The Power of Speaking

                     Ponder this gem:

If all my talents and powers were to be taken from me by some inscrutable Providence, and I had my choice of keeping but one, I would unhesitatingly ask to be allowed to keep the Power of Speaking, for through it, I would quickly recover all the rest.

                    -Daniel Webster

English Speaking Training: Understand that Strange Spelling

Did you ever wonder why some words in English have such strange spelling?   For accurate pronunciation of many words, you say the consonants loud and clear using the positioning for English, not for other languages.  And for most words, using the English spelling rules for vowels, you can know the accurate pronunciation.

However, you have certainly noticed that some words have letters that you do not pronounce or series of letters that have a different pronunciation.  There are lots of reasons for this strange spelling in these words, but borrowing from another language’s spelling is a major reason.

Throughout history, it has been popular to borrow language and culture from other admired countries.  In Renaissance times, it became popular to borrow Latin spellings for otherwise perfectly typical words.  For example, the word debt used to be spelled dette, but the “b” was added to match the Latin word debitum.

Another example is the word doubt.  Doubt was borrowed from the French douter but was given new spelling based on the Latin dubitare.

This manner of spelling words is called Etymological Spelling.  This system of spelling relies on traditional spelling rules, and not on pronunciation or changes in pronunciation.  Other words etymologically spelled are indict(Latin indictare),  receipt (Latin recepta)  subtle (Latin subtilis).

Add to that this phenomenon: when the spelling was changed, sometimes the pronunciation was changed.  For instance, throne used to be pronounced and spelled  trone…  until the Latin spelling was reintroduced with an “h” after the “t”, and the pronunciation changed.  The word “thyme”  was respelled with an “h” but kept its original pronunciation.

Bankrupt got its “p” from the Latin  rupta.  Baptism used to be bapteme from French, but an “s” was added to match the Latin baptismus.

The difficult thing about Etymological Spelling is that it makes pronunciation difficult.  However,  for written English, it has the advantage of similar spelling of the root word for many words and tickles our subconscious into tuning into  and intuitively understanding the  meanings of many related words.

Nice! Now you understand more about the “th” and why some letters like “b,” “p,” “t,”  and “s” have come into the spelling of particular English words.  The evolution of a language is so interesting!  And these little explanations  will also make such spellings more memorable to you.

For more, see www.aloveofwords.com/209/09/02/renaissance-spelling by Maggie

Next time we explore how fragile is our intelligence and performing of skills.

Click here: www.cleartalkmastery.com/scheduler to sign up for a Free Sample Lesson with us! 

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

Anxious?

Most important strategy:

Preparation

My personal favorite:

Rehearse out loud

My newly found tip:

Arrive one hour early and meet and greet people at the door.

Public Speaking Training:  Great Exercises for Coping With Stress

Here  are some of my favorite “coping with stress” exercises.

For some people, anxiety is a problem whenever they do presentations.  Are you like many people and also feel stressed out during your daily work or academic life?   These exercises are good training in your daily life and for using before a presentation.

Taking an active relaxation break  is simple.  Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit where you will not be disturbed.  Close your eyes and think of the word “relax.”  Think “re” as you inhale and “lax” as you exhale.  Be sure you are breathing deeply into the abdominal-diaphragmatic area.  It’s simple– inhale “re” and exhale “lax.”  Do this for at least a minute.  Let any thoughts gently float away.  Aim to increase this  exercise to five minutes or more.  Doing it several times a day can break the stress cycle you experience in your life.

Visualization can be very effective in reducing anticipatory stress.  Anticipatory stress is what you feel before you do a presentation.  So, if you want to improve your presentations, whether impromptu with little warning, or formal presentations,  imagine yourself doing the best communication or presentation you have ever done.  Create the scene in your mind and let your body relax.  Take a deep breath and feel the sense of well being in your body.  Visualization is very effective to reduce tension and improve your performance.

Another stress releaser is this:  Have objects on your desk that are pleasant to look at.  You can use one  for a brief visualization exercise.  You might use a shell, for example.  Looking at the details of this shell for a few seconds and concentrating your thoughts on the shell will give you a break from your work or academic day.  If you brought the shell from the ocean, you can let your mind go back and feel the sun and the warm sand beneath your feet.  Hear the ocean and really return to the seaside for a few moments.  This short, mental vacation will relax your body and mind.

You can use any object – a flower, picture, something that has meaning to you.

Next time: Did you ever wonder why English has such a strange spelling system?

Click here: www.cleartalkmastery.com/scheduler to sign up for a Free Sample Lesson with us! 

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

Breath Pauses

One of my favorite strategies is to mark breath pauses in your narrative for a presentation.  Many people, especially nonnative speakers of English, polish their presentation by writing it out their script or narrative.  Many people forget to include pauses.  Listeners need the pauses to process what you are saying.

• Marking your copy for breath pauses will make it easier to avoid inappropriate pauses and especially to remind yourself to do pauses.
• Use a double slash mark to indicate a pause with fairly deep inhalation.
• The single slash marks mean a quick intake of air or a pause with no breath intake.
• Most double slash marks are found at periods, and single slashes are a commas, ellipses, dashes or to distinguish meaning.