Public Speaking: Get Rid of Your Confusion Now- Graphs and Charts

When thinking about public speaking, keep it simple in your head.  Keep anchored to the oh-so-simple idea of communication.   Just remember that presentations and all forms of public speaking, whether informal for a few people or formal in a room of 100 or 200, are just another form of communication.  That brings the experience of talking to  a group down to earth and a person-to-person experience for the good of all.

You know graphs and charts are great for explaining.  But are you unclear about which kinds to use in your presentation?

Here are quick tips to take away the confusion.

Use Graphs and Charts to Show Trends and Demonstrate Relationships

• Select a line graph to represent trends and other information that change over time.
• Choose a bar graph to compare quantities or magnitudes.
• Use a pie graph to show proportions.
• Use a pictogram to show comparisons in picture form.
• Use a flow chart to diagram a procedure or process.
• Use an organizational chart to illustrate hierarchical relationships.
• Use a table to summarize large amounts of information.

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.

Check out our new advanced weekly speech tip program, our new subscription called ClearTalk Weekly, www.subscription.cleartalkmastery.com

Acceptances: How to Say It

When you are writing an acceptance, here are some great guidelines:

• Express your pleasure in accepting the invitation, offer, proposal or agreeing to do what was asked
• Repeat the details of what you are accepting (meeting date and time, amount of the contribution, the precise nature of your assistance, the duties you agree to do)
• Inquire about particular needs: redirections to host’s home, wheelchair accessibility, equipment for your speech, list of other organizers, receipt for a tax-deductible contribution
• Close with expression of pleasure to come (seeing the person, working for the company, being part of the group) or of future action (what you wish to accomplish, actions you intend to take, a reciprocal invitation)

Public Speaking:  Living Color- Get the Best for Your Slides

The fun of communicating, for you the presenter to any number of people, is to use our wonderful earthly tools to spark the listener/viewer.

Color has an amazing ability to stimulate the senses.  You’ve seen a great number of presentations with power point or other systems of digital slides.  But from all your viewing, you probably cannot describe what works or doesn’t work.

Here are some tips for guiding you in choosing  color combinations to set the mood of a presentation and make things easier to see on your visual aid.

The color yellow

• Warm on white, harsh on black, fiery on red, soothing on light blue

The color blue

• Warm on white, hard to see on black

The color red

• Bright on white, warm or difficult to see on black

Optimizing Your Use of Color

• Yellow, orange, and red rank highest in visibility, so use these colors to highlight text or objects within a frame
• To de-emphasize less important areas of a presentation, use softer, lighter colors
• For typeface and graphics, use colors that contrast rather than clash with or blend into the background color
• Use blues, greens, and neutral colors such as tan and white, for backgrounds
• Use no more than four colors in a graphic; two or three are even better
• Stay within the same family of hues

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.

Check out our new advanced weekly speech tip program, our new subscription called ClearTalk Weekly, www.subscription.cleartalkmastery.com

What to Write Acceptances for

Some people express that they are uncertain whether they need to respond in writing to a request.  To help you know, here is a list of what to write acceptances for:

• admissions requests: organizations, clubs, school
• invitations: dinner, luncheon, meeting, party
• job offers
• membership offers: organization, board, commission
• proposals
• requests: favors, contributions, help
• speaking invitations: workshop, conference, banquet
• wedding invitations

English Speech Communication- Tips for Introductions

Social gatherings feel the best when you are confident that you can handle lots of situations.

Here are some tips:

• If another person seems to be struggling to retrieve your name from his memory, come to his rescue.
• If your name is mispronounced, correct the person gently, but promptly. That will make it easier for the person to remember the correct pronunciation.
• To introduce one person to a crowd of several people, you can make a general introduction. For example, “Hello everyone, this is Susan Smith, our new neighbor.  Susan, these are the joggers I was telling you about.  Mike, would you introduce Susan around  to a few people while I get her a drink.”
• If you are Mike, introduce Susan to at least three people so she feels comfortable mingling after she has finished her first conversation about jogging.
• Once you’ve helped other people to identify each other with a name, provide them with some common links to launch their own conversation (e.g.  “David, this is Martha.  She and I are in the same book club.”)

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.

Check out our new advanced weekly speech tip program, our new subscription called ClearTalk Weekly, www.subscription.cleartalkmastery.com