U200: Academic Writing 2018

Effective Speaking

Your voice can reveal as much about your personal history as your appearance.

The sound of a voice and the content of speech can provide clues to an individual's emotional state
and a dialect can indicate their geographic roots.

The voice is unique to the person to whom it belongs.

For instance, if self-esteem is low, it may be reflected by hesitancy in the voice, a shy person may
have a quiet voice, but someone who is confident in themselves will be more likely to have
command of their voice and clarity of speech.

Aspects of Effective Speaking

Effective speaking has nothing to do with the out-dated concept of 'elocution' where everyone was
encouraged to speak in the same 'correct' manner. Rather, effective speaking concerns being able
to speak in a public context with confidence and clarity, whilst at the same time reflecting on your
own personality.

Accents

Regional and ethnic accents are positive; they are part of individual personality.

Gradually, over the years, through the migration of people and exposure to the media, accents are
being broken down and neutralised. In some ways this is a shame because accents can add a
dimension and distinctiveness to voice and emphasise individuality.

It is important to get used to the sound of your own voice. Most people are more relaxed in a
private situation, particularly at home, where there are no pressures to conform to any other social
rules and expectations. This is not the case in public situations when there are all sorts of influences
exerted upon the way people speak.

[Try recording your own voice in an informal setting, like at home. Listen carefully to how you sound
in order to become accustomed to your own voice. You might also note any aspects of your speech
which reduce the overall effectiveness of your message.]

Often people don’t like the sound of their own recorded voice - in the same way that some people
don't like photographs of themselves - they can feel embarrassed.

Most of us are not used to hearing our own voices and these feelings are totally normal. Get past the
initial, ‘Do I really sound like that?’ stage and develop a better understanding of your voice.

When relaxed you will feel more confident, therefore by listening to your voice at home you will
have an idea of how you sound to other people. Although you cannot hear your voice in the same
way that others hear you, you can develop an awareness of its impact on others. Understanding the
physical nature of your voice will give you more control over the way that you use it.

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Individuals are all used to using language in an informal way in their everyday lives, but as soon as a
hint of formality is suggested, they can become self-conscious and seize up. This becomes especially
obvious when speaking in front of strangers in a public setting.

The more you get used to the sound of your voice functioning in a slightly more formal way, the
easier it is when doing it 'for real'. In conversational mode, individuals tend to speak in short
phrases, a few at a time. Reading aloud helps you to become used to the more fluent sound of your
voice.

[An exercise to help develop your effective speaking skills:

Find a document to read, something about two pages in length - the first few pages of a book would
work well. Read your document through silently first, then read it aloud in your normal speaking
voice. Don't worry if you stumble or falter, just pick up and continue to the end.

Now read it a third time, recording your voice if possible and remember:

• Slow down: It is a natural reaction to want to get it over as fast as possible and this often
causes people to stumble over their words. Speeding up also occurs when you are nervous
and usually makes you more difficult to understand.

• Keep your head up: Try not to tuck your chin into the book as your voice is then
addressing the floor. Hold your book higher and project your voice.

• Pause occasionally: Let the end of a sentence or the end of a paragraph give you a
chance of a small, two or three second rest. Pauses can be useful for emphasis.

Practise this exercise as often as you can.]

Anyone can improve the sound of their voice and the way they speak in a matter of days through a
few simple exercises, like the one above. To improve you will need to maintain a certain
commitment and practice regularly for a few minutes.

The Effect of Breath on Voice and Speech

The voice is responsive to emotions and sometimes gets 'blocked', which can prevent or hinder the
expression of a range of feelings.

However, it is possible to use physical exercise to help produce a more flexible voice, in the same
way that people who use vocal sounds professionally take lessons, to ensure that their voices are
kept in a versatile condition and ready to vocalise a range of sounds.

 When under stress an individual's breathing pattern will change. When your muscles are
tense you cannot use your lungs to their full capacity, when a person is frightened or
nervous, a common symptom is tension in the neck and shoulders. This occurs because,
when under pressure, over-breathing tends to occur. Plenty of air is inhaled, but with fast
breathing there is not enough time to exhale and relax.

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Good breathing is essential for two reasons:

1. By using full lung capacity the breath will support the voice and the voice will become
richer, fuller and stronger.

This will benefit individuals who have a small voice and who worry that they cannot be heard when
speaking to a group of people. Volume is controlled in the abdomen not in the throat, so breathing
to full strength will allow for greater control of the voice.

2. Breathing deeply and rhythmically has a calming and therapeutic effect as it releases
tension and promotes relaxation. People who are relaxed are more balanced, receptive
and confident.

It is no coincidence that many religions use rhythmic breathing techniques such as meditation, yoga
and silent contemplation, and vocal release in the form of chants, mantras or hymn singing as aids to
their devotions. By easing physical tension, mental stress decreases and the mind is effectively freed
to follow creative pursuits.

[Breathing Exercise]

1. Stand in an easy position with your feet one pace apart, with the knees ‘unlocked’ and not
rigidly pushed back. Keep spine straight, head balanced and face muscles relaxed.

2. Breathe in to a slow count of three, then out to a slow count of three

3. Try not to raise your shoulders as you breathe. Breathe in through your nose and out
through your mouth. Consciously think of your breath 'filling down' to the bottom of your
lungs.

4. Put the palm of your hand flat against your abdomen and feel the movement. Push slightly
against your hand as you breathe in and out.

5. Repeat this exercise ten times.

Depending on how you feel after several days of doing this exercise, extend the count of the out-
going breath from three to four, five and six gradually building up to ten before you need to take
another breath. Then count out loud on the out-going breath from one to ten. Repeat five times.

By building up your control of out-going breath, you will never sound ‘breathy’ or feel you are
'running out of breath’ when you speak to a group or a meeting.]

Vocal Production

The following three core elements of vocal production need to be understood for anyone wishing to
become an effective speaker:

√ Volume - to be heard.

√ Clarity - to be understood.

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√ Variety - to add interest.

Volume

This is not a question of treating the voice like the volume control on the TV remote. Some people
have naturally soft voices and physically cannot bellow. Additionally, if the voice is raised too much,
tonal quality is lost. Instead of raising the voice it should be 'projected out'. Support the voice with
lots of breath - the further you want to project the voice out, the more breath you need.

When talking to a group or meeting, it is important to never aim your talk to the front row or just to
the people nearest you, but to consciously project what you have to say to those furthest away. By
developing a strong voice, as opposed to a loud voice, you will be seen as someone positive.

Clarity

Some people tend to speak through clenched teeth and with little movement of their lips. It is this
inability to open mouths and failure to make speech sounds with precision that is the root cause of
inaudibility. The sound is locked into the mouth and not let out. To have good articulation it is
important to unclench the jaw, open the mouth and give full benefit to each sound you make, paying
particular attention to the ends of words. This will also help your audience as a certain amount of
lip-reading will be possible.

Variety

To make speech effective and interesting, certain techniques can be applied. However, it is
important not to sound false or as if you are giving a performance. Whilst words convey meaning,
how they are said reflects feelings and emotions. Vocal variety can be achieved by variations in:

Pace: This is the speed at which you talk. If speech is too fast then the listeners will not have time
to assimilate what is being said. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to vary the pace - quickening
up at times and then slowing down – this will help to maintain interest.

Volume: By raising or lowering volume occasionally, you can create emphasis. If you drop
your voice to almost a whisper (as long as it is projected) for a sentence or two, it
will make your audience suddenly alert, be careful not to overuse this technique.

Pitch - Inflection - Emphasis: When speaking in public, try to convey the information with as
much vocal energy and enthusiasm as possible. This does not mean your voice has
to swoop and dive all over the place in an uncontrolled manner. Try to make the
talk interesting and remember that when you are nervous or even excited, vocal
chords tense and shorten causing the voice to get higher. Emphasise certain words
and phrases within the talk to convey their importance and help to add variety.

Pause: Pauses are powerful. They can be used for effect to highlight the preceding
statement or to gain attention before an important message. Pauses mean silence
for a few seconds. Listeners interpret meaning during pauses so have the courage to

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stay silent for up to five seconds – dramatic pauses like this convey authority and
confidence.

[Before any important speaking situation, whether it is an appointment, meeting or talk, it is

beneficial to have a voice warm-up.

The voice is an instrument - no musician arrives at a concert hall and launches into Beethoven

without first tuning up. The length of time and frequency of a warm-up is up to you and will depend

on how much speaking you need to do.]

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Source:

Read more at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/effective-speaking.html

Complementary Notes

Conversational Skills

Conversations are supposed to be fun. They involve personal interactions between two or more
people about something of interest. But many people worry about having conversations. They are
concerned that they won’t be able to keep the conversation going, or about what they will say.

Keeping a conversation going is something of an art, and one which many of us now seem to lack.

What is Conversation?

A Definition of Conversation

“Intercourse, talk, familiar discourse, behaviour or deportment”

Chambers English Dictionary, 1989 edition.

In other words, conversation is simply talking to someone else, usually informally.

So why is it considered difficult? It certainly wasn’t for our grandparents’ generation. Some
commentators have put the problem down to the growth of social media, with its emphasis on
‘broadcasting’ and its ‘me’ focus, and this certainly doesn’t make it any easier.

But all is not lost. Not only can conversational skills be learned and developed, but it is surprisingly
easy to do so, especially if you follow some simple rules.

The Rules of Conversation

1. Conversation is a Two-Way Street

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The first and most important rule of conversation is that it is not all about you, but it’s not all
about the other person either.

A monologue, in either direction, is not conversation. Try to achieve a balance between talking and
listening in any conversation.

This is where social media makes life difficult. We’re used to broadcasting our views, and then
responding if others comment. That can feel like the start of a conversation but, when you’re face to
face, it’s not polite to start by broadcasting your views.

Instead, try asking a question to establish common ground. For example: “What do you do?”, or
even “Isn’t the weather beautiful?”

This signals your intention to share the conversation.

Top Tip!

Everyone likes to be listened to, and to be asked for their views. If the conversation flags, or you feel
that you are talking more than you should, useful questions include:

“What do you think about this?”

If you are not getting much response, try something like:

“But perhaps you don’t follow [current subject]. What are you interested in?”

2. Be Friendly and Polite

Smiling, and being nice, will take you a long way in conversational terms. Everyone would rather
chat to someone friendly and pleasant. But what are the practical elements of this?

1. Build rapport.

You can build rapport by establishing some common ground and by simply smiling and using positive
and reinforcing body language.

2. Be nice.

Don’t say unpleasant things about anyone. After all, the person you’re talking about could be your
new acquaintance’s best friend. And even if they’re not, your new acquaintance may not relish
discussion about someone behind their back (and neither should you).

3. Try to avoid contentious topics on first acquaintance.

It’s fine to talk politics once you know someone a bit better. When you first meet someone, though,
it’s better to stick to neutral ground, which is why so many people talk about the weather. This is
where ‘small talk’ comes in.

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The Importance of ‘Small Talk’

‘Small talk’ is, broadly, inconsequential ‘chit-chat’ about minor or uncontentious issues such as the
weather, recent news items or jobs. Some people purport to despise small talk as being
unimportant, or trivial, but it serves a useful function of allowing you to build rapport and establish
common ground without having to invest too much emotion in the conversation. This may be
particularly important for introverts.

However dull you find someone, it is best not to say so!

Just bring the conversation to a polite close, perhaps by saying something like “I must just go and
catch so-and-so before they go. It’s been really nice to chat to you”, or “Please excuse me, I
promised to help with x and I see they need me now”.

3. Respond to What They are Saying

To respond genuinely to what someone has just said means that you have to listen. You can’t
just switch off, and think about what you’re going to say next. However, if we’re honest,
most of us would admit that we often do just that.

It’s important to focus on the other person, and what they’re saying. You also need to take
into account their body language.

If you find it difficult to think of something to say in response, try using some ‘filler’
sentences, such as:

“That’s just so interesting, you’re really making me think hard!”

or

“Goodness, that’s challenging, I need to think about this. I’ve never thought about it that
way.”

Not only does that give you a bit of time to think about the subject under discussion, but it’s a
compliment to the person you’re speaking with, which is always good.

4. Use Signalling to Help the Other Person

When a conversation is flowing well, it moves naturally from one person to the other.
However, if one or both are finding it more of a struggle to ‘chat’, you may find it helpful to
use ‘signals’ to show the other person that it is their turn to talk.

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The most common type of signal is questions. These may be either open or closed.

√ Closed questions invite a yes/no answer.

In conversation, they might include “Don’t you agree?”, and “Are you enjoying the party?”
They are not really inviting the other person to do more than nod and agree, rather than to
share the conversation.

√ Open questions invite more information.

They open up the conversation to the other person, and invite them to participate. For this
reason, in conversation, they are often called ‘invitations’. Open questions often start
‘How…?’ or ‘Why….?’

5. Create Emotional Connections

Of course it is perfectly possible to conduct a conversation entirely at the level of small talk,
with nothing important being said.

But conversation is also a way to explore whether you wish to know someone better and
build a relationship with them. It can therefore be useful to understand how to use
conversation to create and build emotional connections.

The key is sharing appropriate information.

That means being prepared to be open about what interests you, what makes you into you as a
person, and inspiring the other person to share too.

Top Tip!

This ‘sharing’ doesn’t have to be big stuff. It can be as simple as:

“It’s so lovely having this beautiful sunshine. It meant I could go canoeing this weekend and
we had such a beautiful paddle.”

That leaves the field open for the other person to say:

“Oh, do you canoe? I used to paddle too. Where did you go?”

“Yes, it’s lovely weather. I went for a walk myself. It’s great to be outside, isn’t it?”

or even

“I find the heat difficult myself, but the children loved having the paddling pool out.”

All different responses, but all sharing an emotional connection with the other person and
keeping the conversation flowing.

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Be Interested and you Will be Interesting

All these ideas can perhaps be boiled down into one idea:

If you are interested in others, and in the world around you, you will be interesting to talk to.

That, in turn, will make conversations flow, because you will genuinely want to know about
the other person and be able to contribute to the conversation from your own interest in the
world.

On the other hand, if you take no interest in anything except yourself, you will be quite dull
and people will not be keen to have any conversations with you. You have been warned!

Verbal Communication Skills

Effective verbal or spoken communication is dependent on a number of factors and cannot be

fully isolated from other important interpersonal skills such as non-verbal communication,
listening skills and clarification.

Clarity of speech, remaining calm and focused, being polite and following some basic rules
of etiquette will all aid the process of verbal communication.

Opening Communication

In many interpersonal encounters, the first few minutes are extremely important as first
impressions have a significant impact on the success of further communication.

Everyone has expectations and norms as to how initial meetings should proceed and people
tend to behave according to these expectations. If these expectations are mismatched,
communication will not be effective or run smoothly, and some form of negotiation will be
needed if relations are to continue.

At a first meeting, formalities and appropriate greetings are usually expected: such
formalities could include a handshake, an introduction to yourself, eye contact and discussion
around a neutral subject such as the weather or your journey may be useful. A friendly
disposition and smiling face are much more likely to encourage communication than a blank
face, inattention or disinterested reception.

Reinforcement

The use of encouraging words alongside non-verbal gestures such as head nods, a warm
facial expression and maintaining eye contact, are more likely to reinforce openness in
others.

The use of encouragement and positive reinforcement can:

√ Encourage others to participate in discussion (particularly in group work)

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√ Signify interest in what other people have to say

√ Pave the way for development and/or maintenance of a relationship

√ Allay fears and give reassurance

√ Show warmth and openness.

√ Reduce shyness or nervousness in ourselves and others.

Effective Listening

Active listening is an important skill and yet, as communicators, people tend to spend far
more energy considering what they are going to say rather than listening to what the other
person is trying to say.

Although active listening is a skill in itself, covered in depth on our listening pages, it is also
vital for effective verbal communication.

The following points are essential for effective and active listening:

√ Arrange a comfortable environment conducive to the purpose of the communication, for

example a warm and light room with minimal background noise.

√ Be prepared to listen.

√ Keep an open mind and concentrate on the main direction of the speaker's message.

√ Avoid distractions if at all possible.

√ Delay judgment until you have heard everything.

√ Be objective.

√ Do not be trying to think of your next question while the other person is giving information.

√ Do not dwell on one or two points at the expense of others.

√ The speaker should not be stereotyped. Try not to let prejudices associated with, for
example, gender, ethnicity, social class, appearance or dress interfere with what is being said.

Questioning

Effective questioning is an essential skill. Questioning can be used to:

√ Obtain information.

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√ Start a conversation.

√ Test understanding.

√ Draw someone into a conversation.

√ Show interest in a person.

√Seek support or agreement.

Closed Questions

Closed questions tend to seek only a one or two word answer (often simply 'yes' or 'no') and,
in doing so, limit the scope of the response. Two examples of closed questions are "Did you
travel by car today?" and "Did you see the football game yesterday?" These types of question
mean control of the communication is maintained by the questioner yet this is often not the
desired outcome when trying to encourage verbal communication. Nevertheless, closed
questions can be useful for focusing discussion and obtaining clear, concise answers when
needed.

Open Questions

Open questions broaden the scope for response since they demand further discussion and
elaboration. For example, "What was the traffic like this morning?" or "What do you feel you
would like to gain from this discussion?" Open questions will take longer to answer, but they
do give the other person far more scope for self-expression and encourage involvement in the
conversation.

Reflecting and Clarifying

Reflecting is the process of feeding-back to another person your understanding of what has
been said. Although reflecting is a specialised skill used within counselling, it can also be
applied to a wide range of communication contexts and is a useful skill to learn.

Reflecting often involves paraphrasing the message communicated to you by the speaker in
your own words, capturing the essence of the facts and feelings expressed, and
communicating your understanding back to the speaker. It is a useful skill because:

 You can check that you have understood the message clearly.
 The speaker gets feedback as to how the message is received.
 It shows interest in, and respect for, what the other person has to say.
 You are demonstrating that you are considering the other person’s viewpoint.

Summarising

A summary is an overview of the main points or issues raised. Summarising can also
serve the same purpose as 'reflecting'. However, summarising allows both parties to

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review and agree the communication exchanged between them up to that point in time.
When used effectively, summaries may also serve as a guide to the next steps forward.

Closing Communication

The way a communication is closed or ended will, at least in part, determine the way a
conversation is remembered.

A range of subtle, or sometimes not so subtle, signals are used to end an interaction. For
example, some people may avoid eye contact, stand up, turn their body away, or use
behaviours such as looking at a watch or closing notepads or books. All of these non-
verbal actions indicate to the other person that the initiator wishes to end the
communication.

Closing an interaction too abruptly may not allow the other person to 'round off' what he
or she is saying so you should ensure there is time for winding-up. The closure of an
interaction is a good time to make any future arrangements. Last, but not least, this time
will no doubt be accompanied by a number of socially acceptable parting gestures.

Source:

Read more at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/verbal-communication.html

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