Following principles of communication make it more 5.

Principle of Consistency:
effective: This principle states that communication should always
be consistent with the policies, plans, programmes, and
1. Principle of Clarity: objectives of the organization and not in conflict with
The idea or message to be communicated should be them. If the messages and communications are in
clearly spelt out. It should be worded in such a way that conflict with the policies and programmes, then there
the receiver understands the same thing which the will be confusion in the minds of subordinates, and they
sender wants to convey. There should be no ambiguity may not implement them properly. Such a situation will
in the message. It should be kept in mind that the words be detrimental to the interests of the organization.
do not speak themselves, but the speaker gives them
the meaning. A clear message will evoke the same 6. Principle of Timeliness:
response from the other party. It is also essential that This principle states that communication should be
the receiver is conversant with the language, inherent done at proper time so that it helps in implementing
assumptions, and the mechanics of communication. plans. Any delay in communication may not serve any
purpose rather decisions become of historical
2. Principle of Attention: importance only.
To make communication effective, the receiver’s
attention should be drawn towards message. People are 7. Principle of Adequacy:
different in behavior, attention, emotions etc. so they The information communicated should be adequate and
may respond differently to the message. Subordinates complete in all respects. Inadequate information may
should act similarly as per the contents of the message. delay action and create confusion. Inadequate
The acts of a superior also draw the attention of information also affects efficiency of the receiver. So
subordinates and they may follow what they observe. adequate information is essential for taking proper
For example, if a superior is very punctual in coming to decisions and making action plans.
the office, then subordinates will also develop such
habits. It is said that ‘actions speak louder than words.

3. Principle of Feedback: 1. Know your material. Pick a topic you’re

The principle of feedback is very important to make the interested in. Know more about it than you
communication effective. There should be a feedback include in your speech. Use humor, personal
information from the recipient to know whether he has stories, and conversational language—that way,
understood the message in the same sense in which the you won’t easily forget what to say.
sender has meant it.
2. Practice, practice, practice! Rehearse out loud
4. Principle of Informality: with all the equipment you plan on using.
Formal communication is generally used for Revise as necessary. Work to control filler
transmitting messages and other information. words; practice, pause, and breathe. Practice
Sometimes formal communication may not achieve the with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.
desired results, informal communication may prove
effective in such situations. Management should use 3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience
informal communication for assessing the reaction of members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a
employees towards various policies. Senior group of friends than it is to speak to strangers.
management may informally convey certain decisions to
the employees for getting their feedback. So this 4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the
principle states that informal communication is as speaking area, and practice using the
important as formal communication. microphone and any visual aids.
 facing upward, and separate and extend your legs.
5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It Breathe. Stay in this position for at least five to ten
buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, minutes.
smile, and count to three before saying
anything. (One thousand, two one thousand, * Meditate. Sit in a quiet place and focus only on your
three one thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform breath. Practicing meditation will reduce anxiety and
nervous energy into enthusiasm. give you the ability to think more clearly and articulate
your thoughts better.
6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine
yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and Speak Up
confident. Visualize the audience clapping—it Just as it can be distressing to watch someone struggle
will boost your confidence. through a presentation, it can also be positively
inspiring to watch someone nail one. No discussion of
7. Realize that people want you to succeed. effective public speaking would be complete without
Audiences want you to be interesting, mentioning Barack Obama. Arguably one the most
stimulating, informative, and entertaining. impactful speakers of our day, Obama not only
They’re rooting for you. possesses exceptional linguistic skills but also knows
how to present himself and get people’s attention—and
8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem can leave an audience of thousands wondering what hit
—the audience probably never noticed it. them. (Granted, he has an entire team of speech writers
working for him, but still …) So, the next time you find
9. Concentrate on the message, not the medium. yourself standing beleaguered and besieged in front of a
Focus your attention away from your own merciless crowd, remember that the words you use can
anxieties and concentrate on your message and be effective and meaningful, but the real strength lies in
your audience. their delivery.

Aside from Toastmasters, the late writer-lecturer Dale

Speech Anxiety: Techniques for Building Confidence
Carnegie is another longtime, trusted resource in the
public-speaking arena. A few of his more popular books 1. Prepare Well
on the art include The Art of Public Speaking and The The correlation between preparation and nervousness
Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking. is consistent. More practice results in less nervousness.
The best, most consistent and direct way to minimize
Unwind Your Mind the level of nervousness you feel is through effective
Even when you believe you’ve thoroughly prepared preparation. This is always true. Importantly, the best
yourself for a public-speaking engagement, it never sort of practice is the kind that prepares you properly.
hurts to tap into your mind-body connection for extra
courage. From a medical perspective, Livestrong.com Michael Jordan was once asked the best way to learn
suggests massage, yoga, and meditation to calm frayed how to shoot free throws. He said that you cannot learn
nerves before heading into a stressful situation. to shoot free throws by walking into a gym with a ball,
walking up to the line, and shooting. Instead, he
* Get a massage. Getting a massage (especially with described how the first step in learning to shoot free
lavender essential oil) can help improve your focus and throws is to run sprints. Most importantly, his advice
reduce anxiety. was to run until your body was under the same stress as
it would be in a game when you needed to make those
* Practice savasana (corpse pose). Lie flat on your back, free throws—because only under those conditions
extend your arms away from your body with your palms would your practice become truly productive. Only
then do you pick up the ball and shoot. And when you Speakers too, should visualize success. As you practice,
managed to catch your breath? All types of preparation visualize yourself presenting with confidence to a
and practice yield some benefits, but there is a receptive audience. “See” your relaxed facial
significant difference between practice that is expressions and “hear” your confident vocal tone.
merely helpful and practice that is sufficient. Imagine yourself moving gracefully, complementing
what you say with expressive gestures. Imagine the
There is a difference between “knowing what you are audience reacting appropriately nodding appreciatively
talking about,” and “knowing what you are going to and considering your points. Imagine the gratification of
say.” Thinking about your presentation can be helpful, watching the audience really “get it.” When you can
but that sort of preparation will not give you a sense of honestly envision yourself performing at this level, you
what you are going to say. Athletes know that the best are taking an important step toward achieving that goal.
practices will re-create game conditions and test their
abilities to perform in real-life scenarios. Studying a 3. Avoid Gimmicks
playbook? This is helpful, but not sufficient. Going over Some acting coaches (and speech teachers) encourage
a speech in your mind? Again, it is helpful, but not their students to practice in front of mirrors, so that
sufficient. they can watch themselves perform and evaluate how
they move. In acting, this can be very useful; but in
Many students do not practice effectively, and this can speaking, it is less so. When you practice your
result in the wrong idea that practice isn’t helpful. presentation, the most important element is
Unfortunately, these same students usually have had expressiveness. You want to become more familiar with
little, if any, training in how one might prepare for a the volume of material, the order in which you plan to
presentation, and so they employ the scholastic training present it, and the phrasing you think would be most
they are most familiar with—how to write a paper. This effective to express it. Watching yourself perform in a
is not the same activity as presenting, and so the lack of mirror will focus your attention on your appearance first
proper preparation only contributes to the lack of —and on what you express second. This makes using a
confidence. Let’s look at a few elements of effective mirror during practice a distraction from what the
practice. practice ought to achieve.

2. Visualize Success Plus, consider what you are seeing in the mirror as you
Athletes and performers are often coached to visualize practice. Obviously, it is you! But more to the point,
what they are trying to do to perform correctly. Baseball what you see in the mirror (your reflection) will not
players need to anticipate what they will do if the ball is resemble, in any way, the audience that you would see
hit their way so that they are ready to perform without while delivering your presentation. Just as you want to
having to make split-second choices. Football and visualize success in yourself as part of your preparation;
basketball players must envision how each member of you also want to visualize success in your audience—
the team will move during a particular play because which means that you want to imagine the members of
team success depends on speedy and flawless your audience reacting positively to your presentation,
coordination between individuals. Dancers and divers paying close attention, and nodding their heads as you
are trained to visualize the form and positioning of their make your points.
bodies as they execute their moves. Golfers are coached
to visualize the flight and arc of the shot they are about For some reason, the myth persists that imagining your
to attempt. Engaging the imagination in this way can be audience in their pajamas—or something similarly silly
beneficial to performance. —is an effective way to make standing in front of them
I visualize things in my mind before I must do them. It's seem less scary. Many of my students have discussed
like having a mental workshop. hearing “tips” like imagining the audience wearing pink
—Jack Youngblood bunny-ears to make them less intimidating. These sorts
of gimmicks don’t work! In fact, concentrating on to the bottom edges of your shoulder
anything other than what you are doing is distracting blades.
and not beneficial at all. Do your best to avoid such
advice. Visualize success! Imagine how keeping any part of your upper
extremities tense would result in a “kink” in the
release valve, and so complete relaxation is the key
Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very
to success. Remember: Relax everything from the
moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
fingertips to the very bottom edges of your shoulder
—Oprah Winfrey blades.
“Breathe and Release” is something that can be
4. Breathe and Release done even as one walks to the front of the
One type of pre-presentation exercise that might be classroom or boardroom to begin speaking. Many
helpful is based on a therapeutic idea called systematic speakers, especially those who are concerned about
de-sensitization, which is a multi-stage regimen to help the physical manifestations of nervousness, have
patients deal with phobias through coping mechanisms. used this relaxation technique effectively.
Going through both the cognitive and behavioral I've a grand memory for forgetting.
aspects of systematic desensitization often require —Robert Louis Stevenson
weeks of concerted effort to overcome the body’s
involuntary reactions to stress. That sort of
psychological therapy involves gradual exposure to 5. Minimize what you memorize
what produces the anxiety, long-term self-reflection,
and mental discipline. Here, we will discuss a shortened One important hint for speech preparation involves
version called “breathe and release.” This is a short-cut avoiding the writing of an entirely scripted version of
relaxation technique that could be useful for nervous the presentation. Many people have the impression
speakers—especially those who are concerned with the that writing a script of the entire speech is the
physical manifestations of nervousness, such as shaky necessary first step in preparation; that practicing can
hands or knees. The key to “breathe and release” is to only happen after you are done writing the entire
understand that when nervous tension results in minor speech. Unfortunately, this common impression is
trembling, the effort of trying to keep one’s hands from mistaken. Remember that lunch with your friends?
shaking can contribute to the whole situation—that is, When you were describing the movie plot, you were
trying to stop literally can make it worse! Therefore, the being conversant in a prepared way. This means that
best approach is through relaxation. you knew what you were describing, but you were not
concerned with the specific words you were using.
Breathe and Release” involves three steps: Being conversant is the condition of being prepared to
discuss an issue intelligently. Fans of sports are
1. Imagine the nervousness within your body. conversant about their favorite teams. Experts
Imagine that energy bubbling inside you, like are conversant in their fields. A well-prepared speaker
liquid being cooked. is conversant about her topic. Consider how
2. Draw that energy to a high point within being conversant in this manner allows freer, more fluid
your body with a deep, cleansing breath. communication, with no stress associated with your
Imagine this cleansing breath to be acting ability to remember what words you wanted to use.
like a vacuum—drawing up all of the Being conversant also gives the speaker the best chance
bubbling liquid. to recognize and react to audience feedback. If you are
3. Release the energy by deliberately relaxing completely focused on the integrity of scripted
the entirety of your upper extremities—not comments, then you will be unable to read and react to
just your hands, or even your hands and your audience in any meaningful way. Imagine how
arms—but all the way from your fingertips
frustrating it would be for your friends at that lunch if write any prepared comments at all? Yes, of course, you
you would not respond to any of their questions until should. Specifically, the feedback you should be most
you were finished reading a few descriptive paragraphs concerned with will happen during the body of the
about the movie. They would probably just wait until speech—when you are discussing the substance of your
you were done reading and then try to engage you in a presentation. It is during the body of the speech when
conversation! you need especially to retain the ability to adjust to how
your audience reacts. Thus, memorizing your entire
If you wish to forget anything on the spot, make a note
speech is ultimately detrimental to your ability to react
that this thing is to be remembered.
to your audience. However, during the introduction and
—Edgar Allan Poe
conclusion of your speech, the primary concerns are
Many people have had experience being in a stage play about connecting with your audience personally; which
or some other type of performance that involved is something best assured through consistent eye
memorized recitation of a script. Many of us might contact. So, carefully preparing the introduction and the
recall moments during rehearsals when our minds conclusion of your speech is a smart strategy—but don’t
would “freeze” and we might need just a quick make the mistake of scripting everything that you plan
reminder—the next word or phrase, the next few notes to say. The best rule here: Minimize what you memorize
—to get back on track. This is because people do not —familiarize instead!
memorize in units, but in phrases or chunks. The mind
attaches to a rhythm—not to each individual unit, word, If I don't train enough, of course I'm nervous.
or note. This is why it is best to minimize what you —Haile Gebrselassie
memorize. Prepare your opening carefully so that you 6. Practice Out Loud
start smoothly. Prepare your closing comments so that
you can end sharply and with style. But avoid preparing Remember the very first time you tried to do anything—
and then memorizing an entire script. a game, a sport, an activity, anything at all. How good
were you out of the gate? Perhaps you had talent or
Preparing for a speech by memorizing a written script were gifted with a “feel” for what you were doing. But
engages your mind at a different level from that of even then, didn’t you get better with more experience?
a conversant speaker. Concentrating on remembering Nobody does anything the very best they can on their
words is different from paying attention to how one’s very first attempt, and everyone—even the most
audience is reacting. The pressure that arises from talented among us—will benefit from effective practice.
trying to remember the next word can be considerable, Speaking in public is no different from any other activity
yet that pressure is entirely avoidable. The goal of in this way. To maximize the chance that your
public speaking should never be about loyal recreation presentation will come out smooth and polished, you
of a script—it is about getting the appropriate response will need to hear it all the way through. By practicing
from your audience. Trying to remember an entirely out loud, from the beginning to the ending, you will be
scripted speech can result in the rather ironic situation able to listen to your whole speech and properly gauge
of a person being able confidently and smoothly to the flow of your entire presentation. Additionally,
discuss the topic in casual conversation, but still quite without at least one complete out-loud practice, there
stressed about their ability to remember their scripted will be no way to accurately estimate the length of your
comments. speech and your preparation will remain insufficient.
When dealing with CA, the last thing you want is to
Many students forget their lines while discussing topics leave some questions unanswered in your own mind!
like their families and hometowns. Of course, they knew The out-loud “dress rehearsal” is the single, most
what they were talking about, but their minds were important element to your preparation. Without it, you
focused on the task of remembering specific words—a will be delivering your presentation in full for the first
task different from effective speaking. So, should you time when it counts the most. Putting yourself at that
sort of disadvantage isn’t wise and is easily avoided. Then consider your current method of preparation. Do
you prepare more for a written paper than for an oral
Consider your current method of preparing a public presentation? Do you have the goal of presenting a
presentation. At some point, you will have gathered scripted message? Do you practice out loud? When,
notes and information together. That represents an during your process, do you practice aloud? Do you
opportune moment for your first out-loud practice. You practice at all before you begin to compose your
might even consider trying that initial practice without speaking notes; or do you only practice after?
the benefit of any notes. Stand up; start speaking; see Remember that dealing with CA often involves the
what comes out! Such a practice can serve as an “oral breaking of a mental habit. It is a good idea to change
first draft” in the same vein as any written first draft of a what you have done previously. Be deliberate. Observe
paper, and can answer several questions for you: what works for your situation.

1. Where, during your presentation, are you Recall what was discussed at the beginning of this
most—and least—conversant? chapter: CA is a condition unique to each person dealing
2. Where, during your presentation, are you with it. CA is the result of many varied causes—some
most in need of supportive notes? internal and personal, some external and experiential.
3. What do your notes need to contain? Dealing with anxiety may be as much dealing with your
Prepare for your public presentation by speaking and attitude as with your skills, as much a struggle with
listening to yourself, rather than by writing, editing, and perception as with ability. Because of this, you are in
rewriting. Remember that when you are having a the best position to know how to deal with your brand
conversation, you never use the same sort of language of CA. As stated earlier in the chapter: Each individual
and syntax as you do when you are writing a formal deals with CA most effectively through increased self-
paper. Practice with the goal of becoming conversant in awareness and a willingness to take each of the steps in
your topic, not fluent with a script. the entire process. After you acknowledge your reality,
then you take the steps necessary to overcome
You can't hire someone to practice for you. apprehension. When you’ve read about the ways to
overcome the debilitating impact of CA, the next steps
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. in your process involve seeing what works best for you.
7. Customize your Practice Do not continue to prepare in the same way as before.
We’ve discussed a variety of techniques in this chapter; Speak more; write and revise less. Be sure to practice
from the importance of out-loud practice to suggestions out-loud at least once during your preparation, to
of when, during your preparation, you should start the prepare yourself sufficiently. Reflect on your personal
out-loud practice. We’ve discussed Cognitive concerns and try Cognitive Restructuring on those
Restructuring as a means of changing your attitude concerns. Take your time. Do the work. Have confidence
about presenting in a positive way. Depending on your that your preparation will yield positive results.
personal brand of CA, you may choose to implement Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.
these hints in different ways. Take a moment to reflect
on what causes your CA. Do you dislike the feeling of —Plato
being the center of attention? Are you more concerned
with who is in the audience and what they might think
of you? Or are you worried about “freezing” in front of
the audience and forgetting what you wanted to say?
Write some of these concerns down and put them into
a priority order. If you are worried about a particular
issue or problem, how might you prepare to minimize
the chance of that issue arising?