Verbal elements of a speech

1. Key phrases in the structre of a speech

     By memorizing useful key phrases, you have a set of tools to keep your speech on track. Whenever you start to feel nervous, just use one of these phrases to add some structure to your speech. You will be amazed how that smooth operation will help with your confidence.

What you say (the words you choose) matters. It is important to choose the words carefully, especially when you are saying something important.

• The words you choose will be different if you are talking to 200 people at a conference, a trusted colleague, your boss, or your children. You need to think about your audience’s overall level of understanding of the subject, and the type of language that you use.
• Shorter sentences are easier to process and understand. Using shorter sentences also creates urgency.
• Simpler words are also easier to understand. If you cannot explain something in simple terms, you have probably not understood it yourself. This is particularly important if your audience are not all native speakers of the language.

You can find some phrases for different stages of a presentation in following text.

1.1. Warm up by thanking the audience

     It is always difficult to start a public talk as the audience is not always totally focused. Some people might be distracted because they came in a bit late, others might let their mind wander as they do not know what to expect. Do not launch into your content immediately but start with getting the full attention of the audience.

You can use one of the following phrases to warm up and thank your listeners:

• Thank you all for being here today.
• I’m happy to see you all today.
• It’s my honor that you are joining me for this presentation.

1.2. Introduce your topic or the reason for your speech

     After thanking the audience, signify that you are starting your talk with one of these phrases.

• Let me begin with…
• I’d like to start by telling you about…
• Today I am going to present…

1.3. Explain the plan to present the topic

     Telling people about a topic (problem) is just the beginning. You need to arm your audience with a plan and show them how such a topic (problem) could be presented.

     By guiding listeners through each step of presenting the issue, you build up momentum and keep them engaged. You can use this structure to describe your plan:

• First, we will... Then, when… is ready, we can follow up with…. After that we can…

1.4. Interact with the audience

     Though it is your stage, you should not just talk for the whole time. Invite the audience to ask questions, give feedback and provide comments. That is a great way to keep them engaged.

     Here are some phrases to give space for audience interaction, at specific moments or throughout your speech:

• Before I move on, does anyone have any questions?
• I’d like to pause now and give you an opportunity to respond.
• Please feel free to raise your hand if you have a question at any point during my talk.

Here are some phrases you can use in such a situation.

• I hear what you are saying, but let me draw your attention to…
• Would you like to explain more about…
• Are there any other comments about this point before I give my response?

1.5. Close the presentation

     Do not forget to thank the audience again before finishing your speech.

Use one of the following expressions:

• Thank you all for your time and attention.
• With that, I want to finish (end) my presentation. Thank you for listening.
• I’d like to end my presentation here. Thanks for coming and if you have any more questions, I’d be happy to answer them afterward.

2. Questioning

     Questioning is broadly how we obtain information from others on specific topics.

     It is an essential way of clarifying areas that are unclear. It can test your understanding. It can also enable you to explicitly seek support from others.

     On a more social level, questioning is also a useful technique to start conversations, draw someone into a conversation, or simply show interest.

     Effective questioning is therefore an essential element of verbal communication.

We use two main types of questions:

• Closed questions
• Open questions
  

2.1. Closed questions

     Closed questions tend to seek only a one or two words answer (often simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’). They therefore limit the scope of the response. Two examples of closed questions are:

“Did you travel by car today?”
“Did you see the football game yesterday?”

     These types of question allow the questioner to remain in control of the communication. This is often not the desired outcome when trying to encourage verbal communication, so many people try to focus on using open questions more often. Nevertheless, closed questions can be useful for focusing discussion and obtaining clear, concise answers when needed.

2.2. Open questions

     Open questions demand further discussion and elaboration. They therefore broaden the scope for response. Two examples of open questions are:

“What was the traffic like this morning?”
“What do you feel you would like to gain from this discussion?”

     Open questions will take longer to answer, but they give the other person far more scope for self-expression and encourage involvement in the conversation.

3. Reflecting and clarifying

     Reflecting is the process of feeding back to another person your understanding of what has been said.

     Reflecting is a specialised skill often used within counselling, but it can also be applied to a wide range of communication contexts and is a useful skill to learn.

     Reflecting often involves paraphrasing the message communicated to you by the speaker in your own words. You need to try to capture the essence of the facts and expressed feelings and communicate your understanding back to the speaker. It is a useful skill because:

• You can check that you have understood the message clearly.
• The speaker gets feedback about how the message has been received and can then clarify or expand if they wish.
• It shows interest in, and respect for, what the other person has to say.
• You are demonstrating that you are considering the other person’s viewpoint.

4. Summarising

     A summary is an overview of the main points or issues raised.

     Summarising can also serve the same purpose as ‘reflecting’. However, summarising allows both parties to review and agree the message and ensure that communication has been effective. When used effectively, summaries may also serve as a guide to the next steps forward.

5. Closing communication

     The way a communication is closed or ended will, at least in part, determine the way a conversation is remembered.

     People use both verbal and nonverbal signals to end a conversation.

     Verbal signals may include phrases such as:
“Well, I must be going.”
“Thank you so much, that’s really helpful.”

     Non-verbal conclusions may include starting to avoid eye contact, standing up, turning away, or behaviours such as looking at a watch or closing notepads or books. These nonverbal actions indicate to the other person that the initiator wishes to end the communication.

     People often use a mixture of these, but tend to start with the nonverbal signals, especially face to face. On the telephone, of course, verbal cues are essential.