The Best Speakers Work Much, Much, Much Harder! Have you read Malcomb Gladwell's book , Outliers, The Story of Success? If not, I strongly suggest you buy and devour it! Hard work is not the only thing that can lead to success in life, but it is one of the things you can control and do something about. Gladwell says Read More
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Non-Verbal Communication Element #2 –
Facial Expressions
What does your Face Say? We’ve heard expressions like; “I can read his face", or, “The expression on her face told the whole story.” Those expressions are correct! The ways our face expresses emotion are varied, but the interpretations are pretty much universal. The first, and most important Facial expression is – Read More
Content Part #4
The Formula for the Body of the Speech
Make a Point – Tell a Story
IMPORTANT: Make it a Personal Story! Here's the time tested Formula for the Body of your Speech. Make a Point - Tell a Story Make a Point - Tell a Story Make a Point - Tell a Story Do this three to five times. Each Point, and the accompanying Story, should support your main theme. Stories are a great Read More
But, I Don’t Speak in Front of Groups.
So Why Should I Care about Public Speaking?
My response: "Do you ever speak to an Audience of ONE?" I'm sometimes asked a question like this when approaching a group about being a guest speaker. It happened recently when the meeting planner told me, "We have a group of people who are sole proprietors in their businesses. Quite a few work from home. They have Read More
PowerPoint / Keynote Presentations
YOU Supply the Text! If I'm using a PowerPoint / Keynote Presentation and project the slide on the right onto a screen, and at the same time say, "It's time for you to leave!" - You 'Get It!' The slide, showing a door opening with an EXIT Sign above , is clean and simple. My verbiage supplies the text - keeping the Read More
Speech Competition
There's really only one person you need to compete with . . . Toastmasters, and other speaking clubs, sometimes have speech competition called Speech Contests. When I was a Toastie, I entered several. I'm sure I won a few, but know I lost more than I won. I hate to disagree with the famous coach Vince Lombardi, but Read More
Non-Verbal Communication Element # 3 –
Gestures – They communicate, also!
Shhhh! The figure on the right is not speaking, but their finger raised in front of their mouth is communicating - "Please be quiet!" Gestures, like other forms of non-verbal communication, can stand on their own communicating a message. They can also be combined with other forms of non-verbal communication, or be Read More
Speech Content – Part #5.5
Closing Your Speech
Your LAST WORDS Will probably be the FIRST WORDS Your Audience will Remember! Before closing, tell the audience that you are about to close the speech. This is important. It’s OK if your closing has a surprise in it, but not if your closing is the surprise! Here’s an analogy. You’re on a trip and have been Read More
Verbal Communication Element #4 –
Cadence
The Rhythmic Flow of the words . . . A natural partner of inflection is our next element, Cadence. It’s the rhythmic flow of the words used when speaking. Other terms used for this element are: meter, beat, measure and pulse Usually, and largely because of nervousness, presenters speak too quickly. Some speakers Read More
Verbal Communication Element #3 – Inflection
Did you ever hear a presenter speak in Mon-O-Tone? Did I hear some say, "R2D2 of Star Wars fame? If you did, you probably couldn't wait for the talk to end, and it's doubtful you remember anything from the speech. Inflection, or Voice Modulation, is “change in the pitch or tone of the voice.” Varying your tone Read More