Listening and speaking skills
The skill of Speaking
Speaking skill plays a major role in the process of communication. Spoken or verbal communication can happen face-to-face, on the telephone, by radio or television and other media. People are trained to become successful speakers both at schools and in a business environment. It happens because interpersonal communication is not optional. We need to communicate, and even if we do not want to, we still communicate something. The process of speaking is irreversible, which means that once you have said something, you cannot take it back. It is also a process that is very complex, and unique, just as we are complex and unique. All those qualities make it important for everybody to understand at least the basic rules of verbal communication. Let’s see which qualities we should work on first.
Vocal Qualities
Everybody can check their vocal qualities by recording a short speech and listening to themselves. Just after few seconds one can realize whether their:
- pitch is high, normal or low (are you too nervous and your pitch is getting higher?)
- tone is appropriate (are you using proper inflection and emphasis of certain words?)
- speed is appropriate (can people assimilate what you are saying?)
- pause has a special meaning (pauses are powerful and can be used for effect and to convey confidence)
- volume is appropriate (are you heard?)
You can work on your vocal qualities to improve
them, by changing your speaking style (e.g. slowing down or speaking up) and
listening to what others say about your speech
(Text adapted from the book: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, Szczuka-Dorna L., Vendome E., Poznan University of Technology, 2017.)