As a result of increasing globalization, there is a paramount need for acquiring adequate linguistic skills in English. Of the four skills, the speaking skill assumes greater importance in the context of the demands of corporate sector. For going up in the hierarchy of business administration, there is a great need for effective oral presentation, which is truly a performance art. The paper seeks to detail the sub-skills required—proper pronunciation of sounds, adequate pitch, rate of words used at the presentation, body language, eye contact and gestures. As the mode of articulation adopted by the speaker impacts the quality of presentation, proper care should be taken to produce the different sound of English. The speaker must engage the attention of all the members of the audience through judicious use of speech variation. Command over this skill helps the future employee succeed in his professional career.

Until quite recently the nations of mankind lived in a number of separate boxes holding no communication with each other, except when the people in one box invaded those in the next box, and some of the boxes were never opened at all. But now there is no barrier among these boxes as the world has become one. The clashes of conception among these boxes can easily be encountered with meaningful communication. As Lord Neil Kinnock rightly observes, The growth of the use of English as the world’s primary language for international communication has obviously been continuing for several decades (Graddol, 2006).

It is no surprise that English language has won an international status and “all the evidence suggests that the position of English as a global language is going to become stronger” (Crystal, 1997). Recent international, economic, technological and cultural changes are primarily responsible for placing English on the highest pedestal. Knowledge of this global English naturally provides one competitive advantage. In this context, the role of oral communication presents a clear and major challenge at the international market.

The art of oral presentation is most important in communication skills. One must learn ‘this truly performance art’ to enable one to steer the way to a clear, effective, and memorable communication. There are three main requisites that make a presentation viable and meaningful. They are voice, body language, and feedback. It is interesting to note that human speech sounds are produced when egressive air-stream mechanism is in operation. To put it in simple terms, we may say that the air from the lungs is sent into the outer atmosphere through various organs of speech. The air that we breathe out is modified into human speech sounds. So we have to keep our lungs active. In other words, good voice projection is made with the efficient working of the lungs, intercostal muscles and diaphragm.

The following procedure is suggested for producing sounds. “You must warm up your lungs by making certain sounds like mmmmmm, aaaaaa hhhhhh, ssssss, etc. Sit in a hard-bottomed chair and grasp the chair with both hands just below your hips. Then exhale as hard as you can and thus squeeze out the last bit of air. While doing this, maintain your posture properly by remaining upright and then count silently to three. Then take a deep breath. Next, stand and balance your weight so that it is evenly distributed on both feet and also between heels and toes. Then keep knees relaxed without slouching. Relax your face so that you breathe slightly through your parted lips as well as nose. Then breathe normally for about 10 minutes. You must not feel drowsy while doing this.

“Now, bring the voice into the process by ‘touching’ each exhalation with your vocal cords. Initially produce a formless, toneless, little ‘hnh hnh’ kind of sound and wait for the physical signal that you should exhale. Exhale normally. After a while, do this exercise vigorously, making ‘hnh hnh’ on each exhalation. Continue this for a few minutes. You are now warmed up sufficiently.

English Studies Journal, Indian English Short Fiction, Bhasha Literatures, Autonomous Forms, Indian Short Story, Indian Language, Montage Patterns, Women Writers, Social Milieu, Postmodernist Movements, Global Communities, Joint Family System, Indian Women Writers.