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Like listening, speaking is crucial to effective communication. Students need to interact orally with their teachers and classmates, make explanations during tutorials and practical sessions, take part in seminars and workshops, technical presentations, academic discussions, academic interactions, viva voce tests, and so on. On the other hand, professionals in different fields are required to take part in discussions, meetings, conferences, seminars, business presentations, telephonic conversations, teleconferences and videoconferences, and so forth. Infact, success in the highly competitive environment of today will depend not just on professional knowledge but also on the ability to present that knowledge in an appropriate oral form.
Speaking is the purposeful process by which people, using audible and visible symbols, communicate meaning in the minds of their listeners. It is flexible, changing, as well as complex and varied. Whether it is an informal conversation or a very formal business meeting, the function of oral communication is creating messages that stimulate in listeners’ meanings that bring about the desired change in their understanding or opinions. Let us look more closely at the speech process. As noted earlier, speaking is an interactive communicative process that involves speakers and listeners. While communicating a message orally, the speaker is concerned with five factors, that is, message, audience, speech style, message encoding, and feedback.
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