Communication is power. Those who have mastered their effective use can change their own experience of the world and the world’s experience of them. The ability to communicate accurately, clearly, and as intended, is a vital life skill and something that should not be overlooked. It is one of the most important skills you require for a successful life. Having good communication skills means you are able to make your point without hesitation and connect to the other people.
Realizing the virtue of effective communication skills, a 5 days online course was organized to enhance the communication skills of the participants, covering different aspects of the communication rules and strategies.
The course was majorly focused on helping the participants learn the prerequisite to be a good speaker, principles of public speaking, body language, how to be an effective speaker, give a good presentation, and also to speak with their own styles in a particular setting. The title of the course – “Secrets to Effective Communication” itself suggests that this course revealed the secret to be a better and efficient speaker with the secret to effective communication. This course was not based only on a theoretical perspective but was focused more on a practical communication approach. The course was facilitated by Mr. Rajat Rai Kiratee, RJ, Public Speaking Trainer.
Following were the topics that were covered during the course:
Introduction to Speaking, It’s Principles Unveiled
The first day of the session was focused on reveling the concept about communication via interaction between the participants. Everyone had some mere ideas about communication, however, there was something that needed to be clarified. They all shared their expectations regarding the course and also about the things that they wanted to learn. The online courses we led always has a floor for interaction and discussion. The session helped the participants to understand the ways to transform speaking fear into excitement.
Components of Successful Speech and Effective Speech
Every communication involves (at least) one sender, a message and a recipient. This may sound simple, but communication is actually a very complex subject. A communication therefore has three parts: the sender, the message, and the recipient. Various components of effective communication was discussed on the second day. The participants were guided to realize how each of the components and sub components create a great speech. The learnt to improve their vocal, tones and pitch in their voice.
Body language, Types of Speech
Speaking effectively is defined as speaking in such a way that your message is clearly heard and, if possible, acted upon. There are two main elements to speaking effectively: what you say, and how you say it. What you say means your choice of words. The words you might use when chatting to a friend are likely to be quite different from those used in a formal presentation or interview. Some estimates suggest that speech only makes up about 20 to 30% of communication. The rest of the information is conveyed non-verbally, by tone of voice, facial expressions, eye-contact, and gestures, how we stand, and so on. This was covered on the third day. Through the session, participants got ideas on the types of speech and how to approach each one of them. Also on this day, they were given the situation to deliver impromptu speech as a practice.
3Ps and the PS Aids Revealed
The 3Ps (Preparation, Practice, and Performance) were revealed with practical practice which helped in preparing speech scientifically, practice effectively, and perform next to the perfect.
Application of Learning: Secrets Learnt
On the Final Day, the participants leaned the core aspect of need for effective communication in the workplace. In addition to this, they were asked to prepare their own speech and deliver their creation. The facilitator provided them the feedback in getting better and suggestions in making and delivering the content in a better way.
The 5 days course had the presence of amazing participants from different nooks and corners of the country. They were from districts – Kathmandu, Janakpur, Dhading, Hetauda, and so on. Some had an experience of speaking, and some were even new. However, everyone was able to enhance their communication skills. That was quite visible on the last day while they presented their speech with full confidence. They were able to finally reveal the secrets to Effective Communication.