ONLY: a word that could help or hurt your speech

The word ONLY is so simple to use, but if not used properly it may hurt your presentation.

Example 1: “We can improve our planet by recycling. It ONLY takes a few minutes of your time to put your trash in the right bin.

Here, the word ONLY shows us that it doesn’t take much to help our plantet “ONLY a few minutes.”

This is to encourage people to spare a few minutes of their busy lives and the results will be huge and long-lasting.

Example 2: “We could improve our planet by recycling, but one person could ONLY do so much. We need more support and more volunteers. Everyone should contribute.”

This is still a positive way to motivate people to recycle. It shows that there is more to do.

Example 3: ”Everyone should recycle, but ONLY if you have the time.”

This may be intended to motivate but instead it may work against you.  It could be that you are trying to encourage people to recycle but you don’t want to impose too much. It could be that you are a young student and you are speaking to adults. Out of respect, you may decide not to impose your point of view too strongly, and you may end up getting negative results.

Another way to use and not use the word ONLY is:

“I bought ALL of these clothes for ONLY $30 dollars.”

“I bought $30 dollars worth of clothes and I ONLY got this t shit and socks.”

 These two examples show you a more direct view of what happens when the word ONLY can be positive or negative. 

CAN YOU THINK OF OTHER WAYS TO USE AND NOT USE THE WORD ONLY IN YOUR PRESENTATION?

tell me at alexvidalinfo@gmail.com or post it here.

Speech and communication tips for KIDS

“Hi Alex,

thank you for sharing your inspiring words of wisdom with the teens at Project Insight Teen Mom Camp. Throughout the camp they quoted your words about not missing a chance to speak up. They became much more open in their communication within the four days of camp. Thank you for planting the seed.”

-Elva

July 2008

What makes a SHOW & TELL great?

Show and Tell is awesome. It gives you the chance to tell your friends in class about something that you like. And even better yet, you get to SHOW IT!

Did you know that teachers and parents are sometimes asked to do a “show & tell,” too?! That’s right. Except they call it a PRESENTATION.

When you get to middle school, your SHOW & TELL will be called a presentation as well.

Now, do you like to stand in front of the class and give a presentation? If you do, GREAT! That means that you are always excited about presenting something new to your class; however, if the idea of standing in front of the class does not thrill you, don’t worry about it. I think I can help you.

In order to help you make a better presentation during your SHOW & TELL, we must first admit that your presentation is giving you the chance to discuss something that you know about very well.

That’s right. Your teacher usually doesn’t ask you to talk about something that you do not know anything about, right? Except, at times, when he or she wants you to learn something new and then tell the class about it. But, for the most part, your teacher will ask you to bring something from home and show it to the class.

This is important because it means that you are going to talk about something or someone that you care about. And this can only mean good news. Here is your chance to invite others to like the same things that you like.

For example, let’s say your teacher wants you to tell your class about your favorite vacation. This is great! It means that you now have the chance to share your FEELINGS about it.

And that, my friend, is the MOST IMPROTANT THING about SHOW & TELL…sharing your personal feelings about it.

Sure, you may also need to talk about where you went and who went with you, but when you get to the part where you have to tell them WHY you like your vacation so much, this is when you get to share your feelings about it.

Your feelings are very personal and sharing them with your friends is very special. It is also what makes your SHOW & TELL very special too.

Now you know that the most important thing about a SHOW & TELL is sharing with the class what you liked BEST about whatever you are asked to talk about. Telling your class why you like something so much, makes your SHOW & TELL presentation more special. TRY IT!

3 Speech Tips for Elementary Students

1. Be excited about your information.

While this may sound silly and obvious, it happens too often. Students give a presentation out of OBLIGATION…boring!!! If you are not excited about it, do not expect everyone to be excited about it either. You can turn the most fun subject into the most boring if you are not excited about it. Even if you are talking about your most “FUN” Summer adventure, if you are doing it out of obligation it will come out sounding boring.

How can you make it exciting? Easy, mention why this is important to you or what part of your information did you like the most. Whenever we experience something such as a vacation or reading a book, there is always something that we like about it. When you talk to others about it, be sure to start with that first…mention what you liked about it. Your audience will see how excited you are and they soon will be excited about it, too.

2. Tell your audience something new, something that they do not know

What happens when you know a secret? Don’t you get excited about the fact that you know something that your friends do not know about, yet? For example, when you watch a movie and your friends have not seen it either, don’t you want to tell them about it? Well, the same goes when you are giving a presentation. If you read a book that your friends have not read yet, you know something that they do not know. And when you are ready to tell them, they will pay attention. So you can forget about your friends making fun of you or your voice, they are going to be too busy wanting to know the end of your story. Try it! It works!!!

3. Practice your “loud” voice

We actually call this voice projection. This means that you want everyone to hear what you have to say. After all, you are a very IMPORTANT person with very IMPORTANT information so everyone should hear what you have to say. I always told my students that the reason why we project our voice is so that EVERYONE CAN HEAR US. You want to make sure that ALL of your classmates heard your very important information. You would not want anyone to miss out on your information, right? Just remember that there is always a GOOD way and a BAD way to use your loud voice. Be sure that your teacher helps you project your voice correctly. Later, i’ll show you how.