As covered in the first article in this series, Principles of Effective Teaching, reliability engineers, FMEA team leaders, and other quality and reliability professionals are often called upon to teach the principles of reliability or FMEA. Whether you are a student who wants to enhance your learning experience, an instructor who wants to improve teaching results, or an engineer who wishes to convey knowledge to another person, this series will offer practical knowledge and advice.
Speak with Clarity and Confidence
It isn’t about the words you say. It’s about the energetic message you send. Pete Carroll
Key Principle # 7: The instructor speaks clearly and confidently, with sufficient volume
Speaking clearly
Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall. Oliver Wendell Holmes
Clarity is the quality of being easily understood.
Your teaching message is important. Speaking clearly is essential to conveying your message.
It is disrespectful to talk in a way that another cannot understand. Some in your audience may have English as second language. Don’t use complex words or phrases. Keep your presentation simple and understandable, especially for someone who does not have a high level of language comprehension.
Tip: Avoid using metaphors that someone from another culture may not understand. Example, “you hit that out of the park.”
Speaking confidently
If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started. Cicero
Confidence is the quality or state of being certain.
Ask yourself, do you believe what you are saying? If so, speak with confidence. If you don’t believe what you are saying, examine why and remedy. Before sharing knowledge with another person or a class, you should be reasonably certain that what you are sharing or teaching is valid.
Caution: When I say to speak confidently, I do not mean to pretend or feign confidence. I want you to become certain of the material you are teaching. If you are asked a question that you do not know the answer to, always be honest, and say you do not know, and follow up to research the answer and get back to the person who asked the question.
Tip: Be authentic in your confidence. Once you are certain your message is valid, you need to practice delivering your message so that it comes across with confidence.
Speaking with sufficient volume
Volume is the degree of loudness or intensity of a sound.
The reason you need to speak with sufficient volume is so that every person in the physical or virtual room easily understands you. Speak at the right volume so it is not stressful for people to hear you. People who speak too softly can put the listener to sleep or make their message difficult to be hear. People who speak too loudly undermine their message. Learn to speak with the right volume so the audience can focus on your message.
On social media, someone wrote, “I speak too softly. Is this an introvert thing?” Someone replied, “I’m quite introverted, but when I do speak, I speak clearly, with purpose and with sufficient volume for the situation. The purpose of speech is to relay a message to someone else. To make sure that happens you should be clear about your words and at the appropriate volume for the setting.” Great advice.
Tip: I’ve been speaking and teaching for decades and I *always* check with the audience if they can easily hear me, and take action to remedy before beginning.
What can you do to improve your speaking clarity and volume?
Here are a few ideas . . .
1. Record your talking at different speeds and volume. Listen to the recordings, and make adjustments until you are satisfied.
2. Go into an auditorium with a friend. Have your friend stand in the back of the auditorium, and speak to him or her until you have the right speed, clarity and volume.
3. During your next teaching assignment, ask a friend to listen and provide candid feedback.
Summary
You may have the best message in the world. But, if you don’t speak clearly and with the right volume, your message will not be heard or understood. This takes practice, and is worth the effort.
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