Are you sure you know how to pronounce the words in your speech? Do you, for instance, know the exact pronunciation of the honoured guests? Get their names wrong and they will immediately have doubts about the rest of your speech. Sometimes too speakers use well known Latin or French sayings but don’t get the pronunciation just right. That’s not good if you have a Latin scholar in your audience. It’s a case of what your teacher in school would call “Sloppy homework”. There is plenty of help available of course and http://forvo.com/login/ is a great site to consult if you are in difficulties.

There are, of course, variations in language. If you are speaking to an audience in Mexico or Spain if your speech is in standard textbook Spanish it will be understood. There are local differences, though, and it is worth finding out what words or indeed colloquialisms are used where you are speaking.  If your audience is from that local area your use of a local expression will be understood and appreciated. . If you are speaking to an international audience it is better to stick to the standard version.  That is unless you can jokingly refer to the two pronunciations or two different expressions and show that you are all things to all people.

The same applies to the differences between America and England. Remember in Britain you pack a trunk with clothes for your holidays. In America it is what in Britain is termed the boot of a car. The rest of the sentence will probably ensure that your audience knows what you mean but they can be distracted for a moment by your use of a word or expression. Again the secret is to let your audience know that you know the difference and are sharing that fact with them.

Whatever you say or wherever you say it, prepare to pronounce it properly…

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You can’t become an accomplished public speaker overnight. Such an accomplished  speaker can speak professionally on any topic from rape to vacations simply because of his or her training and expertise.

What you can do though is give a good speech on a particular occasion. Whether it’s our daughters wedding or your mother’s anniversary with a little bit of time and effort you can pay a very personal and memorable tribute. Even if you are asked to speak about some work project you can, if you do the right things, make an impression.

Obviously you must prepare your speech and this is where you personal knowledge or job experience comes into play. You know your own daughter or your own mother very well. You are very good at your job or you wouldn’t be asked to speak. So you start to write your speech with a great advantage.

Of course you may find it difficult to write such a speech and may ask a friend or a professional to write it for you. Then all you have to do is print it on cue cards and read it aloud over and over again, preferably using a tape recorder. The tape will show you where you should have paused or where you should have put more emphasis. Soon you will become at ease with your speech and that is what is critically important.

On the day you should have a practise with the microphone if you are using one. Nine to twelve inches is about the distance you should stand from it. Take deep breaths before you start and remember that your audience wants you to succeed. They are interested in what you have to say. So speak to them as you would to friends or colleagues explaining why your daughter or mother is special to you or why you do what you do in work.

Remember you aren’t addressing the Senate. This is a personal occasion in your family or life. If you are only speaking once about your work you are speaking from experience of a job you do daily. You wouldn’t have trouble talking to anyone about it face to face. The same should apply to an audience. After all it too is made up of individuals so talk to them as you would to an individual.

If you speak from the heart about a person or a job you know well your speech will have that personal touch. People will love it and you will find yourself warming to your audience. In fact you will probably feel that public speaking is very satisfying and so you may become hooked on the satisfaction it brings.

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Has it ever occurred to you that graduation day is a day when new ideas are let loose on the world? Every graduate has his or her own thoughts and beliefs on a chosen subject and is ready to change the world in his or her own particular way. Take the landscape architect for instance. He or she has studied and trained to beautify our world. Perhaps the graduate will work for the municipal authorities and create improved streetscapes or wonderful parks. He or she may choose to work privately but the gardens or grounds he or she designs will translate those new ideas and make them a reality.

A graduate might, on the other hand, qualify in sports science and health and so encourage others to partake in sports and to lead healthier lifestyles. In a field where ideas or constantly changing he or she may bring to some sporting organisation new ideas on fitness and health.

Media studies graduates are the obvious choice when it comes to communication of ideas to the locality, the state or indeed a country. Through their writing or their involvement in radio or television they will be airing their ideas to an audience who may be influenced by their programmes or their articles.

Whether a graduate graduates in classics or business administration he or she will have an influence in his or her particular field. He or she will have new ideas and enthusiastically put them into practise. He or she will talk to those already in the field and share his or her ideas. The changes that happen as a result may be small or huge but the world will be a different place when those graduates leave college bursting with enthusiasm and full of ideas to share.

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Is military re-enlistment a sign of job satisfaction or a sign of the times? After all, in a time of economic gloom there is a lot to be said for being in the armed forces. You are a doing a worthwhile job and at the same time you have a secure career.

Not alone that you have every opportunity and encouragement to gain promotion and to increase your skills.
At the retirement from the army of an officer he or she will often refer to the comrades he or she has made over the years and of course that camaraderie is another reason why people re-enlist in the armed forces. Such camaraderie is evident whether you are listening to an air force after dinner speech or a change of command speech by an outgoing naval officer. Whatever the occasion for such a speech it will say quite clearly that members of the forces are special and different. It will express the fact that there is having a mere colleague is totally different from having a comrade in arms. Re-enlistment is popular simply because the military life is like a drug. You get hooked on it.

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In a changing world some things shouldn’t change. After all where would we be without values like honesty, truthfulness and decency? Yet, sadly, we seem to be rearing a generation where selfishness and greed have taken over from the old fashioned virtues such as loyalty and unselfishness. All around us we see the results of broken homes and children suffering from their parents neglect. It’s time we recognised that marriage is more than a bit of paper.
It’s time we believed in staying the course and keeping our promises. In a world full of lone parents it’s time we acknowledged that parenthood should be a partnership and that a teenage pregnancy is too much responsibility too soon.

Anything seems to go these days. All around us we hear bad language and course talk.

Nobody seems to care who they offend any more. Isn’t it time that children were taught that manners really matter? It’s worth remembering surely that the ultimate accolade you can give someone is to say that he is a real gent or she is a real lady?

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Assess, adapt and advance are core words for companies hoping to address the problems brought about by the recession. Obviously you will need a plan and to develop that plan you will need to have discussions with your staff but, remember, it is critical that they actually address the relevant issues. For that to happen you will need to conduct more effective business meetings. Changing times may call for you to make adjustments and it is important to realise that you have to accept the challenge of change simply because nowadays, more than ever, creativity is crucial to success. This may mean changing your product, your sales pitch or your attitude. It may mean increasing or decreasing your staff or having them re-trained. If you want to advance it definitely means that you have to go the extra mile and give service with a smile.

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What do you do when you’ve nothing to do? That’s a problem facing many unemployed people today. They have all day to fill in and no money to do anything.

Going to the library is well worth considering. Even if you are not the worlds greatest reader libraries today have all sorts of talks and activities going on. You might hear a lecture on local history or attend a group where you can practise your French or your Spanish. If you do that then you can also borrow the library tapes and do some homework before the next session. In many libraries you can learn to use a computer and of course there is plenty of background information available if you decide to spend your free time writing a book.

Libraries also have the daily papers and it is well worth your while looking through the “What’s on today column”. Many organisations have free activities where you would be welcome. These can range from talks on astrology to growing tulips. They will tell you what art galleries have what exhibitions on and what parks will have musical entertainment in the summer months. They also have advertisements for any jobs that may be going.

Whatever about the big world the local library has records of all the things that are happening in your area whether it’s a clean up of a local beauty spot or a concert in the nearby hall. Even if you don’t want to read much maybe you could teach someone else to read. The library has all sorts of notices looking for volunteers for various kinds of charitable work. Wouldn’t it be better to be doing something useful rather than just filling in time? So stroll down to your local library and find something to do. You’ll be glad you did.

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Feeling passionate about something doesn’t always ensure a good speech but it helps.

If you are totally against abortion, for instance, your speech will express your belief that abortion is another word for murder. If you want to make others feel the same way though your speech will have to be very well written and your arguments will have to be well researched and persuasive.

In other words you will have to know what those on the opposite side of the debate feel and think. You will have to understand their arguments.  It will then be up to you to express your understanding of their position while still maintaining your own. You must empathise with the difficulties both emotional and economic that face pregnant women… You must be able to show them the sort of support that is available to them for the duration of their pregnancy and afterwards. You must be factual about exactly what abortion entails for the baby and, ultimately, for the mother. Your speech has to be non-judgemental yet convey the message that there are two rights involved and not only the rights of a woman. Instead of being dogmatic in your approach you must persuade them that you understand such problems but that there is a better way to tackle them, a way that will leave them at peace with themselves. So whatever the topic if it is an emotional one such as abortion or euthanasia do your homework and then say it with feeling.

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Redundancy doesn’t make you redundant. You are still the same person with the same talents and skills. The big difference is that you are not earning a wage and you have more time on your hands. So what are you going to do with that time? Will you use it to change your life by learning a language, doing a computer course or deciding on a total change of career? Maybe you could look for a partner who shares your ideas and enthusiasm for meeting a need you have identified in the market. Maybe you could use your gardening skills or your D.I.Y, skills to create work for yourself.

Have you considered how you could use your time to help others? You might visit someone in hospital who doesn’t have visitors. You could help out at your local community radio station. You might volunteer to give talks at a pensioners club, do meals on wheels or train youngsters in your local sports club.

There are never enough volunteers and every charity needs them. Would you sell tickets for cancer research or spend six months helping build a school in a third world country?

You might organise a black tie event to raise funds for heart disease or a spellathon to raise funds for a nearby school.
So get out and do something. Keeping yourself busy will ensure you meet new people who may be able to help you find work. More importantly, even if you haven’t job satisfaction, you will be getting satisfaction from doing something worthwhile with your spare time…

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“Words, they’re only words” are the lyrics of an old song. It makes you think though of the many reasons we use words. We use them to praise and encourage children. We use them to tell someone we love them or even to propose. We use them to report at business meetings and to shout on our teams when they are playing games.

We use words to pray in church or to make suggestions at parent teacher meetings. We have conversations at the breakfast table or when we meet friends for coffee or a drink. We speak to customers when we work in a store or a garage or to give instructions to a colleague.

Sometimes the words we use are pleasant and happy. At other times they reflect our anger or disappointment. Some of us use four letter words when we drop a hammer on our toes or when something doesn’t go the way we want it to go. More of us, of course, would not dream of using bad language.

Words can fill a silence or can be used to confess our sins. You can cajole or coax, persuade or pressurise with them. They can say exactly what we are thinking or indeed cover up our real thoughts. They are magical, mystical things that can mean so much or so little, yet we take them for granted.

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