Page 81 - Effective communication Skills by Dale King

sitting in front.

If you aren’t sure about your volume, as someone in the back if they can

clearly hear you. If they tell you “yes,” drop your voice a notch and ask
again. If they can’t hear that, then go back to the previous volume.

Never start yelling. Yelling will make you sound insane instead of eloquent.
If you find yourself having to yell, you can ask the people to move closer to
you or for a microphone.

Support Your Words with the Right Gestures

Learn to use your hands to emphasize your important points. The best way to
learn this is to watch the way popular speakers and celebrities use gestures
while speaking. Notice how their hand movements “emerge” out of their
hands.

If you aren’t actively using gestures, don’t move your hands. Scratching,
rattling papers, rearranging your glasses, etc. will distract your audience and
will cancel your eloquence.

Position Your Body Correctly

You can add power to your speech if you move your body the right way. If
you are speaking from a stage, you can move from one place to another to
show that you are beginning a new topic.

If you are sting around a conference table, lean forward a bit when you would
like to emphasize your point. Change your position when you move from one
concept or subject to another one.

Use Words Everybody Can Understand

Using clichés are just the opposite of being eloquent. Use common phrases or
words that are unexpected that will illustrate your point memorably. You
could use: “common as houseflies” instead of “a dime a dozen.”

Stay away from words that people in your audience may not understand. If
you use snobby words, it might make you sound snobby instead of smart. If

you have to speak a term that the audience doesn’t understand, explain it in
plain language.