AAIPS Blog

Tweet Being a human we are liable to make a mistake. Even in public speaking, many people do commit mistakes such as using foghorns like “aahhh”, “uummmm” etc. These mistakes are such pitty ones that they may be ignored by the audience to some extent. But some people in public speaking commit blunder for which the audience is not able to forgive. And this would make your public speaking go into drains.  

There may be instances where a professional, a businessman may end up boring his audience for 20-25min whereas a layman might have the capability to bring rejoice in the audience.  This is all because he has understood the essentials of public speaking well.

The most common misdeeds done by people in public speaking and their solutions:

1. Beginning your speech with “Thank you for inviting me” will take away the interest of the audience right in the beginning. Start your speech with bang and wake up your audience who is there to enjoy your public speaking skills.
2. Public speaking, formally or informally, is an activity that requires huge efforts. Every speech needs a lot of practice before it is delivered.  “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave.  The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.  ~Dale Carnegie
   A lazy person would surely fail to prepare and practice his speech. Not many people try to improve themselves in public speaking because of their laziness. But a person who wants to improve may find his way in a public speaking course, public speaking books, hiring a public speaking trainer, joining a public speaking club, reading public speaking blogs and so on.
3. Some people are of the belief that public speaking skills cannot be acquired. They envy others because they think that others have been born with public speaking skills. Such people try to copy stories or speeches or presentations and thus they lack confidence. The fact is that public speakers learn the public speaking skills in the same way they learn to use other business tools.
4. Someone said  “A speech is like a woman’s skirt: it needs to be long enough to cover the subject matter but short enough to hold the audience’s attention.”  More bullets, words, slides, examples and everything would only go waste. It would be better to focus on your core message, select only the best support material to support like examples, slides etc., and speak at a reasonable pace. Keep the supplementary material for handouts only.
5. When you exceed the time allotted to you for the speech, you violate the contract you have with your audience, and you get you name in their bad books. You must value the time of the audience. Also remember that nobody will complain if you finish a few minutes early. But if you go beyond time, the audience have negative emotions for you.
6. Reading a speech word for word in public speaking will put the audience to sleep. You may keep the keywords to prompt your thoughts and then make an eye-contact with the audience, and speak.
7. Public speaking is always about the audience and the message you want to convey. So do not keep talking about yourself as though public speaking is about you only. Do not place yourself ahead of the audience. Try to recognize what is the interest of the audience. Speak what they want to hear or convey your message in the way they want to listen. If you fail to do so, you may fail to impress the audience with your presentation.

To know more on public speaking, join the public speaking and personality development course offered by Anurag Aggarwal institute of Public Speaking or visit www.anuragaggarwal.com for more details.

TweetAnna Hazare raised his voice against corruption in India and the whole country followed this old yet strong man. He did not have an axe to grind but he actually wanted to open people’s eyes.

Alka Saxena (AAIPSian) also gives her views on corruption in India. Lets see and hear her speech in Hindi.

Training of such and many more is given in the public speaking and personality development course offered by Anurag Aggarwal Institute of Public Speaking. This course will certainly give you the best to develop your public speaking and presentation skills. For more details, visit http://www.anuragaggarwal.com

TweetWhen you come out of your college, the big corporate world is waiting for you. You want to become a part of that world, but before becoming a part of that world you have to clear many stages in the form of written test, group discussion and PERSONAL INTERVIEW to finally reach that level.

It has been seen that many people do not crack interview even after cracking written test and GD. Although they are able to answer technical questions but they fail to answer non-technical ones. It has been seen that 60% of the total interview rejections are due to the non-answering of the non-technical questions and also because of your awkward body language. So before attending any interview you should know some tips on how to crack interview.

First of all, since first impression is last impression, you should be very well formally dressed up with a full sleeves shirt, trousers (non lining), socks matching your trousers color and a tie. If you are comfortable with suit then you can wear one. Make sure that you wear only black or brown leather shoes. No sports shoes or shoes of any other type or color.

Secondly as you are noticed from the time you enter the room till the time you leave it, so you should be very particular about the way of entering and leaving the room. Before entering the interview room, knock the door once and then enter the room by saying “May I come in Sir?” If on the other hand, a peon is being sent to call you then you should knock the door twice and then enter the room without saying “May I come in Sir”.

After entering the room, greet the interviewers with good morning or good evening as the case may be and don’t sit unless they ask you to sit. After you take your seat make sure that you sit straight. Put your file on your lap only even if there is table in front of you. If you carry a bag then put it on the right side of the chair. Through out the interview, have a pleasing smile on your face and don’t be nervous. Answer each and every question with confidence and speak fluently and don’t fumble. Look into their eyes while speaking as doing it shows your confidence level.

The very first question which is asked is “Tell some thing about yourself”, and most of the interviewees fail to answer it. Your answer to this question should contain details about your name, your academic carrier and your family background. Then you should know about each and every detail in depth about your CV particularly your hobbies. Your objective should be very clear.

Think twice before speaking as interviewers are in the habit of asking question from the answer you have given them of previous question. If you don’t know the answer of any question then just say without taking much time that “sorry sir I don’t know the answer” instead of looking here and there. If you need some time to answer question then instead of taking time you can use transitional phase.

If they ask about your weaknesses then just disclose one weakness and that to a minor one like fast driving. If they ask about your strength then support your strengths with examples.

Finally when your interview gets over then just says ‘thank you’, pick up all your belongings and leave the room gracefully. Also make sure that you push the chair a little bit before leaving the room.

 Just remember that in an interview, your public speaking skills, communication skills, presenation skills and your personality, everything counts. If you will follow these rules then no one can reject you and you can make your way clear to the corporate world.

- By Anshul Gupta (AMDA, Sahibabad Batch)

TweetContinually improving skills and learning a new craft are necessary to go on with the competitions faced to be successful. It is also important to assess your own self while speaking and have a keen interest in learning new ways to improve your talent.

There are many common things that a speaker does not stress upon and thus makes mistakes while speaking in public. Here are a few of them:

Poor appearance is one of the downers when it comes to ascertaining a personality. We say it again and again that the first impression is the last impression and most generally your appearance gives the impression.  This is not about good looks but the need to look presentable is very important. Dressing in a coordinated manner, a neat haircut, confident body language and an immaculate appearance does well to the self esteem and improves confidence. This also one way to impress the crowd a pleasing personality is essential to convey a forceful message.

Voice modulation is very important. One needs to adopt a natural voice and modulate the same as per the decorum. There are different types of voices like authoritative, tutorial and also expressive. The tone must convey the message and be able to connect with the audience. It is also important to understand the language skills of the audience and adopt a simple style of rendering. Dictions are also available and one can enroll in classes to learn more about the same. Neutralizing accents on the mother tongue is also vital.

Homework is essential and also eminent personalities do their rehearsals before going on stage. In an age of transparency, information is valid and the public in a democratic room has more knowledge about various things. Hence it is important to write, edit and phrase the sentences so that it is not read but delivered. The ultimate thing is that it has to be accepted by the public or at least impress them to activate interest. If a speech is not able to catch the interest of the audience, then its not worth saying anything. So do your homework, practice and make it the best for your audience.

   Losing focus usually happens when there is lack of confidence. Losing the flow especially during extempore speeches or while talking something humorous is a bad sign of public speaking. It is fine to use a paragraph out of sequence but the biggest ability is to register the message with the audience. At the end of your speech, the audience must be clear about the objective behind the speech you just delivered. In case the audience is new their expectations get high and hence losing focus renders any speech ineffective.

Pretending or copying the style of a peer, colleague or celebrity is certainly not recommended. This is usually done with an accent, body language or particular tone in speaking. Sincere efforts are surely rewarded while speaking in public.

While preparing for your next speech, do not make the same mistakes as mentioned above. You may find many a new one.

-By Nidhi Gupta (AAIPSian- YMCA Batch)

TweetLadies and Gentleman,

Why can’t we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn’t work. Someone would leave.  Someone always leaves.  Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I need more hellos. I need more hellos from the person who always taught me the qualities and strategies to achieve my achievements.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”  These are the words of Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie and I would like to dedicate these word to my boss, Mr Rahul. I’m proud to be here today as someone who has worked under Mr. Rahul. He who has always been an Ideal for me, is leaving our organization today. I still remember the day 10th May 2009 when he introduced himself as team manager. I am proud to announce you that within this short time frame of just 2 years he achieved a lot of designations and respect from all the employees. Under his management, there has never been a day when I woke up feeling that I didn’t want to go to work.

Ambitious, analytical, cheerful, focused, intelligent, motivated, and a lot of qualities like this he had shown and taught us many things by being a successful team leader. He was always there to give us guidance at the start of a project, so that only few things go wrong in the end. When things did go wrong, he would help out and support his staff, and not point the finger at them. I still remember those days when he spent a lot of money for the parties just to make us happy. There was not a single day when I felt bored to be in this organization. He understood all our problems and tried to solve them. A moral support was always in his hands to share with us. His passion for serving the nation is also moving. He often reminded us that our real clients were the public, not other departments whom we serviced.

I have never had such a good boss before. Most of my other bosses have been pretty decent too, but this one is exceptional. He helped me to fly. You have set a great example for many of us as a mentor and a boss. Thanks Mr. Rahul for all those sweet memories which we shared together in this organization and I wish you a very good luck for your future. I don’t understand that why does it take a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye?

And at last I would say that—

May you always have work for your hands to do,

May your pockets always hold a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane,
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!

Thank you

- By Sachin Goyal (AAIPSian-Kamla Nagar batch)

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According to Perloff (2003), persuasion can be defined as “a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice.”. Persuasion is a deliberate attempt to influence others to your views. It may be done verbally or non-verbally through T.V., Internet etc.

Persuasiveness is one of the most important skills anyone can learn because it is useful in countless situations. At work, at home, and in your social life, the ability to persuade and influence others can be instrumental for achieving goals and being happy. By far the easiest way to persuade someone is to get them to agree with whatever you say right off the bat. Imagine a person’s mind as having two rooms – the “yes” room and the “no” room. You want them in the “yes” room as early as possible (into the conversation), and you want them to remain there as long as possible – because the longer they remain there, the lazier they will be to make the effort of ‘walking’ over into the “no” room.
Once you got them into the “yes” room, you can slowly move towards more ambiguous topics of conversation and more ambiguous questions – and they will keep agreeing with you.
Try it out. It’s really easy, and it really works wonders! This is just one of the first steps of something known as “Conversational Hypnosis” – the art of persuading people in regular conversations, without them having a clue you’re doing it! It’s really easy to learn, and it has the power to change your life.

Few more steps if something mentioned above doesn’t work out.

1. Wait for a good time to ask them.

2. Smile. Be polite, cheerful, and charismatic. A good attitude will help you more than you think. People will hear what you have to say without thinking that you want to force your point of view on them.

3. Show them all the benefits of your idea. (If possible, tell them how it will benefit them. That always gets their attention.)

4. When you do the request, make sure the other person knows how they will be benefited. This is the most important thing you need to do when you are trying to persuade someone. Give them benefits after benefits that they will receive if they do what you want. The more benefits you have, the better. Knowing their mindset would make this easier. Know exactly what they want and offer something that they just cannot refuse to have. The more you can think like them, the more you would be able to persuade them.

5 .Prepare for any contradictions and be ready for any that you may not have thought of.

6. Don’t be afraid to agree with the person a little. He would also be happy to hear you agreeing with him. Say things like: “Okay, but…..” or “Yeah except…..” “Yes you are right but wouldn’t it be better…..” or just say “yes” but don’t let them completely prove you wrong.
However it is always okay if you hear what they have to say and try to adapt their idea to your idea.

7. Try to find out why the other person is rejecting your preferred course of action. If you can find out why, it gives you a tactical advantage. You would then be able to modify your conversations and convince him as per his needs.

8. Match Benefits To The Other Person’s Wants. Now that you’ve already figured out what the other person wants try to tie in what they want with what you want.

9. If you realize that you may have been wrong in one aspect then admit it. It will make you seem more trustworthy.

10. Ask them just to consider it and think about your idea, given time to think they may realize their mistakes.

11. Be generous with your opponent; give them something they want, and they will be more inclined to give you something you want.

12. All persuasion should be suggestive not demanded. But at the same time know what you want.

In general when trying to convince someone always talk about positive things and pleasant memories, never bad things that happened. Not about personal life experiences.
Try not to appear to be going to great lengths to persuade somebody. In fact, you are most persuasive when your audience does not know you are attempting to persuade them.
At times, it helps to let your audience know that something is really, really, really important to you, and other times it does not; use discretion.
Most importantly, know when to give up. Your opponent may find you talking very annoying. If your opponent perceives you as a pest, it will make you much less persuasive in the future.

- By Sanjay Kaushal (Noida Batch)

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A family is more than a mere assembly of its parts – Husband, Wife, Daughters, Sons, and Grandparents. Each member has a unique view point and particulars needs, responsibility & duties in accordance with age. Each has his or her strong and weak points, individual traits and personalities. The interaction of these family members results in friction, headaches and tensions at many points. At the same time this very interaction can produce joy, accomplishment and a sense of well being for each member of family. For family harmony the mutual understanding of head members – husband and wife is the key. It is amazing to see now that some couple with diverse professional aspiration hold on to each other so beautifully and that too in totally negotiated and arranged marriages. This mutual understanding brings them closer to each other and gives the relationship a stability that grows stronger over the years.

For managing a family of any size this harmonious relation between family head i.e. husband and wife plays an important role. In a family, it is inevitable to get areas where ideas of husband and wife clash and then there is anger & frustration for each other, but we being what we are this is bound to happen. What can be of great help at such times is to think of your life as a whole, to realise that measured against the vastness of our universe, our life is just a flash. The world has been going on for millions of years and will continue to go on. Every thing passes. So both husband and wife should remember that next time if some thing or some one worries you, put it in its right perspective, measured against eternity or this universe our little problems are nothing at all.

Also, keep reminding yourself that your children learn from you so the kind of behaviour you adopt before them; they will also follow the same path. Although due to generation gap, the thought processes of parents and children are different at many instances, both the sides should try to understand the view point of each. Neither the say of the children nor the parents should be looked down upon. If both the parents are working, then make sure that your children are in the right hands and in the right company. Keep interacting about their friends, school/college/job, and their interest from time to time so that they do not feel ignored.

All the members of  the family should try to devote time to each other so as to open up with each other and lead a happy life.

- By C.K.Bhogal (AAIPSian, Noida Batch)