Why are speaking skills so important in business?
To succeed in business, you need to be able to assert yourself, pursue your goals, and, above all, persuade people. Sometimes this comes naturally when you have a great product or a revolutionary idea. However, other times you simply have to “talk your way out of it,” convincing clients or partners of the correctness of your vision. If you are a good speaker, this can be much easier. Think about the last time you experienced a similar situation. Wouldn’t it be more pleasant to defend your opinion if you were completely confident in what you were saying? If you were confident in your spoken expression? If you want to be persuasive and win over your audience, you must also have a persuasive presentation; without it, it won’t work. It is not uncommon for a poor presentation to completely destroy your efforts, even if you have data and figures, because you are unable to explain and defend the data well.
Rhetoric, or how to speak correctly
We learn to speak from childhood. However, there is a difference between speech that allows us to communicate and speech that makes you a confident and mature individual who knows what they are talking about—or at least appears to. Rhetoric, or public speaking, is a linguistic discipline that has been developing since ancient times. Essentially, you learn persuasion and eloquence, which will make your speech exceptional.
Spoken expression can be learned quite well; you just need the desire to speak better. Rhetoric is at the core of speaking skills. You can practice at home in front of a mirror, with a colleague, or using some rhetoric textbooks. You will see that you improve. However, if you want to speak really professionally, it is a good idea to find a mentor, an expert in rhetoric, at least to start with.
Verbal and nonverbal communication
Good speech is not just about talking, i.e., verbal communication. Nonverbal communication also says a lot about us – perhaps more than we would like. Above all, it reveals whether we are stressed. You probably know people who, when stressed, start swaying from side to side, stammering, speaking too quickly, or doing other things that spoil their overall presentation. This shows a certain weakness, which may not pay off in business.
If you are exposed to stress for a long time, it can also affect your work performance. Read 8 proven tips on how to get rid of stress.
Nonverbal communication includes all other aspects that can improve our overall presentation. These include volume, speed of speech, tone of voice, pauses, emphasis, gestures, facial expressions, touch, and more. An experienced speaker masters all of these, and ultimately, thanks to them, their speech is virtually flawless. Nonverbal communication needs to be practiced just as much as its verbal counterpart.
How to improve your speaking skills?
To sum up. Studies show that people form an opinion about you based on two things: how you look and how you speak. Based on this, they quickly form a first impression that is difficult to change. So what are the main tips for improving your speaking skills on your own? The following tips will help you speak better at meetings, during negotiations, or when giving a speech, for example, in front of employees
- Try to speak in a lower tone of voice. Studies show that people perceive a high tone of voice as nervousness. During negotiations, show others that you are confident in what you are saying and doing—a deeper tone sounds more trustworthy, but be careful not to overdo it, or you may come across as rude.
- If you tend to speak quickly when nervous, try to slow down your speech. It is important to realize that you are speaking too quickly, then it is easy to slow down. Speaking too quickly can be incomprehensible because listeners need to organize their thoughts during a speech or conversation. At the same time, it is much more difficult for you and you are more prone to slips of the tongue, swallowing syllables, and the like.
- Be careful with so-called filler words and sounds. Record yourself while speaking and you will probably notice that you use sounds such as “um,” “uh,” or often repeat certain words, typically “just,” “so,” “actually,” “like,” and others. Try to get rid of them and not use them.
- Don’t be afraid to remain silent. You don’t always have to say something right away. On the contrary, pausing for a moment, even when you are expected to answer a question, can increase the weight of your words and attract attention.
We will teach you how leaders speak
Communication and verbal and nonverbal expression are the foundation of managerial skills. We know that as managers, you will need to negotiate and persuade employees or colleagues to your side. You can acquire these skills by studying several MBA programs that we offer at CEMI. Specifically, you will encounter communication and speaking skills in programs such as Marketing Management and International Business.
