Five Principles of Effective Speaking


Some great advice from John Adair's superb book on Effective Communication, which is fundamental to giving great presentations.

“Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.” (William Penn, reformer and founder of Pennsylvania)

Speaking takes many forms, ranging from the formal – addresses, discourses, orations, lectures, homilies, sermons, presentations – to the less formal. The Five Principles of Good Speaking apply to them all: govern the art or power of communicating or expressing thought through the spoken word. Apply them and you will become an effective speaker.

1. Be Clear – make your communication unclouded or transparent. Make it easy to understand.

2. Be Prepared – means active, conscious deliberation and effort before action.

3. Be Simple – so that your listeners are not put off by the unnecessarily complicated or intricate. But don’t over-simplify or talk down to your audience.

4. Be Vivid – make it come alive! Bring interest and enthusiasm into your delivery.

5. Be Natural – be yourself. What you say and how you say it should reflect who you are. Good communication is truth through personality.

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