May
21
Practice Tip #1 – Read Aloud!
By
Reading Aloud Will Improve Your Delivery.
Practice -Practice -Practice
We’ve all heard that mantra, and it’s true.
And one of the best ways to improve your voice is to:
Read Aloud – Read Aloud – Read Aloud
Hearing yourself as you speak, and listening to a recording of yourself, are two of the quickest ways to improve your Verbal Delivery.
Areas for improvement are quickly ‘heard’ and usually easy to correct.
Pay attention to your:
- Pronunciation and Enunciation
- Are words pronounced as they should be with the correct syllables emphasized?
- Is your diction correct, or are you mumbling?
- Are you speaking clearly and distinctly?
- If English is your second language, or if you have a regional accent, don’t completely trust your own judgment on this, get the opinion of a trusted adviser.
- Projection of your voice
- Will the entire audience be able to hear you clearly?
- Is the projection consistent, or does your voice sometimes fade?
- Inflection
- Do you speak in a boring monotone, or do you correctly put inflection into sentences that paint vivid pictures in the minds of the audience.
- Cadence
- Is the pace of your delivery boringly the same, or do you quicken and slow down the speed based on emotion and content?
- Pauses
- Do you stop speaking long enough for the audience to digest the words you’ve just spoken, or enjoy laughing at a humorous statement?
Pick a variety of material to read.
- Read aloud several news headlines and the stories that follow.
- Read aloud magazine articles.
- Read aloud children’s books.
- These are among the best to read, since many are written with the intention to be read aloud to kids.
- If you have a child, or children to practice on, so much the better.
- These are among the best to read, since many are written with the intention to be read aloud to kids.
Read Aloud, and ‘Hear’ the improvement!
About the Author:
Fred E. Miller coaches, speaks and writes about Public Speaking and Presentation Skills.
314-517-8772
Fred@NoSweatPublicSpeaking.com
http://www.nosweatpublicspeaking.com
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[...] 23, 2010 Thanks to Fred Miller for permission to share this [...]
I try to practice each presentation 3 to 4 times — I actually think you can overpractice a presentation or speech as well. It can sound too canned.
I find that for me, 3 or 4 times practicing gives me some really powerful phrases that I make sure to use in the presentation while still having the presentation seem conversational.
Russ:
Thanks for the comment.
Practicing helps you pinpoint, and perfect, the phrases that should, then will, have the most impact on your audience.
Always, the Opening and Closing should be practiced. Because of the Law of Primacy and Recency, the first and last things you say will be what the audience will remember.
Have a Strong Opening and Strong Closing!
Practicing out loud will definitely help!
Fred,
AS always, excellent tip. You are a true professional and one to learn from.
Jay:
Thanks for the compliment and thanks for visiting!
Mr. Miller, I was speaking with a good friend today about some of these topics. I expressed to him that at times I can tell my voice goes into a dull monotous monotone during conversation(unfortunately he nodded in agreement). It made me think back to my mom as a school teacher when she would read aloud to her students. She was a master at delivery. Her inflection and creation of voices to match characters was truly a gift. Thank you for your wisdom and I now know exactly what I will be doing for part of the Memorial Day weekend — reading aloud to my grandson. Thanks again!
Phil:
My wife, like your mother, is an ex-teacher and great reader of stories. Teachers like them can mesmerize their students with the delivery of the story.
It’s a practice those of us who want to improve our presentations should take to heart and do, as you shall this weekend!
Thanks for visiting and posting your comment.