English ESL Speech Boston MA

Speech Coaching and Speech Training for ESL Speakers

Speech - What is speech? Speaking Skills and Speech for ESL speakers

Speech, speaking technique, helps us to be strong and effective communicators. The manner in which we deliver our message during business presentations and meetings is important for the obvious reason that we must keep our audience interested in what we are saying. Of course, being an effective and strong communicator is also important for speaking with clients and speaking with professional colleagues in everyday situations. In speech development, we aim for improvement by taking a full-circle approach. Here is what we focus on in speech development and speaking skills for presentations.

It is important to produce clear speech sounds with definition. This is enunciation and articulation. Another key factor in good speech and speaking habits involves using tone and not sounding monotonous. Of course, speakers must hold their listeners' attention and interest. One should set a tone by being expressive. Here are some ways in which one uses tone to be expressive:  

• Use tone to communicate the right level of enthusiasm.
• Use tone to communicate friendliness.
• Use tone to express sincerity
• Use tone to communicate formality, authority, and seriousness.
• Use tone to express informality and convey an easygoing attitude.
• Use tone to convey an appropriate level of personableness and personality.

Pragmatic features of speech and speaking

One should use different levels of volume, as well, in order to maintain speech that is not monotonous. In this way, good speech takes into account added stress as a means to convey meaning. We add stress to individual words or phrases in order to emphasize (emphatic stress), to communicate contrast (constrastive stress), and to introduce new information (new information stress).

Nonvocal qualities as pragmatic features of speech or speaking

Speakers should look at their audience and make eye contact with individuals from time to time. Of course, direct eye contact is largely affected by the size of one's audience. As does tone of voice add to the expression of one's speech or speaking, facial expression also adds to the expression of one's speech or speaking. One should vary one's facial expressions accordingly: smile, look serious, look thoughtful, appear relaxed or at ease. One may also use pauses and hesitations to call attention to important points. Gesticulations may also be part of a speaker's expression.

Signaling the end or start of a new segment

Speakers may use these techniques in order to signal the end or the start of a new segment:

• Pace: slowing down and speeding up
• Intonation: Falling intonation often signals the end of a segment
• Volume: Lowering one's can indicate the end of a segment.

Conclusion: There's more attached to the meaning of your words than simply the words themselves. There's more that goes into conveying what you want to say or communicate to your listeners than simply the words that you speak.  

Accent Reduction and Pronunciation Boston MA