When we have problems with our diction when speaking in public, it becomes a communication barrier. It causes our message to be distorted or not understood well, and the simple fact of speaking in public loses all meaning completely.
To understand the situation, we have to start from the premise that poor diction refers to the mispronunciation of words, which alters the message and lends itself to ambiguity. However, the truth is that, although the process of improving our diction usually takes some time, it is a solvable problem.
Within this training sector, there is a wide range of studies and job opportunities. The educational programs are very varied: some programs provide a more general overview of this field, which serve to introduce you to this sector, and other specialized courses to perfect a specific subject.
What is public speaking?
Public speaking is the art of knowing how to speak eloquently, i.e., expressively and convincingly. The main objective of public speaking is to convince. Both your written text and speaking skills matter, but unlike your written part, which can be checked for errors and modified (I usually use https://app.grammarly.com/ and https://www.wowessays.com/), your spoken words cannot be corrected after you say them. For anyone who wants to be a professional in the field, it is important to follow a series of guidelines:
Take care of aspects such as smiling, gesturing, and the way you move when speaking in public.
Use the correct tone of voice depending on the place, know how to play with its tones depending on the topic you are talking about.
Try to interact with the audience as much as possible by asking them questions to try to reason for themselves.
Use non-verbal language to try to captivate the audience.
In short, this discipline aims to convince people to act in a certain way or make them take a decision.
What is diction and why is it important?
On the other hand, for good public speaking, it is necessary to learn to pronounce words correctly. This is what diction is all about. The two disciplines complement and need each other. The fear of mispronouncing a word can make it taboo instead of improving it through the voice. Therefore, diction is related to words and the fear generated by mispronouncing them, whatever they may be.
Diction is the way a person expresses themselves. This term is linked to how each person uses words, thus managing to form sentences. It is also possible to decide if the constructions are correct or not, depending on the language rules. When a structure is correct, we speak of good diction. When it is not so, we speak of bad diction. It is essential to bear in mind that the qualification of diction as good or bad has nothing to do with what the person wants to convey or what he or she wants to express. This is something you will see in the Public Speaking and Diction Courses.
In any case, when each term is pronounced clearly, with the correct accentuation and the appropriate pauses in each sentence, we can say that it is good diction. In this way, it is easy to understand the person in their oratory, making their pronunciation look clean and clear.
Types of public speaking:
Social: it is the one that takes place in social events or ceremonies. For this reason, it is characterized by specific emotional, festive characteristics, etc.
Forensic: it is used in the legal field and seeks to present the facts clearly among the actors involved in the legal field: judge, prosecutor, lawyer, experts, etc.
Pedagogical: this is a type of oratory that seeks to transmit culture through speech. Therefore, it conveys the knowledge of the individual. This type of public speaking is used in the academic environment.
Religious: this is oratory that uses religious books as the basis for its sermons and thus transmits the word of God.
Persuasive: this is used in the political environment, seeking debate when presenting their ideas and proposals.
Business: this is used within the company and seeks to transmit the objectives of the corporation.
There are plenty of courses online about the art of public speaking. Any online academy can provide you such a program, so feel free to join those closer to your taste and preferences if you need some professional advice.