Legal Law

The 4 different types of connectives used for public speaking

Good public speaking skills involve more than presenting informative or persuasive material to an audience in an engaging and uplifting way. It requires the use of connectives to keep your presentation or speech organized and unified. Better than a verbal tic, like ‘um’ or ‘ah’, by employing good connections in your speech, you will also make it easier for your listeners to follow who you are and remember more of what you are saying.

The 4 types of connectives include:

1. Signposts

Without a doubt, one of the most popular forms of connectives is signals. Cue refers to very short statements that tell your audience where you are in your speech. They can be numbers: the first idea, the second idea, etc. They can be questions that offer a good interaction with the audience; and they can be sentences that underline important points in your message.

Example: The most important thing I want you to learn from my presentation is that breathing with the support of your diaphragm will not only end the vocal abuse, but it will also mean a more confident and mature sounding voice.

In the statement above, I have reiterated what I want my audience to remember, but have also let them know that I have reached the end of my development. While those words are not my final statement, they have paved the way for my conclusion.

2. Transitions

Transitions are words or phrases that mark the end of a thought or idea and move the speaker to another thought or idea by including material from the previous statement in the new one.

Example: Now that we have seen that the habitual voice can be affected by vocal abuse, let me explain how the situation can be reversed.

In the sentence above, the bold words mark the transition, reinforcing my previous statements and paving the way for the new statement.

3. Internal previews

Similar to the transition and often includes a transition, the internal preview is in the development of the speech or presentation and includes what is emerging in greater detail than the transition. The preview is in bold.

Example: Now that we have seen that the habitual voice can be affected by vocal abuse, the remedy is quite simple. Learn to breathe with the support of your diaphragm and allow your breasts to energize your voice.

Including the original transition, the internal preview consists of the statement that follows in bold.

4. Internal summaries

Also found in the development of the speech or presentation, the internal summary is the opposite of the internal advance because it very briefly lists what has already been said. These summaries are important because they reinforce what has already been said, making it easier for your audience to follow your message.

Example: In essence, if you learn to breathe properly, find the optimal tone of your voice, and allow your chest to do the work, you will eliminate vocal abuse forever.

The sentence above succinctly summarizes what may have been discussed during the last 10, 20, or even 40 minutes of your presentation.

Using each and every one of the connectors above in your presentation is a very effective means of keeping your audience’s attention, as well as keeping your talk organized. Use them and your listeners will remember more of what you said.

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