What is it that makes one a great talker?

T-Mag Thursday 18/April/2019 09:27 AM
By: Times News Service
What is it that makes one a great talker?

If you are a great talker you judge from the audience. The speaker could be gesticulating wildly, but if the listener is simply trying hard to stifle yawns the entire time, it doesn’t speak very highly of the former’s conversation skills. Here’s how to keep it interesting.
Analyse the response of your listener
It’s important to know what your listener is interested in. If you don’t know them personally, try to take cues by briefly talking about different topics and hold on to the one that seems to excite them. Of course, it’s important that you’re also well-informed about the topic, else that wouldn’t sail well!
Keep it short
If you’re narrating a story, talking about an incident or merely sharing some facts, make sure you don’t stretch it in an attempt to ‘build up the suspense’. Keep to the topic, avoid unnecessary details and save your opinions for the end.
Give examples
Make it relatable to the listener. Giving real-life examples are an excellent way to explain things. You can even give personal examples to the listener to further involve him/her in the conversation.
Interact
Don’t keep it one-sided. Another great way to keep your audience involved is to frequently ask them questions. There’s a reason teachers do the same to unsuspecting students who seem to be drifting away. Now, we don’t mean you corner them with questions or command them to repeat your last line; keep them involved by simply asking for their opinions every now and then.
Avoid the phone
If you want to be heard, you need to be available, to begin with. Frequently checking your notifications, breaking the flow to reply to a message or excusing yourself to attend to a call can really make your listener lose interest in talking to you. Not just that, it can also come across as disrespectful.