10 ways to improve your speaking skills

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Communication skills are one of the most important skills to possess. We have selected a few tips to help you learn this challenging but highly rewarding skill.

Communication is what drives our world. It is also one of the most important skills to master. Whether you want to be more relaxed with other people or want to better communicate your ideas at work, here are some tips to help you achieve that.

Watch your body language

Tell your interlocutor that you are glad to see him and cross your arms over your chest? Or do you say that you are listening to him attentively, and you bury yourself on the phone? If this is about you, then you should definitely do your body language. Our gestures influence conversation as much, if not more so than our words. Learn to control your gestures. Some at Lifehacker can help you with this.

Get rid of word parasites

"Uh", "mmm" are not the best words to carry on a conversation. You try to get rid of awkward pauses with their help, but only make it worse. Start by tracking these words to get rid of them once and for all. These pauses are much less noticeable than you think.

Prepare several topics for conversation

Situations when you need to exchange a few words with a person happen often. And it's good if you are naturally sociable and do not suffer from isolation. If it's hard to come up with a topic for conversation, use the following conversation topics:

1. A family.
2. Profession.
3. Entertainment, hobbies.
4. Dreams.

These themes make up the FORD method (family, occupation, recreation, dreams). Ask the other person about this, and your little conversation will turn into an interesting conversation.

Tell a story

Just don't say that you have a boring life and there is not a single interesting story. Sometimes stories that seem to us already mundane can make a splash. It will help you improve your storytelling skills.

Don't be afraid to ask questions

Ask the interlocutor about his plans for the summer, about work, about children. Finally, put yourself in his shoes and think about what question you would like to hear. Have you come up with it? Feel free to ask.

Also, do not be afraid to ask again if you have not heard something. This is much better than saying "yeah" and then realizing that you were asked about your favorite movie.

Do not be distructed

We know how much you love your smartphone, but do not let your interlocutor find out about it. It seems to me that there is nothing worse when, during your story, the interlocutor is buried in a smartphone. Once again put yourself in the place of the interlocutor and understand that the smartphone will wait.

Remember your audience

The audience can vary. This could be your coworkers, your child's kindergarten friends, or friends at a party. One thing is for sure: your speaking style should be different in all three cases. You will not use complicated words to convey your message to children. And also you will not grimace and amuse your employees at work. Choose the style that suits your audience.

Express yourself clearly

Do not pour excess water during the conversation. At this point, you need to know when to stop. On the one hand, epithets, descriptions and various metaphors can embellish your speech and make it more interesting. On the other hand, too much space will make your conversation muddy and incomprehensible to the interlocutor. Therefore, be reasonably clear, precise, and concise.

Empathize and put yourself in the other person's shoes

If you are trying to put yourself in the place of the interlocutor, then you can already say in advance that you understand how to behave in a conversation. This technique will make the conversation more relaxed and remove the awkwardness that often occurs when your points of view do not agree.

Listen

Nothing could be more important than this. Listening, really listening is not an easy task, but the effort spent on mastering it will pay off with interest. And if you meet the same listening person, your conversation will definitely become interesting.