Archive for January, 2010
The 7 Techniques Utilized by Effective Public Speakers & Storytellers
Storytellers and all public speakers need to use good storytelling techniques. There are seven key techniques that all effective public speakers need to employ.
How will being aware of and using good storytelling techniques improve the way I communicate with others?
Being comfortable and confident as a public speaker is only one part of the equation. The bigger part of the equation is to be competent at the task. What techniques should you utilize as you perform? Are there certain techniques you can successfully use as a performer for children and other techniques that make you equally successful as a performer for teens or adults? How do you know?
As a teacher, I often utilized Donna M. Ogle’s teaching process that she called the K-W-L Model. The K-W-L Model bases all lessons on 3 key questions. The two questions you address at the beginning of the lesson are based on the K and the W. The K stands for “What do you KNOW about a given topic? The W stands for “What do you WANT TO KNOW about that topic?” After completing the lesson, you bring closure by asking the L question. The L stands for “What have you LEARNED about that topic?”
This particular article series is about building an increasing level of comfort, confidence, and competence as you prepare to tell a story or to give an oral presentation of any type. For the K of the K-W-L MODEL, what do you already KNOW about performing a story or giving a speech or a report in front of others? What experiences have you had? Think back to things you have heard such as imagining your audience in their underwear or pajamas so they will appear less intimidating. Think back to your favorite elementary school teacher or a parent reading to you. What techniques did he or she employ that made their presentation captivating? Using reverse reasoning, think back to public speakers you felt were not very good. What techniques did they employ such as rocking on their feet, picking at their clothes, stuttering, or using odd word choices that made you feel they were not what you would call effective public speakers? If you think about this question for a while, you will realize that you already know quite a bit about what it takes to successfully perform a story or to give a speech or report in front of others.
For the W of the K-W-L MODEL, what do you WANT TO KNOW about performing a story or giving a speech or a report in front of others? Where do you fall on the continuum of being entirely comfortable, confident, and competent performing in front of others to being one of those who would probably rather eat nails than be a public speaker? What do you WANT TO KNOW about public speaking that would help you sound and feel successful giving an oral presentation of any type?
Naturally, we will not address the L of the K-W-L Model; in other words, what you have learned, until the end of this entire series of articles.
To begin, storytellers and all public speakers need to use good storytelling techniques. There are seven key techniques that all effective public speakers need to employ:
1. Good Eye-Contact
2. No Distracting Motions
3. Good Enthusiasm & Expression
4. Good Preparation
5. Good Use of Voice & Good Volume
6. Appropriate Talking Speed
7. Good Use of Body & Hand Gestures
In the next seven articles, I will address each of those techniques in great detail. Stay tuned.
Debbie Dunn’s Storytelling Website –
http://moredunntales.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Debbie_Dunn
Public Speaking – How To Look Confident
Here is an article on confident public speaking:
We all know that people, when they first meet us, form an opinion of us within the first few seconds. How you look and sound at the start of a presentation is vital. Your impact dictates how the audience will interpret your messages. If you have a low impact, the audience will tend to question everything you say. If you start with high impact, the audience will tend to ‘hear you out’.
Clearly when we are presenting to someone, we are communicating with them. So let’s remind ourselves of the way human beings communicate with each other.
Words 7% Tone 38% Body language 55%
So what does that tell us as far as presenting is concerned? If ‘words’ are only 7% of our ability to communicate, then we had better not rely on them! We have all seen presentations where the presenter did little but talk words at us, whether they read them from notes or from their visual aids, and we will remember how boring it was, how quickly we lost interest. Presentations like this don’t work. The speaker fails to get his message across. (We call these ’survival specials’, the speaker’s only objective being to ’survive’ the presentation and sit down when it’s over. There’s no attempt to achieve anything.)
For our presentations to have impact, therefore, we need to do more than just speak the words, we need to bring some variety into our tone of voice and use our body language positively. Why is body language so vital? To understand this we need to be aware of the power of the senses in receiving information during face-to-face communication:
Eyes 83% Ears 11% Touch 3% Taste 2% Smell 1%
So the body language we are using is hitting our audience’s most powerful and most used sense, the eyes. It is vital that we use our body language positively.
Nerves are a problem for all presenters. Everyone is nervous when they present, at least for a time. (We reckon if you’re not feeling nervous when you present then you need psychiatric help!). How nervous? Well it varies from person to person and from occasion to occasion. Even experienced presenters are nervous at the start of a presentation but what they know is that they will quickly calm down as they get into their talk. Inexperienced presenters think that nerves only happen to them. (I like surveys and this is one of my favourites – what makes people frightened? However many surveys are done on people’s fears, public speaking always comes out as number one. Death is usually third or fourth! Logically, people would rather die than stand up in front of an audience! I have learned never to run presentation skills courses in high buildings. If I have to, I make the participants pay in advance!)
Nerves affect the way we look on stage. We tend to loose control of our legs and our hands. We are so full of adrenaline that we can’t stand still. We ‘dance’ around stage; we fidget. Train yourself to stand still at the start of your talks, feet about shoulder width apart. And get your hands under control by holding hands with yourself at around navel height. By placing your hands there, they are in the best position for gestures to get going.
So how do we control these nerves? In the long run by doing lots of presenting. Experience teaches us to live with our nerves and teaches us that we do get over them a few seconds or minutes into our talks. In the short term, the secret is good preparation and understanding that you never look as nervous as you feel.
To get more tips on confident public speaking please visit – http://www.selfconfidentspeaking.com
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Article Source: http://www.articlebliss.com/Art/351656/82/Public-Speaking-How-To-Look-Confident.html
Delivering A Speech? Maintain Eye Contact
Have you ever seen our great leaders fidget or make unnecessary movements while addressing the nation?
Since you are the center of attention while making the presentation, you should mind every move that you make so as not to bore or distract the people listening to your speech.
So you already have a speech prepared, you know the topic well and you are now standing in front of the audience.
They are in for a treat because you have prepared a great presentation, yet you also know that they have a very short attention span.
How would you keep them interested with what you are saying?
The answer is to maintain eye contact.
This is one public speaking technique that great speakers use when addressing a large group of people.
Here are some tips on how you can use this “trick” to keep your audience interested while delivering a speech:
Once you have already started speaking and have delivered your introduction, take a look at your audience.
Do not be nervous if you see one or two people frowning as you are not sure of exactly what they are thinking.
Instead of looking out for unfriendly or blank faces, search for the people who are smiling and nodding their heads.
Try to focus on this person for a couple of minutes and look him or her in the eye.
This way, you would have an immediate “friend” in the audience to whom you can look at and gain confidence from.
This will not just increase your confidence but also relax you in the course of your speech.
Gaze steadily at your audience, moving from one part of the room to another. This way, you would immediately grasp their attention.
Never read your speech. Just make an outline of the important points that you can expand on.
If you have visuals, do not read the bullet points word for word as this might imply that your audience cannot read that themselves.
With this, you are instantly creating a “bond” with your audience as a speaker since you do not have to keep on looking at your notes through the course of your speech.
The key to delivering a great speech is to just breathe, relax and make eye to eye contact with your audience.
Thus, you are not just making a physical connection with them but you are also ensured that you come out as a sincere speaker who wants to inform and interact with the audience through your speech.
James Masterson is Stand out, Be Recognized and Be Remembered keynote speaker. Click Here To read his latest advice http://free-online-course.com/masterson
Effective Sales Presentation Skills
A poor sales presentations is a lot like being served potatoes without ever being offered the meat. If you can’t present professionally, clearly, and concisely while using visual aids, you will probably starve.
Imagine this unlikely scenario for a moment: You decide you want to take a trip to a beautiful island anywhere in the world. You don’t care…”just get me out of here,” you say to yourself. So you visit a travel agent who begins to tell you about three places with very beautiful beaches. She describes each in detail but by the time she has gotten to the third beach, all you can hear is blah, blah blah. Not once does she show you a picture or take out a brochure. You decide on none of them and instead, go to Disneyland. Hey, at least you know what THAT looks like. You’ve seen the pictures on television.
It’s exactly the same thing when you sell a product or service. If your potential buyer cannot “see” with their eyes exactly what you are talking about, they will likely NEVER buy from you. Besides, people remember little of what you say (I know, shocking!) but they do remember what they see.
To present clearly, you must understand exactly who your audience is and not waste their time. Let’s say that you sell swimming pools for a living and you take your computer to show your prospects what kind of pools your company has to offer. If you visit home A and it’s a mansion, having a bunch of low end pools mixed into higher end products during your presentation is a huge mistake. It’s likely a complete waste of time as you flip past products you know they will have zero interest in purchasing.
By the same token, showing higher end pools to a client that has already told you what their thier budget is will also be an absolute waste of time; especially in this economy. Plus, it will likely make them feel bad as just a few years ago they probably felt as if they could afford the higher priced pool. There will always be other things to up-sell them. Be prepared. Understand your audience.
PowerPoint
Depending on what you sell, using PowerPoint presentations will likely be an integral component to your presentation. Have you ever given a presentation where you had 40 slides and 35 of those caused your audience to drift into a daydream? Your PowerPoint must be short, relevant and inspire the message that you intend to deliver. Too few slides can also hurt unless you are showing them key points that you want them to remember.
Today adding video links into your presentation adds a great level of sophistication. Video tape 5 customers that you have sold to, describing their happy customer experience and watch how intently your potential buyer sits forward hanging on every detail.
Product Demonstrations
The most fun you will ever have selling is when you have an actual product to demonstrate. The key to product demonstrations is to engage your potential buyer from start to finish. Ask a lot of questions: “Doesn’t that seem easier than what you are currently using?” “Do you see how this could save you money?”
Remember, listen carefully to their comments and answers to your questions. More importantly, watch for changes in facial expressions and body language when they speak. Make a note of it and remember to find a way to readdress it again at some point. Your potential buyers tell you much more about what they are thinking with their body than they will do with their words.
Sharon Knecht is an author, lecturer and sales trainer. She is the author of the upcoming book, “Overcome the Madness, 8 Laws for Sales Success in a Crazy Economy.” For more information, please visit: http://www.sharonknecht.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Knecht
Rehearsing: A Way To Eliminate Public Speaking Anxiety
t is almost impossible for one to go through his or her adult life without having been asked to speak in public at least once.
You might have proposed a toast to a wedding, or reported in front of a class. At work, you could have done an oral presentation for a promotion. Or you could have faced a group of interviewers before you actually got hired for the job that you now have.
All of these and more would require a person to get up and speak out in front of a number of people.
This can either be a good or a bad experience for the speaker.
In the United States, studies show that public speaking is one of the most common fear that Americans have.
How do we eliminate this widespread public speaking anxiety?
The key is to face your fear, master your material, and rehearse.
Here are some helpful tips on how you can use rehearsing to eliminate the fear of speaking in public:
1. Know your material.
Prepare an outline of your speech and look for bits of information which could be a major point of interest.
Read about every aspect of the topic so that it will not be difficult for you to answer unexpected questions should they come up through the course of your discussion.
2. Have a “dress rehearsal” before the big day.
If you are making a formal presentation in a particular place, go to the venue a day ahead or several hours before the presentation to familiarize yourself with the surroundings.
If there is a rostrum, stand in front of it and test the height. Make the necessary adjustments so that the audience will have a clear view of you as a speaker.
This is also a good time to check out the equipment that you need to proceed with your presentation.
Create charts and photos for a slide presentation to make your presentation more informative and interesting.
Time is also important so you can have a run-through of the entire speech and record your voice while doing so. This would give you anidea of how long it will run. The recording will also reveal the focal points where you can vary your tone of voice for a more lively speech.
It is also a great idea to tape yourself or have somebody do it for you while you are rehearsing your actual speech.
Review the video and look for ways to improve your overall presentation.
Practice makes perfect, so it is very important to rehearse before giving out that all-important oral presentation and help you reduce your public speaking anxiety.
James Masterson is Stand out, Be Recognized and Be Remembered keynote speaker. Click Here To read his latest advice http://free-online-course.com/masterson
Public Speaking – Your Voice is Unique and So Are You
Here is a great public speaking article about the dangers of trying to be someone else…
Your voice is your signature. It is the authentic, quintessential you. For many legitimate reasons, people like to change and improve their voice. This is quite natural, especially if you feel that your voice could be holding back your career prospects.
However, there is one major problem with vocal development and that is when folks decide that they will change their voice to sound like their favourite film star or newsreader or friend from their local speakers club. They lose their authenticity and credibility. My point here is that you must be true to your voice, personality and character. Always be a first class impression of the real you and not a second rate impression of anybody else. Everybody is unique and they must not pretend to be something or somebody they are not.
Many years ago I joined my local speakers club and it was a wonderful experience to receive objective feedback in such a supportive and quality setting. At the club was a chap called John and he had such warmth and resonance in his voice. I had always admired John’s speech style and had begun speaking like him. I didn’t realise how bad this had become until I entered a speech contest, didn’t do very well, and some of the informal feedback I received after the contest was to say the least, blunt! One person even asked me why I was mucking about and trying to be John the 2nd, when Vince the 1st was perfectly acceptable anywhere.
A thought that had held me back was that this chap John was so many years in advance of me in terms of technique, experience and delivery that I would never be able to peg him back. How wrong I was.
Not surprisingly, despondency had set in. No success in contests and then my boss asked me to do a big presentation at short notice. I could have handled this request more positively, and soon realised that it could hold me back if I didn’t pick up on the challenge. I then had a ‘Eureka’ moment. I suddenly realised that it wasn’t about trying to be like John to wow the audience for the future, it was very much a case of being the best possible Vince for tomorrow’s big presentation. I liked the comment that Vince the 1st was perfectly acceptable anywhere and that feedback gave me an enormous boost of confidence.
Frankly, I had begun to embarrass my family too. My newly acquired voice tone had caused great merriment with my brothers when I attended my mum’s 70th birthday.
Once I changed my mind set and returned to the authentic Vincent Stevenson, I never looked back. Always be yourself. Never be a phoney.
Copyright (c) 2010 The College Of Public Speaking
The College of Public Speaking offers a variety of personal development course. Based in London, hundreds of students each year benefit from our diverse sessions. For more information on voice coaching, vocal variety, vocal impact, elocution and accent softening and reduction For more information on the College of Public Speaking please following the links: Voice Coaching — Elocution lessons London
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vincent_Stevenson
Public Speaking Audience – Effectively Delivering Your Message
When I started developing my first slide show years ago, I paused to reflect on what was right or wrong with most presentations. Placing one slide up on the screen and talking for an hour was something I didn’t want to do. I had seen that same mistake made over and over in high school and college. The only things more boring then bad slide presentations are chalk talks and object lessons.
People new to speaking often depend on gimmicks. They often feel more comfortable using chalk board, an overhead projector, audience giveaways or something they can hold in their hand or place on a lectern for people to focus on. While these kinds of things can be useful in some cases, they can also be a distraction. A professional Speaker should never create a gap between themselves and their audience. You can steer clear of that pitfall by limiting the use of gimmicks and avoiding topic saturation.
The worst classroom nightmare that can happen to a junior or senior high school student is to end up with a teacher fresh out of college. They are easy to spot because of a misplaced passion to teach everything they have ever learned in one semester and burn up more chalk then a cheap ice cream company. Saying too much about any topic is as bad as not saying enough. An overuse of presentation graphics and technology detracts from your subject.
While tools like PowerPoint are a blessing to Speakers who were once chained to cumbersome and often unreliable slide projectors, they are not a substitute for content. Content will always be king. Editing content is an art form that must be learned through experience. Like many Speakers, most of my early gigs were for community groups, service organizations and clubs. They were, needless to say, unpaid. However, those engagements were excellent proving grounds for my material and provided good opportunities for me to sharpen my speaking skills.
The best way to understand what’s right or wrong with a presentation is audience reaction. No matter how much you know about any topic or how passionately you present it, the audience will decide whether or not your presentation deserves their attention. Getting that attention means editing and presenting your content to suit them.
You can grab on to your audience by focusing in on the most interesting aspects of any topic. Let’s say your topic is CORN. Most people are not going to care about how many tons of it are produced by farmers each year or what it takes to get it to market. They have already seen that on the Discovery Channel ten times over. Tell them what they don’t know about the crop. Focus in on unusual uses, unique growing methods and uncommon processing procedures. Inform your audience by entertaining them.
Maintaining audience interest means speaking WITH them, not AT them. An audience will judge you by the first twenty words that come out of your mouth. This doesn’t mean that you have to begin with a joke or story, it just means you have to start with sincerity. Say what you feel, not what you know and NEVER reintroduce yourself. During the first five minutes of your presentation, you will either gain or lose your audience. Begin with the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and WHY of your topic. Those old journalistic building blocks serve professional Speakers well.
If content is king, comfort rules! You cannot successfully deliver your message to a room full of uncomfortable people. Your audience should be comfortable in every way imaginable. More then a few event planners have felt my wrath when I found horrific conditions present at various Speaking venues. I learned, early on, to verify any and all essential equipment and set-ups the day before my arrival. Arriving at least two hours before my audience on the day of a presentation was also important. That allowed time for any quick fixes.
Every member of your audience must be able to clearly see you, hear you and view any screen or monitor comfortably. If seating is portable, rows should be kept short. People like the ability to come and go as needed. Chilled water must always be available. A good listener is a comfortable listener.
You cannot get your message across if no one understands what you are talking about. Speakers often justify boring presentations by claiming that listeners will not appreciate the topic if they are not given the ‘big picture.’ These are Speakers who imagine an audience filled with Intellectuals or Professionals who appreciate the highbrow approach and hang on their every word. Anyone who has ever attended an average Financial Planning or Real Estate Investment seminar knows how tragic and ineffectual this kind of presentation can be.
If some Speakers put too much into a presentation, others depend on fluff and sideshows leaving their audience with nothing but a momentary high to take home. There is a big difference between a coaching session and public speaking. Coaches put on a show and depend as much on audience participation as they do on hype to get a point across. Coaches create an event and motivate participants, while professional Speakers deliver a message and enlighten their audiences.
Most Speakers I have met live on credentials. They write their own introductions and hope to impress an audience with all kinds of educational and professional accomplishments. Few live up to their resumes. That’s because the focus is on them, not their message. With the possible exception of personality cults or celebrities, most people come out to hear the MESSAGE and not the Messenger. Given that, your delivery of that MESSAGE had better be good!
Let’s revisit the essentials. Keep your presentation FRESH, keep it SHORT, keep it SIMPLE and make it FUN. This is a delicate balancing act. While you never want people to feel cheated because you didn’t say enough, it’s no better to say so much that they end up with a headache from trying to take it all in. Likewise, you do not want them to perceive you as a novice because you over-simplified things, depended on gimmicks, told too many jokes or replaced popular material with new stuff just to keep it crisp.
Every professional Speaker must balance content, technique, technology and audience satisfaction. It’s a comfort zone that you reach through trial and error. You’ll know you are there when audiences accept, enjoy and appreciate your message.
Author: Bill Knell Author’s Email: billknell@cox.net Author’s Website: http://www.billknell.com Terms To Use Article: Permission is granted to use this article for free online or in print. Please add a link to or print my website address: http://www.billknell.com
Effective Public Speaking
1. Know your audience. This is the single best piece of advice for delivering a presentation that really hits home. What are there interests? Their backgrounds? Why are they coming to hear you speak or present? What ideas do you have to share with them? Approaching your speech as more of a “me-to-you” discussion rather than a full-blown broadcast will make it more manageable (and less stressful) and easier on you.
2. Share a story. In public speaking circles, this is called a “hook” – something that gets your audience’s attention and makes them sit up and listen. Start off by asking questions or sharing an experience you had. People like to be active, rather than passive listeners. By giving them something that they can identify with, you’ll find that these people are, in essence – just like you! And that makes giving a presentation a whole lot easier. Just be sure your story has a beginning, a point, and an ending. There’s nothing quite as bad as telling a story to an engaged audience and then forgetting why you told it!
3. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? What’s really at the heart of your presentation? By concentrating on the “end result” rather than slogging through the beginning, you can create a powerful punch that drives home your message instead of rambling on and losing your audience’s interest (or missing the point entirely!)
4. If you’re selling a product, focus on the benefits instead of the features. People would much rather hear WHAT a product can do for them than HOW it does it. Narrow down your product’s features until you get to the core of how it solves a problem. If you need help with figuring out the difference between a feature and a benefit, ask yourself “So What?” For example, if you’re selling a vacuum cleaner that has a hypoallergenic filter, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself “so what?” The answer would be something like, “It picks up dust, mold and pet dander”. Again, “so what?” Answer, “You’ll feel relief from runny nose and sneezing plus itchy, water eyes.” Now THAT’s a benefit!
5. Above all, make sure your speech ends in a way that reiterates the beginning. Too often, speakers get carried away with the details and leave their audiences asking, “What was the point of all that?” People naturally digest information in “chunks”, so focus on the big picture rather than all the pieces. If the details are just as important, save it for an after-speech handout that the audience can take with them and read over at their leisure.
If you keep these five tips in mind, you’ll not only have an easier time overcoming your fear of public speaking, but you’ll have a very appreciative audience who will in turn be more receptive and eager to try your product or service. Go get ‘em!
Jim Mack is a success coach, mentor and business leader that walks the walk and talks the talk. He has built several successful businesses and now teaches others to do the same http://www.passivecashcow.com http://www.whoisjimmack.com http://www.coldcallingstinks.com
Have To Give a Speech? Go Ahead . . . Be Nervous!
he first advice I give to people who want to improve their speaking or presentation skills is, “Don’t fight the feeling of being nervous!” Feeling nervous is normal. Nearly every speaker, including the professionals, has that feeling before getting up in front of an audience. The difference is that veteran speakers give that feeling a different name: they see it as excitement or “aliveness.” It’s a feeling that lets you know that you’re about to do something exciting and the outcome is important to you.
So the next time you feel nervous before a speech or presentation, welcome that feeling and say to yourself, “thank you for the reminder . . . I’m glad I’m feeling this way!” When I don’t have that feeling, my speech is likely to be flat and I have to work much harder to deliver an engaging presentation.
When planning a talk, people usually ask: What am I going to say? Where do I begin? Do I tell a joke? What if they ask questions I can’t answer? The answers come much more easily if you shift the focus from yourself to your audience: Who are they? What do they need? What are their expectations? What information would be most useful or helpful to them? Why did they invite you to speak? The structure and content of your presentation will flow more naturally from your audience’s needs, and you will find it easier to adjust to your listeners during the speech.
A good way to start a presentation is to involve the audience right away. Capture their imagination with a relevant story. Make a bold or visionary statement. If you are not sure who your audience is or what they are expecting, you can do a quick audience survey. Ask them key questions or get their feedback on the topic.
Often I will do an “attitude check” with an audience. I will ask them to call out words that come to mind when they think about public speaking or talking to reporters. Usually great words and phrases like “terrified” or “deer in the headlights” emerge and I write them down on a flip chart or white board. This simple idea accomplishes two things. It lets me know how the audience feels about the subject. And it also give them permission to feel that way, which puts everyone at ease and opens their minds to what comes next in the presentation.
Using humor can be a terrific icebreaker and a way to gauge your audience’s response. But I don’t recommend starting with a joke or a humorous anecdote unless you’re good at humor and are totally comfortable using it. Also, make sure that any anecdote or humor is relevant and appropriate for your audience, the occasion, and the setting.
If you are using visuals, like overheads or PowerPoint style presentations, don’t let the technology become a crutch or a substitute for your content. There’s nothing more boring than a speaker reading overheads or slides verbatim. Use visuals to communicate complex material graphically or as a jumping off point for discussion. Provide your audience with handouts so they can review the material later.
Remember, you have been asked to speak because people want to hear what you have to say. There’s a built-in reason for the audience to support you and they want you to succeed in your presentation. They are looking for honesty, good information, and enthusiasm for the subject. People will forgive minor flaws in your mechanics if you speak from your heart with passion and authenticity.
And of course, don’t forget to breathe!
Lorraine Howell owns Media Skills Training where she teaches business owners, CEO’s, and management teams to speak with confidence and impact in an enjoyable and down-to-earth way. Sign up for Lorraine’s FREE e-tips and also receive her FREE 5 Steps to Start a New Business Conversation (& Get Results, Too!)” by visiting her website at www.mediaskillstraining.com.
Public Speaking Anxiety – Overcome it With the Transformation Conversation
Here is a great article by Janet Hilts with strategies to beat public speaking anxiety
A sure way to reduce your speaking fears is to shift your focus. Set aside the questions that drive your discomfort. You know the ones:
- Can I really do this?
- Will they like me?
- What if I don’t say this right?
Shift your focus to the transformation your service or product will create for your listener. This will be effective when you’re talking with one person, a whole room full of folks, or hundreds of people on a teleseminar.
How It Works
Start by visualizing just one person (preferably your ideal client). Now picture them totally transformed by what you offer. Really imagine all the ways their life can be changed by your service or product. YOU know what that looks like and feels like. You’ve seen it with other people — right? Can you feel that excitement? I’m grinning just writing about it! an
Now bring that energy and vision to your conversation and your own fear is just pushed aside. When you’re fired up with that enthusiasm from knowing the possibilities, it’s contagious. Your listeners could care less whether you “say it right” or not. They’re caught up in your vision for them of what will be created with your service or product.
Underneath your enthusiasm, you’re relaxed because now the conversation has nothing to do with your worries. You could actually have fun! AND now you’ll be doing a better job of getting your best message across.
Bonus Tip
Do a dry run first. Take time to practice this on your own by following these steps:
- Define your ideal client. Write out a thorough description of a person who fits your definition of who you’re the best match for.
- Make a list of every benefit your service or product can create for your ideal client.
- Go even further. Ask yourself what’s the benefit resulting from each of those benefits.
- Now picture your ideal client experiencing those benefits.
When you shift your focus in this way, you’ll be a much more effective speaker. You’re relaxed so you can be creative, spontaneous and clear – really able to communicate what you want to.
And to get a head start with feeling calm when you speak, I invite you to get your FREE copy of 5 Simple Secrets To Stress-Free Speaking when you go to http://SpeakUpAndShine.com.
Just fill in the sign-up box on the right-hand side of the page.
From Janet Hilts at Speak Up & Shine | Clearing Pathways
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janet_Hilts