Category Archives: BE A MODEL

KEY COMMUNICATION SKILLS – MODEL, PRACTICE AND TEACH

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With the emphasis so much oriented toward communication via technology, face-to-face first person skills can be overlooked. They ought to be practiced.

EYE CONTACT

* Look at people. Don’t look over them, under them or around them.
* Engage people individually and collectively through eye contact. Rest on individuals and cover the audience.
* Make your eyes friendly, encouraging and inviting.
* Avoid flat or hostile eyes.
* Eyes are the most important parts of the anatomy when it comes to gesture.

GESTURE

* Compatible with the presenter and magnifying of speech.

* Gesture is a tool that can help emphasise and reinforce points.

* Overdoing gesture can undermine conversation because recipients are studying aspects of body language rather than listening to what is being said.

I recommend personal practive of these attributes and their encouragement by others.

NEVER LOSE PRIME CONTACT WITH STUDENTS

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School Principals and leaders should NEVER lose contact with students.

I was a regular in classrooms and programmed teaching until the last three years of my principalship years. It then became more incidental but was maintained. Principals need to know their students and the best way to achieve that is by teaching them. I most certainly read all reports to parents written by teachers and wrote my own comments to the child on each report. As a principal I found children valued knowing I valued them. Part of this was possible because I engaged my leadership group fulsomely in the business of school operations. Sharing in this way enabled me to share time with children.

Things CAN become busy from an adminstrative viewpoint but we neglect establishing and maintaining meaningful connnections with students at our peril.

ORAL COMMUNICATION – SO OFTEN OVERLOOKED.

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Oral Communication is so important. These days the skills associated with oral expression are too often overlooked. Consider the following as elements that need to become ingrained into practice.

ELEMENTS OF VOICE, SPEECH AND SPEAKING

VOICE

* Vocal qualities. VOICE IS YOUR MAJOR WORKING TOOL

* Speech flow, including pitch, rhythm and speed.

* ‘Ah’s’, ‘um’s’, ‘er’s’, ‘aw’s’, and other speech fillers.

* ‘okay’ at start or end of sentences.
* ‘guys’ as a word of address to a mixed audience.
* ‘gonna’ rather than ‘going to’.
* Don’t overdo ‘so’, particularly as a never ending joining word.
* ‘could, could’ (double clutching)
* ‘I was, I was’ (double clutching)
* ‘Wh, when’ and similar double vocal movements.
* ‘and, um’; ‘um and so’; ‘you know’ ad infinitum.
* ‘um and or” ‘um it’s it’s …’.
* ‘aaaand’; ‘o n e’ (word stretching).

* Recognising and using punctuation.

* PRONUNCIATION and word usage

* A CONVERSATIONAL VOICE is engaging. A listening audience is reassured to hear program presenters speaking in a relaxed manner. Many listeners are working through the hassles of the day. A calm and relaxed manner coming at them over the airwaves is relaxing and reassuring.

* Using pause, allowing your audience time to digest and reflect on what you have said.
* Projection and outreach, avoiding ear burst and fade-out, which imposes ear strain.
* Use words to paint pictures, stimulating the listener’s imagination. Successful radio and media communications are those which, by their appeal, draw listeners to programs.
* If working on a presentation from within the broadcast studio, IMAGINE you have people with you as guests. Work as a radio presenter in the same way you would if others were there.



EYE CONTACT

* Look at people. Don’t look over them, under them or around them.
* Engage people individually and collectively through eye contact. Rest on individuals and cover the audience.
* Make your eyes friendly, encouraging and inviting.
* Avoid flat or hostile eyes.
* Eyes are the most important parts of the anatomy when it comes to gesture.

GESTURE

* Compatible with the presenter and magnifying of speech.
* Gesture is a tool that can help emphasise and reinforce points.
* Overdoing gesture can undermine conversation because recipients are studying aspects of body language rather than listening to what is being said.

Avoid accidental gesture which is off-putting. These might include the following:

* Wagging a cordless microphone while speaking.
* Rocking from one foot to the other or swaying from the waist.
* Neck movement which is out of sync with general movement
* Eye contact which has you speaking in one direction, looking in another.
* Randomly putting on and taking off spectacles.
* Holding and wagging or twirling glasses while speaking.
* Doing similar with a pen, lazar pointer or some other prop.
* Pulling at collar, sleeves or any other aspect of apparel.

INTERVIEWING

* Plan your interview so it flows logically. How do you want it to begin, develop and conclude.
* Be aware of time and ‘Commanding’ the program; don’t be usurped and don’t allow your agenda to be hijacked. Time awareness is essential.

COLLABORATE.

* Collaboration with like minded professionals is valuable and enriching.
* From collaboration grows synergy, the collective energy that is enhancing. It uplifts those who are working together in occupational fields.

* Those working in isolation can be left behind because collaboration is increasingly a strategy whereby we work to develop our professional ethos.

DISTANCE

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It is both sad and worrisome that at times we Balkanise ourselves. That may be unintentional, being an outcome or product of unintentional attitude. Distance grows from being remote or aloof when associating with colleagues and students.

One’s identity is important, but any siloing of oneself, is distancing from fellow staff and students. That does nothing for effectiveness as a teacher because it is essential that close collegiate links are in place. It is the professional personality in relations that validates efforts, for this builds respect.

I am not for one minute suggesting fraternisation. This of itself can lead to a diminishment of professional character. However, effectiveness as a teacher means that knowing and working with students (and colleagues) in respectful professional (and teaching/learning) togetherness, is a winning strategy.

Know and respect colleagues and students.

BE PART OF THE TEAM

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t is absolutely awful that school principals are being increasingly pulled away from their schools and locked into their offices, in order to forward administrative issues. It is not right that advice should be given to principals that they leave their schools to assistant principals while the focus on heart matters of system politics and development.

Trust in and sharing school processes within the leadership team and among staff is important. However, abrogating responsibility and taking a less than direct interest in one’s school of appointment is not what should be happening.

I have heard from students who tell you that the ‘principal’ is one of the assistants. Awful when students do not know who their principal is. Or if they do, rarely see or hear from that person.

SAY ‘THANK YOU’ AND MEAN IT

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Saying ‘thank you’ and meaning it in this day and age has become a sad rarity. When I first commenced teaching in the 1970’s and in the years that followed, appreciation was common. This helped teachers feel good about what they were doing.

Don’t get me wrong. There was counselling, sometimes pointed, for mistakes and things that could have been better done. However, thanks given helped people keep a balance and perspective on what they were doing.

In our modern times, thanks is a lot scarcer. It seems that calls to accountable I litany are fare more common than used to be the cases. It is small wonder that teaching to many becomes a burden and they opt out.

System and school leaders need to take stock and consider returning to being people who show their appreciation for jobs done well. That extends to teachers in classrooms recognising student efforts and appreciating pupils.

LIVING THE LIFE

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May all young people olf the world be blessed and given the wisdom to discern the right pathways in life’s world. May those of us who are senior do the right thing by the example we set to following generations. This is one of the very important elements of awareness and need that should be part of the motivation and the psyche of all teachers. I include teachers in our schools and staff in our universities.

Teaching is an important part of the role we fill. Of equal importance has to be the example we set. What we do and the way we live validates or discredits the teaching messages we espouse.

My hope and wish is that all educators be remembered with appreciation and respect.

SPEAK CLEARLY AND CONVERSATIONALLY

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SPEAK CLEARLY AND CONVERSATIONALLY

Speaking with children is a skill that needs to be understood . It can be easy as parents and teachers to converse in ways that children find off-putting. The way in which adults speak with children should build their confidence.

When talking with each other in staff rooms, school staff speak in a conversational manner. However when returning to classrooms, staff often change their speech idioms. They tend to talk ‘at’ children rather than ‘with’ them. This places adults in a position of dominance and causes young people to feel a degree of discomfort. Changing the quality of vocalisation often occurs as soon as staff and children enter or re-enter the teaching environment.
Speech should be conversational rather than commanding in nature. This helps develop confidence in children, adding to their comfort when talking with their teachers and classroom helpers. This builds rapport and helps develop a positive classroom atmosphere.

Parental Role

It is equally important that parents share conversation with their children. Girls and boys need to feel part of the family circle sharing opinions and ideas that are heard and respected. It is through conversation that parents get to know and understand their own young people. Sharing time also helps children gain confidence in their parents. Strengthening of educational partnerships occurs if this approach carries over to the way in which teachers speak with children at school. Adults working with children need to adopt similar conversational styles.

Adults, both parents and teachers should model correct speech. Children need to grow up learning and copying accurate speech and enunciation. Correct speech and speaking is essential if we are to be clearly understood. It is also important that adults model elements of speech to young people, who observe and copy.

Talking down or talking up to children should be avoided. The practice of ‘baby talk’ toward younger children is unhelpful. It sends wrong messages about speech and speaking. Conversation that is overly sophisticated and incomprehensible to children is also disrespectful. Asking children to seek further explanation when something is not understood is a wise strategy.

Clear conversational speech between adults and children, whether at home or school, develops confidence and builds rapport. It is essential that young people are not made to feel uncomfortable in speech and speaking situations. Listening skills also need to be nurtured and developed. Applying these skills can promote a spirit of partnership between children, their parents and teachers.

SPEAK TO BE REMEMBERED

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It is important that presenters deliver in a way that evokes appreciation from the audience. Good work can be enhanced or undone by presentation
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Many educators are required to present in public. That may be in every environment from staff meetings to convention centres. delivery may be to a few people or to hundreds attending conferences. Delivery at workshops comes into the equation. Included are interviews that may be on radio, television or on you tube and similar.

The way in which presenters deliver their messages often reveals alarming shortfalls in methodology. The way in which presenters speak often reveals shortfalls in their capacities. Gesture, body language, word choice, speech hesitations, and awareness of time are a few areas requiring education. There are many others.

It is said that beyond a presentation, 7% of audience recipients remember the speech content and often for short periods of time. On the other hand 42% of audience groups remember the manner and method of delivery and for substantial periods. It is the way in which presenters present, rather that what they say which makes key impact.

I believe that educators, from teachers through to principals and departmental CEO’S should consider speech and message delivery training. This might be through formal coursework, or through joining an organisation that promotes speaking and listening skills. Toastmasters and Rostrum comes to mind but there are other organisations including Zonta.

It is easy to discount the importance of speech delivery. This is an area that needs our attention.

COLLEGIALITY AND CARE Essences of Passing the Leadership Baton

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This was shared with readers of ACEL’s e-Leading in 2015. I wrote from my heart and with appreciation for those who helped me in developing along my career pathway.

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Collegiality and Care

Essences of Passing the Leadership Baton

When reflecting upon one’s professional life, the remembrance of significant people who helped make a difference, reflects upon the consciousness. One remembers people who cared enough to care. Looking back on my years in education, I recall five people who helped me along the way and at various stages of my career. Their collegiality, empathy, advice and care made them great mentors, coaches and example setters. They motivated me to become an educator who endeavoured to support others in the same way.

John Lockley, Head Teacher Wannamal School: 1971

In my second year of teaching, I was lucky enough to earn an appointment to Gillingarra, a one teacher school in the central west coastal area of WA. I was head teacher on probation. At that time, in the early 1970’s, school inspections were an annual event and were a quite rigorous exercise. This was particularly the case for probationers.

John Lockley was an experienced head teacher at Wannamal, a slightly larger school 50 kilometres down the road. His school was due for inspection around the same time as mine. He knew I was the new kid on the block and correctly anticipated my nervous apprehension about the pending exercise.

John phoned and offered to come up to Gillingarra to familiarise me with what was involved. He spent an afternoon stepping me through the processes the Inspector would follow. He explained what documentation I needed to complete and why particular records were necessary. This was an exercise in familiarisation and demystification, an experience that built my self confidence.

Thereafter, John kept in touch, periodically guiding me in a supportive and collegiate manner. His interest, pastoral care and concern were instrumental in helping give me a good start to my educational career. That help was an important stepping stone towards my future.

Jim Eedle (Dr Jim) our First NT Education Secretary: 1979

The Northern Territory Government took responsibility for Territory Education in January 1979. Until that time education had been administered by various State Departments including NSW and SA. Until 1979, staffing had been the responsibility of the Commonwealth Teaching Service in Canberra.

Becoming an entity in our own right provided us with a serious opportunity to consider how education in the Northern Territory might be shaped.

In March 1979, Dr Eedle met with school education leaders in Katherine, a regional town 300 kilometres south of Darwin. He welcomed us all to the ‘new’ NT educational system and offered words of meaning, advice and caution.

Dr Eedle metaphorically described our system’s emancipation as being like unto a rising sun. He offered two pieces of advice I have always regarded as being statements of infinite wisdom.

He told us that as leaders, we should always remember that “schools are for children”.
His further advice was that educational structure should always serve function”.

Dr Eedle suggested system priorities for us. He placed an emphasis on education which I always endeavoured to follow. With the passing of years, education everywhere has become structured to the point of where educational operations seem massively over-built.
Structural magnification can defocus us from the prime purpose of education – to develop and enrich children and students moving up the grades and through the years.

I always tried to underpin my practice, with Eedle’s advice about priorities firmly in mind. What he had to say, focussed on the prime purpose of education as a process to develop the young, preparing them to take control of the future. This became part of my ingrained educational practice.

Geoff Spring Education Secretary NT: 1983

In the mid 1980’s I was appointed Principal of Nhulunbuy Primary School at Nhulunbuy, a mining town of 4,000 people in East Arnhem (NT). Nhulunbuy was a school of 800 students and over 50 staff. The consensus was that our school would benefit from an appraisal that examined operational process and helped with the establishment of educational priorities.

At the time, school appraisals were flavour of the month. I was keen to make sure the model fitted to identifying teaching, learning and student development needs. My newness to urban education in the NT made this an untried area.

I wrote to Mr Spring, explaining what we intended doing and asked for his advice in shaping our appraisal process. He telexed me back (in the days before facsimile machines and email opportunities) with a very detailed, three page reply. I learned from him that valid school appraisals considered the organisation from the inside out, rather than the outside in. There was a tendency to prioritise the physical environment (how the school looked) along with staff and student wellbeing (how the school felt), ahead of what happened in classrooms.

The primary aspect of appraisal he advised, was to consider the teaching – learning nexus, the classroom interface or how the school taught. Evaluation from the outside in, missed the point of focussing on what schools were really all about.

We followed the Spring Methodology. I discovered that if the heart of the school, its teaching and learning focus were healthy, relationships and physical aspects of appearance tended to look after themselves. Mr Spring’s timely advice was not lost. The method was one I followed in other schools during following years.

Dr Colin Moyle ACEA (Now ACEL): 1984

From Dr Moyle, I learned that periodic professional refreshment should be part of educational development. It can be easy to relax in the leadership role, believing there is nothing more to learn. Leaders who think this way become ‘cruisers’, leading organisations that meander along, often making minimal progress.

Revisiting the essence of a career can bring with it essential rethinking and revitalisation. This process can help people in leadership positions refocus and reinvigorate their operational precepts.

In 1983 I was afforded such an opportunity when Dr Colin Moyle, a key figure in the Australian Council of Educational Administrators visited Darwin. He conducted a week long leadership symposium with fifteen school principals. He asked each of us to contemplate the development of a mission statement of no more that 25 words. Its purpose would be to focus us on key priorities we identified.

The idea of a mission statement that conceptualised sense and purpose had never crossed my mind. After careful consideration my statement emerged. It became both a reminder and a guide.

It reads:

To fulfil and be fulfilled in organisational mode, family, work and recreation;
To acquit my responsibilities with integrity;
To work with a smile in my heart.

Over the years since, I have frequently reflected on my mission statement. I have also asked others to consider the wisdom of developing a similar focussing position. My mission statement has well and truly served its purpose.

Charlie Carter Regional Superintendent of Education, Darwin: 1992

Wake-up calls are sometimes necessary and I had one come my way early in 1992. I had just been appointed principal of Leanyer School and began to fill the role enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically. I was making decisions without consultation and acting in a way that was imposing on Leanyer, the philosophy and policies belonging to Karama School, from which I had transferred.

Some staff members and parents met with Mr Carter to express their concerns about my leadership style and approach. He listened to them and hand wrote me a note. It read in part:

Dear Henry

I am taking this opportunity to alert you to the fact that I have recently received a number of deputations from many sections of he Leanyer School Community. In all instances they were critical of your leadership. …

I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the situation and ways in which I can offer support to you. Please ring me to make an appointment. …

I have handwritten this letter to preserve … confidentiality. …”

I met with Charlie Carter. What followed was the support and understanding I needed to confront and meet this challenge. The help offered made me stronger, more empathetic and wiser in my dealings with others. I went on to spend 20 years at Leanyer as the school’s principal. Without the support, coaching and help of Mr Carter, my tenure may have been closer to twelve months.

Needless to say, I learned the wisdom of an approach to dealing with key issues, that confronts and overcomes challenges in an effective and non-confrontationist manner. It was a conversational and understanding strategy that stood me in good stead when dealing with others. Mr Carter’s modelling and practise of that approach was helpful to me at the time. He taught me the value of that self same approach in the years that followed.

Conclusion

Each of us in professional life can draw inspiration and understanding from the words and practices of others. In one sense it is ‘rote learning’. It is the instilling of priorities and the impression of leadership examples that pass from one generation of professionals to the next. These stepping stones of understanding and style help in ensuring some sense of organisational stability. Without this transfer, educational leaders could become lost.

Henry Gray

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DON’T DILUTE ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR

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DON’T RELEGATE ETHICS

It is fine to talk about accountability in leading and teaching.    Accountability is important. It is often the only thing that is discussed. 

Consider though, the need for ethics to underpin leading and teaching. Accountability  Leadership (AL) is demanded of school leaders by systems. Principals and school leaders in turn put AT (accountability [in] teaching) back onto teachers. This is about meeting systemically imposed standards, with testing, measurement and assessment the key national education drivers.

In all this, I am disappointed that the ethical elements of leading and teaching can take a back seat. Holistic education, which considers the social, we optional and moral/spiritual factors of development can run second the the academic imperative. If and when this happens, students are the losers.

FOR POLITENESS SAKE – Uphold and Model Respect and Good Manners

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These days, manners are not practised by habit. Many children (and adults) are poorly mannered. It seems that a big percentage have never been taught the rudiments of good manners at home. Child care programs may try but their prime focus is on minding, not on teaching.

All too frequently children overlook ‘excuse me’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’. ‘i beg your pardon’ and so on. Although it gets monotonous, correcting students who overlook these essences of politeness and good manners is important. Commenting in a praising context to children who do remember to use these words and expressions can offer positive reinforcement.

One of the most frequent oversights occurs when children butt into conversations being held by teachers with another student or students. That impetuosity certainly needs correction. Children need to appreciate the need to wait their turn when dealing with teachers.

Manners can be broached through appropriately constructed lessons. To involve students in situational role play where manners need to be practised can help. Periodic classroom discussions about manners and politeness might be useful.
The subject could be broached through a Socratic Discussion session.

Strategies to reinforce the need for good manners including reinforcement through daily classroom interaction should be part of teaching and learning strategy.

REMEMBERED EDUCATORS – Adding values that stay with students

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One of the joys of being an educator is to be reminded at times of successes that students experience and of the good things that come their way. Not of of that success relates to academics. There are social, emotional and moral/spiritual qualities that can and should grow and develop within students.

During my years as an educator I have worked with tens of thousands of students. Quite deliberately, I have never retained contact through social media. I don’t use social media accounts. However, if I read of successes they have had in later life, I will make an effort by to contract and congratulate them. That applies to successes coming the way of past students, right across the spectrum of contribution.

Often parents of past students will let me know, as we pass in the street or meet in shopping centres, about how their children are travelling. I always make it a point of passing on my regards and in most cases I remember these students. This would happen for me, in the relatively small city of Darwin, two or three times each week.

It fills me with joy when reading of successes of past students in the newspaper or via radio or television report.

One remembrance stands out. Years ago, I had in our school a student who was a very decent young man. However, he al;ways averted his eyes away when talking to others. On several occasions I invited him into my office and tutored him on the art of gaining confidence through eye contact. Years later, he came up to me in a Restaraunt, reminded me of his name (I hadn’t forgotten) and thanked me for taking the time to help him develop his eye contact skills. He was going places and was no we an aeronautical engineer. This is one anecdote but there are hundreds of others.

Not all outcomes have been rosy. Through my schools have passed thieves, burglars, rapists and murderers. I have also had the experience of having to cope with past students feeling so down on themselves that they have taken their own lives. So from time to time, I question myself as to whether I could have done anything during my time of association with them, that might have swayed them away from these courses of action.

It is our contribution to education now, that has its outcomes on the lives of people in years to come. And while unexpected it is nice be be thanked and appreciated by those whom you taught when those years do come.

‘THANKS’ MEANS SO MUCH

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Today I received a letter of thanks from the CEO of our Department of Education for a contribution made toward the shaping of our revamped Education Act in the NT. He is the type of person who acknowledges and appreciates the efforts of others. He would have taken the time to have letters prepared and personally signed to all contributors.

Received this letter made me feel intrinsically appreciated. It also reminded me of the fact that receiving expressions of thanks these days is far more rare than was once the case. It is so easy to brickbat people but bouquets are offered far more infrequently.

Returning to the practice of a ‘culture of appreciation’ would do a great deal to lift feelings of well-being and morale. Feelings of happiness and satisfaction are often in short supply. Re-building will lift organisations, in our case schools, and those within.

RESPECTED LEADERSHIP

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Teachers and educators are professionals together. Together we aim to do our responsible best toward educating and leading the next generation toward the future. There are at times glitches in our approach and methodology and some things we can do differently and better. Perhaps the major thing we need to do, is recognise that people are animate souls and deep thinkers.

That being the case, what we do makes an impression. What we do is often more important than what we say. Example counts.

School Principals are leaders. Teachers, to their students are also leaders. Authority is vested in leadership. Those charged with leading have ascribed or positional authority. Some use and rely on that positional power almost exclusively when cementing their positions.

There is a deeper and more subtle authority that grows from genuine respect held for those who lead. That is acquired authority. This respect based recognition is the superior authority because it is earned, not gifted by the position occupied.

Those who lead in a way that generates such respect are, in my opinion the better, more effective, more greatly appreciated and longer respected leaders. It is an option that, in my opinion, generates happiness and satisfaction for both leaders and those they lead.

UNIVERSITIES AND STUDENTS : SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES.

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UNIVERSITIES AND STUDENTS : SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES.

Maybe some universities need to place more onus of responsibility on students. Attendance optionality at lectures, tutorials or at organised online sessions is anathema. Seems that some universities are happy to extract course fees for students than cut them so much slack there is no further obligation upon those students other than the completion of assignments or attendance at exams.

I am a part time lecturer and supporter of students at the CDU. I value my role with them and I know they appreciate their engagement with me. Importantly, we know each other as people. During sessions we are on the same plane together. I also have to mark assignments. Marking work submitted by ‘invisible and unknown’ students is a lot harder than knowing those whose work you are marking. Marking rubrics go some of the way but they don’t tell markers about student character.

I worry about students who enrol internally or externally in courses, then overlook course requirements. The university makes but the students who operate this way gain very little in terms of the learning collective. My role is with education. Education involves sharing. One of the skills encouraged with pre-service teachers is that they are able to developing collaborative skills. Relationships with peers, parents and students are important. If training in isolation is encouraged, little is being done to develop the togetherness aspect of what teaching is all about.

It is good to know students whose work you are marking. When you don’t know and have never met people whose work you are marking, both they and you are at some disadvantage.
My internal groups is not huge – 12 students tops. And yes, I would be very sure that we are on the same situational plane. I work in an old fashioned but effective way with students.

I have done online work with big numbers and make it my business to establiash an e-mail data base enabling me individual or collective contact. If they want a phone conversation, students can email or message and I’ll return calls and discuss issues. I also encourage students to network each other.

Over 40 plus years I have built considerable resource material and have most of it in electronic form. These resources I share with students on request or if I think a particular issue can be supported with materials I have to hand. My indexing system gives me fairly quick access to these materials.

I always ask students to feed back on practical experience (as pre-service teachers) in terms of both celebrations and challenges. I am writing a series of vignettes (70 to date) oriented toward providing students with ideas.

I have had much feedback from students appreciating this approach.

My other point is that lectures are not lectures. Our programs follow a structure and meet course requirements but it is all done conversationally. A three hour time period, with a break at the half way mark, quickly passes.

I would never claim to be conventional but that is not the major issue.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPEECH AND SPEAKING

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SPEAK TO BE REMEMBERED Those most remembered as speakers are those who galvanise their audiences and engage with them. Don’t over talk. Twenty five minutes is tops. Engage the audience, involve them.
Always speak with conviction and sincerity. The audience can sense passion and speaker belief in his or her message by studying the presenter’s body language. Introduce, develop and conclude carefully.
I BELIEVE THE EYES TO BE THE MOST POWERFUL OF COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS. Speakers who are confident rove the audience, with his/her eyes canvassing the eyes of everyone in the listening group.

SPEAK FROM THE HEART. Never be a ‘veneer speaker’ whose polish belies his/her commitment to the subject. Be a person remembered by the audience for sincerity. Speak to, not ‘down’ to your listeners.
Speakers and presenters should aim to embrace the audience, drawing listeners toward him or her by the power of sincerely uttered words. This will being them ‘together as one’ in a sharing context.

Listen carefully to speakers and EVALUATE them for strengths and elements do presentation you feel they might do differently and better. The exercise helps you focus on message and messenger
DON’T OVERDO NOTES. They detract. Speakers generally know what they want to say. I recommend small cards that snug into the palm of the hand. List KEY WORDS as prompts for what you wany to say.

CONFIDENT SPEAKERS in an informal situation can go to pieces in formal situations. They pull down a blind in their minds which says ‘ uptight time’. Make sure the blind is never pulled down.
Make sure that topics have a beginning, middle and end. PLAN for presentations to establish, build and ebb to a telling and final conclusion. Balance within discourse is a key and essential need.

When presenting DON’T SHUFFLE. Movement is a part of gesture. Movement can be illustrative and points (of delivery) reinforcing. If movement is meangless stand in a relaxed but stationary manner.
SOME SPEAKERS GO ON AND ON FOREVER. What starts well goes downhill and the presenter loses it. I once heard that 24 minutes was the ideal time for any presentation where presenter owns the floor.
Presenters need to ensure that DRESS supports and enhances their podium status.The finest presentation in the world will be ruined if presenters do not respect audience by looking the part.
Speakers need to think about THANK YOU often offered at the end of a presentation. Realistically it is the audience who should be offering thanks to the presenter for his or her contribution.

Watch out for DISTRACTING GESTURES. Scratching parts of body while presenting needs avoiding. Don’t scratch nose, squint, overuse eyebrow wrinkle. Involuntary actions can be off-putting.
INJECT HUMOUR into speech, but AVOID LAUGHING at that humour. Humour engages and focuses audience groups. However, those same audiences can be off-put if speakers laugh at their own jokes.
‘AH’s’, ‘um ‘s’, ‘er’s’, and similar speech stumbles need to be avoided for the sake of fluency. Too many glitches may have the audience thinking you are unclear on your subject. Aim for ‘zero’.
Use notes as prompts, but try and avoid detailed reading. A speaker is more effective when speaking rather than being slavishly locked into notes. Notes can reduce the speaker’s confidence.
Consider vocalisation, the pitch, rhythm, intonation and vibrancy of voice. Live your message through your voice. Articulate carefully and correctly, and never come with a gabbling rush of words.

Messages delivered by presenters should be from the heart. Avoid (debates excepted) speaking on issues in which you have no belief. Avoid being a hypocritical presenter, a phyyric speaker.
When speaking, use POWERPOINT and props to support speech. Don’t read verbatim from power-points. KNOW your subject in case the power-point goes on the blink. Have a fallback position.

If an AUDIENCE MEMBER, take time to THANK presenters if you genuinely believe them to have delivered a quality message. Presenters value appreciation and with that constructive, skill honing advice.

If speaking to a paper, consider the speech first and distribution after. If audience members have the paper to hand while the presenter is presenting, they will focus on the paper, not the speaker.
‘AH’s’, ‘um’s’,’er’s’, and other speech glitches can happen unconsciously. Be aware and register them subconsciously as you speak. If aware, you can program them out of your speech. Try it – it works!
Using ‘metaphor’ and ‘anecdote’ to illustrate the point of discussion can be a very useful and identifying tool. “Likening phenomena unto…” using these illustrations identifies matter with audience members.