Practising Good English Oratorical Skills

How many of us have heard of Winston Churchill? There have been few men like Churchill who have been both popular as well as controversial. He had a speech impediment and used to stutter. While he was 29, Churchill stood up to give a speech in Parliament. During the speech, the young man literally froze for three straight minutes and had to sit down amidst jeers and ridicule from his fellow parliamentarians. Churchill vowed that such an event would never repeat itself. It never did. A century later the former British PM Winston Churchill is regarded as one of the finest orators to ever walk the face of this planet. His words still echo in the minds of the British populace and across the globe.

What does Churchill teach us here? Oratory skills are not a gift by birth. Anyone can be an orator. In fact, anyone can be the best of orators provided that he/she is ready to put in the effort. Stamp this into your mind before you read on.

Read, read and read

You can well and truly get an amazing speech written for your kid by someone else and have her memorise it. But there is always a limit to rote memorisation. A good orator should possess good thinking abilities as well. And what is the best food for your thoughts? Obviously, Books! Or more specifically reading. Encourage your child to read more. Encourage your child to read wide. Incentivise it. Throw in a bar of chocolate or extra pocket money for every book she completes. Let your child read some of the great speeches of Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and so on. An avid reader gains greater clarity of thought. Greater clarity of thoughts means a better flow of ideas. A better flow of ideas results in better speeches and this ultimately gives birth to an efficient orator.