Poem for two voices

Listening and speaking

Listening and speaking

Introduction

In a meeting or gathering, there are two aspects that really matter, the speaker and the listener. The speaker should be a good speaker for the listener to get what the speaker is saying. The listener on the other hand should be a good listener to get what the speaker is saying. A good speaker and a good listener can be determined from their characteristics.

Good listeners should have the following characteristics; good listeners should pay complete attention to the person who is speaking to them, and they should maintain eye contact with the speaker (Wright, 2015). Good listeners should show interest by nodding, clapping and smiling at appropriate times. Good listeners should understand what has been said to them by asking the speaker to explain where they don’t understand. Good listener should not interrupt the speaker when the speaker is speaking. Lastly, a good listener should ask the speaker questions when the speaker is not clear at a point (Zou, 2013).

A good speaker also should have characteristics that distinguish them from bad or poor speaker. A good speaker should be confident, a good speaker should be able to face their audience without any fear and should not be nervous. A good speaker should have authenticity, a speaker should be himself when speaking to the audience. A good speaker should be passionate when speaking to the audience, a good speaker should have passion on the subject he or she is speaking about. A good speaker should practice and not memorize a speech to be able to be natural. A good speaker should speak in a natural voice and should not try to imitate anyone. A good speaker should keep the speech short and sweet and should strive to connect with the audience. A good speaker should also create a picture on the audience mind and should also repeat main points for the audience to write down or take note of.

References

Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Caslon Incorporated.

Zou, B. (2013). Teachers' support in using computers for developing students' listening and speaking skills in pre-sessional English courses. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 26(1), 83-99.