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Public Speaking – Using Your Voice With Power and Impact

In case you were thinking of just getting on with it, here are three really good reasons why you should think carefully about your voice and how to make full use of it when you speak in public:

1. Audiences are more inclined to listen to an interesting voice, hence the use of actors in voiceovers. And they will stop listening if they struggle with the audibility of a presenter.
2. Just as with visual stimulation, auditory stimulation has a huge influence, much of it subconscious, on how an audience responds to the speaker and interprets the meaning in the message.
3. Public speaking is a physical pastime just like sport. The more you do it the better you should be. The more coaching and practice you have the better you will definitely be....and with greater power and stamina. And if you fail to warm up first you may well strain yourself!

Coaching your voice

o Sing in the shower. Give your lungs and larynx a good work out it will also add power to your voice.
o Practice your scales. Go through each of the vowels moving up and down to retain comfortable use at high and low levels. Humming will get you to feel your comfortable vocal range
o Read out loud. Children's story books are great to practice dramatised delivery of words and comfortable regulated breathing.

Posture

o Correct posture will result in a relaxed upper body which will mean better breathing and better voice power. It is that simple.
o Stand upright and straight with shoulders back and chin gently lifted.
o Centre yourself and turn from the hips 45%s left and right.
o Practice lifting and rolling the shoulders to relax them.
o Imagine you are balancing a book on top of your head
o Tilt the head up it helps relax the jaw
o Relax yourself physically, loosen the jaw to relax the throat, and release the tension from your shoulders and neck and improve resonance.

Breathing Control

o Good breathing creates resonance which creates vocal power. Trying to squeeze power from the throat or unnaturally lowering the voice in a growl will strain your voice.
o Practice breathing evenly from the diaphragm and not the chest. It frees up the chest to add sound capacity and resonance. And it gives greater stamina.
o As a breathing stamina exercise, inhale counting to 5, hold and exhale counting to 5, and repeat increasing the count up to 10
o Practice speaking within your vocal range and diaphragm capacity to develop a powerful voice not a strained voice that is forced from the throat. When you speak, leave something in reserve on the out-breath.

Nurturing your voice

o The dreaded "gruffness" is nearly always due to digestive mucous in the tubes caused by eating too late or food that is too rich. So avoid both.
o Avoid coffee and chocolate, these dehydrate you.
o Lubricate your throat. Warm water with lemon is highly recommended.
o If you need to clear your throat cough quietly rather than "slap" the vocal chords

Projecting your voice

o Enunciate. Open your mouth and project the words. Speak as if you want to be lip read.
o Smile as you speak!
o Aim your voice to the last row in the audience. Keep your chin up.

Emphasise through Pace

o Maintain attention and emphasise meaning by increasing pace when talking about up-beat, new, exciting things.
o Encourage the audience to agree and to accept your point by increasing pace.
o Slow down when emphasising seriousness, concerns, or when asking the audience to think hard about something

Emphasise through Pitch and Modulation

o Add interest and meaning with high pitch to emphasise excitement, surprise, belief in what you are saying.
o Use low pitch to emphasise seriousness and concern, and when you are being reflective.
o Move from low and high pitch to stress changes in mood and lead audience thinking.
o Questions end on a high pitch and statements end on a low pitch.
o Use following silence to dramatically emphasise the point just made. Use it to encourage the audience to reflect and consider. Use it to indicate a change in direction in a presentation. And use it to take a sip of water!

All of these tips will add power and impact to your presentation delivery. Practice them regularly so that they become natural habits and the more powerfully persuasive you will be.

Bob Howard-Spink is a partner in Persuadability. For more advice and free tips on how to present your messages with persuasive language and compelling images please visit us at http://persuadability.co.uk.

The Ten Commandments of Speaking according to TED

You probably already love the TED talks and been inspired by them.  I have been made to think outside the square, entertained, concerned and so much more.

And any presenter that can do that must be a source of learnings for other presenters.

Interesting then, to discover the "Ten Commandments" for TED presenters.

Yes please ... "End your talk on time" and "Rehearse your speech"  ...

But the first and best ... "Dream Big"

You can read them here ...

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Does your audience know what you just said?

Well do they?

No I'm not asking if they were distracted.

I'm asking, Could they hear you?

Breath is what allows you to project your voice.

Did they hear each word?

Articulate each word, so that they know what you said.  Make sure your pronunciation works for your audience.  Do they relate to your colloquialisms and sayings?

Explain abbreviations and acronyms or at least make sure their context ensures they are understood.

Don't lose the audience before they even have a chance to be distracted, and you will if they don't even know what you said.

The impact of your presentation – don't leave it to chance

The impact of your presentation is not an accidental by-product of that presentation. It is something you create deliberately. And this is a vital recognition – one of the basic secrets of success in public speaking.

Before you can work on creating that impact, you need to know what you want it to be. Define the Impact
What exactly is the impact going to be? In other words, you need to define:
How will your audience respond to your speech or presentation?

What will they take away with them and remember?

What will they remember of you?

Why will they think “Wow what a fabulous presentation!”?

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How to Build a High-Traffic Website and Convert That Traffic to Sales!


with Tom Gray

Why is it that speakers spend days, months, and years crafting and polishing their platform presentations but balk at spending 30 minutes polishing their web, blog, and newsletter content? Yet time consistently spent on the latter can be crucial in getting to do more of the former.

Do not attend/listen to this seminar if you have all the web traffic, blog readers and ezine subscribers that you can handle buying more of your services and traffic than you have available. However, if you would like to increase your traffic and monetization, invest an hour and find out what you’re missing.

In other words, if your web presence more closely resembles a Field of Pipe Dreams (if you build it, they most likely won’t come and if they do show up, they won’t buy any popcorn) than a Field of Dreams (bleachers are packed and the concession stand is humming), you’ll benefit from this fast-paced, overly informative hour.

We’ll cover key topics:

  • Content is king but the natives are restless, or “I have a back button and I know how to use it!” Offer the right content to attract and engage your audience and keep them coming back.
  • If you don’t ask, they won’t buy. Effectively merchandising your site.
  • What you don’t measure, you can’t improve. Why Google Analytics is your best friend and the critical metrics that really matter.
  • Plan your work and work your plan, using editorial calendars and other tools to deliver consistent, persistent messages to your target audiences.
  • Why your blog should be the flagship of your social networking strategy.
  • Why “give to get” is food for business.
  • SEO for dummies and professional speakers/trainers/consultants too!

More information >>>

The #1 Secret for Great Public Speaking That Is Seldom – If Ever – Discussed

So many articles, books, programs and CDs on presentation skills cover all aspects on the creation and delivery of your script. They may be discussing nervousness and how to conquer your fears, giving advice on dynamic public speaking, or talking about the value of your audience. Yet never have I seen anything regarding this, truly the most important secret if you want to capture your listeners' attention and keep them captivated throughout. It is something we just don't think about.

Yes, I want you to be emotional in speaking, making eye contact with your audience. You should be breathing throughout and pausing for effect. Believing in yourself is part of the quotient as well as knowing your material thoroughly. But all of this advice still doesn't cover the #1 secret that can make or break a career in public speaking.

Recently I had the opportunity to hear as well as speak to James Malinchak, considered to be the top Big Money Speaker trainer in the world. As his audience watched him on stage, the number one thought that came to my mind was his likeability. He enjoys sharing with his audience; he is funny; and, he laughs throughout his delivery. He is likeable.

How likeable are you when giving a speech or presentation? This may seem like an odd question, but it really isn't. Those who are truly great at public speaking have that quality about them. The audience enjoys listening to them and watching them. What is fascinating about this particular characteristic is that you do not have to be famous to be liked when presenting.

The ability to be liked, however, is not possible if you do not like yourself, enjoy presenting, and truly want to share your knowledge with your audience. Being able to laugh as you express your thoughts is more valuable than you may think.

When I gave my mother's eulogy some years ago, I didn't dwell on the negative but pushed for the positive and my audience enjoyed listening to me describe my mom. I smiled; I laughed; I shared; and, I cried.

If you are not happy with yourself, knowledgeable about your material, and confident in your ability to express yourself, why would you expect your audience to want to listen to you? Wanting to share your knowledge is only one factor in achieving success on the stage. You must enjoy it. It is then that your audience will be captivated and enjoy listening to you.

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. To see how voice training can improve your life, both professionally and personally, visit Voice Dynamic or watch a brief video as The Voice Lady describesDynamic Public Speaking.

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The Kindle – a public speaking tool

What an interesting idea.

I have just caught up with Denise's article on using the Kindle as a speaking tool - you can use it for readable notes, to store multiple speeches and ideas for even more, and to hear your speeches, amongst other things.

What a classic example of thinking outside the box ... or maybe using the box to think ... (ouch!) I'm not sure, but an idea worth thinking about and trying out in practice, of that I am sure.

Have you used a Kindle this way?

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Tip: You and your visuals

Using visuals of any sort in a presentation has to be as unobtrusive as possible.

The first step here is being prepared.

If you can practice beforehand, do so.

Organise physical objects so that you can reach them when they are needed, without having to search, and without having to fumble. This may mean arranging them in the order in which they will be presented. It may mean practising the presentation so that you know automatically where to reach for something. This can apply to objects you want to display, the remote control for projecting equipment, the pens for flip charts or overhead projectors or a whiteboard, or to slides or overhead transparencies.

During these practice sessions, work out how you will move around the visual supports and equipment. Where will you place the objects you want to pick up – on a table, or another piece of furniture? Where will this, or the equipment, be so that you can move around it and communicate most easily with your audience – in front of you, beside or behind you? Always consider the least distracting way of accessing your material and the greatest ease of movement.

If you are using projection equipment, visualise its placement. Think about how you will work with the laptop or the overhead projector – standing beside, or behind? Do you want your silhouette projected on the screen as well as your visuals? Walking in front of the screen will also obscure them.

If you cannot organise the positioning of your equipment, then try to become familiar with it before the presentation and then visualise how you will use it best.