Reading Well and Speaking Better

One student made me think today with a question he asked over the FB chatroom: "Is it possible that a person who speaks well is a poor reader?"

In principle, there are four components to proficient reading, vocabulary, oral language, word recognition and comprehension, as described by the American Educational Research Association (2004). Reading is a process of decoding and comprehension. Decoding is that process of articulating the sounds of words that the eyes see or that form of word recognition which leads to the understanding or comprehension of the text. Comprehension results from decoding and cognitively processing what was decoded.

Decoding a text requires a good vocabulary and a degree of mastery in the oral language. The symboling process of language operates vis-a-vis with the recognition of the signs, sounds and the object being signified by the symbols. Each letter in a word has an equivalent phone. One's understanding of the text depends on his ability to decode the text.

Though reading requires some mastery of the oral language, an adequate vocabulary and demonstrable word recognition, the most important aspect of reading is that of comprehension. Through reading our vocabulary is expanded, and so our oral language. As we get to learn new words we recognize them and they become part of our vocabulary.

Our understanding of the signification process requires us to associate it with the sound and the letters. Then our knowledge of the text content and our skills in language are enriched as we read more. Because comprehension is a sense or meaning-making process, those who are not well-read will have little to share in the discourse process.

In day to day discourses, we can differentiate a person who speaks with sense from those who just blab words and weave disconnected thoughts. That is not effective speaking. Once influence to others, by speaking, is attributed to several factors, vocal quality, non-verbal abilities and of course content. It is the latter that actually makes sense to a greater degree.

In more intelligent discussions or conversations, such as in the academe, the corporate and even in politics, sense in content and context matter so much. The vocal qualities and non-verbal abilities become essential to amplify the message of the content, than the reverse. Those who read a lot and read effectively as demonstrated in their comprehensive understanding of what they read, has more sensible things to share.

There is less likelihood for poor readers to be better speakers. But, the odds are higher that those who read effectively have richer vocabulary, expansive sense of the world and an outstanding verbal ability. Again, this also depends on the quality and type of reading material that people engage with, and so with their desire to be socially sharing their learned knowledge from reading.

One may have the most beautiful vocal timbre in the world, but without the knowledge to share and language skills needed for social interaction, the voice is useless.

Anxious about Public Speaking?

If you feel scared to go up there on stage to speak in front of the public, that is what we call speech anxiety. This nervy feeling to some others is also termed communication apprehension or stage fright; at the most it is but a normal feeling that will leave you as you have begun your speech.

At the lighter side, you should be encouraged by the fact that even those great and well-known speakers experience speech anxiety every time. They just don't appear so from afar. Those who are humble enough to share how they advanced from being a lousy speaker to an excellent one would admit they too still feel anxious in speaking in public.

Speech anxiety is that shrinking feeling which dwarfs you amidst terrifying monsters and giants. When you can not resolve it or control it is a sure way to your failure in your speech delivery. To deal with it, you need to know what it is, where it is coming from and how it manifests.

To better our understanding about speech anxiety, we need to consider that it is an emotion. Hence, we all feel the same way because it alerts us to prepare for the speaking situation. It makes us conscious that we need to be in control of the situation and of our self-presentation.

Stagefright has physical manifestations or symptoms, like sweating, wet palms, trembling knees, cracking voice, heavy breathing, and faster heart beat. You will need to address these symptoms as mere manifestations of your anxiety, but you can not ignore them. They will stop only as you have approached the stage and got through the first minute of your speech. So deal with these symptoms as necessary.

Practically, you should wipe your sweat off, and be reminded that it even shows in the oiliness of your face. To stop your tremors, take slow breathing exercises until you are composed. Instead of cracking your fingers and jumping off your trembling knees, just seat or do some slow walk while you tame the tempest in your chest with relaxing breath of fresh air. Drink warm water to sooth your drying throat and relax its muscles. Those things should do the trick, but they will fail if you pay much attention on the symptoms rather than on what you should do in your delivery.

Preparation reduces the tension, but the lack of it is the main cause of speech anxiety. In the surface you get anxious, because you are nervous. But you are nervous because you are afraid. You are afraid because you don't want to be in shame. You think that you will be in shame because you actually did not do anything before the time of your speech delivery. That fear is also heightened because we do not know the situation, or we fear the unknown up to exaggerating levels.

But when you have actually done all the needed preparations, including getting some background information about the audience, the topic and the event, things tend to lighten a bit, and your anxiety is reduced even prior to the speaking event. It's easier to say to yourself just be confident, but there is much needed work to be just confident in any speaking engagement. The first step is to go up there and face your audience with a smile.