How to speak more, um, effectively!

Some of us love to idea of being able to have a fountain of words flow out of our mouths without all the, um, pauses. Here’s how:

• Slow down when you talk. Believe it or not people actually are willing to listen more if you speak more slowly. Now that’s not to say speeeeeak liiiiiiike thiiiiiis, but use more caution as far as how fast you speak. It’ll eliminate you saying irrelevant material, ultimately losing listeners along the way. Also, people will remember more of what you say. This will help reduce your ums and uhhs.

• Think about what you are going to say. Thinking about what you are going to say will also reduce the chances of you using ums, uhhs, and other things of that nature. Believe it or not, those are actually speaking impediments.

• Project your voice. If you project your voice your group of listeners will actually be compelled to hear you speak simply because when you project your voice, you project confidence, which is a very attractive trait.

• Finally, increase your vocabulary. Now you don’t have to run to the dictionary to find the biggest words, but it’s time to upgrade your vocab. Trust me, when you’re young and you are speaking to older folks, you’ll actually gain rapport amongst them because they percieve you as having an older mindset or even being older than you actually are.

All these practices, with practice and you’ll be well on your way to being a great orator.