Within the realm of human communication, there is no doubt that oral expression is and has always been of great importance to individuals. The survival of this form of communication over others shows that it is then one of the most important and useful capacities of man for coexistence in society. While throughout history, the human being has always had the possibility of expressing himself orally, the same cannot be said of other forms and technologies of communication that have existed for a relatively short time in comparison.
If we seek to define the notion of oral expression in descriptive terms, we must say that it is the capacity developed by man to establish concepts, ideas and terms with specific meanings. Here, the oral expression of the human being differs from the oral communication of the animals that, although it is carried out with objectives and desires, it is not ordered, conscious or full of specific meanings. Oral expression is what allows the human being to contact and establish connections with their peers, starting from it the opportunity to establish objectives, goals and projects in common.
On the other hand, the idea of oral expression is also related to the ability of certain individuals to reach certain audiences through words. This is when everyday oral expression ceases to be such to become a persuasive discursive structure in pursuit of achieving specific and clearly determined objectives. Situations such as exhibitions, debates, meetings, classes, sermons among others are those in which certain people must have good oral expression skills in order to bring the appropriate message to the recipients.
Strategies and key factors in speaking
In this sense, numerous exposure techniques have been developed in recent times that allow the individual to catch the public with their speeches and persuade them in matters of ideas.
Voice
The voice is the sound that comes out once the air is expelled from the lungs and when it leaves the larynx it causes the vocal cords to vibrate. The voice is important at the behest of oral expression because the auditory image always impacts any audience. Without a doubt, through the voice it is possible to convey feelings and attitudes.
Position
Posture is the relationship of the positions that involve all the joints of our body and the correlation between the extremities with the trunk and vice versa. Putting it in simpler terms, posture is the position of our body in relation to the surrounding space and the relationship of the person with it. It should be noted that the posture is also associated with cultural, professional, hereditary factors, habits, among others.
So for all the implications that the position may have, it is important that the speaker establishes through it closeness with his audience or interlocutor. It is always advised to avoid body stiffness and, on the contrary, to exhibit serenity and dynamism through the posture of the body.
Diction
Diction consists of the way to use the words of a language to form sentences, meanwhile, it will be considered as good diction when the use of words and their combination is correct and satisfactory with respect to the language in question. For example, the speaker must have a good command of the language because otherwise it will be difficult for him to express himself orally and make himself understood. Meanwhile, within that good handling, the correct pronunciation of the words is included, an issue that is undoubtedly essential to understand the message.
Fluency
Fluency, on the other hand, is the ability that an individual has to express himself correctly and naturally, either in his mother tongue or also with his second language, if there is one. In other words, fluency is the ability to speak continuously and this is obviously functional and essential for oral expression to be effective.
Volume and rhythm
It will be important to manage the volume and rhythm in oral expression since they are key when it comes to correctly transmitting a message. The intensity of the voice and the preservation of harmony and correct accentuation.
Clarity and consistency
Both are also relevant conditions because they help positively to express ourselves in a precise way and following logic. As has been proven, when there is neither clarity nor coherence, the messages are not convincing, they do not fulfill their mission and of course that will affect communication.
Look
Maintaining constant eye contact with the audience will be essential for the audience to feel engaged. The gaze is the most important of all the non-verbal elements and one of those that most communicates things. Commonly, people feel uncomfortable when on the other side they have an interlocutor who does not look them in the eye, this usually generates distrust and will undoubtedly affect the effective arrival of the message.
