It’s obvious that verbal communication skills form a part of our every day. From expressing happiness, to appealing for sympathy – we use verbal communication skills for a whole manner of different things. It’s important therefore to communicate effectively, and in a way that will help best.
Many people lack confidence when it comes to verbal communication skills – but there are four simple ways in which you can help yourself to improve your verbal communication skills. These are:
Improving your vocabulary Projecting your voice when speaking Speaking clearly Practicing public speaking
They might seem quite straight forward – and they are. By taking these things into consideration you could dramatically improve your verbal communication skills.
Improving your vocabulary
The more words you know, the more you can say! It’s simple. The fact is you’ll never know every word in the dictionary – but at the same time, if you make a little effort to expand your vocabulary gradually you’ll find yourself with an expanse of different words to choose from. An impressive vocabulary can lead to better articulation – and better articulation is one of the key factors behind improving your communication skills.
Projecting your voice when speaking
You can be talking for hours on end – but if you’re not projecting your voice no one will hear you. It’s imperative you project your voice effectively – it doesn’t matter if you’re having a chat with a friend in a bar, or you’re speaking publicly. Voice projection is a major area in which a lot of people can dramatically improve their verbal communication skills.
A quiet, withdrawn speaker appears not confident and shy. That’s almost certainly not the image you want to be portraying – no matter why you’re speaking. So adopt a positive posture, raise your voice slightly and speak with confidence.
Speaking clearly
You can have all the confidence in the world with an expansive vocabulary, but if you speak too fast and people can’t understand what you’re saying, you’ll never get your point across. From speed to accents – we all speak differently – and some people might find it hard to understand you. So speak slowly to really ensure your audience understand every word you’re saying.
Practice public speaking
Public speaking is a daunting prospect for most people. In fact lots of people actively try to avoid it. From presentations in school, to addressing meetings in the workplace – there’s just something about public speaking that most people really don’t like. There’s no need to be afraid, however.
By being confident, and following the other tips above you will find speaking in public isn’t quite as daunting as you thought. In fact, you might even enjoy it! Next time it’s your turn to speak in public, for whatever reason – don’t try to shy away from it, embrace the occasion!
There are many different ways to improve verbal communication skills – but these are four of the best tips for those looking to improve on one of their most used skills. Verbal communication skills say a lot about you – what are yours like?
