Sun, 04 Jul, 2021

Learn 4 easiest ways to speak Good English in Public!

Table of Content

Elements of a successful conversation in English
Why is speaking in English important?
How to speak good English in public?
Why does public speaking in English matter?
Why should English be taught from an early age?

How To Speak Good English In Public?

The English language is most widely spoken with billions of native and non-native speakers around the world. Speaking in public is a big problem, and addressing a crowd in a foreign language is no more than a task. So the big question arises, how to speak good English in public? If you wonder how I can speak good English in public, we have some useful ways to improve your English speaking skills that can help you get an edge over others. But before that, let’s discuss some of the most important elements of public speaking.

Elements of a successful conversation in English

Sometimes, a conversation is not just affected because of language barriers, but there are many other factors and elements that decide if the conversation has been successful or not. The most important factor that decides a meaningful conversation is our communication skills. As we enhance our communication skills, we learn how to speak good English in public.

The general definition of communication suggests that it is a process of sending and receiving information. But there is more to it. Sometimes we mistake communication skills with just the verbal elements, but communication includes both verbal and non-verbal elements that decide the kind of impact created on the listeners. Let’s look at elements of a successful conversation to understand how to speak good English in public.

Ready to improve your communication skills and learn how to speak good English in public? Master the elements of a successful conversation today!

Body language

While communicating with people, our body language directly impacts how the message is conveyed. Body language covers a range of non-verbal signs of communication, such as the tone and pace of the voice, body posture, and hand gestures, which are equally important in successfully sending and receiving a message.

To put it in simple words, people can read the signs in our body language, and improving our body language is one of the answers to the question of how to speak good English in public. For instance, if someone is tapping their feet repeatedly, it shows agitation or nervousness. Similarly, relaxed expressions and a smile are welcoming expressions. We also give directions to people on the road with hand gestures pointing them to go right, left, or head straight on the road.

If the speaker is talking in a low voice, it will become difficult for the listeners to understand the message. At first, they might try to listen intently, but soon they will get disengaged. Similarly, speaking at a fast pace will confuse the audience. Besides the tone and pace of the voice, body posture also plays an important role. Improving your body language will help you a lot in learning how to speak good English in public.

What are the examples of negative body language?

Sitting in a slumped position.
Drooping shoulders while standing.
Expressionless or tense face.
Fidgeting and shaking legs.
Nail-biting.
Staring blankly at someone or in the void.

Pro Tip: Observe yourself when you talk or listen to someone. If you see these signs in yourself, try to replace them with positive body language. It will require conscious efforts, so be patient and kind to yourself.

Positive Body Language for Public Speaking

Stand Upright: Firstly, it is important to acquire a positive posture. Don’t pressure. Relax your body. If your muscles are tense, your fear of speaking will increase even more. So, make sure that you are comfortable first. Stand straight while giving the presentation. If you are sitting, keep your back upright. Don’t give in to the temptation of slouching. Keep your arms by your side.
Keep your head up and make eye contact: Keeping your head upright at a perfect level will show confidence and interest. If you are elsewhere and trying to avoid contact, it shows you are nervous, and if you are leaning far too backwards or forward will show that you are being arrogant.
Stand in a relaxed position: When we are nervous, balancing our bodies seems like a task. Keep one foot ahead to distribute the weight and balance yourself perfectly equally.
Use Hand Gestures: Practice incorporating hand gestures while speaking in front of a mirror. Using open gestures effectively adds up to what you have to say.

Don't let your body language give off the wrong impression! Head over to our blog to discover ways to speak Good English in Public.

Eye contact

Eye contact is essential in making a positive connection with people. Making eye contact with the listeners shows that you are confident, and it is the first step in engaging them with your speech. If you look down in your shoes or avoid making eye contact with people, they will soon get disengaged and lose interest in your topic. When you retain eye contact, it creates a bond between the speaker and the listener. If you are looking at the people while giving a speech, they are more likely to look at you and listen to you.

Confidence in speaking

Confidence is crucial in public speaking. With confidence, speakers are mindful of the tone and pace of their voice and deal with unexpected situations quite effectively. When your mind is focused, it is more likely that you can organise your thoughts effectively and coherently present them. When you are in a relaxed state of mind, you are less likely to stutter and fumble. When we are not confident, our brain gets filled with filler words like 'umms' and 'ahs' that break our flow of speech, and the listeners get disengaged. This is why the foremost priority of courses that teach how to speak good English in public is developing confidence in the students.

Story/content

Another important thing in public speaking is the storytelling and the content of your presentation. Firstly, your content should be powerful and informative to keep the audience interested and engaged. The next thing you need to focus on is the introduction of your speech. Starting a speech with a powerful quote is always better to fetch all the attention. If the beginning of your speech is strong, then there is a high chance that the listeners will stay engaged throughout your speech.

Storytelling is another crucial thing that any speaker must include in their speech. The art of storytelling can teach you a lot about how to speak good English in public. If your presentation is all about facts and information, it might get boring for the audience, and they might soon lose interest. This is why it is essential to add an emotional touch to your speech. Something that personally affects the audience. Storytelling is a powerful medium to fetch the audience's attention and bring them closer to your speech. Let’s see in what ways can you improve the content of your speech:

Entertain your audience: A speech doesn’t have to be all about serious facts and huge pieces of information that stuff the brains of people. Public speaking should be a perfect mix of entertainment, persuasion, and information. So, don’t forget to spice up your speech with wit and humor.
State powerful facts: If you have chosen a serious topic, you might face difficulties in being funny in the middle of a serious issue. If that is the case, use your problem as your strength. Incorporate bold facts and statements in your topic.
Make it relevant: People don’t care if what you have to say doesn’t relate to their emotions or experiences. So, try to make your topic relatable. After all, public speaking is not about the speaker but the listener. There should be an important message in your speech concerning the audience.

Why is speaking in English important?

Learning the English language is becoming a life skill. The ability to speak fluent English broadens the scope and opportunities in today’s world. Excellent English reading and writing skills give you an edge over others, and you have the advantage of accessing better job opportunities.

English serves the purpose of a common and global language to maintain a relationship between people of different cultures and nationalities and provide them access to science, education, travel, and jobs. So before we get to the question of how to speak good English in public, let’s look at the advantages of English speaking in today’s times:

The main advantages of speaking in English are:

Access to global career opportunities.
Increased awareness about the latest world news.
Becoming a part of intellectual discussions with people around the globe.
Easy understanding of technology as the language of technology is English.
Access to world literature.
Staying up to date with modern-day developments.

How to speak good English in public?

Public speaking is not very easy, especially if you are told to give a speech in a foreign language. It might add up to your stress. But there are ways to overcome the fear of speaking good English in public. The most important would be to practise speaking English in daily conversations. The more you practice, the more you get comfortable with the language. So, here are some ways to answer the big question of how to speak good English in public:

1. Improve your grammar

Grammar gives structure to every language. Unless you know the grammar, it won’t be possible for you to speak or write correct sentences. The command over the grammar of any language gives immense confidence in the language. The more we are aware of grammar rules, the more we can monitor the meaning of the language and use it effectively to express ourselves. Learning grammar rules is the first step toward learning how to speak good English in public. So, let’s see how you can improve your grammar:

Read more: Start a habit of reading every day. It is the most powerful tool to improve your grammar.
Develop your vocabulary: Use new words in your daily conversations.
Start Journaling: Write your everyday experiences and read them to see changes.
Refer to a grammar manual: If you are unclear about the grammatical rules, you can always refer to a grammar book to clear all the doubts.

2. Use English phrases

The clarity and structure of speech are crucial while giving a presentation. When learning how to speak good English in public the use of English phrases holds immense importance. The audience should be able to connect all the points of your speech. The use of phrases in a speech works as effective bridges to connect the audience with the different points of your speech. From giving a warm welcome to the listeners to discussing your presentation structure, there are various types of phrases you need to focus on while giving a presentation. Here are some examples of English to help you enhance the flow of your presentation:

Good Morning/Good Afternoon everyone. I welcome you all to my presentation/ Thank you for coming today.
Let me introduce myself. I am…
In today’s presentation, I’ll be talking about…
I’ve divided my presentation into three parts…
There will be a Q/A session at the end/ If you don’t mind, I’ll take questions at the end.
I’d like to bring your focus to the significance of these statistics.
To summarize my points/ I’d like to finish with the lines of a famous writer…

3. Introduction in the beginning

The introduction of your presentation decides whether the audience wants to hear the rest of the contents of your speech or not. You may have some great content lined up in your speech but how you start is the most important. A great start hooks up the audience for the rest of the speech. So, how to make your introduction impressive?

Don’t stall. State the topic in the beginning.
Establish the main points of your speech.
Explain the relevance of your topic to the audience.

Grab attention by:

Startling the audience with a bold fact or statistics.
Asking a Rhetorical Question that stirs emotions, for example,

“Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parent's arms? Or are we a nation that values families and works to keep them together?” -Barack Obama

Moving them with a quote, for example,

“If you know what you want, you can have it.”

-RH Jarrett

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4. Practice storytelling

The art of storytelling is what makes the speech captivating. It is another skill to help people learn how to speak good English in public. When the human race didn’t know how to read and write, they used to pass on important information by telling stories from one generation to another. Even now, stories inspire us, whether they are fiction or nonfiction. You must wonder how it is relevant to speak good English in public. Storytelling connects the speaker to the audience. It is easy to imagine that listening to just facts might get boring, but adding anecdotes can make them more interesting and relevant. Storytelling helps the speaker to illustrate the core message better and make it memorable.

5. Don’t underestimate pauses and stresses

Pauses and stresses are an essential part of every presentation. If you go on talking about something without giving the listeners any time to absorb the words, it will hardly make any sense to them. Great speakers practice their speech by incorporating pauses and stresses at apt places to create a powerful impact on their audience. So, practising pauses and stresses is quite essential when learning how to speak good English in public.

6. Learn new words everyday

An enhanced vocabulary always helps you to give an impressive speech. Without a good vocabulary, it is impossible to effectively express our thoughts and feelings. We don’t necessarily remember all the content that we write for the speech and especially when we are nervous, we tend to forget some of the contents of our presentation. In that case, we won’t be overwhelmed if we know a lot of words. An enriched vocabulary enables us to express the same idea in a variety of ways to highlight different perspectives and helps us to learn how to speak good English in public.

Here are some of the effective ways to improve your vocabulary:

Get a personal notebook to write new words every day.
Read for at least half an hour and highlight new words.
Use mobile apps to build a strong vocabulary.
Learn every word with its uses.

7. Join an English speaking community

Having people around with shared interests helps in personal growth greatly. Non-native speakers require a lot of practice to command the English language. The more you speak in English with people, your confidence will increase, and you will get more comfortable with the language. Ask your friends if they want to develop English speaking skills and practice with them. You can also join language forums for online practice in English. Many forums like Linguaholic or Unilang teach how to speak good English in public.

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8. Talk to your friends and family in English

Persistent English speaking practice will turn you into a confident speaker. So, utilise every opportunity of speaking in English. Every opportunity will teach you how to speak good English in public. Apart from daily conversations, try to indulge in discussions about topics of your interest. Here are some of the phrases you can use to start a conversation with your friends:

What is your name?
How old are you?
Where do you live?
What are your interests?

When introducing your old friends with someone you met recently, you can use the following phrases:

This is my best friend, Tarun.
He is from Delhi.
He loves to draw and paint.
He is sincere in his studies.

9. Listen to good English speakers

Studies show that listening can significantly improve English speaking skills. Listening to good English speakers will enhance your vocabulary and help you learn how to speak good English in public. When we listen to prolific speakers, our ability to grasp accents increases, which helps us in using correct pronunciation in our daily conversations and speeches.

English speaking basically requires correct grammar, enhanced vocabulary, and the right pronunciation to ensure accuracy and fluency. Listening to good English speakers will enhance your knowledge of all these aspects while improving your speaking skills.

Watch youtube videos, and listen to inspirational speeches and talk shows to develop your language knowledge and learn how to speak good English in public. Listening to podcasts will also help you correct pronunciation and build a good vocabulary.

10. Watch TED Talks

TED invites experts from various fields to give presentations on groundbreaking topics that are always inspiring to hear. TED is short for Technology, Entertainment, Design, it always focuses on bringing something new and informative to its listeners. Watching TED Talks improves critical thinking and exposes you to new ideas and information. You will also learn about how to speak good English in public. TED Talks will give you the recipe for giving a thought-provoking presentation and building a connection with the audience.

Why does public speaking in English matter?

Now that the world has become a global village, everyone is getting opportunities to connect with people worldwide. You can apply for jobs from the different corners of the world from your native country if you can speak good English. Knowing a foreign language increases self-esteem and confidence in interacting with new people. This is the reason for the growing popularity of courses teaching how can I speak good English in public.

Studies show that developing a strong base in the foundational years of a child helps them to face the world with confidence. Proficiency in English speaking and writing is the foremost requirement to get a good job. And with ever-increasing competition, it is necessary to start the training in English speaking in the elementary years.

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Why should English be taught from an early age?

To make them comfortable with the language.
To build confidence.
Meeting challenges at an early age prepares the ground for the next stage in their lives.
To get better grades in school.

Conclusion

The English language is spoken by billions of people worldwide. When a language is spoken on such a wide scale, learning it becomes crucial to advance in life. So, if you wonder how can I speak good English in public, it is not as difficult as it seems if you start practicing it early. The sooner you begin your English speaking journey, the easier it will get for you to get a command over it.

Book a FREE Public Speaking Class NOW!

FAQs

1. How can I speak good English in public?

Focus on improving your grammar and vocabulary. With the correct use of English phrases, you will speak effectively. Practice both verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication to impact the listeners.

2. How to improve my English speaking skills?