Being able to communicate effectively through words has been a much-coveted secret for centuries.
Take the blarney stone in Ireland, for example. The blarney stone is part of the Blarney castle in Ireland and it is tradition that those who kiss this stone are given the gift of the gab. If you want to have the gift of the gab but kissing the blarney stone is out of the question, maybe you could benefit from the 10 basics of communication and public speaking.
Tag Archive for: public speaking
Writing Great Speeches: Professional Techniques You Can Use (Part of the Essence of Public Speaking Series)
by Alan M. Perlman
With endorsements from two of the largest and most influential public speaking groups -- the National Speakers Association and Toastmasters International -- this book is written by an expert speechwriter whose eloquent voice leads readers through the difficult process of writing a great speech. In these pages a seasoned speechwriter reveals his trade secrets - from analyzing the needs of an audience to leaving them with a satisfying sense of closure - as he guides readers through the process of planning, writing, and honing an outstanding speech.
Everybody has a great story. To tell a story well it must be lovingly crafted and tailor-made.
We want to capture the audience's attention and convey a memorable message.
Preparation:
We need to know who the audience is and what is the purpose of our story. Will it be a group of workers on an oil rig or school children? By making references within our story that directly relates to the audience's interests will keep them engaged. Asking and remembering people's names and asking questions we can get a good idea of who will be present.
By writing down the purpose of the story in one short sentence, we establish a clear direction that our story will take.
As an example, we are going to speak to a group of teenagers about "The Power of Writing Down Your Goals".
What would interest a group of teenagers to write down their goals? What are their dreams and desires, to be a great football player, to have the latest gadget, money or a new car, travel or clothes? What are their fears? Exams, failing, lack of self-esteem. Doing this research pays dividends.
Before creating the actual content we need to determine how we want the audience to feel at the end of our story. Write this down:
We want the audience to feel empowered and inspired.
Content:
Now we can start looking for a story in our own personal experience that shows the benefits and illustrates "The Power of Writing Down Your Goals". We want our story to show the audience that they can attain their goals and dreams and it starts by forming a clear picture in their minds.
If you don't have a story of your own, (which I'm sure you do) perhaps you have a friend who in spite of hardship and difficulty went on to be great. Adapt the story.
The opening is vital. Pause for a breath or two and begin. Ask a question or invoke the audience's anticipation and curiosity.
To make our story work we inject liberal amounts of sincere emotion and feelings. Excitement, difficulties and obstacles, disappointment, courage and joy. Above all, humour. Used appropriately, showing sincere emotion in tone of voice and body movements will colour our story and paint pictures in the minds of the audience. Find ways to include fun twists and turns and use an element of surprise. Make descriptions vivid and use poetic licence. Pauses and voice variations can be used to enhance effect. Consider yourself doing a masterful performance.
Masters practice and refine.
Eliminate all that does not help to convey the message (in this example) of empowerment and inspiration. Mould the story until it really begins to shine.
Spend time formulating a conclusion that is grabbing. We want to give our audience something to remember. A conclusion that wraps it all up, is decisive and leaves the audience feeling empowered and inspired.
Edward R. Murrow, and American Journalist early in the twentieth century said, “To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.”
Do you agree?
Can words really account for only 7 percent of the meaning of a spoken message? This short video animation puts 'Mehrabian's rule' under the magnifying glass and shows why it can't be true
Being able to communicate persuasively with any audience is not just about what you say, it's also about what you do. Here are four tips for making your communication more persuasive
1. Take Time to Build Rapport
When rapport exists, there is a sense of trust and confidence between people that makes each more likely to respond positively to the other. Although there are techniques you can use to accelerate rapport, it has to be earned.
You create rapport by being willing to meet the other person where they are rather than trying to drag them where you want them to be. The biggest mistake most people make in any type of communication is trying to communicate from their own perspective rather than trying to relate to where their audience currently is.
If you take time to understand your audience, whether it's one person or a thousand, you will find it much easier to build rapport and communicate with them more successfully. You create rapport when you use that knowledge to change the way you communicate to suit your audience.
2. Model Successful Communicators
One of the best ways to improve your communication skills is to notice what works well for others and then to incorporate elements of what you see into your own behavior. Modeling is not about copying people. That's often illegal and it doesn't usually work. However, if you learn what makes other people good at something, you can use that experience to improve your own performance.
The key to successful modeling is that it's not just about watching what people do, it's as much about understanding how they think and what they believe. Take advantage of any opportunity to talk to speakers you admire and read as much as possible about them.
3. Always Be Authentic
To become a great presenter, you need to be yourself. One of the secrets of the best speakers is that they appear natural. They are the same on stage as they are in person. Too many people try to invent a persona that they use in presentations as they think that's what is needed. And many people hold off from speaking because they compare themselves unfavorably to other people. The truth is it doesn't matter. People are interested in what you have to say not in your speaking abilities.
Former US President Ronald Reagan is now called the Great Communicator but that's as much for the way his natural personality shows through as for great public speaking skills.
You can improve your speaking skills by enhancing your abilities. But speaking successfully is about using your existing abilities to their full advantage. Just be yourself and you will get the results that you want.
4. Value and Respond to Feedback
Like most things in life, giving presentations is a process of constant improvement - no matter how good you are.
In order to be able to improve, you must:
- Be willing to accept feedback constructively: If you want to improve, listen to what people say and incorporate it next time. Accepting feedback doesn't mean you have to do what others say but all feedback helps you be aware of what works for you most of the time and what doesn't.
- Actively seek opportunities for feedback: If you seriously want to improve your presentation skills, you should actively encourage feedback. Hand out surveys at the end of a presentation or ask someone you know well in the audience for some comments. Try to find people who will be both honest and encouraging.
- Keep doing more: The best way to improve is to keep getting more practice so that you improve your skills, incorporate more of what you learn and build your confidence.
Following these four secrets will help you build your persuasive presentation skills easily and confidently.
Robert Greenshields is a copywriter and marketing coach who helps consultants, coaches and other independent professionals attract more clients and make more profit by packaging and promoting their expertise as a high-value product. Download his free Profit from Presentations report at www.persuasivepresentationpower.com
with Elaine Dumler
The investment you made in writing your book or creating your product can come back to you many, many times over through non-traditional marketing avenues. Profit from specialty and niche markets you may not have even considered for product sales. Most of these marketing techniques work for both self-published works and those produced through traditional publishers. It doesn’t matter!
You’ll get the 21 best, cheapest and quickest marketing ideas that helped Elaine sell over 80,000 self-published books. Elaine is the first to say that if she can do it, anyone can do it! She has learned everything “from scratch” and passes along what worked so you can shorten your learning curve.
You will learn:
• how to sell in case lots to the markets in which you specialize.
• how to analyze the buying patterns of your specific markets to know exactly when to promote to them.
• a technique to pre-sell to every audience member, and even sell to people who don’t want your book by creating a new need or a new market to sell to!
• how to analyze your niche to sell books/products in large quantities at a time.
• ideas that are easy to understand, simple to implement and cost-effective.
Plus: You’ll receive a complete downloadable list of the resources used for all ideas in the session, including photos of some of the marketing pieces demonstrated.
More information => http://bit.ly/gWdnr9
Kelly Decker writes on the Decker blog ...
Are you cursed by knowledge ?
It’s a tough question.
Mostly because you probably don’t even know you’re cursed. Psychologists and behavioral economists who study this phenomenon find the more of an expert you become in your field, the more likely you are to be cursed by your own knowledge. That is, you don’t know what it’s like NOT to know what you know. This has HUGE implications in our communications. We end up communicating to clients, internal team members, and even our kids in a language they can’t comprehend and then wonder why our product doesn’t sell, that project doesn’t move forward and why our kids just won’t patiently wait when we ask them to. According to Chip and Dan Heath, The Curse of Knowledge is the villain to all things sticky – including your messages.
Tamer Osman, CEO of RGlobe was a participant in our August Decker Made to Stick Messaging program. He noted that throughout his career it has been challenging to create messages that resonate and have a lasting impression on customers. “I’ve struggled with pinpointing the best approach to delivering complex messages to any type of audience in the most simple, yet effective way.”
Read more => http://bit.ly/dNmaH1
More than most people, politicians are acutely aware that what they say and how they say it can affect their future success. But a recent study suggests that a tiny twist of grammar—one that they’re probably not aware of—could influence their electability.
... continue reading here =>http://bit.ly/hpoxzO
Have you suffered through an executive presentation read from a script?
What was your reaction?
Talked to your neighbour
Played with your iPhone or Blackberry
Took a bathroom break
Or are you a perpetrator?
Why as presenters do we read our script word for word? Our head down, buried in our notes using a monotone reading voice…clutching to the lectern.
Because we lack faith in our ability as a subject matter expert and our memorization skills. Our voice of self-doubt takes over. But deep in our heart of heart’s we know that our audience is not engaged – they are disconnected from our words. As are we.
So where to begin?
http://bit.ly/f45M2a
