Five Dos & Don'ts of Public Speaking in English for the Beginners in Indian Context

Knowing different languages always gives you extra pace in a multilingual country like India. Being a polyglot will definitely help you to know the cultures and traditions of India. English is no exception to that list. In fact, it can drive you smoothly even in abroad. And in this job scarce market of India if you speak good English, I can assure that you won’t die starving.

So, today we will discuss five basic techniques of Public speaking in English at beginners level in Indian context :

Five Do’s of Public Speaking :-

1. Take Proper Pause :

You don’t have to catch a train my dear, so take pause while speaking. Speaking English too fast or too loud doesn’t mean you speak it well.  If your language is not intelligible to the audience then it’s of no use. So taking proper pause wherever necessary is essential as the punctuation marks are not visible while speaking. It can only be understood through your tone, pitch and intonation well.

2. Use Simple English :

If ‘said’ words are not ‘understood’ it’s not said actually. Using simple language devoid of heavy vocabulary is always better. Moreover public speaking is not an Oxford meet. As a beginner, you must focus whether you can express your thoughts well in your target language. Knowing the grammar, structure of the language should be given more priority than the high voltage vocabs at the beginning. If your foundation is weak, then the construction further will be fragile for sure.

3. Pronunciation and MTI :

If you cook Chinese noodles with Punjabi Tadka in a South Indian way, it becomes a hotchpotch. So if you speak English with your mother tongue influence(MTI) it sounds eerie. Remember, we are not native speakers of English, though our goal is to achieve it gradually. As a speaker of Indian environment and schools, most of us have mother tongue influence while speaking English. It is quite normal, But we have to learn the correct pronunciation of the words from a reliable source to reach closer to perfection. You can follow some good news channel, BBC audio to learn them easily at home.

4.Stage Fear :

The stage is not a wrestling ring. If you know how to be the sage of the stage, it’s all yours. See, we all are nervous on the dais, but those who know how to hide it well, they win. Your frequent visit to the stage helps you to get rid of the stage fear gradually. Speaking in front of the mirror can also help you. See, we learn swimming by jumping into the pool and swimming, not by the instructions of the trainer only. Similarly, the more you’ll speak, the better speaker you'll become. Even though its in simple Indian English, it's quite acceptable.

5. Correct Body Language :

Language of body is equally important as the language of your mouth. Positive body language makes the speaker easily acceptable. Proper eye contact with the audience, a decent and pleasant smiling expression on your face, not only boost your confidence but also make you acceptable among peers. Some formal etiquettes like introducing yourself, greeting the dignitaries, can also help you to have a good command over the language in an arena of public speaking.

Five Don’ts of Public Speaking :-

1. Using Fake Accent :

Ohhkhey! Fraandz Letz speek Anglis. Don’t act like MS Oxford from the first day please. Do not imitate any American, British or Australian accent from the beginning. Using fake accent makes you speech embarrassing for the audience. Rather speak in very Indian intelligible accent. But keep on working on phonetics at home if you want to sound like a native speaker.

2. Bombastic Words :

Help your peers not to yawn. You need not sound so grandiloquent to mesmerise the audience. Using too many bombastic words in your speech makes it so heavy. You need not to have a Shashi Tharoor like vocab from the very first day. So I repeat again, use simple words and easy structures of the sentences at the beginning.

3. Frequent Hand/Body Movement :

Your public speaking stage is not the court of Tae-kwon-do. Too much hand or neck movement makes you look like a puppet. Neither it’s an Odissi class, so speak it with minimum expressive approach. Some people even have a habit of continuously pulling the shirts button or tie as their habitual action. It shows that the speaker is either nervous or not conscious. Please limit it.

4. Sudden Go-Blank :

It has been seen that many students start the speech well, but stops all of a sudden. See English is neither our mother tongue, nor we speak it at social gathering much. We always tend to go with our comfortable zone by speaking in our local language. So it’s very normal for us not to be as fluent as in regional languages. Don’t go blank suddenly in the middle of your speech. People will understand that you have come here after rigorous memorization. So, breath well, go slow and try to manage with gap fillers(i.e.-hmmm…, what I mean…, I would like to., In clear words… etc.) to avoid bizarre. If your first speech is blank, your confidence level will go down.

5. Rote/Memorized Speech :

Initially we all practice our Republic Day speech from internet. But it will definitely not help you in long run. Situations will come, when you have to deliver your speech instantly. 'Extempore' is one of them. So try to remember the concepts but if you try to memorize the language too, then it might come like a boomerang to you someday. The more we will try to remember the more we will put stress on brain, and we will forget. So, try to be spontaneous and have a good depth on the themes of your speech.

These are few tips to improve your public speaking in English. If you have any suggestions for me, please comment and fill up the contact form. Thank you. Keep reading.