Public Speaking

Efficiency and fluency of a speaker

Speaking effectively is defined as speaking in such a way that your message is clearly heard and,
if possible, acted upon. So, in order to do that, there are two main elements that we identified in
class last meeting, which can have a great influence on the impact of the message that a speaker
is trying to disseminate to the listener. These two main elements are: what you say, and how
you say it. What you say means your choice of words. The words you might use when chatting
to a friend are likely to be quite different from those used in a formal presentation or interview.
Similarly, the way that you speak will also vary in different situations. However, there are also
likely to be some common factors: for example, whether you naturally talk quietly or loudly, and
how you use body language. So, it is very important to know your audience or listener also,
because that will give you an idea on what type of message suits your listener and what type of
approach you can use to ensure your message is delivered successfully.

Another thing is that your appearance and body gestures also play an important part in relaying
your message, as a speaker, across to your listener(s). If you are nervous then you can be doing a
lot of unnecessary movements or gestures and that can distract the listener from hearing what
you are saying and cause him or her to lose interest in your message. So, a speaker should try to
be calm and confident whenever he or she is presenting a message to the listener. On the other
hand, a speaker’s speech or message delivery should be loud and clear. This is to ensure that the
message will be received successfully by the listener or encoder and he or she can interpret that
message well. Your voice can reveal as much about your personal history as your appearance.
The sound of a voice and the content of a speech can provide clues to an individual's emotional
state.

For instance, if self-esteem is low, it may be reflected by hesitancy in the voice. A shy person
may speak quietly, but someone who is confident in themselves will be more likely to have
command of their voice and clarity of speech. If the speaker speaks softly or mumbles his or her
words while speaking, then there can be a misinterpretation of the message on the part of the
listener and this is not good for you, as a speaker. Therefore, it is important for a speaker to get
used to the sound of his or her own voice, which can be done with a lot of practice, such as the
saying- “Good practice makes perfect,” because even you can perfect a bad practice so it is very
essential to learn the right ways or techniques of effective speaking and practice them as often as
you need to.