance and body language must all convey your topic in order to have effective oral communication skills. You cannot give out conflicting messages non-verbally. This will confuse the listener and they will interpret the information they receive from you incorrectly.
Using good oral communication skills include speaking clearly and in a language that is appropriate for the audience you are addressing. Speak loud enough for everyone in the room to hear you based on the size and acoustics of the room. Try not to shout or whisper. Let the flow of your conversation be natural, don’t rush or talk extremely slowly. Pauses at important points can be helpful; but don’t make them too long, because it could become awkward. Unless you are a good joke teller avoid telling jokes because they can have a bad effect if the listeners do not receive them correctly.
Try and have good posture because it conveys confidence in your oral communication skills. Slouching makes you look like you aren’t on the ball and you loose credibility with the listeners. You can use gestures to emphasize certain points but try not to flail your hands. It becomes distracting and detracts from what you are trying to say. Avoid moving too much because it can unnerve the people listening to you. Try and stay in one central location through out your speech.
With good oral communication skills one learns how to use visual aids to illustrate ones topic. Visual aids can make the presentation much more interesting to the audience. Make sure the visuals are relevant to what you are speaking about. The visual aids have to be large enough for all in the room to see clearly. If they are not large enough for everyone to see do not use them. Make your visuals simple and easy enough for everyone in the room to understand. If you are using equipment, make sure that it is set up to run before you start.
Signs that a person is having tension with their oral communication skills are obvious also. You may feel your heart pounding as you start to speak, you may have shaky hands, a trembling voice, nervous knees or a dry crackly voice. Believe me the listener picks these things up. Some ways to alleviate these types of anxiety is to practice in front of family and friends before you actually give your presentation. They can critique you ahead of time so you can work on the weak spots. Being prepared also helps. Don’t think of your speech as a performance, think of it as a conversation. Visualize yourself doing well.
If you start out fine and then after the first few words feel the nerves coming on you can say to your self no one knows you are nervous but you. Never admit you are nervous or apologize for being so. You need to recognize that you are not the only one who is nervous to speak in front of people. I bet if you took a survey everyone you are speaking to would get nervous as well if they were in your shoes. The main thing is that what you have to say is important and people are present to hear what you have to say.
