The Blarney Stone is a well known historical stone, or actually part of the Blarney Castle in Ireland. It was believed that kissing the stone one was granted the gift of gab. IT may appear unreasonable in today’s world, but who are we to judge or question tradition? It’s not like I’m saying that the Easter Bunny doesn’t exist (UH-OH!).
There is so much to know about conversation and social interaction that no one could ever realize (Not even me! Look at that). You can watch talk shows; radio programs; clubs dedicated to public speaking; ordinary conversations- and certain rules still apply when it comes to interaction through words. It may sound tedious but even though it’s your mouth that’s doing the work, your brain works twice as hard to churn out most of what you say. The best way, thus, to start learning to be an effective communicator is to know the very person closest to you: Yourself.
1. Your Knowledge.
Education is all about learning about the world, but to be an effective speaker is to practice what you’ve learned. My stint as a guest at every Toastmasters’ (people who are masters at toasting) meeting I go to taught me that we all have our limitations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn to keep up and share what we know.
2. Listening/Understanding
It’s just as important/essential as asking questions. Sometimes listening to the sound of our own voice can teach us to be a little bit confident with ourselves and to say the things we believe in with conviction- and it is conviction (that is not offensive or just plain stupid) is what impresses many women.
3. Humility
We all make mistakes, and sometimes we tend to slur our words, stutter, and even mispronounce certain words even though we know what it means, but use it only to impress listeners- no matter how great an orator you might be otherwise. So in a group, don’t be afraid to ask if you’re saying the right word properly- and if everyone is unsure about it then make a joke out of it. I promise you it’ll make everyone laugh/amused and thus you can get away with it.
4. Eye Contact
There’s a lot to say when it comes to directing your attention to your audience with an eye-catching gaze- it grabs their attention and listen more intently if you meet their eyes. It’s important that you keep your focus when talking to a large group in a meeting or a gathering, even though one person may be especially gorgeous and eye catching.
And that about sums it up. These suggestions are rather amateurish in edgewise, but I’ve learned to embolden myself when it comes to public or private speaking. It never hurts to be with people to listen to how they make conversations and meetings far more enjoyable as well as educational through the course of their conversation.
