Queries relating to language skillsDo you find grammar confusing? Do you get stuck with words when writinga letter, an essay or a blog? Do you have a fear of public speaking? Or doyou simply want to improve your communication skills? Times NIE is here tohelp you to master the intricacies of the English language. Just shoot usyour queries on toinie175 @gmail.com

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Don’t talk rightawayTED Talks speaker Simon Sinek in aninterview to entrepreneur.com said youshould never talk as you walk out onstage. “A lot of people start talking rightaway, and it’s out of nerves,” Sinek says.“That communicates a little bit of in-security and fear.” Instead, quietly walkout on stage. Then take a deep breath,find your place, wait a few seconds andbegin. “I know it sounds long and te-dious and it feels excruciatingly awk-ward when you do it,” Sinek said, “butit shows the audience you’re totally con-fident and in charge of the situation.”

Not crafting a powerfulopening“According to Plato, ‘The beginning isthe most important part of the work.’Yet, it’s a common bad habitfor speakers to waste thoseprecious opening secondsrambling pointlessly, tellinga joke, reading an agenda,or apologisingneedlessly,

all of which fail to grab the audience’sattention and motivate them to listen,”said Darlene Price, president of WellSaid, Inc. and author of ‘Well Said! Pre-sentations and Conversations That GetResults’. You, your message, and youraudience deserve much more. So openwith a bang. Invest the thought, time,and effort to craft and memorise “themost important part of the work.” Forexample, narrate an engaging, relevantstory; state a startling statistic; or aska thought-provoking question.

Let your body languageflow naturallyBody language is an aspect of present-ing novices struggle with, but only be-cause they overthink it. ToastmastersInternational world champion ManojVasudevan (2017) said that body languagerehearsal should be minimal. The keyis to let your body follow your emotions,and for that to work you need to be emo-

tionally invested in what you’resaying. “Your body lan-

guage automat-ically

follows your voice,” he said. As for thefew elements you should practice, Toast-masters International world championDarren Tay (2016) said that you shouldkeep your gestures around the torso ofyour body. Moving your hands too closeto your face or belt is distracting. Boththe speakers agreed that appearing nat-ural on stage is ideal, but recognisedthat achieving this comfort level comeswith practice.

Tell a story Vasudevan said that for

nearly the entirety of hiswinning speech, “I’m look-ing at someone and talking tothem. It’s a huge audience, butI keep picking some randomperson who’s interested in lis-tening to me and I look at the per-son.” He said that when you arein front of a large audience, youmay need to add some drama to yourgestures and delivery, but you shouldstill speak as if you were talking to afriend across the table from you.

Make eye contactFrom beginners to veterans, the ma-jority of speakers fail to maintain mean-ingful, sustained eye contact with theirlisteners. “Unconsciously, their eyesscurry from person to person, dartingaround the room, without ever pausingto actually see the recipients oftheir message,” said DarlenePrice. “Lack of eye contactimplies a list of offences: in-

sincerity, disinterest, de-tachment, insecurity,shiftiness, and even arro-gance.” To visually connect,maintain eye contact for at least

two to three seconds per per-son, or long enough to completea full phrase or sentence. Effectiveeye communication is the most im-portant nonverbal skill in a speak-er’s toolbox.

Ignore the naysayersDismiss the people furrowing their brows,crossing their arms or shaking theirheads “no.” Instead, focus only on yoursupporters – the people who are visiblyengaged, enjoying your presentation andnodding “yes.” If you find audience mem-bers who are positively interacting with

you, you’ll be much more confidentand relaxed than if you try to con-

vince the naysayers.

Get comfortable with the environment

It will help you to feel more comfort-able and secure when the big day ar-rives. Another suggestion would be toplant a few supportive friends or fam-ily members in the audience who canthrow you an encouraging look or twoas you are presenting. Just realise thatyou may get so caught up in the speech

that you may not actually seethem! Still, it could be acomfort to have them

there.

Impact ending It’s fine to invite the audience’s

comments and questions; however, besure to end strong. Craft an effective three-part closing where you deliver a strongsummary; present a call-to-action; and con-clude with a powerful closing statement.Develop the habit of saying last what youwant your audience to remember most.

Let your personality comethroughBe yourself, don’t become a talking head– in any type of communication. You willestablish better credibility if your per-sonality shines through, and your audi-ence will trust what you have to say ifthey can see you as a real person.

Practice does not make perfectGood communication is never perfect.However, putting in the requisite timeto prepare will help you deliver a bet-ter speech. You may not be able to shakeyour nerves entirely, but you can learnto minimise them.

“Do not believe what your teacher tells youmerely out of respect for the teacher”

Gautama Buddha

10Hi friends. We are

These advice applies to everythingfrom a TED Talk to a public speakingcompetition in your school

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

POWERFUL PUBLICSPEAKING TIPS

At sixes and sevensMeaning: We use this British expres-sion when we are confused or in astate of disorderExample: The government was atsixes and sevens over what to do aboutthe unemployment rate.

Catch-22Meaning: A no-win situationExample: I can’t start my own business,until I have money, and I can’t getmoney until I start my own business. It’sa Catch-22 situation.

A stitch in time saves nine Meaning: A proverb that refers to theimportance of precautionExample: It seems that something’swrong with my car, it’s better to get acheck-up as a stitch in time saves nine.

Fifteen minutes of fameMeaning: Brief, superficial celebrity Example: Priya had her 15 minutes offame when she appeared on the nightlynews broadcast.

One-horse townMeaning: A town that is small and not important.Example: I grew up in a one-horsetown. I moved away at the first chance I had.

Oncloud nineMeaning: Like seventhheaven, this expression is used whensomeone feels very happy because ofsomething great that has happened tothem.Example: She’s been on cloud ninesince since she got the scholarship tostudy abroad.

Kill two birds with one stone Meaning: Achieve two goals with one actionExample: I have to go to the bank,and on the way back, I’ll pick up thegroceries too, killing two birds withone stone.

Nine livesMeaning: A reference to having good luck.

Example:Virat Kohli

was dropped fivetimes in the match. It

seems he had nine lives.

Nine times out of tenMeaning: Almost always.Example: She beats me at chess ninetimes out of ten.

Wouldn’t touch (someoneor something) with a ten-foot poleMeaning: A reference to assiduouslyavoiding something.Example: I wouldn’t touch that car witha ten-foot pole – it’s a fuel guzzler.

Two cents’ worthMeaning: An individual’s opinion.Example: You didn’t ask for my twocents but I’ll tell you anyway.

NUMBERIDIOMS

Photo: Getty images

See, Look at andWatch See: To notice things or peo-ple with your eyes.Look at: When you try tosee something or someone. Watch: To look at somethingfor a period of time.

ExamplesDid you see that shooting star?He turned and looked at him.Let’s watch a movie this evening.

Stay and Spend Stay: To continue in oneplace or to continue doingsomething. Spend: To use time/to use money.

ExamplesWhere did you stay when you

went to Japan? We stayed at a hotel.I just can’t seem to stop spending.I spend too much timewatching television.

Tortuous andTorturousTortuous means full of twists;complex. Torturous means full of painor suffering.

ExamplesThe streets are narrow, tor-tuous and inaccessible tocarriages.The path to peace seems atlast to be clear, although itmay be a long and tortuous one.

Lightening andLightningLightening means becomingless dark. Lighten can alsomean to make happier or

less serious. Lightning means electricaldischarge in the sky.

ExamplesThe painter mixed somewhite into the blue, lighten-ing the colour.Putting on a funny movie is one way of lightening the mood.He saw lightning in the darkclouds; a few seconds laterhe heard thunder.

Sceptic and SepticSceptic means a personinclined to doubt. Septic means infected with bacteria.ExamplesPeople say it can cure cough,but I’m a bit of a sceptic.He neglected the small cut on his finger and itwent septic.

CONFUSINGWORDSMADE EASY

Blatant

1Used by Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser in his epic poem‘The Faerie Queene,’ this word originally referred to a thou-

sand-tongued beast. Since then it has come to mean some-thing that is glaringly obvious and in-your-face, like an ele-phant in the room.

Chortle

2 The word ‘chortle’ was coinedby Lewis Carroll in his chil-

dren’s story ‘Through the LookingGlass.’ It is probably a blend of’chuckle’ and ’snort’. It means tolaugh in a noisy, gleeful way.

Airy-fairy

3The phrase ‘airy-fairy’ — now used as a derogato-ry term for something light and insubstantial —

can be traced back to Tennyson’s use of it in one ofhis early poems, ‘Lilian’ (1830).

Utopia

4Coined by SirThomas More, this

word was first used as thename for More’s fictional

island in his 1516 book,Utopia. The word “utopia”

has since become used todescribe any ideal world.

Panglossian

5A panglossian is optimistic regardlessof the circumstances. It’s derived from

Voltaire’s Candide (1759).

5 WORDS we got from Literature