being a good speaker essay

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Essay on Qualities of a Good Speaker (1500 Words)

A good speaker possess many qualities; as he can engage their audience. They should have an engaging speaking style and be able to speak clearly and confidently, while also being able to engage with the crowd. A good speaker can also make their audience feel comfortable, whether they’re speaking in front of a large group or just one person.

A good speaker is someone who can communicate effectively. They are able to get their points across in a way that makes people want to listen, without being too wordy or too rushed. A good speaker is also someone who can adapt their style and tone so that it works best for the audience they’re speaking with.

How to become a good speaker?

• Develop a good speaking voice.
• Practice public speaking.
• Learn to speak clearly and loudly.
• Practice in front of the mirror, if you can’t get a real audience to listen to you, or if you want to practice before giving a speech at school or work.
• Learn how to use gestures effectively as part of your presentation style. Try writing down one thing that could improve your gestures, like: not moving too much on stage; having an interesting gesture for every point; pointing out important things with gestures instead of just saying them out loud—and then do it!
• Make sure that when you are standing up at the front of the room, people have no problem hearing what is being said by looking at their faces instead of other parts of their bodies (e.g., feet). This means making eye contact with each member sitting in front row so they know what’s going on onstage right away without turning away from speakers’ faces all together!

Good physical condition

Good physical condition is very important for a good speaker. The ability to stand and speak in front of an audience is one of the most important qualities that every speaker should have. A speaker who lacks good physical condition must be able to imagine himself or herself as strong and fit, otherwise he/she cannot deliver an effective speech. Good health helps you maintain your body weight and keeps you away from diseases. It also helps keep your mind clear, so that you can think straight during meetings or public speaking events. In short, it makes your life easier!

Confidence is essential to becoming a good speaker. It helps you deliver your message with confidence and ease, which gives others confidence in you as well. Confidence is important because it puts the audience at ease, making it easier for them to listen and learn from you.

Proper knowledge

The speaker should be well-versed with the subject he or she wishes to address and should know about it in detail so that he or she can speak on it confidently. They must also be able to answer any question from the audience without hesitation. The audience will feel satisfied when they are given answers to their questions, and they will also be able to understand what the speaker is saying easily. A good speaker should be able to explain complicated topics by using simple words and sentences, so that all people can understand him/her easily.

A good voice is typically clear and audible. It should be pleasant to listen to, appropriate for the occasion, controlled, and confident. A person who speaks with a high-pitched or whiny voice will have trouble being taken seriously by most audiences. A person whose voice is too low-pitched will also struggle to be heard above competing noise levels in large venues. By contrast, a speaker whose speech sounds natural and relaxed is usually easier on the ears than someone who shouts or whispers into their microphone.

Interesting delivery

A good speaker does not have to be a great orator. A person can be an excellent speaker without being a good public speaker. Listening to a boring and monotonous speech is not the same as watching a movie or reading an interesting book. In order for one to become successful in this field, he must learn how to talk in a manner that will capture the audience’s attention and keep them interested throughout his entire speech. If you want your audience to remember what you say, then you should always be mindful of the following:

• Make use of gestures
• Use facial expressions
• Use body language (including eye contact)
• Deliver your words clearly using voice modulation techniques such as pauses and volume changes

Effective body language

Good body language is not only important for a speaker, but also for the audience listening to them. Body language is a form of communication and it can affect how others perceive you. Effective body language includes using gestures, eye contact and facial expressions appropriately. Good speakers pay attention to how they are standing or sitting while they speak and make sure their posture is open so they appear approachable and friendly.

Good speakers use appropriate hand gestures when speaking in order to reinforce what they are saying verbally. For example, if you are talking about something new that you want people to learn about, you could use an upwards motion with your hands as if pulling up information from the ground into your mind – this shows that there is more information available on the topic that can be learned by others if desired by them as well

Bad body language includes crossing your arms across your chest or putting one leg over another during presentation time signs of hostility towards others who might be listening in on what’s said during lecture sessions

Properly organized speech

• A good speaker is well prepared. In order to convey a message, you must have all the facts necessary to do so. You cannot speak on something that you do not know about or about which you have insufficient information. A good speaker will not just read from notes but will also be able to speak extemporaneously as it adds credibility to what they are saying.
• A good speaker is organized in his thoughts and ideas. He knows exactly what he wants to say and how he wants the audience to perceive it. This gives him confidence when talking because there are no surprises waiting for him along the way that may throw off his train of thought or keep him from getting his message across clearly and concisely.
• A good speaker is clear about her/his message: She/he knows exactly what she/he wants out of an audience; whether it’s convincing them that there should be more support given by local government agencies towards helping homeless people find employment opportunities; persuading them into thinking differently about cultural diversity (by showing different types) than their peers do; encouraging them take action against political leaders who don’t care about human rights violations occurring within their country borders

A good speaker influences his audience.

The quality of speaking is often the most important in a speaker. A good speaker has the ability to influence his audience and guide them through his message. The main qualities of such a person are:

• He should be able to expand his knowledge and understanding.
• He must understand the message he wants to convey and present it in such a way that others can easily understand as well.
• His words must be clear, concise, and easy for others to relate with their own lives or experiences in order for them to grasp what he’s saying and retain it longer than just from one meeting or presentation at work or school where they were given the topic material beforehand along with questions they should ask themselves while listening out loud during class discussions afterwards so everything feels like new again when presented orally instead (such as with speeches).

Vocal qualities of a good speaker

• Good voice quality. A good speaker has a pleasant, clear voice that is easy to hear and understand. It does not have any problems such as breathing or vocal tension, which might make it hard for others to listen to the speaker without being distracted by those sounds.
• Clear diction. A good speaker can speak clearly so that listeners can understand everything they say without having to ask them to repeat themselves (or using their fingers). This means that they don’t mumble or slur words together into one sound (for example, saying “somms” instead of “some”) and they don’t use slang or informal terms in formal situations such as lectures at school or business meetings at work.
• Clear enunciation . When you talk about something that interests you very much—say, your favorite movie star—you probably talk faster than usual because excitement helps give you energy! If someone who speaks English well says this sentence out loud while excitedly talking about his/her favorite movie star, he/she would probably say: “You know who my favorite movie star is?” However , if he/she were tired after watching an action packed film last night then maybe he/she wouldn’t have time today so instead he/she would just tell us what happened instead – like “I saw John Wayne shoot down all these bad guys last night.” But during class we’re supposed listen carefully too so here’s how we would write this sentence down when describing our favorite scene from another classic western film starring Clint Eastwood called The Outlaw Josey Wales:

A good speaker can make a difference in the world and inspire people to do great things. A good speaker is also able to influence his audience and change their minds about things. The qualities that a good speaker should have are many, but they all come down to being knowledgeable, confident and clear when speaking with others.

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Public Speaking as an Effective Skill Essay

Public speaking is a highly important and useful skill that carries multiple advantages for personal life and professional career. Public speaking skills are required for specialists of various kinds. In this regard, mastering public speaking is going to serve as great enforcement for anyone. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate different situations where public speaking skills play an important role to show the reasons why public speaking is considered an effective skill.

First of all, the knowledge of theoretical and practical sides of public speaking provides one with multiple benefits such as understanding the ways people think and process the information, communicating thoughtfully and with higher efficiency, using the critical thinking, knowing how to organise and prepare presentations, researching the unfamiliar audiences and using appropriate communication strategies (Coopman, Lull 2014, p. 12). It is a well-known fact that most people experience certain difficulties in adjusting to a new society. For example, in a situation when a person starts working at a new place, they would feel the need to fit into the group of new co-workers, find a common language and establish friendly atmosphere at the workplace.

Public speaking skills provide a person with an ability to evaluate the audience, analyse their needs, learn their potentials, and successfully build contact with them. Proper application of public speaking knowledge will allow the new member of a group to move through the stage of getting to know the colleagues and feel comfortable talking with new people in unfamiliar situations (Coopman & Lull 2014, p. 12). In this case, public speaking skills will allow avoiding the discomfort at the workplace, which may lead to disruption of the work process and create problems for the whole company.

The most obvious situation where public speaking skills are always very useful is an actual performance in front of a group of people such as a public address, presentation of a new project at work, or a motivational speech. In such situations, the speaker can represent a group of fellows or the ideas important for many people. Due to this, a successful performance and efficient delivery of information are highly valuable and important (Keith & Lundberg 2013, p. 4). When one person is chosen to speak on behalf of many, it creates a certain pressure and responsibility for the speaker. In the case of the successful performance of one, the whole group will benefit. The good public speaker has to be able to present the information, keep the audience interested in the delivered ideas, and defend the point of view in case of criticism or counter argumentation.

The skills of public speaking provide one with courage, confidence, and the ability to fluently express themselves. One more situation that demonstrates the importance of public speaking skills is a casual conversation with a stranger. People are social creatures, interpersonal relationships of different kinds are highly important for us. Starting and maintaining friendships, being close to family members, having romantic relationships makes our lives easier and fuller. A skillful speaker will be able to represent themselves in the best and most appropriate way. This can be quite a challenging occupation. Performing in front of just one person is another variation of public speaking (Goldwasser 2006, p. 42). Successful personal representation in any situation, will it be a first date or a job interview, is extremely meaningful for anyone. This is why the development of public speaking skills is considered highly beneficial.

To conclude, almost every day, people face situations where speaking in front of an audience is required. The size of the audience may vary from one to hundreds or thousands of people, but the importance of professional and efficient delivery of information is always high. Knowledge of theoretical and practical sides of public speaking will enable the speaker to feel confident and comfortable and to present themselves and the necessary information in the best ways.

Coopman, S. & Lull, J. 2014, Public Speaking: The Evolving Art. Cengage Learning United States, Boston.

Goldwasser, I. 2006, Interactive Communication: A Guide to Effective Communication. Pearson Education Australia, Sydney.

Keith, W. & Lundberg, C. 2013, Public Speaking: Choice and Responsibility. Cengage Learning United States, Boston.

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IvyPanda. (2020, May 12). Public Speaking as an Effective Skill. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-speaking-skills/

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IvyPanda . 2020. "Public Speaking as an Effective Skill." May 12, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-speaking-skills/.

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Better Public Speaking

Becoming a Confident, Compelling Speaker

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Whether we're talking in a team meeting or presenting in front of an audience, we all have to speak in public from time to time.

We can do this well or we can do this badly, and the outcome strongly affects the way that people think about us. This is why public speaking causes so much anxiety and concern.

The good news is that, with thorough preparation and practice, you can overcome your nervousness and perform exceptionally well. This article and video explain how.

Click here to view a transcript of this video.

The Importance of Public Speaking

Even if you don't need to make regular presentations in front of a group, there are plenty of situations where good public speaking skills can help you advance your career and create opportunities.

For example, you might have to talk about your organization at a conference, make a speech after accepting an award, or teach a class to new recruits. Speaking to an audience also includes online presentations or talks; for instance, when training a virtual team, or when speaking to a group of customers in an online meeting.

Good public speaking skills are important in other areas of your life, as well. You might be asked to make a speech at a friend's wedding, give a eulogy for a loved one, or inspire a group of volunteers at a charity event.

In short, being a good public speaker can enhance your reputation, boost your self-confidence , and open up countless opportunities.

However, while good skills can open doors, poor ones can close them. For example, your boss might decide against promoting you after sitting through a badly-delivered presentation. You might lose a valuable new contract by failing to connect with a prospect during a sales pitch. Or you could make a poor impression with your new team, because you trip over your words and don't look people in the eye.

Make sure that you learn how to speak well!

Strategies for Becoming a Better Speaker

The good news is that speaking in public is a learnable skill. As such, you can use the following strategies to become a better speaker and presenter.

Plan Appropriately

First, make sure that you plan your communication appropriately. Use tools like the Rhetorical Triangle , Monroe's Motivated Sequence , and the 7Cs of Communication to think about how you'll structure what you're going to say.

When you do this, think about how important a book's first paragraph is; if it doesn't grab you, you're likely going to put it down. The same principle goes for your speech: from the beginning, you need to intrigue your audience.

For example, you could start with an interesting statistic, headline, or fact that pertains to what you're talking about and resonates with your audience. You can also use story telling as a powerful opener; our Expert Interviews with Annette Simmons and Paul Smith offer some useful tips on doing this.

Planning also helps you to think on your feet . This is especially important for unpredictable question and answer sessions or last-minute communications.

Remember that not all occasions when you need to speak in public will be scheduled. You can make good impromptu speeches by having ideas and mini-speeches pre-prepared. It also helps to have a good, thorough understanding of what's going on in your organization and industry.

There's a good reason that we say, "Practice makes perfect!" You simply cannot be a confident, compelling speaker without practice.

To get practice, seek opportunities to speak in front of others. For example, Toastmasters is a club geared specifically towards aspiring speakers, and you can get plenty of practice at Toastmasters sessions. You could also put yourself in situations that require public speaking, such as by cross-training a group from another department, or by volunteering to speak at team meetings.

If you're going to be delivering a presentation or prepared speech, create it as early as possible. The earlier you put it together, the more time you'll have to practice.

Practice it plenty of times alone, using the resources you'll rely on at the event, and, as you practice, tweak your words until they flow smoothly and easily.

Then, if appropriate, do a dummy run in front of a small audience: this will help you calm your jitters and make you feel more comfortable with the material. Your audience can also give you useful feedback , both on your material and on your performance.

Engage With Your Audience

When you speak, try to engage your audience. This makes you feel less isolated as a speaker and keeps everyone involved with your message. If appropriate, ask leading questions targeted to individuals or groups, and encourage people to participate and ask questions.

Keep in mind that some words reduce your power as a speaker. For instance, think about how these sentences sound: "I just want to add that I think we can meet these goals" or "I just think this plan is a good one." The words "just" and "I think" limit your authority and conviction. Don't use them.

A similar word is "actually," as in, "Actually, I'd like to add that we were under budget last quarter." When you use "actually," it conveys a sense of submissiveness or even surprise. Instead, say what things are. "We were under budget last quarter" is clear and direct.

Also, pay attention to how you're speaking. If you're nervous, you might talk quickly. This increases the chances that you'll trip over your words, or say something you don't mean. Force yourself to slow down by breathing deeply. Don't be afraid to gather your thoughts; pauses are an important part of conversation, and they make you sound confident, natural, and authentic.

Finally, avoid reading word-for-word from your notes. Instead, make a list of important points on cue cards, or, as you get better at public speaking, try to memorize what you're going to say – you can still refer back to your cue cards when you need them.

Pay Attention to Body Language

If you're unaware of it, your body language will give your audience constant, subtle clues about your inner state. If you're nervous, or if you don't believe in what you're saying, the audience can soon know.

Pay attention to your body language: stand up straight, take deep breaths, look people in the eye, and smile. Don't lean on one leg or use gestures that feel unnatural.

Many people prefer to speak behind a podium when giving presentations. While podiums can be useful for holding notes, they put a barrier between you and the audience. They can also become a "crutch," giving you a hiding place from the dozens or hundreds of eyes that are on you.

Instead of standing behind a podium, walk around and use gestures to engage the audience. This movement and energy will also come through in your voice, making it more active and passionate.

Think Positively

Positive thinking can make a huge difference to the success of your communication, because it helps you feel more confident.

Fear makes it all too easy to slip into a cycle of negative self-talk, especially right before you speak, while self-sabotaging thoughts such as "I'll never be good at this!" or "I'm going to fall flat on my face!" lower your confidence and increase the chances that you won't achieve what you're truly capable of.

Use affirmations and visualization to raise your confidence. This is especially important right before your speech or presentation. Visualize giving a successful presentation, and imagine how you'll feel once it's over and when you've made a positive difference for others. Use positive affirmations such as "I'm grateful I have the opportunity to help my audience" or "I'm going to do well!"

Cope With Nerves

How often have you listened to or watched a speaker who really messed up? Chances are, the answer is "not very often."

When we have to speak in front of others, we can envision terrible things happening. We imagine forgetting every point we want to make, passing out from our nervousness, or doing so horribly that we'll lose our job. But those things almost never come to pass! We build them up in our minds and end up more nervous than we need to be.

Many people cite speaking to an audience as their biggest fear, and a fear of failure is often at the root of this. Public speaking can lead your "fight or flight" response to kick in: adrenaline courses through your bloodstream, your heart rate increases, you sweat, and your breath becomes fast and shallow.

Although these symptoms can be annoying or even debilitating, the Inverted-U Model shows that a certain amount of pressure enhances performance. By changing your mindset, you can use nervous energy to your advantage.

First, make an effort to stop thinking about yourself, your nervousness, and your fear. Instead, focus on your audience: what you're saying is "about them." Remember that you're trying to help or educate them in some way, and your message is more important than your fear. Concentrate on the audience's wants and needs, instead of your own.

If time allows, use deep breathing exercises to slow your heart rate and give your body the oxygen it needs to perform. This is especially important right before you speak. Take deep breaths from your belly, hold each one for several seconds, and let it out slowly.

Crowds are more intimidating than individuals, so think of your speech as a conversation that you're having with one person. Although your audience may be 100 people, focus on one friendly face at a time, and talk to that person as if he or she is the only one in the room.

Watch Recordings of Your Speeches

Whenever possible, record your presentations and speeches. You can improve your speaking skills dramatically by watching yourself later, and then working on improving in areas that didn't go well.

As you watch, notice any verbal stalls, such as "um" or "like." Look at your body language: are you swaying, leaning on the podium, or leaning heavily on one leg? Are you looking at the audience? Did you smile? Did you speak clearly at all times?

Pay attention to your gestures. Do they appear natural or forced? Make sure that people can see them, especially if you're standing behind a podium.

Last, look at how you handled interruptions, such as a sneeze or a question that you weren't prepared for. Does your face show surprise, hesitation, or annoyance? If so, practice managing interruptions like these smoothly, so that you're even better next time.

Chances are that you'll sometimes have to speak in public as part of your role. While this can seem intimidating, the benefits of being able to speak well outweigh any perceived fears. To become a better speaker, use the following strategies:

• Plan appropriately.
• Engage with your audience.
• Pay attention to body language.
• Think positively.
• Cope with your nerves.
• Watch recordings of your speeches.

If you speak well in public, it can help you get a job or promotion, raise awareness for your team or organization, and educate others. The more you push yourself to speak in front of others, the better you'll become, and the more confidence you'll have.

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Explained: 11 Qualities of a Great Speaker

Hrideep barot.

• Body Language & Delivery , Presentation , Public Speaking

“ Becoming is better than being” -Carol Dweck

Good public speaking is a talent that some are born with, and others acquire over time. While there is some advantage claimed by the former, everyone has equal potential to develop this skill. 

A great speaker possesses a wide array of qualities right from confidence, research skills, charisma, ability to modulate voice, appropriate body language, and more. We’ll talk about these in detail in the following article.

Before we dive into the importance of being a good speaker and applying this skill in the real world, let me clarify that you won’t be receiving the generic advice that most blogs and people out there give.

You must’ve heard things like “bring more ‘passion’ into your speech”, or “talk with confidence”, “be more energetic”, “talk louder”. But to be frank, those are all ridiculous tips with no applicability at all. Hardly anyone tells you what does ‘passion’ mean in this context, or HOW exactly is one to bring confidence on the table.

Well, if you’ve been a victim to these ludicrous suggestions, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ll tell you the exact meaning behind each of the qualities that we believe are possessed by a great speaker. Now, before we dive into the qualities…

Why is being a good speaker important?

It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or extrovert, a student or a professional, an artist or a manager, we all at some point in our lives have had to/will have to speak to an audience. As a student, it might be for things like elocution competitions, as an adult, it might be for business presentations. 

Whether it is a daily requirement or a rare opportunity, it is important to make an impact on the listeners. Being able to deliver a message effectively gives you a sense of power over your audience and makes you feel heard. It gives your opinions dominance over others. 

Now there are some nuances that need to be looked at. The qualities and traits possessed by an impactful speaker as follows:

• Eccentricity
• Relatability
• Story-telling
• Authenticity

A  great speaker does not beat around the bush, they’re very direct. They understand the value of time and therefore conduct themselves with precision. Sure, sometimes to build context they might indulge in stories or more personal anecdotes, however, they’re all essential to prove a point. 

He/she is aware of the fact that our attention span is progressively shrinking, and so they would make sure to keep their message short and sweet. 

That brings us to the next quality, awareness. Not the spiritual kind though, there is a very specific area of awareness that I refer to,  here. A great speaker has the knowledge of when, where, how, and how MUCH to speak.

What I mean by that is he/she has the ability to analyse a situation presented to them. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. How you do that is you ask yourself a bunch of questions:

• Do I have something meaningful to say?
• Do I have a substantial amount of points to prove my point?
• Is the time and place appropriate for a discussion? (For eg. You can’t talk about the importance of scientific temper at a wedding or a funeral)
• Are the people you’re speaking to the intended audience for what you have to say? 

Analyzing the audience is very important. What you say can differ according to the set of people you’re speaking to.

Adults would require different presentation skills and content than young children or adolescents. One needs to be aware of it. 

Being a good listener is one of the first steps to becoming a great speaker. How so, you may ask? Well, active listening is not only a pleasant trait to have but it also induces the virtue of patience in a person.

Being a patient listener allows you to grasp useful information and discard useless information which ultimately brings more clarity. It is a wise trait since it allows you to open your mind and acquire new perspectives into your own speech. 

And this is a passive activity, being a patient listener to a random stranger or your colleague might end up giving you insights that you can then incorporate in your content.

#Eccentricity

A great speaker is considered great not only because of the way they speak but also (and perhaps more importantly) for WHAT they say. In this case, eccentricity is not a vice but a virtue.

What some people call “eccentric”, others call unique. Eccentricity has always had a negative connotation attached to it. However, they don’t realise that it gives a person a completely fresh perspective of the world. They see it in a different light, away from the norm. 

A great speaker does exactly that, take their UNIQUE view of the world and present it eloquently. In a way that consumes the audiences’ attention, they stay true to their own selves and shine a light on the lens through which they perceive things. 

And in today’s “out of the box thinking” world, the ability to be good at refreshingly presenting your ideas can take you places!

A great speaker usually concludes with actionable content, their speech is designed in such a manner that it urges you to do something at the end of it. 

For example, after listening to a motivational speaker, more often than not, you feel inspired to change something about your life for the better. That’s the magic of the speaker. If you feel indifferent while listening to a motivational speaker, then he/she would be considered to be failing at their job. 

#Relatability 

They know that if something is complex, it needs to be broken down into simple words. A great speaker knows how to explain or prove a point to even a layman, that’s how strong their command over language is.

This goes on to say that you need to really *understand* what you intend to talk about, down to the T. Only then would you be able to make it relatable. People understand things better when they can relate to it, situationally, or using metaphors. 

For example, a child does not understand complex concepts like business, but you must’ve seen a parent explaining to a child the idea of business like a barter system where they have to trade toys with a friend so that the child grasps what the core of the business is. 

You’d only be able to mold your content or connect it to metaphors if you comprehend it well. 

#Openness & #Welcoming

These two qualities are kind of interlinked. A great speaker has a humble, welcoming attitude. They’re open to criticism, feedback, and intend to turn it into something constructive. 

They develop empathy because it allows them to step into others’ shoes and expand the horizon of their own perspectives. Even their demeanor indicates their patience. They know how to separate personal from professional, and maintain those boundaries.

If you wanna know how to develop the skill to interact with your audience, check out our article that’ll guide you to do just that: 11 Engaging Ways To Interact With The Audience

In layman’s terms, empathy is the ability to step into someone else’s shoes and consider a perspective perhaps different from your own. A good speaker has the patience to be a good listener, being kind and open to other people’s point of view is what helps a speaker expand their own horizons. It also helps you to be realistic with the call to action you provide to your audience.

#Story-telling

The ability to make a speech interesting is to add an element of narrative to it. Making it a story really helps to hook your audiences’ attention. This can include peppering a few jokes here and there, starting with a personal anecdote. What these things do is allow the speaker to access a natural flow in their speech.

Apart from this, body language is an essential tool every great speaker must improve. Here’s an article we wrote in reference to the importance of body language, check it out: Body Language And Its Contribution To The Process Of Communication

Working on these skills to a level where it seems natural ATTRACTS people to you. It makes them want to hear what you have to say. 

#Authenticity

Authenticity comes with expanding your knowledge. Constantly challenging your boundaries and feeding your curiosity will add to the archive of information you hold in your brain. 

Knowing more things would automatically enable you to TALK about more things. 

How do I prepare myself?

You might think preparation goes unsaid if you’re planning to speak to an audience, but there are some specifics to be considered. Depending on your personality and skill, different situations of speaking require different kinds of preparation.

What I mean by that is, if you’re someone whose best work comes out when you systematically plan out every word of the speech along with subtopics on cue cards, then preparing your content beforehand and writing everything down to revise a bunch of times is a good idea. 

However, not everyone functions that way. You might be the kind of person who’s a sport for spontaneity. Sometimes people function best without preparation because they know how to entertain or work an audience, or they’re naturally skilled at it.

But even so, while there is no issue with that, it is wise to have some idea of what you’re getting yourself into. Perhaps checking the kind of crowd you will be addressing, or making a list of the areas you want to tap into while talking. These things eliminate the worst-case scenarios, like you freezing up out of nerves. 

So recognize your patterns and see what category you fit into, that will help you build further. 

Well, with that said, I believe you’re covered to begin your practice! But remember, apart from patience and perseverance, it’s important to be mindful of your progress. Keeping track of where you need improvement will help you get to your goal faster.

We wrote about the techniques of self-evaluation in a presentation, which involves being a good speaker too. Check it out here: 6 Ways You Can Evaluate Your Own Presentation

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How to Be a Good Speaker

Last Updated: April 22, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Deb DiSandro . Deb DiSandro is the Owner of Speak Up On Purpose, an organization dedicated to improving and teaching public speaking. Deb has over 30 years of experience as a national speaker and has presented at the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Conference and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. She was awarded the National Speakers Association Member of the Year 2007 and has been published in Writer's Digest, Daily Herald, Women's Day, and Better Homes & Gardens. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 260,236 times.

There is a commonly cited statistic that people are generally more fearful of public speaking than they are of death. The idea of performing a speech in front of an attentive audience is a nerve-wracking concept for most people. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be. Being a great speaker is a skill that is learned just as much as any other. When you have a strong command of your voice and self-presentation, confidence with public speaking tends to fall into place.

Articulating Your Voice

• One of the most famous speeches is "I Have a Dream," by Martin Luther King Jr. This is not his only speech, but it is one of his more famous ones.
• Other notable public speakers: Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.
• Listen to Ted Talks to see examples of great public speakers. These are especially helpful if you are giving a speech with time constraints, as Ted Talks are 18 minutes or less.

• Speaking slowly does not mean speaking in a monotone. Just because you're taking your time doesn't mean you need to be boring. The best public speakers will keep a steady speaking pace and use that extra time to inject more expression into their act.

• If you need a moment to recollect yourself in the middle of your speech, pause. [2] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Business Review Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices Go to source While filler language will only detract from your presentation, a pause can give your audience time to mull over what you said.
• If you freeze up, turn it into a joke. Say something like, “My memory was a lot better when I practicing this speech in front of my dog, Samuel.”

• Your audience will immediately pick up on this and will take extra care to remember that point.
• A good example of this is through the repetition of "I have a dream" in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

• Avoid a monotone delivery. This approach is common with people who put too much emphasis into a rote memorization of the speech lines, and didn't leave room for an organic quality.
• Another good reason to avoid a monotone delivery is that you will simply bore your audience. They will lose interest in what you have to say.
• However, make sure you’re in control of your emotions. Avoid getting overly emotional, tearing up, or actually crying. These may be signs that you aren’t ready to discuss the topic publicly.

• Take advantage of the pause. Use it to catch your breath, steady your breathing, and recollect your thoughts.
• Be sure to maintain eye contact with your audience. Don't lose that connection!

• An audience won't interact with a speaker unless some stakes have already been raised. You have to get an audience interested in what you're talking about if you want them to respond actively. [4] X Research source
• Trying to engage the audience yourself is always a risk. You can't control what an audience member will say, and you'll need to improvise a response to whatever they say. Worse still, getting no response from an audience will embarrass you as a presenter. [5] X Research source Avoid putting the audience on the spot or asking too many questions.
• Let the audience know if you’ll have a question and answer session at the end of your speech. Avoid taking questions or comments while you’re talking, as this could derail your message.

Maximizing Your Body Language

• If you're someone who struggles with a slouched posture, it may take some time to reprogram yourself. After a while, however, you'll be able to do it without thinking.

• Don't force it, however. While you certainly want to make yourself animated, you don't want to appear unnatural. You want your expression to match your tone and words.

• If you're addressing the audience directly with someone, you should walk towards them on the stage. This creates an effect of urgency. [7] X Research source
• It’s best to move while you’re transitioning to a new topic, as this lets the audience know that something is about to change.

• Pace yourself. While you don't want to stare at any one person for too long, you don't want to skim too fast either, or you'll appear nervous.
• If you find yourself skimming too much, consider focusing on the wall behind the audience. Don't stare at it for too long--keep your gaze moving slowly.

• Keep your gestures natural and spontaneous. Match them to what you are feeling. If you feel an urge to clench your fist or raise your arm, do it!
• Rehearsing gestures ahead of time is not always a good idea, as they may end up looking forced, static, and unnatural. However, you can rehearse your speech in front of the mirror and watch how you move naturally.

• Consider practicing your speech in front of a friend or family member and ask them to note any fidgeting or squirming.
• Alternatively, record yourself giving your speech, then watch the recording. Look for any subconscious movements, such as playing with your hair.

Knowing Your Words

• An introduction. This is where you will introduce either yourself or the topic that needs to be discussed.
• The main body and supporting points. This is where the details of your argument or discussion are fleshed out. This is by far the biggest part of a speech and is analogous to all of the paragraphs in an essay between the first and last.
• Closing statements and summary. At the end, the audience will be looking for some closure to signal the speech's end. Take this as an opportunity to note the widespread implications of the topic, as well as a to-the-point recap of the ideas you explored in the main body.

• Telling your audience to do or reflect upon something on their own time will hopefully keep your audience attentive on your subject long after the presentation itself has ended.
• Any messages of particular importance should be spoken more boldly, more slowly, or repeated.

• If you think your speech could be shorter, give it a run through and decide for yourself which lines could be done without.
• If you start to run out of time in the middle of your speech, don't speed up! Cover the most important points, and close your speech.

• It's a good idea to give your speech a run-through in front of a friend or family member before going live. That way, the other person can offer you feedback from a fresh perspective.

What Are Tips For Improving As a Public Speaker?

Community Q&A

• Include visual aids (such as Powerpoint) in your presentation, but only if it legitimately adds something of value. [13] X Research source Also, be sure you are familiar with the technology so mishaps don’t distract from your speech. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Public speaking doesn't come naturally to many people. It's something you'll probably have to spend some serious time practicing in order to perfect. Don't let yourself feel down if you slip up the first few times you perform. It's a lifelong skill, and once you get the hang of it, it will stick with you for the rest of your days. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• During the time that you’re writing your speech, your subconscious may be working on it while you are doing something else. These ideas are often creative and can be some of your best points. Keep a notebook or note-taking app handy so you can jot down ideas as they come to your mind. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• You can never know for sure how an audience will react to your presentation. Be prepared for a less-than-stellar reception, and should the case arise, make sure you roll with the punches. Getting visibly on stage won't do anything for your credibility. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/10-3-vocal-delivery/
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2018/08/how-to-stop-saying-um-ah-and-you-know
• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/how-to-engage-your-audience-and-keep-them-with-you
• ↑ https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/10-tips-for-improving-your-public-speaking-skills/
• ↑ https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/chapter/presentation-essentials/
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2015/06/breathing-is-the-key-to-persuasive-public-speaking
• ↑ https://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Public-Speaking-Tips/Gestures-and-Body-Language
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/10-4-physical-delivery/
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-publicspeaking/chapter/organizing-the-informative-speech/
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-publicspeaking/chapter/rehearsing-your-speech/
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/14-1-four-methods-of-delivery/
• ↑ https://www.comm.pitt.edu/visual-aids

About This Article

If you want to be a good speaker, rehearse your speech out loud in the mirror ahead of time. Make a conscious effort to speak slowly and clearly, and use inflections to express your emotions. For instance, if you raise your voice, it could indicate excitement, and if you lower your voice, it could show your listeners that you’re saying something serious. Structure your speech with a beginning, a middle, and an end, which can help you stay on topic, and end with a take-home point that you want your audience to remember. Keep reading to learn tips from our reviewer on how listening to famous speeches can help improve your public speaking! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} best practices 7 ways to be a better communicator - by tweaking your body language

by David JP Phillips • November 16, 2021

Public speaking is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences that many of us face in our daily lives (although it’s dropped off the list of Americans’ biggest fears in recent years, replaced by more immediate threats like … sharks ?).

Part of our fear is about what we’re going to say, but the other part is about how we’re going to say it, according to communications expert David JP Phillips (TEDxZagreb Talk: The 110 techniques of communication and public speaking ). Phillips has spent years analyzing 5,000 public speakers to identify what moves work — and which ones don’t — when talking to an audience.

When we think of body language, many of us immediately think about hand and arm gestures. But body language is so much more than that — and it’s also something that we should all get comfortable with. By making small, easy tweaks to how we stand, move or even smile, we can help hold an audience’s attention. While Phillips has an entire 110-step system to public speaking, there’s no way or need to master them before your next presentation. Here, he shares 7 body-language tips that anyone can use.

Lean towards your audience

“Taking a step back indicates that you are threatened and makes your audience feel less relaxed,” says Phillips, who is based in Sweden. “Whenever we are threatened, we tend to close our body language, tense our muscles, and take a step back.” Crossing your arms is another move to avoid — it’s something else that people do when they’re nervous or scared and it puts those watching us on the defensive. So keep your arms open, and lean towards your audience. Make sure your head is inclined too; tilting your head backwards signals to your listeners that you feel superior to them.

Match your gestures to your words

Phillips’ rule of thumb when it comes to hand gestures: Make them functional (they should always have a purpose) and make sure they match your message. “The core of all communication is to make your message as clear as possible,” Phillips notes. If you’re talking about sales figures going up, that’s a good time to use a gentle, rising motion. If you’re setting two rhetorical options out for your audience to consider, place your hands on either side as if you’re weighing items in your palms. Humans are visual creatures, and movement will arouse an audience’s attention. But do not abuse this tendency. “If a person is using non-functional gestures, they can become annoying very quickly,” explains Phillips. “Functional gestures, however, are rarely used too much.”

Give your hands a rest

Most of us struggle mightily with what to do with our hands while talking. Put them in our pockets? (No, says Phillips: Too closed off.) Clasp them behind our back? (Nope: Domineering and overly formal.) Phillips has a whole lexicon of poses not to do with one’s hands, such as the “the prayer” (hands clasped in front) and “the beggar” (hands in front, palms up). And then there’s “the peacock”: hands on hips with elbows flapping loosely at your sides. “You often see this one being used by people who are nervous and who desire to quickly become ‘bigger’ in front of their opponent,” he explains. Phillips’s recommendation: “Leave your hands by your sides when you’re not using them.”

Tilt your head

Some of the ways that humans communicate nonverbally are pretty hardwired in us, says Phillips. One of these nonverbal signals is something you probably do all the time without realizing: When you’re trying to show empathy, you tilt your head to one side. “Good listeners are head tilters,” Phillips says. The same empathy signals work — even when you’re the one doing the talking.

Smile like you mean it

One of the most important things that a public speaker can do is deliver a Duchenne smile — the kind of genuine grin that fills your face and reaches your eyes. People respond more warmly to a Duchenne smile. “It will help make the audience more at ease and relaxed. And if they are at ease and relaxed, you’ll become more that way too and you’ve created a positive spiral, making you deliver your talk better. Also, adds Phillips, “as our emotions work from the inside out and the outside in, it means that you can affect your own emotional state in a positive way by smiling on stage.” No need to fake it — just bring to mind a person, place or animal that you know automatically brings a Duchenne smile to your face.

When you slip up, don’t panic

We’ve all had that moment: We practiced our speech until we could recite it in our sleep, but suddenly we can’t remember what comes next. The best way to recover, according to Phillips, is to act like you’re not panicking. “Avoid reacting on your fear,” he says. “Your body will want to tense up, reverse, hide in a corner, but all that just makes you feel less confident.” Instead, he suggests, “lean forward, open up your posture, breathe deep and slow, talk slowly, pause, and smile a Duchenne smile. All of those in combination will make you feel more comfortable.”

Practice — even when you’re not in front of a crowd

One of Phillips’ favorite mottos when it comes to body language is: “It’s a skill, not a talent.” He believes that anyone can become a great public speaker, even the most awkward and nervous of us. He says that a good first step is to simply become more tuned in to your everyday body language. Learn what gestures you tend to use to get your point across. Once you’ve gotten familiar with your existing body language vocabulary, you can start changing it and expanding it. “My most practical tip is to pick one to three skills and practice them every day until they become part of your natural way of communicating.”

This post was originally published on TED Ideas . It’s part of the “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from someone in the TED community; browse through all the posts here .

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

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7 Qualities of a Good Public Speaker that Every Presenter Should Know (And Emulate)

What are the most important qualities of a good public speaker? Also, what makes a great presenter? What are the qualities that allow one orator to get up in front of an audience and memorize the crowd while another fails? Well, science may offer the answer to these questions.

When I first started teaching the Fearless Presentations ® classes, I did so because I knew from my own experience that the more self-confident a presenter appears to an audience, the more respect that the audience will have for that presenter. In addition, chapter one of my first book was about enthusiasm, because I knew that out of all of the characteristics of a good speaker, enthusiasm was the absolute, most important.

Over the years, though, our instructors have worked with over 20,000 presenters. Some had a natural presence in front of groups. Others, however, had to develop a public speaking skill in order to be perceived as being a great public speaker.

Below are the seven qualities of a good public speaker that we have identified as the most important. In addition to our observations as public speaking coaches, we have also added the scientific proof that we also uncovered along the way.

Self-Confidence

“People judge your competence by the confidence that you show.” — Doug Staneart

Your nonverbal behaviors such as stance, gestures, and eye contact are critical not only for conveying and reinforcing your messages, but they serve as the foundation of your audience’s assessments of your confidence.” So, basically, your audience looks at the way that you present (not just the things that you say) to figure out if you really know what you are talking about. If you look self-confident, they will be more likely to trust that you are the expert on the topic.

So how do you build self-confidence as a public speaker? Well, in the Fearless Presentations ® class , we help participants achieve a series of presentation successes. Anytime you try something and have success, you will build self-confidence. Anytime you have a failure, you will lose confidence. So, a class is an excellent way to build confidence as a speaker.

Poise Under Pressure

Back in 2011, Taylor Clark wrote an entire book about the science behind this phenomenon. The book is called Nerve: Poise Under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress, and the Brave New Science of Fear and Cool . Clark explains that most people focus entirely on trying to eliminate fear in a process. However, if you aren’t feeling fear, you are not growing. (See Why Do I Still Feel Nervous? for more details about this.) Fear is a powerful motivator if you use it correctly. Instead of avoiding situations where you feel fear, embrace them. Use them as a way to improve yourself. Face these situations with poise, and your audience will respect you a great deal.

Enthusiasm and Energy

When I wrote the first draft of the textbook for Fearless Presentations ® way back in 2002, I started chapter two with the Secret to Great Presentations .

If you take only one piece of advice from this book, make sure that it is the pearl of wisdom in this chapter. If you focus on this one simple thing, the number of times you say “uhm” won’t matter. Focus on this one thing, and your gestures and not knowing what to do with your hands won’t matter. If you focus on this one thing, then the occasional loss of train of thought won’t matter. In fact, if you focus on this one simple thing, you can break just about every rule that public speakers are supposed to abide by, and you will still win over your audience. This one simple rule has transformed countless mediocre speakers into good speakers, scores of good speakers into great speakers, and numerous great speakers into world-class speakers. This simple rule that can make or break a speaker is … enthusiasm .

This statement is even more true today. You can break every rule in public speaking, and as long as you are excited and speak with passion, your audience will still love you.

The Stanford study also confirmed what we identified about enthusiasm. “For authenticity, Zandan’s team has found that the top 10% of authentic speakers were considered to be 1.3 times more trustworthy and 1.3 times more persuasive than the average communicator. Authenticity is made up of the passion and warmth that people have when presenting. Passion comes from exuding energy and enthusiasm.”

The Ability to Use Stories and Examples to Make Points

We spend a lot of time in our classes helping participants get really good at using stories in their presentations. Why do we do it? Easy. When a presenter gets into a story, he/she will reduce their nervousness dramatically. As a result, the presenter appears more confident and more poised . In addition, it is easier to appear enthusiastic when you are telling a good story. So, this skill, in and of itself, will help with all four of the top qualities of a good public speaker !

For additional details, see Speak Persuasively .

“Be sincere, Be brief, Be seated.” ― Franklin Delano Roosevelt

One of the things that I sometimes hear when I introduce this concept to classes is, “Doug, but my audiences are pretty intelligent. They will remember a lot more than the average person.” This study dispels that myth as well. Out of the entire study group, only one person in the entire study remembered all of the items in the list. The odds of your entire audience being made up of that tiny subset of participants is really, really low.

My favorite brevity quote of all time, though is…

“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” ― Winston S. Churchill

Audience Focus

Dr. Michelle Mazur wrote in her article published in Fast Company , “Exceptional public speaking is never about the speaker. Yet it’s easy to see yourself as the star of the presentation… When you make the audience the star of your presentation, your reach rises, your impact increases, and your bottom-line blossoms.”

I agree totally with Dr. Mazur. When I am sitting in the audience, I don’t want the speaker to spend a ton of my time talking about things that are only interesting to him or her. I have my own problems. If you help solve one of those problems, I will listen. I suspect that you feel the same way. Guess what? Your audiences also feel this way.

Showmanship

Are you not entertained?! That is one of the greatest scenes from a movie. It reminds us that, sometimes we forget that the purpose of our speech is not only to inform but to also entertain. In fact, I will sometimes have class members tell me that their audiences don’t want any of the “fluff,” they just want only the facts. I always laugh. I typically follow up with a simple question. “Other than a business presentation, give me one other area of your life where you pay closer attention if the activity is less entertaining?” I’ve never gotten even a single answer to that one.

I believe that this final quality of a good speaker is one of the main things that sets Fearless Presentations ® graduates apart from other presenters. Our graduates understand the value of showmanship. If you want to make your presentations more entertaining, we invite you to participate in one of our upcoming classes. You can find details at The Best Public Speaking Class in the World! .

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Grow » thrive, want to be a great public speaker these are the traits you need.

Great speakers aren’t just born that way — they actively work at getting better. Here are the eight must-have traits for a public speaker.

If you’re trying to improve your public speaking skills, you should study the behaviors of other great speakers. Here are the eight traits of a great public speaker — developing these skills will help you begin to hone your craft.

Confidence is one of the most important characteristics of a public speaker. It will be hard to connect with your audience if you come across as timid or overly nervous during your presentation.

A certain amount of nervousness may be inevitable, so you need to develop strategies to deal with these feelings. The best way to do that is with practice — if you know the material and spend time working on your speech, it will be easier to show up confidently.

You can also show confidence through your body language. Maintain eye contact with your audience, move around the stage, and use hand gestures to demonstrate your points.

[Read more: Leadership for Introverts: How to Lead Successfully ]

Effective communicators know how to get their points across in a succinct way. They know how to speak clearly and avoid confusing their audience. This makes it easier for the audience to absorb and take action on the information you’re sharing.

One way to be more concise is to break your presentation into smaller chunks of information. And avoid the urge to over-explain yourself and restate your points using different words.

Ability to read the room

People who are excellent public speakers are good at reading the room and picking up on the audience's nonverbal cues. For instance, you notice if they seem bored or disengaged during your speech and can adjust your presentation accordingly.

Learning how to read the room takes time because you have to get out of your head first. Stay focused on the audience and the goal of your presentation. Over time, you’ll learn how to read your audience’s micro-expressions and understand how they’re receiving the information.

[Read more: How to Improve Your Public Speaking ]

Authenticity is what allows your audience to connect with you during your speech. If your speech comes across as inauthentic, it will be harder for the audience to trust you and take your message seriously.

People can tell when you’re excited about the topic you’re speaking on, and they can also tell when you’re just going through the motions. And enthusiasm is contagious, so if you’re excited about the information, it’s more likely to rub off onto your audience.

If speaking with enthusiasm doesn’t come naturally to you, this is a skill you can develop. Work on showing enthusiasm in your voice, body movements, and the pace with which you deliver the speech.

[Read more: PowerPoint Tips and Tricks ]

Self-awareness

You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses to be an effective speaker. Know what your best qualities are and how you can use these to enhance your presentation skills.

You should also know your weak points and look for ways to minimize them. Great speakers are always looking for ways to improve and make their presentations more engaging.

Authenticity

Authenticity is what allows your audience to connect with you during your speech. If your speech comes across as inauthentic, it will be harder for the audience to trust you and take your message seriously. Focus on being yourself and telling stories that are honest and vulnerable.

Knowing how to dress

As a public speaker, your attire matters much more than you might think. You want to dress in a way that’s comfortable and fits your sense of style but also resonates with the audience. For instance, the demographic you’re speaking to will inform your clothing choice.

Adaptability

No matter how well you prepare for a speech, there’s always the potential that something could go wrong. Maybe your slide deck stops working halfway through your presentation, or you forget what you planned to say.

As a speaker, it’s essential to be adaptable and expect the unexpected. This attitude will allow you to stay calm, focus on the audience, and decide what you’re going to do next.

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• PRESENTATION SKILLS

7 Qualities of Good Speakers That Can Help You Be More Successful

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Speaking in public is no easy task, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the nuances of public speaking. Often, professionals must communicate with a broad audience, which requires an understanding of both the people listening and the topic in hand. Good speakers know that they need to speak in a way in which the audience can take in the words that they are saying, and which appeals to the crowd in more ways than one.

Good speakers, therefore, develop and possess certain qualities and personality traits that set them apart from mediocre speakers. What are these qualities? And, even if you’re not a speaker, why should you also develop them? How can these concepts help you to harness your potential and become more successful?

Here are some qualities of good speakers that can help anyone to better manage their resources and be more successful.

1. They Are Well-Prepared.

One of the most important qualities of a good speaker is the ability to be prepared. When conducting any kind of public speaking, you are generally given a topic to focus on. This may be for the purpose of sharing your ideas, elaborating on your company, or just to spread the word about a certain issue.

If you are speaking, whatever topic you have been asked to cover, it is important that you are well prepared and can captivate your audience. Start by creating an outline or draft of your topic. While rehearsing, try to vary your presentation in whatever way you can because a monotonous way of speaking might bore your audience.

How does being well-prepared relate to having a successful life though? They say that success is born when preparation meets opportunity. Successful people understand how important it is to prepare for great opportunities or events. While you may be able to just go with the flow, keep in mind that achievements do not happen by chance or by going with the flow. Opportunities are routinely disguised, and your success depends on how prepared you are to seize them.

2. They Deliver Unique Messages and Ideas.

One of the qualities of a good public speaker is the ability to deliver a unique message. Audiences don't want a repeat of something that they have heard before. They want to hear a fresh new perspective and want a new take on things. Giving them a fresh perspective and a unique message can make your entire talk seem more empowering and impactful.

One of the easiest ways to deliver a unique and powerful message while speaking in public is to just stay true to yourself and your beliefs. Everyone can offer a fresh new perspective on life and elaborating on that can help you develop a unique message.

However, this is easier said than done. While no one is born with the ability to always be unique, and no one can come up with innovative ideas all the time, some people are naturally more creative than others. For some, it’s going to be difficult to be the outstanding one among millions of others, so it’s important that you know that you may struggle at first. But also know that you can achieve your best thoughts and ideas through research and preparation.

3. They Provide Actionable Content.

A good public speaker doesn't always deliver a speech or talk just to pass the time. Their public speeches are generally designed to help the audience to improve on what they do or the way in which they think.

The best example of this is someone talking about their new start-up business. Imagine they have the opportunity to talk to a large audience about the new company and all that it does. They can focus on simply getting information across to the audience but will greatly improve engagement if they use an action-oriented approach, providing advice for the audience to take away.

Great ideas don’t mean much without implementation and practical steps. For leaders or entrepreneurs, this means giving actionable tasks to your employees, turning big vague goals into smaller achievable ones.

4. They Can Make the Complex Simple.

Sometimes, an individual has stand in front of a large audience and explain a concept that is not exactly simple. While you as a public speaker may be able to grasp the concept of what you are talking about, the audience may not always follow the logic.

One quality good speakers possess is the ability to make even the most complex of theories simple. Remember that your audience might not even know the basics of what you are talking about, and you should draft your speech in a way that allows them to understand everything from the very beginning.

In life, people are drawn to simplicity more than ever before. Making the complex simple is key to achieving better results in many different jobs today. This is why the ability to make anything simple for you, for your team, or for your clients is crucial.

“The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.” ― Albert Einstein

5. They Are Charismatic.

One of the hardest things to do is to captivate your audience while talking in public. The best approach to this doesn't have anything to do with the subject matter you are addressing, but rather the way in which you deliver your message. This is called charisma .

The main point to keep in mind here is that to captivate your audience you need to sound relatable in the way you talk, and be confident in the way you move. Maintaining eye contact, standing tall with great posture and using appropriate hand gestures and facial expressions is always important. The pace at which you talk can also make a significant difference.

In business dealings, charisma counts. A lot. If you want to impress your clients, this will be one of the most important skills to master. You will need extraordinary skills in both verbal and non-verbal communication .

If being confident and charismatic in the way you talk to people isn’t in your nature, there’s no need to force yourself. Don’t fidget or look distracted. Just be authentic and genuine while learning how to use positive body language can be a great start.

6. They Are Always Open to Questions.

Public speakers often shy away from questions because they don’t want to know immediately how the audience perceives the talk that they are giving. This, however, reduces engagement with the listeners. One important point in public speaking is to always be open to questions so that you can engage more with your audience.

Successful people encourage feedback. They pay attention to what is being said to them and listen with interest and an open mind. They act and answer questions with empathy . They are empowered by positive feedback, and they thrive on negative feedback. They learn to control the urge to be defensive. They are open to sentiment and criticism while not taking it too personal.

7. They Share Instead of Sell, Give Instead of Take.

This is one point that applies to those who are going to be speaking in public about their company, profession or product. Instead of trying to sell your product or idea, try to share your thoughts on it. This makes the talk seem more genuine and can result in the audience opting for what you have to offer. This also helps the audience relate to you or your company more.

Doing whatever it takes to get what you want isn’t the approach to success. A better path to success lies in the balance between give and take. Adam Grant suggests in his book " Give and Take " that some of the most successful people are givers, not takers. So, it’s safe to say that one of the best qualities to cultivate to be more successful lies is giving back to a community and to the people around you.

This is what I find most magnetic about successful givers: they get to the top without cutting others down, finding ways of expanding the pie that benefit themselves and the people around them.

― Adam M. Grant

Further Reading from Skills You Need

The Skills You Need Guide to Interpersonal Skills eBooks.

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Gigi is a creative introvert, inspired writer and digital marketer based in Thailand. With her background in business management, she has been writing about small business, start-ups, and Digi-career improvement since 2012.

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Career Tips , Choosing a Job , Higher Education News , Tips for Online Students

Why Is Public Speaking Important? Because It’s Useful

Updated: December 29, 2023

Published: February 9, 2020

Why is public speaking important? The reason is that everyone encounters a situation where public speaking skills are necessary. It could be at work, school, or in your personal life. Whether you are looking for tips on conquering stage fright, looking to improve your public speaking skills, or trying to motivate others on the importance of public speaking, we have all the info you need here. Find out all the benefits of public speaking below.

Public Speaking Definition

According to Merriam-Webster , public speaking is “the act or process of making speeches in public,” or “the art of effective oral communication with others.”

Everyday Public Speaking

Public speaking for the everyday person is still extremely important. Public speaking has many benefits in everyday life and can be grouped into the following categories:

1. Informative Speaking:

This type of speaking is the most common and happens to most people daily. It involves speaking in order to inform others, or get information out. This can be academic or professional knowledge, but can also be to report your progress on a project, or tell someone how to use something.

2. Persuasive Speaking:

Public speaking will often be in order to persuade others. This can be in a debate or formal speech, but can also be minor persuasions such as going to a place you choose for lunch. Persuasive public speaking is a very valuable skill to have.

3. Entertaining Speaking:

Public speaking for entertainment is used for award ceremonies, wedding speeches, comedy sketches, poetry reading, and much more. The purpose of this type of public speaking is to entertain the audience, instead of merely informing.

Why is Public Speaking Important?

Photo from  pexels, 1. win over your crowd.

No matter the crowd in front of you — whether at a social gathering, business meeting or large audience at a conference — being able to speak publicly is a very important asset. With public speaking skills and experience, speakers are able to captivate the interest of their listeners and keep them interested in order to deliver the message.

2. Motivate Others

Public speakers motivate their listeners to make a change. It could be to stop or start something, try something new, or reach their goals. Public speaking is important because the speaker can motivate others to go in the direction they wish, and the speaker can motivate others to be their best selves.

3. Inform People

When you have information to share, you don’t want it to be portrayed in a boring way. You want people to listen! This is done with public speaking skills. Inform people about something that matters by using great public skills and they will be sure to listen and be more likely to understand the information.

Benefits of Public Speaking In Your Life

Photo by  christina morillo  from  pexels, career benefits.

If you’re currently working in sales, the benefits of public speaking are many. You can reach for higher sales goals, get more customers and make more sales with public speaking skills.

2. Career advancement:

When you are a good public speaker, you will be more comfortable in interviews , be better able to sway others in your favor, and convince your boss to give you a promotion.

3. Stand out in the workforce:

Most will avoid speaking up and putting themselves in the spotlight at work, but with public speaking skills you have the confidence to do so!

4. Bring people together:

Within your company or on your team, public speaking is a way to bring workers together. When many people feel confident in public speaking, workers will speak their mind and collaborate better together.

5. Become a thought leader:

A thought leader is someone that people go to for ideas, consult on problems, and more. Being a good public speaker makes you that person and will get you ahead in your job when people know they can come to you.

Make New Social Connections

1. Find supporters:

When you practice public speaking, you are championing for others or a cause, and you will find a tribe of supporters to surround yourself with. These will be people who are like-minded or who share your values.

2. Get comfortable in social settings:

Public speaking allows you to relax in a group situation or when the spotlight is on you. This will make you more comfortable around people and easier to make connections.

3. Increase your professional network :

As you speak in more public settings such as work events and conferences, you will undoubtedly meet other speakers in your field, as well as audience members who are interested in what you have to say.

Developing Leadership Skills

If you want to do well and get ahead in school or your career, leadership is part of the equation. As a leader, you will have many public speaking opportunities.

1. Good speaker = good leader:

Most of the great leaders in human history were also great public speakers.

2. Good leader = opportunities:

As a good leader, you will be given more opportunities in social settings, your career, and other aspects of life.

Personal Benefits of Public Speaking

Photo by  startup stock photos  from  pexels, 1. boost confidence.

Public speaking repeatedly is a great boost of self confidence. Every time you speak, you gain a bit more confidence as you see your ideas and yourself were well-received by your audience.

2. Personal Satisfaction

Being able to speak in front of a crowd is a huge accomplishment. The first time can be very nerve-wracking, but coming out on the other end of the speech is a huge win! After the first time, you will keep getting better and better at public speaking and will get great personal satisfaction from this skill.

3. Critical Thinking

When preparing and conducting a speech, you also increase your critical thinking skills by working through problems, imagining positive and negative consequences, and finding solutions.

4. Improve Communication Skills

When you practice public speaking, you are practicing both verbal and nonverbal skills — and both will improve. The more you speak out, the better you get at communication. Public speakers are better overall communicators in all facets of life.

5. Learn to Argue

Presenting an argument in a formal setting will help you in informal settings as well. Public speaking helps you form better arguments, and you can increase your arguing skills even more through public speaking by engaging in Q&A with your audience.

6. Be a Better Listener

Attending conferences as a speaker means you will also listen to other speakers. As you listen to other speakers, you will have a greater appreciation and understanding of their material and craft, as a speaker yourself.

Public Speaking Helps You Drive Change

Photo by  denniz futalan  from  pexels.

Public speaking is one of the most effective ways to get your message across. With public speaking, you can influence the world around you. If you see something that needs to change, use public speaking to change it!

• Make the difference:

Every public speaking opportunity you come across is a time to spread you influence for the greater good.

• Reach people fast:

Instead of waiting for your message to spread by word of mouth, social media , or print media, put it in front of a huge audience and you’ll instantly inspire many.

• Your message comes to life:

Written information is useful in some cases, but when you really want to make a difference in the world, you need to campaign for your cause and the best way to do so is to get it to come to life with public speaking.

How to Get Better at Public Speaking

Writing the speech.

1. Be prepared:

When you are comfortable, you are confident. Write a good speech that makes sense to you and that you are prepared to deliver.

2. Research the topic:

When you have thoroughly researched the topic, you will feel more confident when writing and delivering the speech.

3. Outline or write it out?

When you write out an entire speech, it will be easier to memorize as it can be stored word for word in your memory. The downside is that it could sound robotic and you risk reading it straight from the page. When you write an outline for a speech, it may sound more natural and you can glance at your outline as you. However, it is more difficult to rehearse and some people feel less confident with only an outline in front of them. It all depends on what you prefer.

Overcoming Your Stage Fright

Photo by  mentatdgt  from  pexels.

Fear of public speaking is a common one, but it can be overcome. Use these tips to help you overcome the fear:

1. Read your speech out loud:

Even if it’s just to yourself, reading it aloud will help you work out any hiccups and have you feeling confident with your voice.

2. Practice in front of a group:

Don’t just practice in the mirror or with a friend. To get over a fear of speaking in front of a crowd, try to practice in front of a small group first.

3. Should you picture the crowd in underwear?

The answer is, probably not. Even though this is common advice to get you to relax, it can be distracting. The best thing to do is to make eye contact, but if that starts to make you nervous, pretend the crowd is not there and just look straight ahead.

4. Pump yourself up:

Whatever gets you going before a test or a game, the same applies here. Listen to your favorite music on the way, or go for a run in the morning.

5. Use the power of knowledge:

When you know both your speech and your topic inside and out, completely by heart, you will have the confidence to focus on delivery and staying relaxed in front of others.

Things To Remember As You’re Giving The Speech

1. eye contact:.

Know your speech well so that you can maintain eye contact with the audience. This is important to engage them and make yourself more personable.

2. Move your view:

Make sure to move your eye contact around the room. Slightly shift your body or head at times towards a new direction if the crowd is large.

3. Talk, don’t read:

Try to talk to your audience as if you are inviting them into your thoughts. Do not read your speech word for word off the paper.

4. Your voice is a tool:

And people need to hear it! Make sure you are speaking loud enough so that you are heard.

5. Body language:

This is another important tool for public speakers. Try recording yourself so you are aware of your body language and fix any fidgets you find on the recording.

When you are good at it and practice often, the benefits of public speaking are many. Being an excellent public speaker is important for your career, social life, personal development , and for making a change in the world.

Each time you speak, you get better and better. So get out there and make your voice heard!

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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10 Qualities of an Epic Speaker

by Holly Woolard

September 20, 2019

Meeting planners have no doubt heard it time and time again that minimizing risk is a key goal when choosing a speaker.  Of course, no one wants to look like a dummy with a poor choice.

Having selected speakers for my own industry conferences, I know that you rarely get 100 percent of it right, but here are some qualities to look for when selecting your keynote speakers. Coming from the speaking side of the world, I offer a little bit different perspective for seeking an epic speaker that can help create an epic event.

1. They make it about you.

The great ones are more interested in learning about you and your organization than talking about themselves. You know how some speakers “show up and throw up” all of their qualities onto you in the first 20 minutes of a call? An epic speaker interviews you and brings people from your audience into their presentations. They make them the heroes. Sure, they may have a strong personal story, but they turn it around and relate it directly back to your audience.

2. They have a phrase that pays.

Have you ever left a room after hearing a speaker that you really loved and tried to remember the key ideas? They were entertaining, yes, but it was difficult to retain the message. An epic speaker has a phrase that resonates (Doug Stevenson calls it a “phrase that pays”)─something they leave with you and language that takes on a life of its own. It might be an action oriented term such as Nike’s “Just Do It.” Perhaps it becomes the theme of your conference and months down the road your people are still using the speaker’s lingo. Long afterward, it’s producing a memory and inspiring an action .

3. They are funny.

At the beginning of a keynote, you are often holding your breathe right up until that first laugh occurs. And when it happens, you relax. And so does everybody in the room because the energy in the room has changed right down to the molecules. It’s the first signal to your audience that this is not going to be some boring waste of time. Speakers don’t have to be great joke tellers, some of are just goofy, or self-deprecating, some have effective body language or facial cues.

Even the most serious speakers can incorporate humor into their talks . I recently witnessed an amazing woman named Immaculee Ilibagiza talk about being trapped in closet for 90 days while her family was killed during the civil war in Rwanda. And guess what? She had the most gracious humor in her presentation. So unexpected, so memorable.

4. They balance teaching and storytelling.

Have you ever sat thru an entire speech that was basically someone telling you that you needed to do things differently? They were speaking at you, rather than having a conversation with you. When you attach stories to each point, you give people an opportunity to lock in the learning and relate to what you are saying. Mark Sanborn says that stories are the “mental coat pegs” upon which listeners hang ideas.

My client Ryan Estis is one of the hottest speakers on the circuit. He knows that in today’s market you must give loads of takeaway, but he wraps his ideas in relevant stories to drive home his key points.

5. They have killer current content.

In today’s high-tech, high-touch, get information at the drop of a hat world, our speakers talking about things that happened years ago can be old news really fast. I typically steer speakers away from historic references and using companies like Enron as an example of what not to do in business. There is someone on the cover of the Wall Street Journal today who is going to be a better “ripped-from-the-headlines” example. If they are talking about business, they’d better be current.

6. They understand your vision.

This really goes hand in hand with point No. 1. When a speaker has asked you enough pertinent questions, they can help forward your message. This leads to a question…have you ever tried to plan an event that served too many masters? One of my speakers recently had a bad experience where the planner asked her to do a topic that they knew the big bosses (who would be onsite) would like. But guess what? The audience hated it, again serving too many masters. Maybe I’m naive, but I’d like to think that if the audience has their needs met, then the C Suites are happy, too.

When you have a clear vision of who your event is for, and what the outcomes are, your speaker can help you achieve that goal. By sharing the big picture with them early on, and again closer to the event, you’ll have a partner in the process.

7. They push the boundaries.

In the world of professional speakers, some of us have been given a set of rules: Don’t have too much interaction with your audience if you are doing a keynote; Women don’t wear a certain type of shoe. Baloney! I love to see someone do what feels right, not what the rules say─someone who challenges the audience by doing something unexpected. We’ve already seen squeaky clean, polished speakers who play by the rules. Show me something different.

8. They don’t pack too tight.

When putting together a presentation, think of it like packing a suitcase. You need a little room in there to breathe and to play with the audience.  When you see a speaker who has crammed too much into a program, it becomes more about getting it all in than being in the moment. Of course your goal is to finish on time, but it’s better to do it in a relaxed state.

9. They embrace technology.

There are so many fun tools out there that allow the audience to “play” with the speaker during a presentation. One of my clients, Scott Klososky, uses “Join Speaker” to throw questions straight from the audience’s cell phones up onto the screen during the presentation. There’s no reason to fight what is already going on. People have their handheld devices, so speakers might as well use them for good.

10. They show up as themselves.

One of my clients just posted a photo of Brene Brown from the stage of a large conference just last week. She was wearing a jean jacket. OMG, I love that! Someone who can be themselves, rather than some version of what others expect them to be is so refreshing. Being human, dropping your notes on stage once in a while or saying “um” is a sign of a normal person giving a talk. Isn’t that what we’re after…relatable?

An epic speaker is relevant, relatable and responsible to your vision and goals. And they also reduce the other R-word…risk.

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• Relationships

10 Qualities of Great Listeners

They ask open-ended questions and use the speaker's name..

Posted December 18, 2021 | Reviewed by Vanessa Lancaster

• Listening is a basic social skill, but it takes practice to do well.
• Listening and perceived partner responsiveness form a positive feedback loop that promotes a variety of positive relationship outcomes.
• Good listening can make the other person more likely to engage in self-disclosure and create a higher sense of “interpersonal chemistry.”

You can undoubtedly sense when you’re talking to a good listener. Something about the way the person either looks at you or makes empathic comments allows you to feel comfortable with this individual and, therefore, more likely to open up further. If this person is your romantic partner, this ability to listen allows you to feel emotionally closer, supported, and understood.

As much as you may admire and appreciate being in a relationship with a good listener, perhaps you feel that you’re just not all that happy with your own listening skills. You’ve noticed that people, including your partner, seem frustrated with your lack of responsiveness to their needs. When you meet people for the first time, the conversations seem to run out of steam almost as soon as they get started. Coworkers don’t ask you to join them for informal breaks or offline remote chats, and even your relatives seem to get so bored that, at family gatherings, they try to pull away as soon as they can to speak to someone else.

According to a newly-published review paper by University of Haifa’s Guy Itzchakov, collaborating with University of Rochester’s Harry Reis and University of Reading’s Netta Weinstein (2021), decades of previous research support the observation that good listening is a mechanism that drives the “interpersonal connections… known to conduce many positive intrapersonal affective and cognitive outcomes.” “Listening,” they continued, “is a basic social behavior and one of the most fundamental features of a social interaction.” It’s worth sharpening this key aspect of your ability in order to relate well to others.

The Role of Good Listening in Relationships

The Intimacy Process Model, developed by Reis and coauthor Phil Shaver (1988), proposed that good listening helps promote “perceived partner responsiveness,” which is the belief your partner has that you understand and care for them and validate their view of the world and themselves.

Listening and perceived partner responsiveness form a positive feedback loop that, in turn, promotes a variety of positive relationship outcomes. Your partner will feel less anxious and defensive because you reinforce an atmosphere of openness and mutual respect by showing that you hear them. Your partner doesn’t have to be afraid of saying the wrong thing because you show that you won’t commit a rush to judgment.

It’s not only in close relationships that perceived partner responsiveness comes into play. You may be talking to someone you’ve recently met and find that you and this person come out on opposite sides of a controversial issue, such as a COVID-related face mask or vaccine mandates. It may infuriate you to hear this person’s position. Still, if you allow yourself to listen–and show that you’re listening–you may end up having a conversation in which each of you feels respected even if you ultimately disagree.

10 Qualities of the Good Listener

All of this is well and good, you may think, but what exactly are the markers of a good listener? Can you think of the behaviors that signify you’re being understood, validated, and cared for by someone you consider a good listener?

Seeking to identify these “enacted” behaviors, Itzchakov and his coauthors whittled down a list of 19 indicators that reflect both good listening and high levels of perceived partner responsiveness down to ten that specifically apply to good listening.

These ten qualities fall into the two categories of verbal and nonverbal behaviors and are as follows along with explanations of each:

Verbal: Showing that you understand what the person is saying.

• Reflections: Paraphrase what the other person is saying to show you get the meaning.
• Open question: Ask questions that don’t have a simple “yes” or “no” answer to keep the conversation flowing.
• Validation: Reinforce what the person is saying by indicating you understand.
• Utterances: Use simple words that encourage the other person to keep speaking (e.g., uh-huh, okay).
• Use the speaker’s name: help the person feel more valued by repeating their name at various points in the conversation or when you want to show you hear them.

Nonverbal: Behaviors that indicate you’re paying attention .

• Facial expressions: Allow your face to convey interest, empathy, and curiosity.
• Head nodding: Occasionally nod along with what the person is saying, especially at important points in the conversation.
• Body posture: Orient your position to show you’re paying attention by allowing your body to turn towards the other person.
• Gaze: Maintain eye contact with the speaker and don't look distractedly elsewhere.
• Silence: Stay quiet and don't interrupt the other person or seem too eager to break in.

How many of these do you feel you naturally use in your interactions with others? Do you feel that some of these are easier to put into practice than others? Although the authors don’t rate these in terms of difficulty, it would seem that the toughest require the most effort, such as reflecting and validating.

It’s pretty easy to nod your head and even easier to use the other person’s name. However, showing that you are not only paying attention but also comprehending may take some practice.

How Can Good Listening Benefit Your Relationships?

Within the model, connecting good listening to perceived partner responsiveness, the Israeli-led research team identified a host of favorable outcomes. One set is those they labeled as cognitive and included greater open-mindedness, changes in attitudes, and less tendency to put on a false front to impress the other person. The affective or emotional changes had higher self-esteem , more positive emotions, and higher levels of well-being.

Finally, in terms of behavior, good listening sets off a chain of positive changes that can lead the other person to be more likely to engage in self-disclosure and a higher sense of “interpersonal chemistry.” You know you’ve clicked with someone else. This last finding suggests when that person seems to understand you and care about what you have to say.

The good listening-perceived responsiveness connection becomes particularly important in a long-term close relationship. Going beyond just the idea that you and your partner have strong positive affective bonds (i.e., “love”), Itzchakov and his colleagues maintained that “although a necessary component, [it] is generally insufficient to produce satisfying resolutions; rather attention and responsiveness are also needed.”

Your partner may be telling you about a successful day at work, but instead of showing that you’re listening, you seem bored or go to great pains to point out the downside to the day’s events. The authors maintained that this kind of poor listening is associated with “relationship distress.”

To sum up, in the authors' words, listening is “an active contribution to conversational dynamics rather than a passive act of receiving information.” Honing your listening skills by following these ten tips will allow you to enhance the broad range of social relationships that ultimately promote your own fulfillment and those of the people you’ve listened to.

Facebook /LinkedIn image: GaudiLab/Shutterstock

Itzchakov, G., Reis, H. T., & Weinstein, N. (2021). How to foster perceived partner responsiveness: High‐quality listening is key. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. https://doi-org/10.1111/spc3.12648

Reis, H. T., & Shaver, P. R. (1988). Intimacy as an interpersonal process. In S. Duck (Ed.), Handbook of personal relationships ( pp. 367– 389). Wiley.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. , is a Professor Emerita of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her latest book is The Search for Fulfillment.

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Essay on Be a Good Listener

Students are often asked to write an essay on Be a Good Listener in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Be a Good Listener

Understanding good listening.

Good listening is more than just hearing. It’s about understanding and showing respect for the speaker. It involves paying full attention, not interrupting, and responding appropriately.

Benefits of Good Listening

Good listening helps in learning, building relationships, and solving problems. It makes you more understanding and compassionate. It also improves your communication skills.

How to Be a Good Listener

To be a good listener, you need to focus on the speaker, avoid distractions, and show empathy. Don’t rush to respond. Instead, take time to understand what’s being said. Remember, patience is key.

Good listening is a skill that everyone should learn. It not only makes us better communicators but also better human beings.

250 Words Essay on Be a Good Listener

The art of listening.

Listening is an essential facet of communication, often overlooked in our haste to express our viewpoints. It is not a passive act but an active skill that requires attention, patience, and empathy.

The Importance of Being a Good Listener

Being a good listener fosters meaningful relationships, promotes understanding, and encourages the sharing of ideas. It is a cornerstone of effective communication, and its importance extends beyond personal relationships to academic and professional settings.

Becoming a good listener involves several key attributes. Firstly, it requires attention. This means not only hearing the words spoken but also understanding the underlying emotions and ideas. It involves observing non-verbal cues such as body language and tone of voice.

Secondly, it necessitates patience. It is about allowing the speaker to express their thoughts without interruption, even if it takes them a while to articulate their ideas.

Thirdly, empathy is pivotal. It involves acknowledging the speaker’s feelings and perspectives, even if they differ from your own.

Benefits of Being a Good Listener

Being a good listener has numerous benefits. It enhances learning, fosters empathy, and promotes trust. It can lead to more profound insights and understanding, not only of others but also of oneself.

In conclusion, listening is a skill that can be cultivated with practice. It requires attention, patience, and empathy. By becoming a good listener, we can enhance our relationships, broaden our understanding, and contribute to a more empathetic society.

500 Words Essay on Be a Good Listener

Introduction.

Listening is an essential part of communication, often overlooked in favor of its more expressive counterpart, speaking. However, the art of being a good listener is a powerful tool in any interpersonal relationship, be it professional or personal. It fosters understanding, empathy, and connection, and is a skill that can be honed with conscious effort.

The Importance of Good Listening

Good listening goes beyond merely hearing the words spoken to us. It involves understanding the speaker’s perspective, emotions, and intentions. It is the cornerstone of effective communication, enabling us to respond appropriately and build stronger relationships. In a world increasingly dominated by digital communication, the importance of good listening cannot be overstated. It is the key to bridging gaps in understanding and fostering genuine human connections.

Characteristics of a Good Listener

Being a good listener involves more than just being silent when someone else is speaking. It requires active participation and engagement in the conversation. Good listeners are attentive, showing interest in the speaker’s words through non-verbal cues like eye contact and nodding. They refrain from interrupting, allowing the speaker to express their thoughts fully. They also provide feedback, either by summarizing what has been said or asking clarifying questions, ensuring that they have accurately understood the speaker’s message.

The Role of Empathy in Listening

Empathy plays a crucial role in effective listening. By putting ourselves in the speaker’s shoes, we can better understand their feelings and perspectives. Empathetic listening can foster deeper connections, as it demonstrates respect and validation for the speaker’s experiences. It also encourages open and honest communication, as the speaker feels safe and understood.

The benefits of being a good listener are manifold. In a professional setting, it can lead to improved teamwork, problem-solving, and decision-making, as everyone’s ideas are heard and understood. On a personal level, it can strengthen relationships, as it fosters mutual respect and understanding. Moreover, good listening skills can enhance our learning and growth, as we open ourselves up to new perspectives and ideas.

In conclusion, being a good listener is an invaluable skill in today’s fast-paced, interconnected world. It requires active engagement, empathy, and respect for the speaker’s perspective. The benefits of good listening extend beyond effective communication to improved professional performance and personal relationships. As we strive to become better communicators, let us not forget the power of listening, for it is through understanding others that we truly connect.

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Motivational Speaker Techniques To Encourage Students’ English Speaking Skills

As teachers, we’re always looking for ways to improve our students’ English speaking skills and build their confidence in speaking English. An effective way to do this is to integrate motivational speaking techniques into our teaching methods and teach our students some engaging speaking strategies to use. 

It is important to point out to students that speakers in public talks such as TED talks or other significant speeches sound confident because of the key components that make up a successful talk. By adopting some of these, students can begin their journey to confidence and enjoyment in speaking English.

Great motivational speaker techniques 

Knowledge and clarity.

Great motivational speakers possess a deep knowledge of their subject, which helps their audience trust in the speaker. 

• For students, this emphasises the importance of understanding the content they are speaking about. 
• Encourage students to research and fully understand the topics they discuss. This will ensure they can present information clearly and confidently. 
• This can be practised through classroom presentations or group discussions where the focus is on explaining concepts in simplified terms.

Confidence and purpose

Confidence often comes from speakers feeling well-prepared and passionate about their subject. 

• Teach students to define the purpose of their speeches and talks – whether to inform, persuade or entertain. This clarity helps them deliver their message with conviction and engage their audience more effectively. 
• Role-playing different scenarios in class can help students build confidence and define their speaking goals.

Storytelling

Whether it’s a personal anecdote or something else, stories can captivate an audience and make the speech memorable. 

• Remind students that by telling a story, the audience is instantly more engaged and likely to follow along throughout the talk. 
• Help students develop their storytelling skills by integrating stories into language lessons. They could start with narrating simple personal experiences and gradually move to more complex narratives as their skills improve.

Audience awareness

Understanding the audience is crucial for effective communication. 

• Have students think of a talk or presentation they’ve recently seen. Then, have them think about who the audience for the talk was. 
• Tell students that speakers tailor their content and delivery to match the audience’s knowledge level and background. This involves using appropriate language, examples and explanations that the audience understands and can relate to. 
• In class, students can practise audience awareness by presenting the same information in different ways to different groups and tailoring the language they are using and the way they are presenting the information. 

A strong conclusion

A strong finish is essential in great motivational speaking. It reinforces the message and often includes a call to action that leaves the audience inspired. 

• Teach students to summarise their key points effectively and end with a compelling conclusion that prompts further thought or action. 
• This could be practised through debates or persuasive speeches in class, where students are encouraged to conclude with strong statements and a call to action.

Practical exercises to enhance English speaking skills

• Focus on activities that enhance clarity in communication. For example, paraphrasing or connecting complex ideas with simpler concepts.
• Have students do exercises that improve non-verbal communication, such as maintaining eye contact, using gestures and controlling hesitations.
• Help students reflect on the purpose of their talk or presentation, and choose language that aligns with their goals, for example, to convince, inform, teach or entertain.
• Have students discuss how best to explain complex ideas. Remind them that any information should be appropriate and understandable to the audience without requiring much prior knowledge.
• Explore the use of extreme adjectives and the connotations of words with your students, emphasising how language choice can inspire and motivate an audience.

Incorporating motivational speaking techniques into your lessons can have a significant impact on students’ engagement and confidence in communicating their ideas. By having these skills, students will not only improve their English proficiency but also gain valuable life skills in speaking and presenting to audiences. 

You can read more about teaching your students presentation skills here. Or read our paper for in-depth advice on teaching English pronunciation.

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How to Write A Powerful Speaker Bio for a Conference (With Examples)

Although it may seem easy, creating a speaker bio for a conference is far more crucial than you may realize. A strong bio may significantly impact how your audience views you and potentially affect the number of people who show up for your session. Your speaker bio establishes the tone for your lecture and is frequently the first impression that audiences will get of you. 

A strong speaker bio goes beyond simply highlighting your accomplishments and credentials. It provides a narrative about your identity, work, and reasons for being enthusiastic about your industry. It helps establish a rapport with them even before you take the stage and provides them with a cause to be passionate about your speech. 

We’ll walk you through the process of writing an attention-grabbing speaker bio in this article that will stick with you. Let’s start by discussing the value of a strong speaker bio and typical errors to steer clear of. After that, you will find the essential components of a good bio and how to modify it for various audiences. We’ll offer helpful hints and examples to help you understand how to write a speaker bio that meets and beyond expectations. You will have all the resources and information necessary to create a speaker bio that effectively communicates your expertise, draws in the audience, and positions you for success at your upcoming conference when you finish reading this article. 

Understanding the Importance of a Speaker Bio

A speaker bio is a brief written statement you provide to introduce yourself to the conference audience. It resembles a narrative about your background, activities, and significance. The goal of a speaker bio is to give people a reason to listen to you and believe what you have to say. 

Consider it this way: people are interested in learning a little about you before they hear you speak. They want to listen to what makes you unique and why you were selected to speak. Since your bio is frequently the first thing people see, it must be compelling. People are likelier to pay attention and take your message seriously if you have a captivating profile that makes you look fascinating and reliable. 

Conference planners might also benefit from your bio. They use it to draw people to the event and promote it. A strong bio will facilitate their work and raise your chances of receiving speaking invitations for upcoming events. 

In short, a speaker bio is essential because it:

• Introduces you to the audience
• Builds your credibility
• Engage people before they hear you speak.
• Helps conference organizers promote the event

Common Mistakes in Writing Speaker Bios

Writing a speaker bio can be tricky. Before we learn what to include in a bio, we will look at the errors that must be avoided. Some common mistakes people make can weaken their bios. Avoiding these mistakes can help you write a bio that stands out.

Overloading with Information

A standard error is when you try to add too much information. Although it’s normal to want to highlight all of the experiences and accomplishments, including too much information in the bio will confuse the reader and lessen the effect of your main points. We will look at all the techniques of how to write a brief bio later on, but for now, remember these three facts- 

  Less is More: Pay attention to your career’s high points and the most significant achievements. Consider what information the audience will find most compelling and exclude everything less important. 

Choose two or three noteworthy achievements demonstrating the speaker’s proficiency and significance to the occasion. This improves the readability and impact of your bio.

Keep It Concise: Aim for briefness. A good speaker bio is typically  150-250 words,  enough to convey your message without losing the reader’s attention.

Being Too Vague or Generic

A bio that is too vague or generic fails to make a strong impression. Phrases like “experienced professional” or “knowledgeable in many areas” don’t give the audience specific reasons to be interested in the speaker. Highlight specific achievements, roles, or projects demonstrating the speaker’s expertise. For example, instead of saying “experienced in technology,” mention a particular project you led or a specific technology you specialise in. Give tangible examples of the work. Instead of saying “skilled leader,” you might say, “led a team of 20 to develop a ground-breaking software application that increased productivity by 30%.”

Lack of Relevance to the Audience or Event

Your bio should be tailored to the specific event and audience. A generic bio that doesn’t speak directly to the audience’s interests or the event’s theme can fail to engage. Think about who will be attending the conference. Are they industry professionals, academics, students, or a mix? Tailor your bio to address their interests and expectations. Make sure your bio reflects the theme or focus of the conference. If the event concerns innovation, highlight your work in pioneering new ideas or technologies.  Emphasise aspects of your background that are directly relevant to the conference topic. If you’re speaking at an education conference, for example, focus on your experience and achievements in education.

Using Jargon

A section of your audience may get unpleasant if you use excessive amounts of business jargon. Technical jargon and acronyms may not be understood by everyone, which might make your bio less exciting and challenging to read. 

• Use clear, simple language that a broad audience can understand. Avoid technical terms unless they are widely known within the event context.
• If you must use specific language, give a brief overview. This will allow readers of many backgrounds to follow along.
• Aim for clarity and readability. A well-written bio should be clear enough to easily understand, even for someone not an expert in your field.

By avoiding these errors, you can write a bio that is clear, relevant, and interesting.

How to Write A Speaker Bio- A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: preparation and research.

Before you start writing, you need to do some preparation. This is the first step you need to learn if you want a perfect answer for how to write a bio for a conference. Moreover, this helps you create a bio that fits the event and connects with the audience. 

Knowing the Audience

First, know your audience. Think about who will be attending the conference. Are they professionals, students, academics, or a mix? Understanding your audience helps you decide what information to include in your bio. For example, when speaking to professionals, focus on your industry experience and achievements. If your audience is students, highlight your educational background and any relevant advice you can offer them.

Researching the Event Background 

Find out what the conference is about. What are the main topics or themes? Knowing the theme helps you highlight the parts of your background that are most relevant. For example, if the event is about innovation, focus on your work in developing new ideas or technologies. Also, look at the bios of speakers from previous years. This can give you an idea of what the organisers are looking for and help you similarly structure your bio.

Understanding the Expectations of the Organizers

Find out if there are any rules or a recommended format for speaker bios from the event organisers. It will be simpler for them to use your bio in advertising materials if you follow these rules. Ensure you know the appropriate length and substance for your bio.

Step 2: Knowing the Key Elements

A strong speaker bio needs a few essential components. These contribute to presenting a clear image of who you are and your value as a speaker for the occasion. 

1. Name and Position at Present 

Begin with your name and the role or job title you currently hold. This lets the audience know immediately who you are and what you do. “Jane Smith, CEO of Tech Innovations,” for instance.

2. Professional Background and Experience

Summarise your professional background. Include your previous roles, industries in which you’ve worked, and any relevant experience showcasing your expertise. 

3. Notable Accomplishments and Honours 

Emphasise your most significant accomplishments as well as any honours or recognitions you’ve won. This increases your reputation and demonstrates that people have recognised your competence. For instance, “Tech Magazine named her one of the Top 100 Most Influential Tech Leaders in 2022.”

4. Specialized Fields 

Share a few of your areas of expertise. Be explicit when describing your abilities and knowledge, especially those pertinent to the event. “Her expertise includes cybersecurity, machine learning, and artificial intelligence,” for example. 

5. Personal Narratives or Distinctive Features 

Your bio might be more interesting if you include a personal touch. Give a little story or highlight a distinguishing quality that makes you stand out. This makes it easier for the audience to relate to you personally. 

6. Contact Information

Provide links to the speaker’s personal website, social media accounts, and contact details. This enables curious guests to contact the conference speaker and discover more about what they do. You can add a section like this: “Visit Jane’s website or connect with her on LinkedIn; link.” 

Step 3: Structuring the Bio

The opening statement is all about grabbing interest . 

Start with an appealing introduction that catches the reader’s interest. This may be an inspiring professional truth, a remarkable accomplishment, or a declaration of your enthusiasm for your chosen field. 

The main body should be based on detailing professional background and achievements .

In the main body, include information about your accomplishments and professional history. This is your chance to elaborate on the crucial components, such as your experience, awards, and areas of expertise. 

Closing with a personal touch and call to action

Add a personal touch at the end, such as personal testimony or a distinguishing feature. Next, include a call to action, such as an invitation for the audience to visit the speaker’s website or follow you on his/her social media to learn more. 

Step 4: Focusing on Writing Style and Tone

Your writing style and tone greatly influence how your bio is received. Here are some tips to get it right:

Matching the Tone to the Event

Make sure your bio matches the tone of the event. For a formal conference, keep your language professional. For a more casual event, a relaxed tone may be appropriate. For example, use formal language for a business summit and a more conversational tone for a creative workshop.

Balancing Professionalism with Personality

While being professional is important, don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through. A bio that’s too dry can be boring, but one with a bit of personality can be much more engaging. For example, you can include a fun fact about yourself or a light-hearted anecdote related to your work.

Using Active Voice and Strong Verbs

Write in the active voice and use strong verbs. This makes your bio more dynamic and engaging. For example, instead of saying “was responsible for,” say “led” or “managed.” Active voice makes your accomplishments stand out more clearly.

Step 5: Refining and Polishing the Bio

Once you’ve written your speaker bio, refining and polishing it is important. This step ensures that your bio is transparent, professional, and free of errors. Here’s how to do it:

Editing and Proofreading

A well-edited bio is crucial because it reflects your professionalism and attention to detail. A bio with errors can make you seem careless and undermine your credibility. Your bio is often the first thing people read about you. A polished bio creates a positive first impression. Double-check for any misspelled words. Even a small typo can make your bio look unprofessional. Pay attention to punctuation, such as commas, periods, and quotation marks. Use consistent language and formatting throughout your bio. For example, if you use bullet points, use them consistently.

Feedback and Making Revisions

Share your bio with colleagues, mentors, or even event organisers. They can provide valuable feedback and point out areas for improvement. Getting input from different people can give you a well-rounded view of how your bio reads and what might need to change.

Bonus! Check out our mega list of 15 event reminder email templates you need in 2024

Short Professional Bio Examples for Conference

Example 1: keynote speaker.

Dr Emily Harris, Chief Innovation Officer at GreenTech Solutions

Dr. Emily Harris is the Chief Innovation Officer at GreenTech Solutions, where she leads a dynamic team in developing sustainable technologies. With over 15 years of experience in environmental engineering and renewable energy, Dr. Harris has pioneered several breakthrough projects, including the award-winning EcoGrid system. She has a PhD in Environmental Science from Stanford University and has been recognised by the Global Energy Forum as one of the top innovators in her field. Dr. Harris enjoys mentoring young scientists and advocating for green policies in her spare time.

Example 2: Panellist

Michael Lee, Senior Vice President of Marketing at BrightWave Communications

Michael Lee is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at BrightWave Communications, where he oversees global marketing strategies and digital transformation initiatives. With a career spanning over 20 years in the tech industry, Michael has successfully led numerous high-impact campaigns and product launches. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a frequent speaker at industry events , sharing insights on digital marketing and customer engagement. Outside of work, Michael is passionate about supporting local tech start-ups and volunteering at educational non-profits.

Example 3: Academic Presenter

Dr. Raj Patel, Professor of Computer Science at MIT

Dr. Raj Patel is a Professor of Computer Science at MIT, where he specialises in artificial intelligence and machine learning. With a research career spanning over 25 years, Dr. Patel has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and holds several patents in AI technology. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been honoured with numerous awards, including the prestigious Turing Award. Dr. Patel is passionate about advancing AI ethics and often collaborates with industry leaders to develop responsible AI practices. Outside academia, he enjoys chess and classical music.

Example 4: Start-up Founder

Jessica Nguyen, Founder and CEO of HealthTech Innovations

Jessica Nguyen is the Founder and CEO of HealthTech Innovations, a start-up dedicated to revolutionising healthcare through technology. Since launching the company five years ago, Jessica has led the development of several ground-breaking health monitoring devices that have improved patient care worldwide. She has a degree in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and was recently featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for her offerings in healthcare technology. Jessica is also an advocate for women in STEM and frequently speaks at conferences and workshops to motivate the next generation of female innovators.

Practical Tips to Use While Writing the Next Bio

As you have reached almost the end of this guide on how to write a speaker bio, we will quickly look at some additional tips that will make your creating journey a bit more efficient. 

• Your bio should reflect who you really are. Don’t try to hold a fake personality. Authenticity makes people relate easily and build trust. 
• Include a brief story or journey that led you to where you are today. This can make your bio more relatable and memorable.
• Tailor your bio to fit the specific event you’re speaking at. Highlight the aspects of your experience and expertise that are most relevant to the event’s theme and audience.
• Make sure your bio is up-to-date with your most recent achievements and roles. An outdated bio can make you seem out of touch.
• Keep your sentences short and to the point. This makes your bio easier to read and understand.
• Think about what makes you unique. It could be a particular skill, a notable achievement, or an unusual career path.
• End your bio with a call to action. This could be inviting the audience to know more about you on social media, visit your website, or attend your session at the conference.
• Always proofread your bio to catch any spelling or grammatical errors. A well-edited bio reflects your professionalism.
• Reading your bio aloud can help you catch mistakes that might miss your sight when reading silently.
• Ask a friend, colleague, or mentor to review your bio. When rechecked by them, it can generate valuable feedback and suggest improvements.
• A professional photo can make your bio more personal and engaging. Choose a headshot where you look approachable and confident.
• Sharing a few personal interests or hobbies can add a human touch to your bio and make it more interesting.
• Ensure your bio is consistent with how you present yourself on other platforms, such as LinkedIn, your website, and social media.
• Make sure your bio reflects your personal and professional values. This helps build a strong bond with the audience and shows what you stand for.

If you are looking for more awesome thank you messages, you can take a quick look at how to write a thank you message for attending an event

Creating an attractive speaker bio for a conference is a crucial responsibility that has the potential to influence your audience’s opinion of you greatly. In addition to showcasing your experience and accomplishments in the workplace, a strong bio adds a human aspect that makes you more relatable to readers. A strong bio can set the tone for your presentation if you prepare carefully, concentrate on the essential details, and refine your bio with attentive editing and feedback. 

Remember that your bio often acts as a prospective listener’s initial impression, so give it your best effort. Make sure it conveys the tone of the event and your own brand by being genuine, concise, and captivating. Whether you’re learning how to write a brief bio or creating a more detailed one, these strategies will help you craft a speaker bio that informs, inspires, and captivates your audience. 

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Whales Have an Alphabet

Until the 1960s, it was uncertain whether whales made any sounds at all..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

Today, ever since the discovery that whales produce songs, scientists have been trying to find a way to decipher their lyrics. After 60 years, they may have finally done it. My colleague, Carl Zimmer, explains.

It’s Friday, May 24.

I have to say, after many years of working with you on everything from the pandemic to —

— CRISPR DNA technology, that it turns out your interests are even more varied than I had thought, and they include whales.

They do indeed.

And why? What is it about the whale that captures your imagination?

I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who is not fascinated by whales. I mean, these are mammals like us, and they’re swimming around in the water. They have brains that are much bigger than ours. They can live maybe 200 years. These are incredible animals, and animals that we still don’t really understand.

Right. Well, it is this majestic creature that brings us together today, Carl, because you have been reporting on a big breakthrough in our understanding of how it is that whales communicate. But I think in order for that breakthrough to make sense, I think we’re going to have to start with what we have known up until now about how whales interact. So tell us about that.

Well, people knew that whales and dolphins traveled together in groups, but up until the 1960s, we didn’t really know that whales actually made any sounds at all. It was actually sort of an accident that we came across it. The American military was developing sophisticated microphones to put underwater. They wanted to listen for Russian submarines.

As one does. But there was an engineer in Bermuda, and he started hearing some weird stuff.

[WHALE SOUNDS]

And he wondered maybe if he was actually listening to whales.

What made him wonder if it was whales, of all things?

Well, this sound did not sound like something geological.

It didn’t sound like some underwater landslide or something like that. This sounded like a living animal making some kind of call. It has these incredible deep tones that rise up into these strange, almost falsetto type notes.

It was incredibly loud. And so it would have to be some really big animal. And so with humpback whales swimming around Bermuda, this engineer thought, well, maybe these are humpback whales.

And so he gets in touch with a husband and wife team of whale biologists, Roger and Katy Payne, and plays these recordings to them. And they’re pretty convinced that they’re hearing whales, too. And then they go on to go out and confirm that by putting microphones in the water, chasing after groups of whales and confirming, yes, indeed, that these sounds are coming from these humpback whales.

So once these scientists confirm in their minds that these are the sounds of a whale, what happens with this discovery?

Well, Roger and Katy Payne and their colleagues are astonished that this species of whale is swimming around singing all the time for hours on end. And it’s so inspirational to them that they actually help to produce a record that they release “The Song of the Humpback Whale” in 1970.

And so this is being sold in record stores, you know, along with Jimi Hendrix and Rolling Stones. And it is a huge hit.

Yeah, it sells like two million copies.

Well, at the time, it was a huge cultural event. This record, this became almost like an anthem of the environmental movement. And it led, for whales in particular, to a lot of protections for them because now people could appreciate that whales were a lot more marvelous and mysterious than they maybe had appreciated before.

And so you have legislation, like the Marine Mammal Act. The United States just agrees just to stop killing whales. It stops its whaling industry. And so you could argue that the discovery of these whale songs in Bermuda led to at least some species of whales escaping extinction.

Well, beyond the cultural impact of this discovery, which is quite meaningful, I wonder whether scientists and marine biologists are figuring out what these whale songs are actually communicating.

So the Paynes create a whole branch of science, the study of whale songs. It turns out that pretty much every species of whale that we know of sings in some way or another. And it turns out that within a species, different groups of whales in different parts of the world may sing with a different dialect. But the big question of what these whales are singing, what do these songs mean, that remains elusive into the 21st century. And things don’t really change until scientists decide to take a new look at the problem in a new way.

And what is that new way?

So in 2020, a group of whale biologists, including Roger Payne, come together with computer scientists from MIT. Instead of humpback whales, which were the whales where whale songs are first discovered, these scientists decide to study sperm whales in the Caribbean. And humpback whales and sperm whales have very, very different songs. So if you’re used to humpback whales with their crazy high and low singing voices —

Right, those best-selling sounds.

— those are rockin’ tunes of the humpback whales, that’s not what sperm whales do. Sperm whales have a totally different way of communicating with each other. And I actually have some recordings that were provided by the scientists who have been doing this research. And so we can take a listen to some of them.

Wow, It’s like a rhythmic clicking.

These are a group of sperm whales swimming together, communicating.

So whale biologists knew already that there was some structure to this sound. Those clicks that you hear, they come in little pulses. And each of those pulses is known as a coda. And whale biologists had given names to these different codas. So, for example, they call one coda, one plus one plus three —

— which is basically click, click, click, click, click, or four plus three, where you have four clicks in a row and a pause and then three clicks in a row.

Right. And the question would seem to be, is this decipherable communication, or is this just whale gibberish?

Well, this is where the computer scientists were able to come in and to help out. The whale biologists who were listening to the codas from the sperm whales in the Caribbean, they had identified about 21 types. And then that would seem to be about it.

But then, an MIT computer science graduate student named Prajusha Sharma was given the job of listening to them again.

And what does she hear?

In a way, it’s not so much what she heard, but what she saw.

Because when scientists record whale songs, you can look at it kind of like if you’re looking at an audio of a recording of your podcast, you will see the little squiggles of your voice.

And so whale biologists would just look at that ticker of whale songs going across the screen and try to compare them. And Sharma said, I don’t like this. I just — this is not how I look at data. And so what she decided to do is she decided to kind of just visualize the data differently. And essentially, she just kind of flipped these images on their side and saw something totally new.

And what she saw was that sperm whales were singing a whole bunch of things that nobody had actually been hearing.

One thing that she discovered was that you could have a whale that was producing a coda over and over and over again, but it was actually playing with it. It was actually stretching out the coda,

[CLICKING] So to get a little bit longer and a little bit longer, a little bit longer.

And then get shorter and shorter and shorter again. They could play with their codas in a way that nobody knew before. And she also started to see that a whale might throw in an extra click at the end of a coda. So it would be repeating a coda over and over again and then boom, add an extra one right at the end. What they would call an ornamentation. So now, you have yet another signal that these whales are using.

And if we just look at what the sperm whales are capable of producing in terms of different codas, we go from just 21 types that they had found in the Caribbean before to 156. So what the scientists are saying is that what we might be looking at is what they call a sperm whale phonetic alphabet.

Yeah, that’s a pretty big deal because the only species that we know of for sure that has a phonetic alphabet —

— is us, exactly. So the reason that we can use language is because we can make a huge range of sounds by just doing little things with our mouths. A little change in our lips can change a bah to a dah. And so we are able to produce a set of phonetic sounds. And we put those sounds together to make words.

So now, we have sperm whales, which have at least 150 of these different versions of sounds that they make just by making little adjustments to the existing way that they make sounds. And so you can make a chart of their phonetic alphabet, just like you make a chart of the human phonetic alphabet.

So then, that raises the question, do they combine their phonetic alphabet into words? Do they combine their words into sentences? In other words, do sperm whales have a language of their own?

Right. Are they talking to each other, really talking to each other?

If we could really show that whales had language on par with humans, that would be like finding intelligent life on another planet.

We’ll be right back.

So, Carl, how should we think about this phonetic alphabet and whether sperm whales are actually using it to talk to each other?

The scientists on this project are really careful to say that these results do not definitively prove what these sperm whale sounds are. There are a handful of possibilities here in terms of what this study could mean. And one of them is that the whales really are using full-blown language.

What they might be talking about, we don’t know. I mean, perhaps they like to talk about their travels over hundreds and thousands of miles. Maybe they’re talking about, you know, the giant squid that they caught last night. Maybe they’re gossiping about each other.

And you have to remember, sperm whales are incredibly social animals. They have relationships that last for decades. And they live in groups that are in clans of thousands of whales. I mean, imagine the opportunities for gossip.

These are all at least imaginable now. But it’s also possible that they are communicating with each other, but in a way that isn’t language as we know it. You know, maybe these sounds that they’re producing don’t add up to sentences. There’s no verb there. There’s no noun. There’s no structure to it in terms of how we think of language.

But maybe they’re still conveying information to each other. Maybe they’re somehow giving out who they are and what group they belong to. But it’s not in the form of language that we think of.

Right. Maybe it’s more kind of caveman like as in whale to whale, look, there, food.

It’s possible. But, you know, other species have evolved in other directions. And so you have to put yourself in the place of a sperm whale. You know, so think about this. They are communicating in the water. And actually, like sending sounds through water is a completely different experience than through the air like we do.

So a sperm whale might be communicating to the whale right next to it a few yards away, but it might be communicating with whales miles away, hundreds of miles away. They’re in the dark a lot of the time, so they don’t even see the whales right next to them. So it’s just this constant sound that they’re making because they’re in this dark water.

So we might want to imagine that such a species would talk the way we do, but there are just so many reasons to expect that whatever they’re communicating might be just profoundly different, so different that it’s actually hard for us to imagine. And so we need to really, you know, let ourselves be open to lots of possibilities.

And one possibility that some scientists have raised is that maybe language is just the wrong model to think about. Maybe we need to think about music. You know, maybe this strange typewriter, clickety clack is actually not like a Morse code message, but is actually a real song. It’s a kind of music that doesn’t necessarily convey information the way conversation does, but it brings the whales together.

In humans, like, when we humans sing together in choruses, it can be a very emotional experience. It’s a socially bonding experience, but it’s not really like the specific words that we’re singing that bring us together when we’re singing. It’s sharing the music together.

But at a certain point, we stop singing in the chorus, and we start asking each other questions like, hey, what are you doing for dinner? How are you going to get home? There’s a lot of traffic on the BQE. So we are really drawn to the possibility that whales are communicating in that same kind of a mode.

We’re exchanging information. We’re seeking out each other’s well-being and emotional state. And we’re building something together.

And I think that happens because, I mean, language is so fundamental to us as human beings. I mean, it’s like every moment of our waking life depends on language. We are talking to ourselves if we’re not talking to other people.

In our sleep, we dream, and there are words in our dreams. And we’re just stewing in language. And so it’s really, really hard for us to understand how other species might have a really complex communication system with hundreds of different little units of sound that they can use and they can deploy. And to think anything other than, well, they must be talking about traffic on the BQE. Like —

— we’re very human-centric. And we have to resist that.

So what we end up having here is a genuine breakthrough in our understanding of how whales interact. And that seems worth celebrating in and of itself. But it really kind of doubles as a lesson in humility for us humans when it comes to appreciating the idea that there are lots of non-human ways in which language can exist.

That’s right. Humility is always a good idea when we’re thinking about other animals.

So what now happens in this realm of research? And how is it that these scientists, these marine biologists and these computer scientists are going to try to figure out what exactly this alphabet amounts to and how it’s being used?

So what’s going to happen now is a real sea change in gathering data from whales.

So to speak.

So these scientists are now deploying a new generation of undersea microphones. They’re using drones to follow these whales. And what they want to do is they want to be recording sounds from the ocean where these whales live 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And so the hope is that instead of getting, say, a few 100 codas each year on recording, these scientists want to get several hundred million every year, maybe billions of codas every year.

And once you get that much data from whales, then you can start to do some really amazing stuff with artificial intelligence. So these scientists hope that they can use the same kind of artificial intelligence that is behind things like ChatGPT or these artificial intelligence systems that are able to take recordings of people talking and transcribing them into text. They want to use that on the whale communication.

They want to just grind through vast amounts of data, and maybe they will discover more phonetic letters in this alphabet. Who knows? Maybe they will actually find bigger structures, structures that could correspond to language.

If you go really far down this route of possibilities, the hope is that you would understand what sperm whales are saying to each other so well that you could actually create artificial sperm whale communication, and you could play it underwater. You could talk to the sperm whales. And they would talk back. They would react somehow in a way that you had predicted. If that happens, then maybe, indeed, sperm whales have something like language as we understand it.

And the only way we’re going to figure that out is if we figure out not just how they talk to themselves, but how we can perhaps talk to them, which, given everything we’ve been talking about here, Carl, is a little bit ironic because it’s pretty human-centric.

That’s right. This experiment could fail. It’s possible that sperm whales don’t do anything like language as we know it. Maybe they’re doing something that we can’t even imagine yet. But if sperm whales really are using codas in something like language, we are going to have to enter the conversation to really understand it.

Well, Carl, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Thank you. Sorry. Can I say that again? My voice got really high all of a sudden.

A little bit like a whale’s. Ooh.

Yeah, exactly. Woot. Woot.

Thank yoooo. No. Thank you.

Here’s what else you need to know today.

We allege that Live Nation has illegally monopolized markets across the live concert industry in the United States for far too long. It is time to break it up.

On Thursday, the Justice Department sued the concert giant Live Nation Entertainment, which owns Ticketmaster, for violating federal antitrust laws and sought to break up the $23 billion conglomerate. During a news conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Live Nation’s monopolistic tactics had hurt the entire industry of live events.

The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices.

In a statement, Live Nation called the lawsuit baseless and vowed to fight it in court.

A reminder — tomorrow, we’ll be sharing the latest episode of our colleagues’ new show, “The Interview.” This week on “The Interview,” Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Ted Sarandos, the CEO of Netflix, about his plans to make the world’s largest streaming service even bigger.

I don’t agree with the premise that quantity and quality are somehow in conflict with each other. I think our content and our movie programming has been great, but it’s just not all for you.

Today’s episode was produced by Alex Stern, Stella Tan, Sydney Harper, and Nina Feldman. It was edited by MJ Davis, contains original music by Pat McCusker, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Marion Lozano, and Sophia Lanman, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

Special thanks to Project SETI for sharing their whale recordings.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you on Tuesday after the holiday.

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Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Carl Zimmer

Produced by Alex Stern ,  Stella Tan ,  Sydney Harper and Nina Feldman

Edited by MJ Davis Lin

Original music by Elisheba Ittoop ,  Dan Powell ,  Marion Lozano ,  Sophia Lanman and Pat McCusker

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

Ever since the discovery of whale songs almost 60 years ago, scientists have been trying to decipher the lyrics.

But sperm whales don’t produce the eerie melodies sung by humpback whales, sounds that became a sensation in the 1960s. Instead, sperm whales rattle off clicks that sound like a cross between Morse code and a creaking door. Carl Zimmer, a science reporter, explains why it’s possible that the whales are communicating in a complex language.

On today’s episode

Carl Zimmer , a science reporter for The New York Times who also writes the Origins column .

Background reading

Scientists find an “alphabet” in whale songs.

These whales still use their vocal cords. But how?

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Carl Zimmer covers news about science for The Times and writes the Origins column . More about Carl Zimmer

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