Carl Rogers says, "Once you achieve good communication with yourself, you can communicate more freely and effectively with others"

All Great leaders are effective speakers. If a leader cannot speak effectively, the followers will miss direction. Effective speech can perform miracles. Leaders are selected because of their efficiency in communication. People respect effective speakers.

Poor communication causes a lot of problems at all levels. If a speaker fails to communicate, no amount of educational degrees can compensate the loss. It is not how long you speak, but how you speak. An effective communicator consumes less time and delivers more messages whereas an ineffective communicator consumes more time and delivers nothing. Communication is a skill to be developed by toiling and sweating. Here I would like point out only the most prominent aspects of an effective public speech.

1. Focus on audience
A speaker should be aware of the kind of audience he is going to deal with. A speaker faces different types of audience like children, teenagers, young men, married men and old men. Unless the presentation changes according to the expectations and interests of the age group, the precious time is going to be wasted. You can’t speak to the teenagers as you do to the children. If an orator knows this art of changing the style, he will be a hit anywhere he goes. Present your material according to the needs of the audience.

Present your subject according to time, occasion and the mood of the audience. Don’t overstep your time limit or you will lose the attention of the audience. They should always long more for your speech. Sometimes, people give a great applause because they feel relieved from the hyperactive speaker and not out of appreciation.

After-lunch session is known as graveyard session. Be very alert.

2. Selection of words
Words kindle an individual’s imagination. Every word that proceeds from the mouth of the speaker creates pictures. The right word at the right time will accomplish its purpose. Being a teacher for the past 10 years, I have spoken to all kinds of people. All I have learnt is that a speaker should learn to use apt words. A topic can be presented in different aspects to different types of people. Only a resourceful communicator can reach out to the hearts of the audience. Sometimes, people, who are considered to be erudite, are not able to magnetize the audience. Words are to be changed according to the temperament of audience one faces. Any exhilarating topic could be made the most tedious one by an orator who does not know the value of words. The dullest subject could be made the most inspiring one by a speaker who knows when and how to speak.

Too many snobbish words tend to leave any sort of people exhausted. So a speaker should be watchful of the selection words.

3. Sense of humor

No person, in the whole world, hates humor. But making others laugh is the supreme gift. Not all are conferred with this gift. But speakers must try to possess it. People do pay a lot of attention to humorous people. We are living in a hectic world, which has forgotten to laugh. People love to listen to those who can make them forget their worries for a while. If a speaker wants to be effective, sense of humor is the unique tool to be used. Many a time, a joke has nothing to do with the topic. But to relieve the tension and break the ice, it is always welcome. People always love when you share some foolish mistakes you made in your life.
I read this recently,
"How is your wife?"
"Compared with whose?"

4. Culture and habits
Culture and belief systems vary from person to person. A speaker should pay extra attention not to hurt any member of the audience. If the personal beliefs are hurt, then nobody will respect the speaker in spite of all the efforts. It is better to avoid sensitive issues like religion and politics.

5. Body language
Body language is equally important to verbal language. Verbal language doesn’t carry any meaning without effective body language. Body language has the power the attract the attention of the listeners. Positive body language is easily understood. Hand gestures do play a vital role in deciding the success of the speech. People understand better when proper body language accompanies. All successful speakers know what body language to use and what not. If a speaker doesn’t care about it, he fails to create an impression. A warm, welcoming smile is an essential ingredient of an agreeable personality. Never forget to smile.

6. Stress and Pause
An effective communicator must know to deliver his speech with necessary pause and stress. A speech, without stress and pause, will have no effect on audience.
To demonstrate the fluency of language, some speakers speak so fast. But if people don’t understand your message, all your pains are washed out. You must make sure, every now and then, if the audience follows your speech. It is always good to ask some questions to make sure that your words are understood and appreciated. Sometimes a pause conveys better message than 100 words.

7. Don’t let your notes become your snare.
It is imperative that any speaker prepares well. It is crucial that you have some notes. But don’t let your notes grab your attention more than the audience. If you keep looking at your notes, the listeners will lose interest in your speech. People, who keep eye contact with the notes much of the time, lose the eye contact of the people. They feel neglected. Once people realize that you love your notes so much, they lose interest in you. Don’t try to present every point you have noted down. There is nothing wrong if you miss some and give your audience the gist. People want you to speak. People should never realize that you take a look at your notes.

8. Don’t yell
Some speakers and preachers believe that yelling makes a speech more effective. That is absolutely not true. Yelling makes the audience sick. You will tire yourself out. Some people yell more that the people feel more conscious of the noise than the speech. Then the speaker becomes a comedian. Don’t raise your voice too much. The level of your tone should be attractive. Make sure that the volume of your mike is not irritating to the audience’s ears. It is always better to check the volume before you start. At the same time, don’t speak with a low tone.

9. Share some anecdotes and stories
A suitable story is more than hundreds of concepts. All age group people like stories. When a speaker shares an appropriate anecdote, the effect is stronger and deeper. You can collect these from newspapers and magazines. When you speak about customer handling skills, you must share some experiences of those who handle customers. Reference to day-to-day events makes your speech lively.

10. Learn from your mistakes
I read somewhere ‘whenever you fall, pick up something’. Not all speeches become successful. We all make mistakes. But we must try to avoid the mistake, which we made in the past. Every speech should be better than the previous one. There is nothing wrong in learning from successful speakers. But don’t imitate them. Listen to successful people. Identify the ingredients of the speech that enchant the audience. Add that quality in your speech.