m.b.a 1st project

8/3/2019 M.B.A 1st project

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STRATEGIES TO

IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLSImproving speaking skills begins with fostering

student motivation and effective teaching..

What do you do when students dont want to put that

extra mile to do a speaking presentation, so they get

cold feet and read from their notes just to get by.Improving speaking skills takes a lot of classroom

practice, motivation to speak, and skill. Sometimes it is

necessary to think beyond the box, adding creative

elements wherever possible depending of course, on

the skills of your students and how open they are to

creative thinking.

Improving the speaking skills of your students may be

difficult, but the added benefit is building confidence in

students for speaking skills and strategies. Even though

the professional years are still way in the future, help

your students by starting small. Teach both speaking

and listening activities, sometimes even in one lesson,

while preparing them for that future presentation.


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That way, students dont feel the pressure and burden

when it comes their turn to present a presentation due

to remembering the fear of those earlier years during

those speaking activities.

Teaching Activity Using Speaking Activities.

Depending on the variety of visual resources and class

level and ability, a teacher can brainstorm with the

class a variety of sentences, (key) words, and phrasesaround a particular category or situational context that

is the building block for a presentation. Follow-up with

a memory game or exercise. Students then work

in pairs writing down or translating the words they

remember.

Effective Teaching Continues

Another teaching activity involves asking questionsor presenting statements that are not true aboutthemselves, and then asking their friends to decidewhether they are true or false. Students have a lot

of fun with this one.

Play Adjectives All Around! Students have oneminute to present all the adjectives they can in asentence.


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The other student then tries and guess who theperson is. Make sure they include a minimum offive adjectives and no more than seven or eight. A

teacher can use this activity to draw the studentsattention to the different categories that make upan adjective.

Additional Tips for Improving SpeakingSkills

y Allot a time limit for each and every speaking

activity. Take into consideration thoseactivities that involve either group or pair work.

y Keep the activity fun and simple. Make surethe instructions are also crystal clear.

y Dont overdo speaking activities in one lesson.y Make sure you aim for a balance between

speaking and listening.y Have a back-up plan for the entire class and

for individual students who are withdrawn.y Always reflect on what can you do as a

teacher to help students improve theirspeaking skills.

The more diverse and creative your speakingactivities become, the easier it will be for you totrain your students to improve their speaking skillsand speaking exercises will become much moreautomatic.


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10Ways to Improve Public Speaking Skills

Good public speaking skills are important to careersuccess and social effectiveness. Thankfully, there are

sure-fire ways to improve speaking skills.

Anyone wishing to advance their career or improvetheir personal effectiveness should concentrate onimproving communication skills. Being able toarticulate one's thoughts, ideas, proposals, andsuggestions in both writing and speaking will go along way toward insuring professional success.While one doesn't need to be an orator on thelevel of Martin Luther King, Jr. or William JenningsBryan, an effective public speaker is wellpositioned for success. Fortunately, there areways virtually guaranteed to improve publicspeaking skills. Here are 10 ways to become abetter public speaker:

1.Study great speakers -- Those hoping tobecome better speakers should study greatspeakers. There are numerous examples ofgreat orators in history, from Demosthenes toWinston Churchill and from FrederickDouglass to Billy Graham. Read their

speeches. Study the context of their greatestspeeches (who was their audience? what werethey trying to get the audience to believe ordo? what were the obstacles to that goal?) andhow they spoke within that context (how did


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they tap into the minds of their listeners? howdid they address the obstacles? what was theirstrategy?). If you want to be the best, learn

from the best.2.Speak witha goal -- In his book The SevenHabits of Highly Effective People, StephenCovey advises readers to "Begin with the endin mind." This is a great principle for publicspeakers. Never get up in front of an audiencewithout a clear objective. Is the goal to inform

or entertain or both? Is the goal to persuade?Is the objective to move the audience toaction? If so, what action do you wish theaudience to take?

3.Speak withenthusiasm -- No one wants tolisten to a boring speaker. The key to holdingan audience's attention to speak with passionand enthusiasm. Legendary orator WilliamJennings Bryan described eloquence as"thought on fire." The great Methodistpreacher John Wesley once said: "When youset yourself on fire, people love to come andsee you burn." Be passionate about the goalsof your presentation and let that enthusiasmflow through you.

4.Know youraudience -- Your speaking stylewill be different (or at least it should bedifferent) when you're speaking to elementaryschool students as opposed to Fortune 500chief executives. Not only will you need to


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adjust the content of your presentation(vocabulary, illustrations, etc.), but you'll alsoneed to match your personality and style to

that of your audience. One should be moreenthusiastic than his or her audience. After all,enthusiasm is critical and contagious (seeprevious point). However, a hand-clapping,cheerleader style presentation designed tothrill pre-teens might not go over as well withwell-heeled business executives.

5.Know your

t

opic

-- Knowledge breedsconfidence. Ignorance breeds nervousnessand fear. Never go into a presentationunprepared.

6.Smile -- One of the most important things aperson can do to achieve likability is to smile.A smile conveys happiness, confidence, andenthusiasm. It helps the person wearing thesmile to think positive, happy thoughts, and ittends to draw those same thoughts out ofothers as well. There are, of course, times oneshould not smile, but smiling should be thedefault facial expression. Not a forced,exaggerated smile, but a relaxed, natural one.

7.Practiceregulated breathing -- This tip isespecially for those who struggle with publicspeaking fear. Before you get up to thepodium or stand in front of the group, regulateyour breathing. Make sure your brain is gettingplenty of oxygen, and make sure you use


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breathing to maintain a calm, deliberatedemeanor.

8.Expectthe best from yourself-- Banish

worries and fears. Don't let negative thoughtsrob you of your confidence. By doing yourhomework (knowing your audience, topic, andobjectives), you have every reason to be

confident.

9.Understand theaudience wants you tosucceed -- While there may be a rare,strange person in the group (or perhaps apersonal enemy), the overwhelmingmajority of your audience wants you togive a great speech. They are rooting foryour success. The reason why is becausethey'd rather listen to a great speaker thana bad one. Draw confidence from the factthat you and your audience have acommon, positive goal.

10. Develop a servant's heart-- Theaudience isn't there to serve you. Rather,

you are there to serve them. Make aconscious decision to like and respectyour audience, and to want to give themyour very best. Be a servant. Serve youraudience. If you're giving a comedy


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presentation, your goal is to help themlaugh, not for your sake, but for theirs.Many of them had a rough day or are in

the midst of a tough situation. They needa humorous break. That's your job. Ifyou're giving a persuasive presentation,try to persuade them, not so it benefitsyou, but because you believe that whatyou have to offer will truly help them.

Serve your audience.By doing one's homework, establishing clearobjectives, and developing the rightperspective and attitude, anyone can becomea more effective and successful publicspeaker. Improving one's public speaking

skills takes time, work, and patience, but itcan be done. And it's well worth it.

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