Some Preliminary Notes on Being Effective in Verbal Speaking

Goal: Remember that your main goal is to help your listener understand.

  1. Stop. Before you open your trap, organize your thoughts. Decide what the # points are (should be about three, never more than five). CAN YOU MAKE EACH ONE MEMORABLE? LABEL, VERBAL GRAPHIC, SOMETHING?
    2. Stardom for Ideas

"The first good idea is more impressive than the tenth, and infinitely more noticable than the hundredth."

Accent your talk with a point of surprise, but build it from common beliefs and shared understanding.

  • Don't forget that one point isn't the whole dialogue. Think about your strategic goal. Borrow the notion of Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement--figure out what your fallback is when the exchange breaks down. Practice how to handle hecklers.
  • Listen to the other person. Wait for them to "finish" their turn (there are verbal and non-verbal signs to signal "go ahead" -- learn them, watch for them, and wait). Make sure your non-verbal signs are saying the right thing--reading a paper, chuckling at zephyrs on a laptop, and similar "remarks" are likely to be misinterpreted.
  • When you have said something, STOP. Let the other person think about it. Continuing to talk is the best way to keep the other person from understanding--and you want them to understand.
  • Try to use "multi-media" -- if nothing else, count your points on your fingers. Writing the points on a board with keywords or phrases is good. A handout with the details and/or references can be useful.
    • A Checklist:
    1. Icebreaker - introduce yourself.
    2. Be In Earnest - you should believe in it.
    3. Organize Your Speech - a well-organized speech helps the listener understand.
    4. Show What You Mean - use polite gestures and body language
    5. Vocal Variety - use rate of delivery, volume, speed, pitch, emphasis, etc.
    6. Work with Words - work on proper word choice, avoiding jargon and generalizations, etc.
    7. Apply Your Skills - practice if you can.
    8. Be Persuasive - persuasion on a controversial issue means changing the other person's mind, not bludgeoning them into silent resentment.
    9. Speak With Knowledge - research issues, or ask someone who knows about it to talk. If you don't know, don't fake it.
    10. Inspire Your Audience - move and inspire your audience. Remember, the important point is whether they change, not whether you get the credit.

    If you can, get someone to evaluate your verbal presentations. A good evaluator will say "here's what you did _well_, and here's why doing that was good, and here are some things you might want to work on for your next speech, and here's how you might work on them."

    (Checklist and quote about evaluation based on material from http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/toastmasters-faq/part1/faq.html alt.org.toastmasters Frequently Asked Questions part 1 of 5: What is Toastmasters International?)

    Stardom for Ideas based on material in "How To Speak" IAP'97 course by Patrick H. Winston