<strong>Author: <a title=”Nancy Daniels” href=”authors/nancy-daniels/50874″>Nancy Daniels</a></strong><br />

<p>I once met a man who told me that his soft-spoken voice made others become quiet and pay attention to him. It took everything in my power not to laugh in his face. In today’s loud, fast-paced, hectic world, being soft-spoken is definitely not a strength, especially in America. To be constantly asked to repeat yourself is one of the reasons others take over the conversation.</p>
<p>Imagine watching a movie and the volume is not quite loud enough to be able to understand the actors’ words. That is exactly what is happening when you speak and others cannot hear you. To solve the problem with the movie, you simply turn up the volume. Unfortunately, it is not quite that simple with the speaking voice because your inner ear has spent a lifetime being most comfortable with your softer volume level.</p>
<p>Your inner ear is the way you perceive your voice – its timbre, volume, and other qualities. Unfortunately, your inner ear is a poor judge of how you actually sound to everyone else. When you speak, the voice you hear in your head is sound vibrating in the solid and liquid of the brain – distorted sound.</p>
<p>What you hear on your answering machine, voicemail, or other form of recording equipment, however, is sound traveling through the air. And, you do not recognize that voice because it is foreign to you. It is not how your inner ear perceives your voice.</p>
<p>The answer is to train yourself to accept a larger volume of sound. Admittedly, your inner ear will revolt in the beginning because you will think that you are shouting or that you are speaking too loudly. This is why recording yourself is the 1st step in re-training your inner ear to appreciate that increase.</p>
<p>I suggest you record a TV broadcaster’s voice and then record yourself directly following the professional. When you make the recording, be sure that the volume for the broadcaster is at a comfortable listening level. Then when you record yourself, place the microphone the same distance from yourself as it was from your speakers.</p>
<p>Play it back and adjust the volume output according to the professional’s voice. Then listen to your volume. Were you softer than the other voice? If so, can you appreciate the need to speak in a ‘normal’ volume level if you expect to be heard? Notice that I said normal, not loud.</p>
<p>I do not want anyone speaking loudly. Loud hurts your listeners’ ears. Your goal is not to speak loudly but to speak with a normal amount of volume. If you expect your message to be heard, it will not happen until you are ready to accept that increase.</p>

<p>Article Source: <a href=”http://www.articlesbase.com/public-speaking-articles/if-you-are-softspoken-your-message-is-not-being-heard-2220097.html” title=”If You Are Soft-Spoken, Your Message Is Not Being Heard”>http://www.articlesbase.com/public-speaking-articles/if-you-are-softspoken-your-message-is-not-being-heard-2220097.html</a></p>

<strong>About the Author</strong><br />
<p>The Voice Lady <strong>Nancy Daniels</strong> offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as <strong>Voicing It!</strong>, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit <a href=”http://www.voicedynamic.com/specialaccessvolume.htm”>Voice Dynamic</a> and watch Nancy as she describes <strong>Your Volume Control.</strong></p></body>
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colette_Morris

So you’ve got to give a speech in public? Once your stomach stops churning, here are some public speaking tips that should make your job easier.

1. Outline your speech Write out what you are going to talk about. Your outline should cover all the points you want to make in your speech. Ideally in a reasonably logical order.

2. Make notes One of the easiest ways is to use old-fashioned 3×5 index cards. Each one should have a bullet point on it that you can expand on. If you’re using a PowerPoint slide show then this should give you the basis for your notes.

3. Practice your presentation Stand in front of a mirror and practice your speech. If you’re likely to be embarrassed, do this while no-one else is at home. Speaking out loud is a necessary part of this practice. Sure, it may be uncomfortable the first few times you try it but you’ll get better as you go along. Note where you stumble – this gives you pointers for where you need to change your speech slightly.

4. Talk to one person It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking in a business meeting with one other person or addressing hundreds or even thousands of people. Talk as though you are talking face to face with one person. Apart from anything else, you’ve done this all your life so it should be easier. If you’ve got a large audience, focus on one person and talk to them.

5. Stay away from humor Unless you’re a renowned after dinner speaker, humor is best left out of your speech. Not everyone shares the same sense of humor – otherwise Friends and South Park wouldn’t both still be on air – so keep it out of your presentation.

6. Don’t fidget If you’ve got a podium then there’s a natural place to put your hands. If you haven’t, be aware of what your doing with your hands and don’t fidget with them or gesture too much. Fidgeting makes you look nervous!

7. If you stumble, carry on Most of your audience will be relieved that it’s not them giving the speech. If you stumble, recover as fast as you can. Do your best not to get flustered and make sure you keep your place in your speech so you can recover from any glitches quickly.

8. Keep it short Unless you’ve been told that you absolutely have to speak for a set amount of time, stick to the idea that less is more. Don’t bore your audience. Ideally they should be wanting more when you’ve finished your set speech.

9. Don’t resort to alcohol Tempting as it may be to have a shot of something before you take to the stage, it’s better to be 100% sober and in control.

10. Ignore distractions Unless the fire alarm has just sounded and you all need to leave the building, keep going! Keep your speech going as planned. Don’t panic if one or two of your audience walk out – they may just have had an urgent message or need to answer a call of nature. And make sure your cell phone is turned off as well!

About the Author

Get more public speaking tips and lots of useful public speaking strategies to make your next speech memorable.

My latest obsession is public speaking. I don’t know what hit me, but I’m finding myself making excuses to speak in front of people. As with photographing people, I started, because I was afraid of it, and I had over come that fear by just doing it (repeatedly), until I fell in love with the act and couldn’t stop. Public speaking is similar. I’ve extracted out some useful tips from “Podium Tactics From 28 Public-Speaking Pros“. These are general tips from the speakers. I will cover specific techniques in a later blog post.

• “..putting aside a lack of confidence and delivering a message more important than your feelings and sensitivity. It’s about recognizing that your presentation is meant to help someone.”, George Foreman
• “The single most important thing you can do is put yourself in other people’s heads and hearts. I think about what they truly need, not what I want to talk about. Whatever size the group, whether five or 5,000 people, you have to at least try to imagine what each of those individuals are there for.”, Tony Robbins, motivational speaker and life coach
• “If you believe in something, you can talk about it. … When I talk to people, I have one thing on my mind: How can I help that person?…”, Jack LaLanne, 92-year-old fitness guru
• “John F. Kennedy said ‘You should not open your mouth unless you hope to change the world.’ While that’s a bit grandiose for me, you shouldn’t give a public speech unless you want to make something happen.”, Tom Peters, communications consultant
• “minimize data. We have a ‘three’ rule: Don’t tell them more than three things. I speak at nursery schools; … I force myself to do that because it really forces me to get down and think [about] the basic message and how can I communicate it as simply as possible.”, Allen Hershkowitz, Ph.D
• “Slow down, especially at the beginning of a speech.You’ll get the audience’s attention by pausing.”, Bob Kerrey
• “Don’t be afraid to work ‘off book’ (without a written speech). …On a little scrap of paper, I wrote down key words that I knew would spark stories or themes that could get the ball rolling. … If you have enthusiasm and excitement, if you show your humanity up there, that’s when the audience starts to warm up.”, Richard LaGravenese
• “Engage the lowest common denominator, someone with a negative attitude or who can’t concentrate. If I can engage that person, everyone else with fall like a domino.”, Erin Gruwell
• “I’m trying to speak to each person individually. Eye contact is critical. I move from west to east, making contact with people for a second or two. If there’s someone who seems disengaged, I’ll keep coming back in hopes of reaching them.”, Rev. Kieran Harrington
• “The night before a speech, I go over my notes right before I go to sleep. …elps your brain absorb the material.”, Sally Koslow
• “For years, I presented like other people presented, and it was like wearing clothes that didn’t fit. It was much more helpful to do things my own way.”, Tom Yorton, president of The Second City.
• “If you are the type that gets frightened or intimidated by speaking to large groups, it doesn’t hurt to speak to a couple people in the audience before you start your speech.”, Kate White, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan
• “Use a [Microsoft] PowerPoint presentation as a support rather than as a document. All too often, the presenter tries to cram the whole story into the slides, and winds up with just a massive data-dump of graphics that neither tell nor assist the story…. one, two or three words with an image. It captures the essence of the story while the newsreader gives the details.”, Jerry Weissman, founder of Power Presentations
• “Have a unifying theme tethered to a powerful, inspirational story that will be sufficiently moving to be remembered long after the lights are dimmed and the microphone turned off.”, Ken Starr, former White House independent counsel
• “Compliment the audience. Every invitation to speak is a compliment and an honor to you”, Dr. Robert H. Schuller
• “Make a point using a funny and familiar everyday observation. …At this point, I’ve got the audience nodding and laughing-and the pressure is off. Now I can begin to teach them all the clever, low-key approaches they can take to establish that initial credibility with consumers.”, John Palumbo
• “No matter how serious the presentation is, you can’t take yourself too seriously. Self-deprecation is always part of my speech. It helps the audience know we’re all in the same boat”, Marty Markowitz
• “Say the same things over in different ways, especially when you are trying to sell something. …It will make an imprint that people will remember.”, Judge Maria Lopez
• “I just try to get people to relax right off the top. You want your audience to settle in, …It doesn’t have to be funny necessarily, but something to snap people out of whatever doldrums they might be into.”, Steve Levy

Tina is passionate about Personal Development and Spiritual Growth. She runs multiple businesses and has learned how to do so without any Stress. Visit her website at Think Simple. Be Decisive for her secrets to Productivity, Motivation, Creativity and Happiness.

7 Tips to Improve your Public Speaking

We all have to speak in public one time or another, and according to some (somewhat doubtful) research, public speaking is the number one fear of most people. However, with some preparation, mostly anyone can do a pretty good job at it. There isn’t as much magic to public speaking as some make it seem. By implementing the following 7 Tips anyone can come across as a pretty good speaker. You don’t believe me??? Try it!

1. Dress for success! While this might seem an obvious one, I regularly encounter speakers who majorly underdress or (some) overdress. The thumb of rule is, of course, better be overdressed than underdressed. Your audience wants to look up to you and good “packaging” will enhance your image tremendously. When unsure, contact the event organizer and find out what is the expected attire for speakers.

2. Develop a great intro and closing and practice them till you can say them forward and backward even in your dreams! There are only few things screaming “I’m not a professional” than someone starting their presentation with excuses or some weak mumbo-jumbo. Start your presentation with a quote, an intriguing question, humor, or a short story, or even magic; then link your intro to the topic of the day. Close your presentation by bringing up elements of your intro and build to a strong finish to elicit your well-deserved applause. One of my favorite techniques is the short suspense story that captivates the audience, then without finishing it, link it to the topic of the day. Then as a closing of the presentation, bring up again the suspense story, make a comparison to the topic again, and this time finish it.

3. Notice your tendency to use “Ah’s,” Mmm’s” and other fillers in your presentation! It can become really annoying when a speaker is uncomfortable with pauses in between sentences or while thinking, and fills those gaps with “Ahhh..,” “Mmm.,” or other sounds. Another, almost equally, annoying fillers are the constantly repeated “You know what I mean,” “You see what I’m saying,” and other constantly repeated fillers. There are two good ways to raise your awareness about these fillers: a) record one (or more) of your presentation(s) and listen with an ear for filers; b) Join your local Toastmasters International club – they are really good about helping you break your filler habits. (I had around 60 “Ahh’s” and “Mmmm’s” in my first speech I delivered at Toastmasters. By the time I gave my 7th or 8th speech I had zero fillers.) Once you are aware of your tendencies of using certain fillers, you can consciously take steps to eliminating them.

4. Don’t overwhelm your audience with too much information! Do you want your audiences to leave with a sense of “This was great! Today I learned something?” Then narrow down the information you want to present in a way that will not overwhelm your audience. Ask yourself “What is it that the audience really needs to know about this topic?” Then break down that info into chunks that will fit the length of your presentation. At the end of your presentation give your audience information on how they can learn more about the topic – hopefully, by buying your book(s), tapes, CD, extended course, etc.

5. Build your presentation in an easy to follow format! Whether you are using PowerPoint, flip chart, or other methods to stay on track and to keep your audiences on track, make sure that you tell them in the introduction what points you will cover, then stick to the “plan” as close as possible. An easy way to accomplish this is by giving out handouts where participants can follow your train of thought. One of the most effective ways would be to have the main points spelled out on the handout, then have some fill-in-the-blanks fragments relating to each particular point.

6. Time yourself! When you practice, time each segment of your presentation and prepare a little cheat sheet (a 2 X 4 card, for example) that you will keep in your sight while you speak, right near a timer or watch. With this little “tool” you’ll always know whether you are on track. If you are running out of time, speed up or skip parts of your presentation and conclude with your rehearsed closing.

7. Keep eye contact! One of the biggest difficulties of novice public speakers is keeping eye contact with the audience. However, this is a very crucial element to come across as a great speaker. When a speaker keeps looking above the audiences head, the ceiling, the floor, etc., after a while the audience starts wandering “Who the heck is this guy talking to?” The easiest method to keeping good eye contact with your audience is by finding one smiling or friendly face and keep eye contact most of the time with that person… Then as the presentation moves on, start making eye contact (for a second or two) with some other audience members, but always returning to your smiling/friendly face. Then once you find another encouraging audience member, start keeping eye contact for some time period with this second person, while also wandering away to make eye contact with other audience members for a second or two. By following this method, usually one finds themselves more and more encouraged and the confidence gained that way will result in an easier flow of the message and more and more audience members will become engaged and be transformed into “friendly and smiling” faces.

……

Public speaking can be one of the most rewarding experiences. When applying the above 7 tips should make it more enjoyable for anyone, including your audiences who definitely do not want to see a speaker fail, mumble, talk to the walls, etc. People listen to a speaker to learn something or to get entertained; so follow the above tips and give your audience the great presentation they deserve.

————————————————————————————— © Copyright E.G. Sebastian, 2007. All rights reserved.

To hire E.G. to provide Public Speaking/Presentation Skills training – for groups or for individuals – call him toll-free at 877.379.3793, or contact him by E-mail at info@egsebastian.com.

E.G. Sebastian is an international speaker (speaks 6 languages), Certified DiSC Behavioral System trainer, and is an Authorized Inscape Distributor.