Valmiki continues his lesson on ‘effective speech communication’ in the next sloka as well, which is
संस्कार क्रम संपन्नाम् अद्भुताम् अविलम्बिताम् |उच्चारयति कल्याणीम् वाचम् हृदय हर्षिणीम् ||
— Valmiki Ramayan 4-3-32
Lord Ram’s assessment of Hanuman on their first meeting- “He has orderly refinement in speech that is remarkable and un-delaying, and he speaks positive / soothing words that are heart-pleasing”
I feel that there are some repeats in this sloka, Leaving aside the repeats, We can learn another three attributes of good communication, Skills 8 to 10, from this sloka.
Skill 8 – Samskara krama sampanna – Orderly
Krama means orderly, systematically, methodically. Samskara krama sampanna is one attribute and can be taken to mean ‘delivering to orderly perfection’.
Orderly flow is very important in a speech.
What is Flow in a communication?
Flow is the quality of being able to move “seamlessly” from one idea to the next in a way that makes sense to your listeners, and doesn’t involve hesitation, hemming, hawing, uhmmmm, or losing your train of though
Flow plays a part in the construction of your speech. It’s one thing to outline the order in which you will present the main points, but building roads and bridges to arrive to each other is the foundation of a great speech. The audience will be able to tell if you struggle to create an easy transition. Not knowing how to make that switch can be awkward for you and your audience. But knowing exactly how to move your presentation along with a hitch will impress the entire room.
Here are some tips to achieve good flow in a speech
- Flow comes by practice. Practice your speech
- Flow is inversely proportional to the pressure. Take it easy and natural. Practice your speech but don’t get tensed about the flow.
- Flow comes naturally when you are relaxed.
संस्कार क्रम संपन्नाम् अद्भुताम् अविलम्बिताम् |
उच्चारयति कल्याणीम् वाचम् हृदय हर्षिणीम् ||
— Valmiki Ramayan 4-3-32
Lord Ram’s assessment of Hanuman on their first meeting- “He has orderly refinement and pronunciation with a flow that is remarkable and un-delaying, and he speaks positive / soothing words that are heart-pleasing”
Skill 9 – Adbuthaam, Flowing to a Marvel
Adbhutham means Marvellous, astonishment, etc. If you achieve flow in your speech, your speech will be a remarkable speech. Correct pronunciation, good pitch, tone and orderly flow are essential elements of a remarkable speech.
#FlowingSpeech
You will need to make a few adjustments in your speech to achieve flow. Your jaw movements need to ensure that words flow together. You may feel as if you are saying one long word made up of a few syllables instead of several words.
For instance, the phrase ‘put it on your end’ will have a flowing rhythm. So, ‘put it on’ joins together nicely as putiton.
There are many techniques to enhance your speech to a marvellous speech
- Right pronunciation and accent
- Appropriately connecting the words and sentences.
- Chaining you to bullet points: Plan your speech but don’t be obsessive about your plan. Keep a structure but allow the flow to be natural. Most times it’s the moments we deviate from our course is when we seem the most human and likeable. Even though you need structure, don’t forget to leave a bit of wiggle room
- Presentation slides would help to structure the flow but avoid reading from the slides. Slides can be prepared to give cue for your flow but not as a speech text. The speech will be dreary and audience would lose interest.
- A powerful way to build intensity is storytelling. The best speakers often use stories as a powerful tool for demonstrating and bringing to life a key message.
- Make your speech humorous and lively
- Involve your audience in your speech rather than monotonous one-way delivery.
- Get the balance correct ie using the right amount of the right type of information.
- Connect the dots. Take your audience on a journey, pointing out interesting features and building excitement for them. Don’t just dump information on them, that’s not much better than reading them a grocery list. If your audience doesn’t feel that your talk is building towards something, they’ll just stop listening.
Perfect your communication using the techniques demonstrated by Hanuman. Share your feedback and questions, if any.
Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article belong to the author. Bhogya.online is neither responsible nor liable for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in the article.
Jaganathan T
Jaganathan T is the Founder and Managing Director of FutureCalls Technology, IT & Infosec services company headquartered out of Chennai with presence at Mumbai, Delhi & Bengaluru apart from Chennai.
Jaganathan is passionate about Indian and doing extensive research about classical management techniques based on classical literature and grandma stories. Authored and published 2 books 'Management Immemorial - Learnings from Literature' and 'Grandma In the Boardroom'. Publishing articles every Monday as the newsletter 'Monday Musings' in LinkedIn with positive and motivational stories based on classical literature and stories.
Read other Posts by this Author