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| Giving a presentation or speech in English? Here are a few tips to guide your practice. |
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PUT YOUR MOUTH IN ENGLISH MODE: Each language has a 'mode', a way of forming sounds. One of the ways you can improve your English sound is by studying great speakers, listening to their sounds, and watching their mouths and jaws. How is it different from your own language? - Match your speed to theirs, which may mean you'll have to slow down. If you're talking to a native English speaking audience, the most important thing you can do is NOT to speak fast, but instead to speak COMPREHENSIBLY, and that usually means speak more slowly.
- Lengthening the vowels in most highly stressed words, which will slow down your overall pace anyway.
- Relax your jaw and lips and use your tongue tip more. If there is a video with the recording, watch the speakers' mouths and jaws. How far do they open their mouths? How much do they use their lips? Different languages use speaking "parts" differently. Many people say that English speakers don't seem to use their lips or mouths when they talk. Actually, they keep a loose jaw and use a tighter tongue tip than most languages.
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GIVE YOUR AUDIENCE THE TIME TO CATCH UP WITH YOU
Great speakers use empty spaces, breaks, pauses, to organize what they say into thought groups for their audience, and to add extra emphasis to the important points in their message. - Choose one of these 10 famous speeches and pay attention to when the speaker stops and why.
- Count to yourself how many seconds they pause; it's probably going to be longer than you think!
- Why do you think they paused? It's a great gift to slow down and wait for your audience to catch up with you. Remember, they haven't studied your speech or presentation...they're hearing it for the first time, so you have to help them understand your idea, every way you can.
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| This slidedeck suggests 10 famous speeches to practice, with vocabulary lists and fill-in-the-blank exercises. |
| | Video clips of those same 10 speeches (and many more) can be found on EnglishCentral.com, where you can get even more practice, listen to them over and over, and get feedback from the software on how you sound.
http://EnglishCentral.com |
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IF YOU'RE WRITING YOUR OWN SPEECH, BE SURE TO CONSIDER WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS TO HEAR
- Tell a story or anecdote for people who are your "friends" in the audience.
- Speak about the possibilities, what is unknown or yet to be done, for the "inventors' in your audience.
- Talk about the big picture, the greater good, the wide view, for the "intellectuals" in your audience.
- Get your numbers and facts straight, and share the ones that support the one main idea in your presentation or speech, for the "academics" in your audience.
People come to your presentation with their own needs, preferences and expectations. Include a little something for everyone, so they all leave with an idea that makes sense to them. |
| Here's more about the 4 audiences, in a LinkedIn post I wrote. |
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FOCUS ON ONE SKILL, EACH TIME YOU PRACTICE When you finally have it written, practice and practice and practice. And each time you practice, pay attention to one skill set.
- The first time you practice, think only about how you are making your sounds. Focus on getting into the English 'mode' of speaking.
- The next time, focus on using breaks or pauses to organize your thought groups. By bracketing ideas with moments of silence, your audience learns they can count on you to give them cues so they can follow your ideas.
- The third time, think about which words are the most important parts of your message, and make those words longer, stronger, and clearer.
- When you start a new paragraph, wait a bit longer on your pause, then use a higher pitch to initiate it. That's how listeners hear your 'paragraph indentation' --after all, they can't see your written speech, so help them hear when you are changing topic.
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GET FEEDBACK
This is really important. You need someone to tell you if you are making progress or not; for a while you won't know because you won't be feeling it yet. If you don't have anyone nearby, record yourself and listen...are you pausing often enough?...do you emphasize the most important words? Are you speaking in English mode?
Once you become aware of what works,keep practicing it! |
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| | You can find out how the pronunciation of different languages compares with English on my website, AmericanPronunciationCoach.com. Remember, becoming aware of the differences will help you know what to change and think about how to change. |
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See you in the next update! |
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