Welcome

Here you will find SIL’s clear, on-target answers to improving your speaking impact. SIL addresses the issue of effective oral presentation and how individuals can improve their speaking impact through the use of a thirty minute audio that attacks the most fundamental spoken grammar, word usage, pronunciation and presentation problem areas.

There are many factors that affect impact, such as a person's appearance, demeanor and subject matter competence. However, to be effective in your speaking you need to begin with a solid language foundation and build upon it. The areas for improvement start with bad grammar habits that, while serious, are fixable. We also tackle issues such as word choices, pronunciation and tone of presentation. While speakers routinely seek to influence others, at times they commit errors in grammar, word definitions and pronunciation during the delivery of the message. The audience, unfortunately, often finds such speaking errors jarring and focuses on the errors rather than on the substance of the spoken presentation. There are several ways to improve speaking impact, but the most basic is to employ error-free delivery that allows the target audience to follow and understand the content of the oral presentation without distractions.

These SIL Tools:

1. Focus your attention on frequent, glaring grammar errors that will raise questions about the quality of your preparation. (Set 1),
2. Focus on poor word usage and pronunciation that are all too common in our spoken English (Set 2). For example, how do you pronounce “divisive”?
3. Focus on the all important tone of your presentation (Set 3). Here, tone is a descriptor of how a person’s presence while speaking is perceived by the audience. If you are speaking with a message you should be speaking in such a way as to encourage your audience to listen and to buy in to your theme. The speaker’s tone is a complex mixture of inputs, all of which contribute to the final audience assessment of the speaker and the legitimacy, immediacy and importance of the message. After providing details about these issues and including numerous examples of these errors found in the professional media, these SIL tools offer fixes that will make you a more effective speaker.

Speaking well is different from writing well. While there are similarities, the errors made while speaking are often more noticeable and personal than those made when writing. That is why these SIL tools are so valuable. They focus on the spoken problem areas that are most recognizable and provide fixes.

These SIL tools will lead you to more effective oral communication and to greater impact on your target audience whether they are classmates, business associates, professional colleagues, friends or family. Your comments will have greater meaning when your presentation is error-free and you likely will earn more leadership roles because of your effectiveness.