Speaking is the art of conveying thoughts and feelings vocally through language. It may be an informal speech or a formal one. Informal speech is the casual conversations that you have in our day-to-day life. Formal speech is the conversations that you have in official meetings, schools, and colleges. It is one of the communication skills that are necessary to maintain good relationships in the work environment. This skill gives the ability to speak with others effectively. Here are few tips that will help you to improve your verbal skills.

• EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY

Learning new words and phrases every day can widen your vocabulary. Have a target to learn few words per day and follow that throughout the year. For example, if you learn one word per day then you should have learned 365 new words in one year. These targets help you to have gradual increments daily. While you are learning be specific in what you are learning. Analyze what terms you require and learn accordingly.

• CONCENTRATE ON YOUR PRONUNCIATION

You might know a lot of words, but do you pronounce them all correctly? You may or may not. When you are learning words have the habit of learning them with the right pronunciation. You may also need to learn how to use the word, intonation, and stress. Try to use a particular accent throughout your speech and don’t mix up different accents. This will showcase your speaking efficiency.

• SPEECH SHADOWING

Shadowing helps to improve your language fluency. Shadowing is the technique of repeating a speaker right after him. It is like giving an echo to the speaker’s speech. Take a video of a good speaker and listen to it. Shadow the speaker with subtitles first, then try without transcripts. Start from simple videos, practice until you speak them perfectly, and move on to the next higher-level video.

• IMITATE GOOD SPEAKERS

This is an effective way of improving your style and proficiency by listening to others. Listen to many good speakers and try to imitate them. Here, copying is not wrong rather it is good to do so as it helps in betterment your style and outlook. First, listen, observe then imitate. While you imitate record yourself to compare with the original one. You can repeat to listen as many times as you need until you are ready.

• PRACTICE DAILY

Have a good practice of speaking the language. You may practice by speaking with your friends, colleagues or even with your family members. Start your practice from normal conversations and improve it gradually. You may also attend online classes to practice and speak along with a teacher to guide you. Practice by seeing yourself in the mirror. This self-talk enables you to know your expressions and body language. Record yourself when you practice and listen to it to correct your mistakes. Always speak with confidence in yourself. This shows your speech up. Try to keep the natural flow of the language. Use shortened forms and learn to use the word stress correctly. Participate in public events and competitions without hesitation. This will be a great learning for anyone because you gain confidence and lose fear as you do it in front of an audience.

These are some of the points that you could follow if you want to improve your speaking skills. Always keep in mind that even the best speakers emerged from the worst. So, practice hard until you master the skill. HAPPY LEARNING😊.