Fluent Delivery

IMAGINE asking a waiter in a restaurant for a glass of water. Instead of giving you a full glass, he pours a very small amount in your glass and waits for you to drink it before he pours more in your glass, repeating this until your thirst has been quenched. Experiencing this would be frustrating. The same could be said about signing that is not steady or smooth but instead is halting, incomplete, or robotic in appearance. Those watching it may remember only a few disjointed thoughts.

When signing from the Bible, do you stumble over certain expressions? Or when giving a talk, do you find that you often grope for the right signs? If so, you may have a problem with fluency. A fluent person signs in such a manner that thoughts flow smoothly, with apparent ease. This does not mean that he is constantly signing, that he signs very rapidly, or that he signs without thinking. His signing is pleasingly graceful. Speakers are given training in fluency at our midweek meeting.

A variety of factors may contribute to lack of fluency. Do you need to give special consideration to any of the following? (1) When signing from the Bible, unfamiliarity with certain signs may cause hesitancy. (2) Unnatural and frequent pausing in too many places may result in jerky delivery. (3) Lack of preparation may contribute to the problem. (4) In speaking before a group, a common factor in lack of fluency is failure to organize material in a logical manner. (5) A limited vocabulary may cause a person to hesitate as he gropes for the right signs. (6) If too many signs are emphasized, fluency may be impaired. (7) Lack of familiarity with rules of grammar may contribute to the problem.

If you lack fluency, the audience in a Kingdom Hall will not literally walk out, but their minds may wander. As a result, much of what you say may be lost.

On the other hand, care must be exercised so that signing that is meant to be forceful and fluent does not become overbearing, perhaps even embarrassing to the audience. If because of difference in cultural background, people view your manner of delivery as brash, indirect, or lacking in sincerity, that will defeat your purpose. It is noteworthy that the apostle Paul, though an experienced speaker, approached the Corinthians “in weakness and in fear and with much trembling” so that he would not attract needless attention to himself.—1 Cor. 2:3.

Practices to Avoid. Many people have the mannerism of wiggling their fingers when trying to recall a point. Others frequently start a thought with the sign “Halt,” or they ask “Do you understand?” as if asking the audience if they understand what is being signed. Perhaps you are unaware of the frequency with which you use such expressions. You might try a practice session in which someone watches you and repeats these expressions each time you say them. You may be surprised.

Some people sign with numerous regressions. That is, they begin a thought and then interrupt themselves midway and repeat at least a portion of what they already said.

Still others sign rapidly enough, but they start with one line of thought and then, mid-way, shift to something else. Though signs flow freely, abrupt changes in thought impair fluency.

Because sign language is visual, unnecessary or frequent motions can become mannerisms that are distracting. These might include adjusting the position of eyeglasses, wiping sweat off the brow, scratching the head, pushing up sleeves, and so forth. While none of these movements are wrong in themselves, if done repeatedly they could have a negative effect on the audience.

How to Improve. If your problem is that you often grope for the right sign, you need to make a concerted effort to build up your vocabulary. Take special note of signs that are unfamiliar to you in The Watchtower or other video publications that you may be watching. Ask someone who knows the language well what the signs mean, and add some of them to your vocabulary.

Making it a practice to sign regularly will contribute to improvement. Take note of difficult signs, and practice them several times. Try to use them in conversation.

To sign from video fluently, it is necessary to understand how signs work together. Usually signs need to be made in groups in order to convey the thought being expressed. Take special note of these groupings. Your objective is not merely to sign correctly but also to convey thoughts clearly. It should be clear in your mind which information is central and which information is relative or secondary. After you analyze one group of signs, go on to the next until you have studied the entire paragraph. Become familiar with the flow of thought. Then practice signing the paragraph repeatedly until you can do it without stumbling and without pausing in the wrong places. As you do this, you will see how the information is developed. You will be able to anticipate what comes next, and you can increase your pace. Then go on to other paragraphs.. Practicing in this way will contribute much to the effectiveness of your signing from video.

In conversation, fluency requires that you think before you say something. Make that a practice in your everyday activity. Decide what ideas you want to convey and the order in which you are going to state them; then start signing. Do not rush. Endeavor to express a complete thought without stopping or changing ideas in midstream. You may find it helpful to use short, simple sentences.

Signs should come naturally if you know exactly what you want to say. Generally speaking, it is not necessary to select the signs that you will use. In fact, for the sake of practice, it is better just to make certain that the idea is clear in your mind and then to think of the signs as you go. Perhaps a brief outline or an idea map with pictures of a few key signs is enough for you to remember the concept and then give your talk in a smooth and uninterrupted way, like steadily pouring water into a glass until it is full. If you focus on ideas rather than on specific signs, you will sign more naturally, and your thoughts will be expressed as you really feel them. But as soon as you begin to think of signs rather than ideas, your signing may become halting. With practice, you can succeed in developing fluency, a quality needed to be an effective speaker.

Those who have recently learned sign language may still think in the words of their native language and then mentally translate those words into sign language. This is not encouraged. It is much more effective to comprehend and convey ideas and thoughts in sign language without any mental translation of spoken words. Thinking in sign language may be the most important contributing factor to fluency.

Signing space and grammar. To be fluent, you must be mindful of how you use the space around your body. After you establish locations for both real and abstract concepts, make sure that any verbs you sign correspond to those locations.

Take, for example, the phrase “I am going to the store.” You might sign “store” on the right side of your body. When you next sign that you are going to the store, the sign “going” should be moved toward the location where you placed the store, namely, to the right. This example highlights the basic sentence structure that exists in many sign languages. The object of a sentence is introduced first as the topic, in this case “store,” and then the subject “I” and the verb “going” are signed. Thus, a basic grammatical principle in sign language is this topic-comment structure where verbs are signed in harmony with the locations of objects and subjects. This principle should always be followed, even though the structure of sentences may vary based on context.

This principle also applies to abstract concepts. For example, consider the topic of Jehovah’s just and merciful dealings with King David. The object, “King David,” could be signed in a central location. Next, “justice” (as applied to David) could be signed on one side of your body and “mercy” (towards David) on the other. Finally, signing in a higher location, you could show Jehovah taking both qualities and putting them into his heart. This would indicate that he is both just and merciful, as was demonstrated in the case of King David.

The above examples demonstrate effective use of signing space, proper grammar, and verb agreement. Applying these principles will help establish, distinguish, and convey concepts in a clear message, contributing to fluent delivery.

When assigned to represent Jehovah to the nation of Israel and before Pharaoh of Egypt, Moses felt that he was not capable. Why? He was not a fluent speaker; he may have had a speech impediment. (Ex. 4:10; 6:12) Moses offered excuses, but none of these were accepted by God. Jehovah sent Aaron along as a spokesman, but He also helped Moses to speak. Repeatedly and effectively, Moses spoke not only to individuals and to small groups but to the entire nation. (Deut. 1:1-3; 5:1; 29:2; 31:1, 2, 30; 33:1) If you conscientiously do your part while trusting in Jehovah, you too can use your speech to honor God.