Art Of Great Speaking

My previous post on stories in public speaking highlighted how important they are. They do need to have real human drama to keep your listeners engaged.

Now getting back to the daily news: McSimpson Elected Fire Chief. So what? It is merely a routine item. Wait until Mac begins chasing after fires. Then maybe he will be fascinating good enough to read about.
But here’s one that may be interesting: Attorney Fined for Shooting Newsboy.
It is morbid, but different. One wonders why it occurred.
Reading the piece, however, revealed that the title is the most interesting part of this story. The attorney said the shooting was an accident. And the boy lived.
That’s all there was to it. There was really no drama, no conflict, little action. No real human interest. Therefore the speaker passed it, realizing a story should be a lot more than strange or unusual to be beneficial.
Here is one a couple of pages over: Hidden Mike’ Found in Auto Trunk.
This does not sound unusually interesting, and the heading does not indicate exactly what the story is about. But it hints mystery. So he read:
Dover, Ohio – Farmers at nearby Newcomerstown were telling a good story today about a “hidden mike.” “Mike,” a coon hound owned by Kenneth Welch, was hidden accidentally for ten days in the trunk of an automobile.
The dog leaped into the trunk when Paul Miller was making a delivery at Welch’s farm, and Miller closed the trunk with out realizing “Mike.”
Welch made several searches for the dog and advertised his loss.
Miller said he used his car daily while Mike was in the trunk and even made one trip returning to the Welch farm. But he never heard a bark.
A bit fragile when found, “Mike” came around rapidly when given water and food.
This is an unusual bit of real life which might be used to reveal that treasures can be unseen right at a individuals feet – the theme of Acres of Diamonds, a speech by Russell Conwell, that audiences paid a total of approximately seven million dollars to listen to.

If you like this brief post on stories for public speaking please let me know by leaving a comment and if you didn’t please let me know how it could be improved. Speak in a few days.

In public speaking stories play a big part in drawing your listeners in, if they are interesting. But where can you find them?

A speaker who’s serious about giving inspirational talks reviewed a daily paper for subject matter. He wanted “WHAT SO?” stories instead of those that might cause audiences to yawn and say, “So what?”
Glancing at the first page the speaker noticed news about politics, crime, weather, and people killed in accidents. But this was just not the kind of news he wanted.
He turned the page and read: 3 Pay Fines on Traffic Charge.
So what? Nothing strange, taking into consideration the way some individuals drive today. . . .
Now what’s that? Ladies Aid Society Meets. So what? Maybe pink tea is going to be served. Such uneventful meetings occur frequently around the world.
At a peek the speaker knows he need not read those items.
But there is an unusual one – Man Pays $555.38 For Turkey Dinner. WHAT! SO?
Why? (Tell us much more!) Most likely this story could be different, unusual. The reader’s curiosity was aroused. Upon reading through the story he found that a guy, red with anger, had screamed at a waitress, “I won’t pay $12.88 for a chicken dinner!”
The angry customer stormed and ranted until the police arrived. He then paid $12.88 for the meal, plus a fine of $542.50 for dis-orderly conduct. In fact an overall total of $555.38 for a turkey dinner.
This is action. Human nature at work in an abnormal way. It is a little bit of real life to support a concept: An out of control outburst might be costly.
Upon examining his files, this speaker discovered he had forty-two stories about this subject alone. This is a common one:
Jim’s Burned Up – And So’s His Car By Anderson, S. C. – It was 103 in the shade here and James McDowell 22, was out in the sun half the day attempting to fix the carburetor on his 1946 car.
He couldn’t fix it. So he purchased a dollars worth, of gasoline, sloshed it on the car, and tossed a match onto it. Then he relaxed in a rocker on a nearby porch, remarking, “Let ‘er burn.”
The breach of “a city ordinance against starting a fire near a home cost him a $525 fine.
Within this story the speaker found unusual action, genuine human interest. He used it in a speech called: Spin your top – don’t “blow” it.

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Vocal power can help in getting across oyur ideas and concepts in public speaking as well as conversation.

Forming a habit of taking a few very deep breaths every day will promote a speaker’s vocal power. Force by itself, or loud speaking, is not good of course except if it suits the event. Sometimes a whisper will be more successful than a shout, but each speaking voice ought to have what is oftentimes referred to as vocal “presence.” That is, a speaker’s voice should tag him as being a real person, one who has sufficient spirit and force in his speaking to generate attention.
A great demonstration of vocal presence can be seen in the recorded voice of a radio announcer at the Greyhound Bus station in Chicago. This man announces the arrival and departure of numerous buses. When he says, “May I have your attention please?” the listener hears a friendly, yet powerful voice which immediately grabs his attention and holds it. Occasionally someone may add an announcement in rather weak, non-committal tones. The contrast is vivid, highlighting the value of voice presence.
Each day everybody has numerous chances to participate in public speaking because each and every conversation is, in a way, a speech. Why not make your daily conversations vital, vivid, and realistic? When you speak with one individual or to groups of people color your words and phrases and concepts so that they will appeal to hearers’ natural senses. Make your word pictures so vivid an audience can feel, hear, and see them as plainly as a talking picture on the wall and you’ll be a fascinating, persuasive speaker.

Being able to have vocal presence and to speak with confidence in public speaking  and conversation is something anyone can achieve if they want to do. Click on speaking with confidence to find out more.

You need to show some caution in the language you use in public speaking to make sure you don’t upset your audience,

Seasoning your speech with a appropriate slang expression or inventing a phrase may add interest and color to your presenting. But avoid the “youse guys” or poolroom style of speaking. That may add color, as well, but the wrong kind of color for an typical audience.
A slight grammatical error or a mispronounced word will not kill a spirited speech. An occasional flaw in speech marks a speaker as being human. A number of mistakes, however, will distract hearers. So studying English grammar is helpful because most people can make sufficient mistakes accidentally to give us the human touch. Comprehending all of the fine points of grammar may not be required, yet everybody should learn to speak without making grammatical errors that stand out just like a black eye on a blonde.
Continuously attempting to express life-like ideas and feelings while reading aloud will make a speaking voice more expressive. Read out loud from the classics or the comics, from the Bible, plays, the news, poetry – anything, constantly making the thoughts live.
An additional way to put effective vocal expression into speaking would be to emphasize the key words in a sentence.
Pay attention to this statement: A child caught ten fish in the city lake. As “child” and “ten” are the most important words and phrases within this sentence they ought to get more vocal force compared to other words.
However look at this sentence: The man threw a bag of gold into the city lake. In this instance the element of interest isn’t who, or how many, but what and where.
A little thought and practice will enable a speaker to form the habit of “punching” or “squeezing” essential words when he speaks. Abraham Lincoln did. When he spoke, the conjunctions and prepositions flowed easily – however when he came to a key phrase he stressed it. This emphasis requires increased spirit along with more vocal force.

Lincoln took the time and effort to season his speeches appropriately. When you are public speaking, don’t think you should. This will help to make you an exceptional presenter and speaker.

If a fast or rushed speed of delivery in public speaking can tire an audience. (see my last post)

In contrast a very sluggish, dragging type of delivery will certainly motivate a listeners’ focus to go elsewhere, or the audience may say mentally, “Seriously, speaker, let’s go! I’m way ahead of you.” There is a reasonable medium pace of speaking in keeping with a speaker’s personality and the character of his speech.
A sing-song rhythmical delivery, beginning or closing all sentences on the very same pitch level, or raising the voice at the finish of statements may become monotonous habits. These tendencies can be avoided when a speaker talks as though he were having a lively, interesting chat with his audience.
Recording a lengthy speech and listening thoroughly to the recording will reveal any tedious speaking patterns. A speaker should invite other listeners to discover the monotony, as well. Then he should get active and put more vocal shades into his tone of voice, making certain he speaks in a conversational tone.
Speech that is far too precise or too exacting will destroy the purpose of effective oral communication because this practice calls attention to words and sounds instead of ideas. Such speaking may weary or disgust an audience. A speech trainer, or anyone else, who holds final consonants like he owns them, or who makes an apparent conscious effort to speak carefully may actually cause listeners to desire he’ll trip his tongue sometime.
However, loose, careless talk, or perhaps the use of inappropriate slang in his speech may draw attention to his manner of speaking instead of to the ideas he expresses. This careless speaking habit could also label him as being a lazy individual who would not use very much energy to find fascinating speech material for any audience.
We can have an informal, folksy speaking style, if we wish, without using lazy diction. Or we are able to be formal and “businesslike” without being starchy or “nasty nice.” Either way time invested studying the meaning of words and how to articulate them is worthwhile.

To sound more interesting in public speaking it is about reviewing how you sound and then taking action to improve any areas that may need some attention . It is in this way that we get better. An important element of this is having the information to know what to do. By signing up to my blog on the right you can receive tip information on better public speaking direct to your in-box.