On speaking confidently.

In about 3 weeks from now, all sixers across the country have to go through an important rite of passage to guarantee a spot in universities: the Malaysian English University Test (MUET). The test consists of the 4 elements that make up basic communication skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Among these 4, speaking to me is the scariest of them all, because you not only have to be proficient in the language, which is the basic requirement for all 4 exams, but you also need confidence, charisma, boldness, and communicate well as an individual as well as within a team.

Today, I'm going to discuss about the art of speaking itself and how we can improve it. Mind you, I'm no expert in this, because I do have stage fright, I do stutter and don't speak clearly often. But let's learn together, shall we? :)

Some people are naturally good orators, which means that they can speak boldly to a crowd of any size and their voices, their way of speech and their body language exudes command and confidence to their hearers. You know the kind. Don't you envy them, in the 'How I wish I was confident like that' sort of way?

Another fact about orators is that any prospective politician needs to be a good speaker to win the hearts of the people he or she is speaking. If a politician has to scream or if he or she talks very softly, how can people easily get the message that he or she is trying to pass to the people? Just a thought...I won't go into too much detail about politics for now.

However, not everyone is naturally good in speaking, and most of us tend to be just content speaking within our groups of friends and not going beyond that (Yea, but ouch...!). However, as we exit high school and enter college/university life and beyond, there would be more and more occasions where we would have to present or speak something in public, and speaking therefore becomes an essential skill that we ought to master.

Here are a few tips and pointers that I'd learned from the advice of teachers and friends, as well as personal experience and I'd like to share with you:

• First of all, practice makes perfect. Even though we may start off with zero confidence, confidence comes naturally with practice as we understand the things that we are speaking better, as well as our own way of speech that we feel comfortable in. Personally, I don't feel too easy looking in the mirror and speaking to myself, because normally when you look in a mirror you tend to look for flaws. What I would try is to practice in front of trusted people who'll give me an honest opinion. Speaking of that...
• Seek out speaking opportunities. From something as small as answering a teacher or lecturer's questions to the more challenging things such as public speaking and debating, try to be involved in any activities that involve speaking instead of shying away from it. And when I say this, I mean speaking activities of any language you know, as these are opportunities to brush up your skills. I tend to start sharing or speaking among a supportive group of people who I know will give me an honest opinion and constructive criticism (yes, we all need it no matter how disappointing it sounds...!), then after getting better we can then move on to more activities (if you are interested).
• Another tip is to observe the way other people speak and convey their messages across. Teachers and lecturers would be a good example, as well as friends you know that can speak well. Observe the way they carry themselves as they speak, the words that they use and their body language and learn from them. However, don't copy their style; you are you, they are them, and each of us have different ways of expressing ourselves, so learn from others but also explore and use your personal flair. :)

I hope that these 3 tips can help us to learn and improve in our speaking skills. No, you don't have to be a public speaker or debater or politician, but you can definitely enjoy clearer communication with those around you as well as more confidence.

Speaking about that, deep down, I actually do like to speak and be heard, but always didn't have the guts to do so. However, thanks to the support of parents, teachers and friends, I'm glad that I've made progress. If there's no change of plans, I'm going to be the emcee of our school assembly 2 weeks from now, thanks to the warrior spirit that I'm developing now (I volunteered...now what did I just do?). *Gives herself a pep talk* I can do it! :)