“There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.” – Mark Twain
According to Havard University, 84% people rated the fear of Public Speaking higher than fear of death. Now you can imagine that you are not alone in this world who is afraid of public speaking.
Therefore, today I want to ask you few questions pertaining public speaking and our communications skills:
1. We have been reading English Books (school syllabus) since our childhood, still we can't speak English? That means if someone tells you to read the newspaper aloud, means it's not going to help you.
2. When you first went to school, were you not speaking Hindi? Yes, you were. Did you learn all Hindi grammar rules before you started speaking Hindi? No. That means if someone tells you to learn grammar rules, it will also not work.
3. Have you ever observe any 3 years old kid, who speaks his/her mother tongue without having enough storage of vocabulary? Observe, how that child does makeshift improvisation & gradually it improves his/her language proficiency. That means, mugging up newer and newer words will also not help you.
Remember, learning to speak is absolutely different than learning to write English.
Reading newspaper can improve your written skills, but it can't improve your spoken English as these articles and news are well drafted and written in written-type fashion. And you have to learn to speak off-hands.
Practicing in front of a mirror will definitely help you but it will give you passive-confidence. There is a huge difference between presenting in front of the audience and practicing alone.
In my next article, I will give you 5 tips to improve your speaking skills.