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The art of Speaking

F E B R U A R Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 5 / N E E T U G A N A PAT H Y

Speaking is certainly an art, whether you are speaking to a small group of your team members or a
multitude of people as in a public speech. There are several speech habits that can make or mar a speech or
a presentation. Proper planning, preparation and the right amount of practice can ensure that we craft and
deliver presentations/speeches that are engaging, memorable and useful. There’s a lot we need to do to get
there.

All of us have spoken in public sometime or the other. We’ve all listened to outstanding speakers and hoped
that we could speak like them. But the very thought of speaking in public petri es us. Research points to
the fact that the one thing we fear the most is public speaking. This fear is so great that we fear it more than
death! Glen Croston has a nice explanation for this in The thing we fear more than death.

How many times have we attended a speech or a presentation that was outstanding? How many times have
we attended a speech or a presentation and felt bored to death? Each of these experiences, good or bad,
have helped us to learn. I have attended many presentations from which I have learnt what to do to create
and deliver effective speeches/presentations. I have also attended my share of presentations which have
taught me what not to do when I speak/present!

Today, when we hear the word presentation, a deck of PowerPoint slides comes to mind. While PowerPoint
is a powerful tool, we nd that it is used badly. Whenever I attend any presentation, where I notice the
presenter, using the slides as their notes and reading from it or using poorly designed slides which are full of
text, I wonder why they have paid so little attention to this aspect. Powerpoint or any other tool is
powerful only when used well.

In the future posts, I’ll share with you tips that have helped me and many others to overcome the fear of
public speaking and become con dent speakers. We’ll also learn how to craft effective speeches and
presentations. I hope you’ll find it interesting and useful.
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3 thoughts on “The art of Speaking”

Sujata Rajpal

FEBRUARY 15, 2015 AT 6:18 AM

Very useful information. Power Point is a powerful tool only when used well. I agree, it loses it
impact when the presenter reads it from the slide full of text, might as well email the ppt . Look
forward to more such posts. Good initiative
 R E P LY

Neetu Ganapathy

FEBRUARY 19, 2015 AT 11:58 AM

Thanks Sujata!

R E P LY

Pingback: Why are we afraid of public speaking ? | Communication Matters

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© Neetu Ganapathy and IWishI

CouldSpeakLikeThat, [2016]
RECENT POSTS

How to Negotiate the Fear of Public

Speaking: Visualisation
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Speaking: Cognitive Modification
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