Four Efficient Ways to Improve Your Speech
1. Use More Facial Expression
One psychologist feels that our facial expression is responsible more than anything else for the impression others have of us. In fact, more than 50 percent of another’s impression, he believes, is influenced by the look on your face. Naturally a smile in which the eyes participate is extremely communicative. An unfriendly look often brings the same thing in return. People tend to mirror your expression, so try to show how you feel about a topic or an idea or the audience through your facial expression.
2. Rid Your Inner Fear
It's natural to have some tension or nervousness when you appear before an audience. The way to handle it is to put it to work for you, get into action, as Shakespeare observed, action cures fear. There are only a few known ways to control fear. The first is to admit it, do the thing you fear and it will be the death of fear itself. Another simple aid at the last minute before you begin, is to take a few deep breaths, this will help get the butterflies in formation and also keep your voice under control. In fact, if you’re thoroughly prepared, just taking a few deep breaths before you’re introduced will give you added confidence and balance. Other known ways to control nervousness and fear are to give yourself an encouraging talk or take some physical exercise.
3. Polish Your Voice
Our voice is the main instrument we possess for communicating with people, we’re all sound sensitive. So invest in a tape recorder, practise your speech by speaking it into the microphone then listen to it. You can even have others join in the evaluation of your strong points and your weaknesses or faults as well. Remember that Demosthenes and Winston Churchill both used pebbles in their mouths while practising their speaking. Simply reading out loud can also help you improve your voice and develop a personal style.
4. Strengthen Your Memory
Psychologists tell us that most individuals don’t use above ten percent of their natural capacity for memory, that’s comparable to trying to run a car on one cylinder(汽缸). Why do most people use so little of their power of memory? Because they don’t practise the fundamentals of remembering. First and most important, it’s necessary to have a burning desire to remember, it’s difficult to recall anything without wanting to do so. Step number two is concentration. Henry Ward Beecher once observed, one hour of intense concentration can accomplish more than years of dreaming. The next principle is repetition, we learned many things in school by rote by repetition, when you hear a name for the first time repeat it, spell it, write it down, review it, you’ll soon know it by heart.
1.To make a good impression on others, you should pay special attention to your ______.
A. voice B. gestures
C. facial expression D. words
2.Which of the ways to rid yourself of your inner fear is NOT included in the passage?
A. take a deep breath
B. take some physical exercise
C. keep your voice under control
D. encourage yourself
3.You can improve our voice by ______.
A. listening to the tape
B. imitating others
C. keeping pebbles in your mouth
D. reading out loud
4.According to the article, which of the following is true?
A. We can strengthen our memory by practising.
B. We can remember things longer if we do not try to remember them on purpose.
C. Henry Ward Beacher believes that repetition is the key to long memory.
D. We can only remember names sooner by repeating them.
