Speaking Skill

Introduction

Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode. It, like the other skills, is more
complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words. There
are three kinds of speaking situations in which we find ourselves:
o interactive,
o partially interactive, and
o Non-interactive.
Interactive speaking situations include face-to-face conversations and telephone calls, in
which we are alternately listening and speaking, and in which we have a chance to ask for
clarification, repetition, or slower speech from our conversation partner. Some speaking
situations are partially interactive, such as when giving a speech to a live audience, where
the convention is that the audience does not interrupt the speech. The speaker
nevertheless can see the audience and judge from the expressions on their faces and body
language whether or not he or she is being understood. Some few speaking situations
may be totally non-interactive, such as when recording a speech for a radio broadcast.
Here are some of the micro-skills involved in speaking. The speaker has to:

o Pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so that people can
distinguish them. This includes making tonal distinctions.
o Use stress and rhythmic patterns, and intonation patterns of the language clearly
enough so that people can understand what is said.
o Use the correct forms of words. This may mean, for example, changes in the
tense, case, or gender.
o Put words together in correct word order.
o Use vocabulary appropriately.
o Use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situation and the
relationship to the conversation partner.
 o Make clear to the listener the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb,
object, by whatever means the language uses.
o Make the main ideas stand out from supporting ideas or information.
o Make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what you are saying.

Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills

Students often think that the ability to speak a language is the product of language
learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process. Effective
instructors teach students speaking strategies -- using minimal responses, recognizing
scripts, and using language to talk about language -- that they can use to help themselves
expand their knowledge of the language and their confidence in using it. These
instructors’ help students learn to speak so that the students can use speaking to learn.

1. Using minimal responses

Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participate successfully in oral
interaction often listen in silence while others do the talking. One way to encourage such
learners to begin to participate is to help them build up a stock of minimal responses that
they can use in different types of exchanges. Such responses can be especially useful for
beginners.

Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants
use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another
speaker is saying. Having a stock of such responses enables a learner to focus on what the
other participant is saying, without having to simultaneously plan a response.

2. Recognizing scripts

Some communication situations are associated with a predictable set of spoken

exchanges -- a script. Greetings, apologies, compliments, invitations, and other functions
that are influenced by social and cultural norms often follow patterns or scripts. So do the
transactional exchanges involved in activities such as obtaining information and making a
purchase. In these scripts, the relationship between a speaker's turn and the one that
follows it can often be anticipated.

Instructors can help students develop speaking ability by making them aware of the
scripts for different situations so that they can predict what they will hear and what they
will need to say in response. Through interactive activities, instructors can give students
practice in managing and varying the language that different scripts contain.

3. Using language to talk about language

Language learners are often too embarrassed or shy to say anything when they do not
understand another speaker or when they realize that a conversation partner has not
understood them. Instructors can help students overcome this reticence by assuring them
that misunderstanding and the need for clarification can occur in any type of interaction,
whatever the participants' language skill levels. Instructors can also give students
strategies and phrases to use for clarification and comprehension check.

By encouraging students to use clarification phrases in class when misunderstanding

occurs and by responding positively when they do, instructors can create an authentic
practice environment within the classroom itself. As they develop control of various
clarification strategies, students will gain confidence in their ability to manage the
various communication situations that they may encounter outside the classroom.
Improving your English speaking skills will help you communicate more easily and
effectively. Tips to become a more confident English speaker?

o Practice where you can, when you can. Any practice is good – whether you speak
to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
o It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple English sentence
structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your
message across.
o Try to experiment with the English you know. Use words and phrases you know in
new situations. Native English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use
 the wrong word than if you use the wrong grammar. Experimenting with
vocabulary is a really good way of getting feedback.
o Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people
think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.
o Try NOT to translate into and from your own language. This takes too much time
and will make you more hesitant.
o If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say
things that 'fill' the conversation. This is better than keeping completely silent. Try
using um, or er, if you forget the word.
o Don't speak too fast! It's important to use a natural rhythm when speaking
English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.
o Try to relax when you speak – you'll find your mouth does most of the
pronunciation work for you. When you speak English at normal speed, you'll
discover that many of the pronunciation skills, such as linking between words,
will happen automatically.
o Remember, when speaking English. Try to become less hesitant and more
confident. Don't be shy to speak – the more you do it, the more confident you'll
become. Remember to be polite – use "please" and "thank you" if you ask
someone to do something for you.

Better Public Speaking & Presentation

There are many things you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood
time and time again. Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these include:

o Keep the message clear.

o Be prepared.
o Keep the message simple.
o Be vivid when delivering the message.
o Be natural.
 o Keep the message concise.

Preparation is underrated. In fact, it is one of the most important factors in determining

your communication successes. When possible, set meeting times and speaking and
presentation times well in advance, thus allowing yourself the time you need to prepare
your communications, mindful of the entire communication process (source, encoding,
channel, decoding, receiver, feedback and context). By paying close attention to each of
these stages and preparing accordingly, you ensure your communications will be more
effective and better understood.

Of course, not all communications can be scheduled. In this case, preparation may mean
having a good, thorough understanding of the office goings-on, enabling you to
communicate with the knowledge you need to be effective, both through verbal and
written communications. Ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why?

o Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, presuppositions and values?
What do they share in common with others; how are they unique?
o What do you wish to communicate? One way of answering this question is to ask
you about the 'success criteria'. How do you know if and when you have
successfully communicated what you have in mind?
o How can you best convey your message? Language is important here, as are the
nonverbal cues discussed earlier. Choose your words and your nonverbal cues
with your audience in mind. Plan a beginning, middle and end. If time and place
allow, consider and prepare audio-visual aids.
o When? Timing is important here. Develop a sense of timing, so that your
contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue or matter at hand. There
is a time to speak and a time to be silent. 'It's better to be silent than sing a bad
tune.'
o Where? What is the physical context of the communication in mind? You may
have time to visit the room, for example, and rearrange the furniture. Check for
availability and visibility if you are using audio or visual aids.
 o Why? In order to convert hearers into listeners, you need to know why they
should listen to you – and tell them if necessary. What disposes them to listen?
That implies that you know yourself why you are seeking to communicate – the
value or worth or interest of what you are going to say.

Be concise. Be brief. Use short words and sentences. Where appropriate, support these
with short, easy-to-understand examples, which help demonstrate your message.

Start by incorporating each of the following in your speech giving. Do not try to improve
in all areas at once. Pick two or three and master them. Once you have them under
control, add two more.

i. Before you even start, think about your audience, who they are, what they want
and what they need. Thinking of the audience allows you to build a talk to reach
the audience mind and build rapport with those you speak to.
ii. In your speech writing, learn to work with and from an outline. Learn to be able
to improvise when necessary. Introductions should capture attention. Stories
often work best for many audiences. Incorporate the story through the talk.
Conclude the story with the conclusion of your talk.
iii. Learn how to use power words and phrases. Learn how to use comparisons.
Make it your goal to kill adjectives and begin to use power verbs.
iv. Improve your public speaking skill as part of the process. Only try to master two
or three public speaking skills at a time and add new ones as older ones are
perfected.
v. Included in the speaker skills is mastery of your voice. Learn to use the full
range of your voice qualities.
vi. Always be ethical.
vii. Be careful with humor. The safest and best humor is covert humor. If you say
something that makes the audience laugh, run with it. If the audience does not
get it, you have not lost a thing. This requires knowing the audience and what
will tickle their funny bone.