how does one go about improving their speaking skills i.e. argument, presentation and general eloquence.

October 30, 2006 2:39 PM

how does one go about improving their speaking skills i.e. argument, presentation and general eloquence.
posted by thegeezer3 to Education (11 answers total)

Uh... Toastmasters?
posted by clever sheep at 2:58 PM on October 30, 2006

Uh... Toastmasters?

[sorry, fixed link]
posted by clever sheep at 3:01 PM on October 30, 2006

I don't really think you're going to get many different answers from the last time you asked this question. What sort of response are you looking for that you didn't get before?
posted by ZaphodB at 3:04 PM on October 30, 2006

Practice. Read writings from people who you believe argue well. Listen in on other people arguing. Talk more slowly. Make an effort to learn new words. Make an effort to understand the topics you want to talk about.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 3:10 PM on October 30, 2006

Best answer: Try this, via here. It's a good course.
posted by cribcage at 3:12 PM on October 30, 2006

Use inflection. For example, if you ask a question, your voice should indicate as much, kind of like an audible question mark.

Oh.. nevermind.
posted by gatorae at 3:14 PM on October 30, 2006

I liked "The Art of Deception" by Nick Capaldi. Also, I second The Teaching Company's lectures that cribcage recommended.
posted by ifranzen at 3:27 PM on October 30, 2006

Try subsitute teaching at the local junior high school (grades 6-8).
posted by JujuB at 8:48 PM on October 30, 2006

Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases on Project Gutenburg is a pretty hefty (if a little dated) resource. The author suggests flicking to a section you like and reading the phrases out loud for 15 minutes a day.
posted by Mil at 3:47 AM on October 31, 2006

Response by poster: zaphod: This time round i tried to keep the question as open as possible to see if there were any other options. And there were such as cribcages course mention.

Anyway I guess speaking well involves lots of things such as vocabulary, voice power, argument skills, presentation etc. Id like to improve on all of these to become an overall well rounded speaker and not necessarily someone who is just good at presentations. Also I'm not so interested in sly tricks to win arguments though I do want to be able to see these tricks come my way. The reviews of "The art of deception" seemed to imply it was just a how to on, well, deception. Id like to learn the ways of really driving home your point effectively and how to defend it. I'm not really interested in winning an argument for egotistical purposes.

I believe i need both information and practice. So the cribcages course would be great information however I would like to be able to put that into practice. When you learn a language you cant just read a grammar reference book and then expect to absorb it and use it instantly. It requires a well structured curriculum with lots of FOCUSED practice. So recommendations for both study and practice would be of great help.
posted by thegeezer3 at 7:04 AM on October 31, 2006

The only way to improve your public speaking skills is to practice. No matter how many "courses" you read online, you won't get any better until you work on those specific skills infront of a group of people. That's why you need to find the closest Toastmasters club, attend, and participate in the meetings. Toastmasters is a phenomenonal non-profit organization that focuses on building your skills and not on selling you a bunch of "quick fix" crap. Plus - the organization attracks people from all walks of life, so it's a great place to network and build relationships.
posted by drkrdglo at 9:22 AM on October 31, 2006