Art Of Great Speaking

A short post here on the power of enthusiasm to make your speaking more persuasive :-

Edward Everett, in his lecture on Daniel Webster, said that every time Daniel Webster spoke sparks of living fire were emit­ted from either eye. Marshal Foch said, “The human soul on fire is man’s greatest weapon.” And John Wesley, founder of Methodism, said, “I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn!”

What is the fire those men spoke of? It is enthusiasm for a cause, purpose, or subject.

Enthusiasm was derived from two Greek terms, “En Theo,” meaning “In God.” It is a quality of man’s spirit, mind, and emo­tions rather than a physical element. Francis Collins Spellman compared it with electricity. He said, “Enthusiasm is in the spiri­tual realm what electricity is in the field of the material.”

Genuine enthusiasm does electrify a personality with a high­ly persuasive, contagious emotional influence. Enveloping the entire being, this fire of the spirit lifts speakers from the ranks of the commonplace to heights of eloquence. “No man can rise to the heights of oratory unless his soul is on fire,” said Altgeld.

“The feet of the orator must walk in the’ sun and every fiber in his body must speak to the audience, not in rant, or quaver, but in the simple fervor of the patriot.”

Why did sparks of fire seem to come from Webster’s eyes when he spoke? Why could Wesley speak with such fervor at five o’clock in the morning? Or why did William Jennings Bryan willingly sleep for only three hours a night and speak twenty hours a day during his presidential campaigns? Enthusiasm for a cause is the answer. It is the same spirit that caused Mary Lyon to say, when she felt such a great need to make a college education available for women, ..”Sometimes its seems as if there was a fire shut up in my bones.” Why could she speak so eloquently and persuasively? Because she had enthusiasm for a purpose which she. considered to be as great as life itself.

What did you think? Future post will discuss the power of enthusiasm to fire up your speech.

One of the best tools for improving your presentation skills is to video-record yourself as a means of practice. While you may think this is a bit extreme, it really isn’t: you will learn so much by watching yourself on video. A lot of people are recorded during their presentation, but imagine the advantage if you record yourself beforehand so that you can correct your mistakes as well as the ‘tics’, the ums, ahs & uhs, and any other mannerisms you may not like.

The first step, however, is to practice your material out loud. I tell this to my clients and my students over and over; and still, I have people that don’t practice their material. My question is why?

If you were to give a piano recital, you would practice; if you were to enter a golf tournament, you would practice; if you were to take a driver’s test, you would practice. What makes you think you can give a presentation or deliver a speech without practicing? Going over it in your mind is not practice…saying it OUT LOUD is!

After practicing your material, do it again with your camcorder on. [As an aid for my clients, I place a huge stuffed gorilla on the sofa and 'Goofy' on an adjacent chair so that my presenters feel like they are talking to an audience. Dolls and mannequins will also work.] Go through your entire presentation and then play it back and study it. Decide what you like and what you don’t like.

Then ask yourself an important question. Overall, did you enjoy your presentation? Forget the mistakes, just look at the entire piece and judge it in its entirety. Mistakes are not important at this particular time. Was your delivery good? Did you convey what you wanted to say in an entertaining, enjoyable, interesting manner? Feeling good about your presentation skills is an important acknowledgement because if you enjoyed it, so too will your audience.

If, on the other hand, you didn’t like it, ask yourself why.

Did you acknowledge your ‘audience’ or were your eyes glued to your notes or your script? Did you show any emotion in speaking or was your face frozen in fear? Did you move during your delivery or were you standing perfectly still? Did you read to your audience or were you able to sound conversational? (Remember: this is not a reading at the library or Barnes & Noble!) Were there a lot of ums and ahs or was your speech smooth flowing?

These are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself about your style of delivery; but, more importantly, ask yourself if you are able to correct these faults on your own or could use some training.

Just as all musicians and athletes have had training so too should those involved in public speaking. Most people are not born natural speakers; it takes practice; it takes constructive criticism; and, it all begins by recording yourself on a camcorder first.

The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit Voice DynamicYour Least Developed Tool! and watch Nancy as she describes

That which makes the voice truly interesting to listen to is color. Color is the life, the emotion, the animation one exudes in talking, be it at the lectern, in the sales meeting, over the phone or in a one-on-one conversation. Through my many years as a voice specialist, I have discovered some very interesting correlations between the professions we choose and whether we speak with color. At the top of that list are athletes, research scientists, and CPA’s who often exhibit little or no expression in their delivery. (Please understand that I am generalizing.)

Color is heard not only in the voice but is seen in one’s facial expression as well as one’s body language. Harrison Ford is a wonderful example of excellent facial expression, excellent body language. The tone of his voice is somewhat static – he doesn’t display a lot of variety in his voice – but as an actor in the types of roles he plays, he almost doesn’t need vocal variety: his face and his body display or ‘speak’ every emotion he is feeling.

Step 1

To see just how expressive you are (or aren’t!), watch your face in a mirror and say the following statement – She said yes – as if you were delighted. Now say those words again – She said yes – as if you were disappointed. Did you notice a difference in your facial expression between delight and disappointment? If there was no difference, then you probably need some work.

Step 2

Let’s work with – She said yes – again. This time when you look in the mirror, smile when you say it and nod your head up and down just a bit. (Don’t overdue it.) Did you notice a difference? Now when you say – She said yes – I want you to frown and shake your head back and forth as if you were sad or disappointed. Was there a difference? If you noticed a difference, then you’ve just taken the 2nd step to speaking with color.

Step 3

Record yourself saying – She said yes – the first time as if you were delighted (you just found out you won the lottery) and the second time as if you were disappointed (your mother-in-law is coming to visit for 6 months). Play back the recording. You should notice quite a difference if you can ‘act’ in those two manners. I’m not advising you to act in normal conversation; however, expressing some emotion after finding out you just won the lottery or discovering your mother-in-law’s impending visit is normal. It is natural. It is what most people do.

When I teach color I explain to my clients that I want them to straddle the fence, meaning too much color is as bad as not enough color. Sometimes a client will exaggerate his/her ‘color’ which is not what I’m looking for. Exaggerated color is seen on the stage. That is the only place for it. Exaggerated expression sounds ridiculous because it is inappropriate. So if you already express emotion when you speak beware that you don’t go too far in improving on your delivery.

At the lectern, however, I often find that many people who are normally quite expressive have a tendency to lose their life, their color, their emotion. They are so overcome with panic and fear, that they don’t allow themselves to be expressive. Their voices become flat and their faces pale as they spit out a pile of words with little or no emotion. If this sounds like you, then you need to change.

A colorful delivery of your presentation or your speech is what is going to grab and keep your audience’s attention. When you can be expressive on the podium, then you are on the path to becoming a dynamic public speaker.

The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group session in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit her website at: http://www.voicedynamic.com

Is silence beneficial?

When speaking in front of a group of people, it is natural for some of us to encounter stage fright, as we may not be used to public speaking. Our anxiety may cause us to start to talk very quickly, and at the same time feel unable to insert pauses into our speech.

Alternately, talking endlessly may be a sign of having a fear of silence. This comes about because people tend to associate silence with incompetence, and thus avoid it like a plague to avoid appearing amateurish while speaking.

In reality, silence is beneficial. Making a point to pause now and then during your presentation allows your audience time to take in and understand your material to a greater extent. They can then retain the given information better.

Understand your audience

One way to understand how your audience feels when you speak quickly without pausing is to think back on your school lecture days. There must have been at least one lecturer who bombarded you with facts, and gave you little time to absorb what you heard.

Therefore, to avoid becoming such a lecturer when presenting, pause frequently to help your audience absorb the information presented. Also, hold their attention during these pauses by engaging them through eye contact, checking to see if they are following the presentation.

Pauses are beneficial to the speaker as well! When you pause, you give yourself time to consolidate your thoughts so that you can be clear when communicating. Your audience will understand and respect that you are both able to keep them attentive and satisfy their needs, and thus be more accepting of what you have to say.

What about PowerPoint Presentations?

Of course, this technique can also be applied to your PowerPoint Presentations.

After going through each slide, pause to give your audience time to take in the information they have been given. This means that you should pause for a longer period of time if you give them more information to absorb.

To make sure you have a hold on your audience’s attention, do not ever display all the points on your slide immediately, because the new information displayed on the screen will distract the audience from the point you are presenting.

Your presentation would be more effective if you employ the use of the PowerPoint’s “On-Click” feature in the animation section, so that points are displayed one by one. Your audience can then focus on one point at a time, and be able to understand your presentation better.

Remember, it’s important that you give time for your audience to think through your material. Click here to see this technique in practice. Kelvin is a dynamic and eloquent communicator and an experienced trainer of Power Presentations workshops. He is a certified Microsoft PowerPoint specialist and also specialises in giving corporate slides makeovers. To receive free tips and techniques on PowerPoint Presentations, visit http://figtree.com.sg/ppt_tips

Your hands are shaking, your heart is racing. Your knees are jittery and there seems to be about a million butterflies in your stomach. The notes in front of you are starting to blur and the audience is getting restless – why, oh why, you think by yourself, did the boss ask me to do this presentation?

Sound familiar?

It’s one thing freaking out during an oral exam at school. It’s quite another when the success of a project, or your career, depends on your ability to speak in front of an audience.

Rest assured ­- you are not alone. Research has shown that there are many people out there who fear public speaking more than they do death!

Regardless of the career you’ve chosen, there will most likely come a time when you will be required to get up and say your piece in front of a crowd. When that time comes, you will need to speak with confidence and conviction.

With this in mind, we’ve taken a look at some tips to help you overcome your fears in order to make a killer speech, and win some praise and recognition that will benefit your career.

Practice makes perfect

This may be stating the obvious, but there is no better way to overcome your fears than by practicing your presentation beforehand.

This applies to both the content of your speech and your body language while delivering it. The former speaks for itself – be sure to know your information like the back of your hand.

The latter also makes sense, once you think about it. Simply stand in front of a mirror and practice your posture and movements. Think about how you want to come across and then rehearse this vision of yourself until you feel comfortable with it. For example – you want to:

Practice these behaviours until they start to come naturally, until they are imbedded in your subconscious, and you should have no trouble performing them on stage.

When it comes to behaviours, a lot of people find it difficult to keep their hands steady while speaking. If you are worried about what to do with your hands, and if you know from previous experience that you tend to fidget when you get nervous, find something to keep them busy.

For instance, it might help to select a smart pen to keep your hands occupied. You can shift the pen from hand to hand if you feel you have to move, and use it to gesture at some points in your presentation, and still maintain a professional image.

Visualise your success

Some experts recommend visualisation techniques to gain confidence in speaking.

Picture in your mind your audience, then visualise their positive reactions towards your message. See them listening attentively.

Now focus on yourself – picture yourself on the podium. See how relaxed and confident you are. You are making eye contact; you are full of enthusiasm and energy. What’s more, you are moving naturally and are perfectly in control.

Just breathe

Utilise the power of some simple breathing exercises before getting on stage. Breathing deeply sends more oxygen to your brain, which will help you to calm down.

Sit down for a minute and breathe in slowly and deeply five times in a row, then another five times. Concentrate only on your breathing, on the sound of the air leaving your body, on the feeling of your lungs expanding. Think of nothing else. You should start to feel more relaxed in minutes.

Give your audience some credit

Why are we afraid of speaking in public? We are afraid we will mess it up, and that we will be laughed at.

But have you ever given thought to the fact that your audience is not actually rooting for you to fail? Most people are somewhat afraid of speaking in front of an audience, and have empathy with the poor guy on stage.

Also, just because you are painfully aware of your every stutter and hesitation, don’t think that your listeners are paying such close attention. To them a pause is just a pause – they will hardly notice the fact that, for five excruciating seconds, you forgot the next point on your agenda.

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Jeanne Calitz is the staff writer for Careers24. Careers24 is a South Africa based job and recruitment portal. Career seekers can search thousands of jobs and apply online. Recruiters can advertise jobs and search thousands of resumes to find the perfect candidate for the job.