How To Give An Eloquent Speech

Giving a talk can be very stressful, especially if it's your first time. Be it big or small, it's always intimidating. However, giving a talk can also be very entertaining and interesting, provided you make the necessary preparations. If you follow the guidelines here, you will be well on the way to achieving your goal.

STEP 1

Have a deep understanding of your talk. Prior to the actual day of presentation, you ought to know the talk––in other words, inside-out. This does not happen naturally–– you must prepare sufficiently. Use the internet to surf for ideas, read books, articles, journals or any other published and unpublished sources. It may even be worthwhile consulting some experts on the topic.

STEP 2

Jot down clear notes. Whether you prefer to work from sketchy, simple notes or from detailed, full notes is up to you and the situation. A politician may prefer to read from extensive notes in order to be able to refer back when needed; on the other hand, a wedding speech may only require brief and summarized notes.

STEP 3

Get sorted ahead of time. All required materials should be put in place in advance of the speech. These may include overhead projectors, laptops, white boards, flip charts, props, etc., depending on the kind of talk to be delivered.

STEP 4

Arrive well ahead of schedule. On the day of the talk, give yourself plenty of time to ensure that you remain calm and to avoid feeling any tension due to rushing. Keep track of time. You must arrive in time and not on time. That will give you ample opportunity to relax and still yourself mentally.

STEP 5

Test the equipment and props thoroughly and ahead of time. These may be overhead projectors, slide shows, laptops, etc. Good preparation in this area will prevent last minute or on-the-spot panic situations or embarrassment.

STEP 6

Wear appropriate clothes. The speaker's dress code matters. Good dress adds beauty to your talk. Nevertheless, extremes are always dangerous. Do not over dress; remember, this is not a beauty contest!

STEP 7

Work on tension reducers. To elaborate: In every audience there are always three personalities; friendly, ambivalent and unfriendly. To deliver the talk successfully, focus on the friendly faces. Also, when giving a talk, you have to be animated. The audience often loses interest if the presenter is too polite, timid or sheepish. Share light moments with the audience to relax both yourself and your listeners. And yes, you have to be alive!

STEP 8

Watch out for troublemakers. Why should that be necessary? After all, you're the speaker. Sometimes, however, an audience can become aggressive. If you are bombarded with questions, analyse them before you respond. If necessary, throw them back to the author or the audience as a whole. By doing that, you can buy time to think of what to say. Also, this will discourage the audience from asking contentious questions. Only those who are genuine will persist.

It is also permissible to take questions and offer to follow up with an answer later if it's complicated. Ask the person to give you contact details after the speech.

STEP 9

Find a way to rise above the emotion of the moment. It is an undeniable fact that giving a talk can be intimidating. Nonetheless, it is also fun and entertaining if handled well. The steps outlined above will help you prepare for that special talk.

Good Luck with your speech! 

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#inspired by Mr.E.Nkonde, (Business Communication skills lecturer) _The Copperbelt University, Zambia.

#Contributors: WikiHow Editors;

NerSam, Ttrimn, Shilp Jain, IsabelleZita, Ukulele, BR, Emma, Serendipitee, Clare Corban Banks, DividedGuitarist97, Anna, Flickety. 

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Written and Edited by

Dabbyson Al. Zimba

South Africa's Xenophobia

According to BBC NEWS, up to 5,000 people have taken part in a rally against Xenophobia in South Africa’s coastal city of Durban following attacks on foreigners. 

SAY NO TO XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS has been the week’s motion. Protesters lead by the City mayor and the premier of KwaZulu-Natal marched through Durban chanting “Down with Xenophobia and A united Africa.”

South Africans alleged to be behind the violence have accused foreigners of taking jobs in their country where the unemployment rate is reported to be 20% plus.

The escalating violence has claimed at least five (5) lives. According to an interview with the South Africa’s leader, President Jacob Zuma, he has condemned the violence and has called for calmness to be restored.

“No amount of frustration or anger can justify the attacks on foreign nationals and the looting of their shops,” President Zuma told parliament on Thursday, 16^th April 2015.

It is obvious, South Africa’s action has saddened many. More to it, the people affected have even expressed mixed thoughts about the President’s statement and have since accused him of fueling the attacks on foreigners.

Meanwhile, the tension in Zambia has worsened following several rumors on social media-facebook and twitter-stating that two Zambians have been killed in the Xenophobic attacks. Speaking of this, Zambians are now considering chanting ‘Say No to South African Products!’  This is said to be a campaign to discourage undertaking shopping from stores like: Shoprite, Pick ‘n’ Pay, Game Store or any renowned South African store.

Will this be the stance Zambians take in attempts of airing out their displeasure of the xenophobia attacks to the South Africans? We’ll see soon.

In my opinion, its ‘No to Xenophobia attacks’ that I am in full support of. But, I am totally against the new motion of discouraging the citizens from shopping the South African products. After all, despite our differences we’ll forever remain OneAfrica.  Just think deeply about it.

9 Habits of Time Management Skills

There’s an amazing adage that says, “Time is money”. Benjamin Franklin used it on those young tradesmen years back. It’s such a useful statement to quote to time stealers. Time is a valuable asset that is given to mankind, freely. Most of us if not all, know about this. But very few of us take keen interest in exploring the beauty of it.

“Isn’t it shocking, how something that fetches a ‘free’ price could possibly be crowned the most valuable asset on planet earth? We all want to live a long life, don’t we? Keep that answer as your secret.” One blog once wrote that.

The fact is, at one point or the other we all cry about having not enough time to do what we want. Time sure is scarce as there is only one ultimate existing source. And if we don’t account for it wisely, we’ll pay a cost- not having enough time to so what we really want. So, take pride in it, will you!

In this blog I wish to share with you some essential habits, results-tailored, which can if mastered transform your productivity. Take a notepad with you.

Habit #1: Know your priorities 

Prioritize your tasks to focus on those that are most important. It is TIME for all of us to reorder your priorities. Unfortunately, sometimes those things that should come first in our list of priorities come last.  Get started, now!

Habit #2: Delegate Tasks

Someone once said that, delegation is not shunning away from your responsibilities instead, it is an important function of management. It is often common for all of us to take more tasks than we can handle. As a result, this often conceives stress and burnout within us. Have a heart of delegating tasks.

Habit #3: Avoid Procrastination

It is an obvious, procrastination is ‘Thief of Time’. It is one of the things that awfully affects productivity. It not only robs you of your time but your energy as well. It should be avoided always especially in both your career and personal life.

Habit #4: Task Scheduling

Scheduling equals planning. And “anyone who fails to plan, plans to fail” says a great philosopher. Get your personal planers, notebooks or smart phones out and list all the tasks that come to your mind. Draft a simple ‘To Do’ list before the start of the day. Then prioritize your listed tasks and make sure they are achievable or rather attainable.

Habit #5: Do One Thing at A Time

Avoid multi-tasking where necessary. Most of us think multi-tasking is an efficient way of getting things done but the truth is we do better when we focus and concentrate on one thing. Effort your attention on one task and get it done before your start a new task.

Habit #6: I Know It Already

“.... Lean not unto thine own understanding” [Proverbs 3:5]. Most of us try to appear as if we know what we are doing. The awful and folly mindset of ‘I know it already!’ Get rid of the ‘Know-it-all’ attitude and get learning. (Do read the full blog on this title from my list)

Habit #7: An Early Start

Research notes that most successful men and women have one thing in common. They start their day early as it gives them time to sit, think and plan their day. During early mornings, one is calm, creative, and clear-headed. As the day progresses, your energy levels drop drastically which inhibits productivity.

Habit #8: Learn to Say No.

Some people can be so nagging at times. But don’t fall for their spells. Politely refuse to accept additional tasks if you think that you’re already overloaded with work.

Habit #9: Set a Deadline

When your task is at hand, set up a realistic deadline and stick to it. Get to challenge yourself and meet the deadlines. And in fact, reward yourself for meeting a difficult challenge.

There you have it! Good luck with the ‘THINK86400’ campaign and skyrocket your productivity.