Your Mind and Body
Not all of us are blessed with the gift of speech. While some people are naturally gifted with eloquence and can hold an audience spellbound for hours, others simply can’t hold a decent conversation for more than five seconds.
As a great man once said, “some are born great; others have greatest thrust upon them”. You may not have been born with the ability to have people listening to you as though the world’s solutions lies in your tongue, but with a few well practiced tips, you can easily learn how to.
Below are some steps that will help you develop eloquence:
• Share what you know: A break in conversation usually occurs when there is a misunderstanding of certain information. Don’t pretend that you know it all. You will get caught if you do and may end up stammering away. Instead, share what you know and what you are confident about. Great conservations are not necessarily about world affairs. An informed talk about gardening can make your listener’s day.
• Eye contact: It is vital that you do not act as if your listener has the plague. A little eye contact goes a long way in saying, ‘what I’m saying will make more sense if it matters to you too’. Eye contact is a psychological tactic that makes your listener feel important.
• Listen: Most people tend to dominate a conversation either out of conceit or insecurity. Either way, they end up making conservations one sided and stilted. If you truly want to speak eloquently and elicit positive responses, listen to your listener. What they have to say can steer the conservation into more meaningful waters.
The art of eloquence is simply a matter of practice. Practice the above techniques and within a short time you will be surprised how eloquent you have become.