what skills and qualities should a speaker have?

Modern society has expanded the possibilities of human self-expression, but the ability to speak, especially in front of large audiences, the ability to captivate listeners, convince them and even make them believe what is said is a gift that does not have to be innate, it can be acquired through a variety of psychological trainings and special classes .

Oratory is the ability of a person to competently, accessiblely, and in a form understandable to the audience, convey his own position to listeners. The speaker must skillfully and harmoniously use certain techniques of presenting material, acting and psychological skills in his speech. It is fundamentally important that all these qualities can be learned. People who have mastered the art of eloquence become more interesting individuals: they have increased self-esteem and confidence in what they say and do. This affects their careers and personal relationships. Moreover, this skill is useful in all spheres of human life: business, politics, art, etc.

What skills does a good speaker need?

Spiritual psychologist Elena Fateeva is with you. Each person can, if desired, be a fairly active speaker, but not be effective in achieving his goals. What skills does a good speaker need to be not just active, but also effective?
After all, speech can be quite emotional, but not structured in terms of purpose, meaning, and does not lead to certain conclusions and specific proposals. Then people will remember the impression of the speech, but will not be motivated to change their actions after it.

In this article, I want to list the basic, most essential skills for any speaker who wants to be both interesting and effective in their speeches.

Read how public speaking affects your career and business here.

So, here is a list of necessary public speaking skills for effective speaking:

1. The ability to choose an interesting topic and a motivating title for it for a specific audience of listeners.

2. The ability to set performance goals and clearly achieve them.

3. The ability to compose according to an algorithm and deliver a short or long speech.

4. The ability to use an outline during a speech.

5. The ability to cope with anxiety and behave confidently during a performance.

6. Ability to retell a prepared speech.

7. The ability to win over an audience and hold their attention.

8. The ability to read the audience based on non-verbal signals.

9. The ability to use pauses during speech to enhance accents.

10. The ability to illustrate your speech with gestures and movements.

11. The ability to manage your emotions.

12. The ability to ask questions to the audience and answer questions from listeners.

13. Ability to speak impromptu.

14. The ability to analyze one’s own and others’ performances to improve professionalism.

Read here how to attract and retain the attention of your audience.

So, we looked at what skills a good speaker needs . Don't be alarmed that there seem to be a lot of them. The one who walks will master the road.

Most of these skills should be brought to the level of automaticity, that is, they should work in you unconsciously. The way you pick up a spoon or walk. But this will require training and practice...

And if you add little skills to your arsenal, 1-2 per month, then gradually you will become a wonderful, confident and professional speaker. That's what I wish for you.

Do you want to get rid of the fear of public speaking once and for all at a deep level through a systematic approach, simple methods without any fuss or hassles? Then

If you liked and found this article useful, please leave your comment below and share with your friends. Your opinion is important to the author of the site. Thank you in advance, Elena Fateeva.

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Speaker and audience

1. How many people there are, so many levels of education and upbringing, abilities to evaluate what is happening, characters, opinions and views. It follows that the speaker must overcome ignorance and delusion, stubbornness and indifference, active and passive resistance.
2. The speaker must appear as a person who can win the attention, trust and sympathy of listeners.
3. The speaker must overcome (at least for the duration of the speech) all negative habits.
4. A good speaker should awaken the imagination of his listeners.
5. That speaker will always be successful who can put himself in another's shoes and knows how to look at things through another's eyes.
6. The speaker should always be clear for what purpose he is speaking and what he is calling his listeners to.
7. The speaker must provide all the conditions that can promote harmony and an optimistic mood.
8. While criticizing and blaming, the speaker must still make the audience feel that, despite his severity, he is friendly and sympathetic towards them.
9. The speaker's confidence and calm are no less important than the words he speaks.
10. He who trusts himself is trusted by others.
11. A positive, creative person will always be successful as a speaker if he is attentive, stays on topic, maintains his presence of mind, and relates to his listeners with sympathy.

What qualities should a speaker have: tips for speaking in front of an audience

Public speaking is one of the most valuable skills, mastery of which is necessary to achieve success in many areas. Without it, it is impossible to achieve business advancement. It is very important for an entrepreneur to be able to clearly express thoughts and convince opponents that he is right. Some people are born with the talent of a speaker, but such people are very few. Most people work hard on their communication skills. The most famous speakers have reached unprecedented heights precisely thanks to constant training and persistent improvement of this art.

We bring to your attention some tips. By following them and practicing, you can develop your communication skills and learn how to speak successfully in front of large audiences.

What you need to know about the profession

Not everyone is given the ability to speak convincingly, beautifully, colorfully and emotionally. At the same time, everything should be clear to the audience. To do this, the speech must be logically sound with evidence provided. And this will be real art. Such people are called orators, since they possess and skillfully use the gift of eloquence when delivering speeches.

At the same time, speech can be delivered, and learning to speak is also not a big problem. The most important thing is to want and set a goal.

Where to begin?

How often have you noticed that you are unable to express your thoughts due to an insufficient vocabulary? The reason is not necessarily hidden in lack of education and a poor vocabulary, although these factors are critically important in the ability to convince interlocutors and win them over to your side. But most often the matter is the lack of basic conversational skills. A large amount of knowledge and reasonable thoughts are not enough if you do not know how to quickly select the right words and improvise depending on your opponent’s objections.

Fortunately, everything can be corrected with simple but regular exercise. Left alone, pay attention to any object in the interior - a table, a houseplant, a teapot, a pencil. Record your time and try to talk about this subject for at least 3 minutes. Describe it, tell us about its characteristics, try to prove to your imaginary interlocutor how important and useful this thing is, how it can be used. All this needs to be spoken out; it is very useful to practice in front of a mirror - this way you can monitor your facial expressions and gestures.

At first it will be funny and difficult, but gradually you will learn. When you start to notice that 3 minutes is not enough, increase the time - do 10, 15, 20 minutes. From things you can move on to more serious topics. Talk about your impressions of a book you read, a thought or idea you heard. Gradually, you will learn and be able to confidently express an opinion on any subject, without repeating yourself, without being embarrassed, and without bringing up new arguments.

With a cork in my teeth

Our expert Yulia Richter, a teacher of rhetoric and stage speech, actress and director, showed a very simple but very effective exercise for improving diction.

Hold a wine cork in your teeth and read any text, trying to pronounce the words as if there was no obstacle in your mouth. Work on this “simulator” for 3 minutes, but every day, and within a week your diction will noticeably improve. Clear, intelligible speech is important. When a listener hears only three sounds out of ten, he is forced to strain to “finish” the meaning, and quickly gets tired, losing all interest in the performance. Plus, there is a danger that the audience will not hear quite what was said (or not at all). By the way, it is useful to do this exercise an hour before any public speaking.

Leading the discussion

1. A discussion is a business exchange of opinions, during which each speaker should try to reason as objectively as possible.
2. When expressing opinions that do not coincide with yours, remain calm. According to the laws of difference, two people cannot have the same opinion. This gives the speaker confidence and the opportunity to evaluate each opinion expressed on its merits.
3. Make it your responsibility to express your beliefs vigorously and imaginatively, without disparaging the person who expresses an opposing opinion.
4. Any speech should have the goal of clarifying different points of view and reconciling those in dispute.
5. Speak only on the given topic and avoid any unnecessary detours.
6. Speak concisely, refrain from drawn-out introductions, and immediately begin speaking to the point. Precise statements add spice to the discussion.
7. Behave properly. The floor is not given to you so that you can express your dissatisfaction with this or that person, especially if he is absent.
8. Listen carefully to the speeches of others, reflect on them and start speaking only when you are sure that every word you say will be said to the point.

Get rid of the words of parasites

Words are parasites - the most insidious enemy of oratory. They appear in your speech unnoticed, at moments when you are excited, in a hurry to express your thoughts, or find it difficult to find the right words. But gradually and imperceptibly for you, they begin to sound more and more often and, as a result, literally in every sentence. They hurt the ear of the interlocutor, but are not noticeable to you. Getting rid of the words of parasites is difficult, but possible.

To begin with, make it a habit to record your speech from time to time in a relaxed and casual environment - any conversation with a close friend or relative will do. In the recording you will hear which words you need to get rid of. Think ahead about what you want to say, form whole sentences. It is clear that this should be done in private at home. But when communicating with people, you should watch your speech. Once you discover the words parasites, you will pay attention to them and try to avoid using them.

Don't worry that thinking about sentences will make your speech too slow. We'll talk about this in the next section.

Speech rate

Most inexperienced speakers talk too quickly. As a result, the interlocutor does not have time to follow your train of thought. Remember, you have to make the person or audience listen to you. By chattering, not pronouncing sounds and swallowing words, you will not be able to gain attention and will quickly tire your listeners. Every person is primarily interested in his own thoughts and beliefs. If you talk too quickly, the most you can achieve is imitation of attention. In fact, the interlocutor will patiently wait for the end of your monologue.

It is also worth considering the speed of perception of someone else's speech. You understand the meaning of what you want to tell others about. But they have to hear, perceive and think about the meaning of your words. This requires some time.

There is a common belief that slow speech is boring. But in fact, inexpressive monologues, devoid of emotions and meaning, drive the interlocutor into boredom. Pay attention to the performances of good lecturers and conversational artists. They make meaningful pauses, highlight important points with intonation, raise and lower sonority. Masters of public speaking who master these secrets are able to hold the attention of large audiences for several hours. If you listen carefully, you will notice that the rate of their speech is low. But there is no trace of boredom - everything is due to expressiveness and meaning.

Oratorical techniques

Oratory techniques are used to improve the perception of information. They work either by orienting the listener to figurative perception, or by stimulating his mental activity.

For example:

• visual comparisons and short illustrative examples are especially appropriate when conveying numerical material;
• repeating what has already been said in other words creates a new image;
• the allegory clearly illustrates the speaker’s ideas and thoughts;
• antithesis by contrast enhances their perception;
• hyperbole exaggerates those points that need to be paid attention to;
• rhetorical questions do not require an answer, but stir up interest;
• an insertion when a casual remark made draws attention to what was said;
• unexpected words and actions heighten the listener's curiosity.

Communicate with people

Training at home gives excellent results, but it is impossible to hone your speaking skills without communicating with other people. The easiest thing in this regard is for students - they have access to excellent practice of speaking in front of an audience of fellow students. What to do if you do not have such an opportunity? Look for any opportunities to network and hone your skills. Start with a small audience. Do you feel awkward and embarrassed to speak in public? For your first experiments, choose comfortable listeners - for some it is easier and calmer among close friends, for others, on the contrary, with strangers.

You need to overcome yourself and just start. Each time everything will happen much easier and more pleasant. Did you notice that you failed? Do not despair. Conduct error analysis. Perhaps you chose the wrong words or the interlocutor is simply not interested in the topic you proposed. The ability to listen to others is no less useful than the ability to speak beautifully. Ask questions. The person himself will tell you what topic is interesting to him. Your job is to keep the conversation going. Remember? You have already practiced at home and can communicate about everything.

Oratory in modern society

Mastering the art of oratory will help you achieve unprecedented success in the modern world. At the moment, many methods and books on public speaking have been developed. The book “101 tips for a speaker” and the Stanislavsky system for a speaker will help a beginning speaker in writing a speech and preparing for a speech. The author of the book “101 Tips for a Speaker,” Radislav Gandapas, is known for his training in public speaking. The book contains practical advice for aspiring authors on speaking in public.

The main thing is practice, only thanks to it you can train your skills and learn how to communicate correctly with the public.

In London, for example, there is still a Speakers' Corner. Speakers' Corner is located in Hyde Park, London, where anyone can speak publicly, analyze others' speeches, or practice skills.

The Corner was formed in 1872 during the London riots and workers' protest and became a symbol of freedom of speech. The Speakers' Corner was visited by Karl Marx, V.V. Lenin and other public figures who were in London; it has a rich political history. To this day, speeches do not end in London; tourists or locals listen to them. Previous articlePreviousNext articleNext

How to develop speaking skills

To master the secrets of oratory, you can enroll in courses and trainings on rhetoric, take lessons for beginners, choose online training, or study a self-instruction manual on eloquence. All these options are offered to our attention by the vast Internet.

If you like independent training in the development of public speaking, let's work on the technique of delivering a speech, prepare for a speech, learn how to interact with the audience and take on board some practical tips.

Speech technique

The sound of speech you want to listen to depends on the following components:

1. Breath. The pace should be measured, with the inhalation being shorter than the exhalation. Do not inhale “all the way” so that you have the opportunity to take a breath. It's the same with exhalation. Special exercises help improve speech. For example, developing the skill of breathing from the bottom of your lungs will make your voice stronger and your speech fluent.
2. Volume. By controlling his voice, a speaker influences the audience's perception of what he says. If your voice is naturally quiet, you can make it louder. To do this, read expressively out loud, count to ten as you exhale, gradually increasing the volume of your voice.
3. Diction. Tongue twisters will help you speak clearly, clearly pronouncing sounds, if you are not lazy and do not forget to load your articulatory apparatus with them.
4. Pace. We must try to express our thoughts at an average pace, without sputtering words or stretching them out. Since the temperament and internal state of a person at the time of the performance plays an important role here, it is important to calm down and tune in to a fruitful dialogue with the audience.
5. Intonation. With its help, your speech will be remembered by the listener because it will be alive. Practice reading works of art aloud with expression, just like in school.

Preparing for the performance

At this stage, the text of the speech is prepared. We already know what a properly composed public speech should be. In order not to read from what is written, you should first of all memorize the text, and draw up a plan and main points for the meeting with the audience.

To be ready for improvisation, you must have developed logical and imaginative thinking, have a rich vocabulary and a broad outlook. Read different literature, keep abreast of social events.

To maintain the proper mood among the audience, stock up on a number of interesting facts, light jokes, and entertaining short stories.

To avoid being caught off guard by the technical side of your presentation, be aware of organizational issues: hall, audio equipment, video materials.

Humor is a speaker's best friend

The smartest lectures and the most complex highly specialized topics should be presented in living language. Try to give information in parts, because even very attentive and interested listeners get tired after a certain time. Your speech should be interspersed from time to time with interesting quotes, appropriate jokes, and sayings.

It is especially important to defuse the situation in a timely manner during tense moments. Have you noticed that the audience reacts to your words with hostility, distrust, most of the listeners do not agree with your statements? Step away from your pre-planned plan and improvise. If the conditions and situation allow, ask questions. Perhaps you are really wrong or have poorly studied the subject of the conversation. If so, admit your mistake or ask your opponent to justify his claims.

What to joke about during speeches or reports? The fact is that among strangers you should avoid humor on topics that may offend the religious feelings, national pride of the interlocutor, or demonstrate your disrespect for his beliefs. That's why the world's best speakers, when speaking in front of large audiences, tend to make jokes about themselves. This is a win-win option that can instantly endear you to any person.

Speaker's personality

1. Before speaking, try to bring yourself into a state of readiness, which is characterized by inner calm and consistency between perception and thinking.
2. Take every opportunity to improve your speaking skills and especially your ability to quickly and accurately assess what is happening. You need a vivid imagination, reliable memory, freedom and independence of thinking, will and energy.
3. Eloquence is a way of expressing your feelings and thoughts. You must attract people and please them.
4. Awareness of one's own importance gives the speaker greater confidence.
5. The speaker's posture should be straight and relaxed. You should not lean your elbows or tap your fingers, as you are the center of attention for the listeners.
6. Hand movements should be soft and free, but quite expressive and energetic. Avoid nervous anxiety and pomposity.
7. When speaking, your gaze should be directed at the audience and consistent with what you are saying. The look should reflect the inner thought process, conviction and inspiration.
8. The demeanor and behavior of the speaker must be consistent with the essence of the speech. The harmony of words and gestures must flow from the harmony of thoughts.
9. The speaker must constantly control his words, movements and prevent any negligence.

Who is a speaker

An orator is a person who has oratory abilities, which consist of the ability to speak beautifully and convincingly, to master the tools of acting, and to have psychological knowledge.

The talent of eloquence can be innate. It is even believed that each of us has it, only to varying degrees. This means that anyone can develop this gift, taking into account individual characteristics and working on themselves.

With the development of oratorical skills comes the skill of public speaking, which has its own properties:

But you can structure your speech competently if you use the rules of oratory:

And then she will have the qualities necessary for oratory:

The image of a talented speaker is charismatic and closely associated with such characteristics and traits as self-confidence, inspiration, erudition, the ability to improvise, vividness of thought, strong voice, and expressive gestures.

We’ll talk later about how to learn public speaking on your own.

Requirements for the quality of speaker's speech

In order for public speaking to be as effective as possible, you should have the following principles:

• Know who his target listener is;
• When speaking to a mass audience, present people only with useful information that will bring them maximum benefit and moral satisfaction from attending a lecture or seminar;
• Have the ability to convey information to the listener, as well as induce him to take certain actions;
• Be able to agitate the audience;
• Be able to put listeners into a certain psychological state;
• Be an example to the listener not only in words, but also be an authoritative representative of your own views.

Lexicon

Training in front of a mirror, practicing in public only works if your speech is rich and interesting. Books will help you achieve this - there is no alternative. Read various literature. Scientific will make you smarter, professional will help you reach heights in your profession. Books about business will teach you how to make money and understand processes in the economy.

Under no circumstances should one refuse fiction. Choose the best authors in your favorite genres - from them you will learn to present thoughts and dry facts in an exciting way. Do you come across unfamiliar words? Be sure to find out their meaning and write it down for better memorization. Start your own dictionary and regularly update it with interesting expressions, catchphrases and quotes from famous people.

Read slowly. Analyze each phrase. How is it built, what emotional load does it carry? Perhaps you can use a certain turn of phrase in your speeches? Say your favorite sayings out loud and listen to how they sound.

It is very important to read smart books that you find difficult to understand. This is the only way you can develop your intelligence. If you disagree with the author, don't stop reading. Compose theses and think through your arguments. In direct communication with a live audience, you have to argue and prove that you are right very often. You must be prepared to give reasonable arguments and defend your opinions.

Get ready for performances

Even the most experienced speakers do not leave anything to chance and diligently prepare for any speech in front of an audience. Think in advance about what you want to tell people and write down your talking points.

If you know how long you'll be speaking, write your speech and read it out loud. Record your performance rehearsal and listen to how your voice sounds from the outside. Analyze intonation and pauses. It’s great if you can read what you wrote to a loved one and ask his opinion. Perhaps something in the presentation looks unconvincing or unclear. Take into account all comments and correct errors.

The art of public speaking is hard daily work. But the response from the audience, the results that you can achieve, will instill in you great enthusiasm and a burning desire to continue working on self-improvement. There are very few people who are able to convince and infect others with their ideas. Anyone who manages to develop the talent of a speaker is able to achieve unprecedented heights in any field. But remember, listening to others is equally important. Communication is the path to mutual understanding and finding the best solution in any situation.

Pros and cons of the profession

In this section of the article I would like to analyze the profession to identify the pros and cons of the activities that accompany speakers in their work activities.

Positive factors:

• Self-expression and the opportunity to feel like a leader;
• The ability to find your followers;
• No dependence on the office;
• Public speaking skills increase personal self-esteem;
• Good wages or lucrative business contracts.

Negative sides:

• Oratory takes a lot of energy;
• You need to find your listener;
• The speaker does not have the right to make mistakes and weakness, since you can lose your audience very quickly.

How to learn to speak beautifully

Now you will learn how to learn to speak beautifully and competently. These techniques and laws of rhetoric will help you overcome speech barriers. This is especially important in public speaking for beginners. The rules seem to be banal, but few people follow them.

Speak freely

Reading a speech guarantees that you will not be listened to. So speak freely and don't sight read.

The problem is that people are not confident and do not know how to behave in front of the public. In this case, they take a script and write the entire speech word for word. Then everything is read.

But such a few speeches cannot convince anyone!

Therefore, for professionals, I recommend not to take any script with you at all. Just speak freely. It doesn't matter if you forget a couple of points from your speech. The public will never remember 100% of what you said anyway.

If you have 10 points, you speak freely, don’t read from the sheet and forget three points, then it’s not scary. The public will still remember a maximum of three points from what you said.

And for those who feel insecure in front of the public and cannot remember everything, I advise you to make a cheat sheet

Take a small piece of paper and write down key words or concepts. Place this sheet in front of you on the table or hide it in your pocket. If there is not enough content, then take out the sheet and quickly look through it.

But the most important thing is not to use a script. Because it is with its help that you will put your audience to sleep. Remember this one of the important lessons of public speaking.

Speak as briefly as possible

In rhetoric, speak as briefly as possible. After all, the longer a speaker speaks, the less interesting his speech seems.

You can test this rule on yourself. If you ask yourself how interested you are in listening to a person for 90 minutes. You say it's long. And even 45 minutes will seem relatively long.

Quite a good and popular format for speeches of 18 - 20 minutes

. People are happy with this. On the one hand, it takes a relatively long time to develop an idea. But on the other hand, this is not an annoying school lesson of 45 minutes.

Therefore, try to make your presentation no more than 20 minutes.

Oratory with emotion

Oratory skills must include emotions. Many people want to appear completely serious and significant in front of the public. They forget that speaking with emotions is very important. After all, emotions encourage people to continue listening and remember what the speaker said.

So when you give a presentation in front of an audience, don't turn into a robot. Don't talk monotonously and just look at your script. Don't speak completely without emotion.

Instead, you need to show your attitude to the topic.

If we are happy, then we need to say it with a smile. Or if we are sad, then we need to speak with a sad face. And if you are angry and dissatisfied, then show that you are angry and you don’t like something.

This is how the public will remember you!

Structure of a speaker's speech

Why should the structure of a speaker's speech be followed? Firstly, it is very good at helping the target audience understand what we say. If there are sections in the speech, then people will know what you are talking about and what you will talk about.

If there is no structure, then the audience gets lost in your speech. She generally doesn’t know where you are now, what you are arguing for or against.

But structure is also important for yourself. If you have a clear structure of rhetoric in your head, then you don't need a script. After all, you know exactly in what order you will speak and give arguments.

But it is not always necessary to structure your speech in a classic style. Sometimes you can start with the most important thing ( the main part

For example, to structure speech historically ( in the form of chronology

). That is, what happened before, what is now and what will happen next.

Or, for example, there is a pro-contra structure. In it, you first present arguments for

", then " against

" At the end, you weigh them and say what was most important for you.

However, whatever you choose for your speech, it is important to have a structure. Prepare it at home and then stick to the plan. This is also an important rule for a speaker.

Rhetorical figures

Every brilliant speaker will do more than just work on their arguments and the content of their speech. He will also develop the style. The last one is rhetorical figures. That is, the way we formulate our ideas. What comparisons, metaphors, parallels we give, and so on.

At one time, rhetoric in the ancient world focused almost exclusively on rhetorical figures. Here I will show the three main ones.

The first thing will be repetition

. If there is a main argument that we repeat at the first, twelfth and eighteenth minutes, then it is more likely that the audience will remember exactly what is needed.

Repetition is a very simple feature of rhetoric. All you have to do is simply repeat your main point. And like a good speaker, you will ask yourself this question.

Where will I want to repeat and at what specific point in the presentation should I do it?

- This is the second rhetorical figure. Often, when we are nervous in front of an audience, we think about how to finish quickly. And we tend to talk quickly and generally not pause.

The problem is that it is difficult to listen to a speaker who speaks without pauses. After all, he chatters and drives through his speech like a tractor.

However, pausing gives the audience a chance to think about what you have told them. A good speaker will always think about the key place to pause. It should last about 2 - 3 seconds.

By the way, with a pause you, as a speaker, seem most self-confident. After all, you are not afraid to pause while waiting for someone to ask you something.

is the third rhetorical figure that visualizes an idea. For example, saying that he fought like a lion sounds more impressive. It's better than just saying he struggled really hard.

Therefore, you need to find a metaphor ( picture

) for your main idea. This is a great idea for any speaker.

Think about where you need to visualize the main idea. What and what kind of picture needs to be drawn to the public so that it is imprinted in their memory.

Speaker's voice

It is the speaker's voice that determines the mood. By it we perceive a person and can imagine how he feels.

Let's say there is information that is transported in an inappropriate voice. In this case, we trust the mood of the voice more than the content of what is said.

For example, we talk to our parents on the phone and say that everything is fine with us. However, the intonation goes down. In this case, the parents ask us again if everything is okay. They don't believe us and ask what's wrong. Why such an indifferent and bad mood?

Therefore, it is by intonation that we evaluate how much we can trust what was said.

Accent

When we listen to people, we can clearly feel the emotions with which the speaker speaks. What is his mood and what does he want from us?

For example, if you talk to someone on the phone, you can quickly sense the person's mood and intention. That is, we can analyze other people's voices very well. But we have little control over our voice.

Let's start with the emphasis.

In every sentence we subconsciously place a specific emphasis. With its help we completely change the meaning of the sentence.

If we speak monotonously without emphasis ( like a robot

), then after 15 minutes the listener simply becomes uninteresting. And if we emphasize the wrong word, then we say something we didn’t mean to say at all.

For example, let's take a simple sentence.

The interesting thing is that if you put emphasis on another particle of the sentence, the meaning will completely change. You can put emphasis on the first letter " i

I don't want this now

This means that I don't want it, but maybe other people do. But that's exactly what I don't want. You can put emphasis on “ this”

" Then it means that I don’t agree with this proposal and that’s exactly what I don’t want.

If you put emphasis on the word " now

“, then in principle I might and would like to. However, right now I don’t want that.

And if you put emphasis on “ I don’t want”

", then I really don't want to. It's not that I can't or that it doesn't suit me. Namely, I have no desire to do this.

What does this all mean now? Am I using the wrong accent? Now I have to think with every word? Or, with each sentence, ask yourself which word is better to put emphasis on?

There is no need to pay close attention to every sentence. Just think about where it’s best to put emphasis on the key points.

What is the most important thing in my speech and what do I want the audience to remember? And it is in this sentence that I would ask myself which word I would put emphasis on.

Melody

It is worth mentioning the melody of the voice. There are people who speak monotonously and without emotion. Mostly these are men.

Everything comes in one or two tones. There is practically no mobility in the voice. As a rule, after 15 minutes the whole room falls asleep.

Women often speak too emotionally. They can move from the highest tone to the lowest. This number of notes makes it very difficult to listen to.

Therefore, you need to find a balance between monotonous ( 3 - 4 notes

) and too melodic voice movement.

And if there is a problem with self-confidence, watch the direction of intonation. If you are making a statement, use a downward intonation at the end of the sentence. This sounds more confident. And if you want to pose a question, then at the end you can go up intonation.