Let’s talk technique. Nonverbal technique, to be precise. How you say what you say. It’s what gives our words meaning when we speak, because, let’s face it, standing up there doing a data dump is not going to engage your audience. I don’t care how much they need to know about the Future of Technology as it Pertains to 1st World Economics.
I got a tweet from André Rieu, the well-known violinist and Johann Strauss Orchestra conductor. He was aghast at Michael Jackson’s deathand felt what many did of course. Because André is a musician and performer, however, he felt an especially profound loss. So am I and thus, so did I. Jackson was a prodigious talent and his effect on culture is permanent. As Obi-wan said, “I felt a great disturbance in The Force.”
The singing sensation Susan Boyle who recently auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent, a Simon Cowell creation, has taken the world by storm. I first got wind of this phenomenon when a friend of mine sent me the link last week. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at the YouTube video below, then continue reading.
There are few things that can catapult you to the top of your profession the way delivering a good speech can.
Boy, it’s a great time to be a speech expert as well as a leading authority on political communication. And both political parties provided a great show, particularly the speeches of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. They each had a job to do and enormous hurdles to overcome.
Used well, the voice can captivate and hold audiences’ attention.
Knowing your audience is the key to their hearts and minds.
I was thinking, “If I was on the other end of this call, listening to these boring, droning, disembodied voices, would I be paying attention or would I be playing solitaire on my PDA?”
Think about cold calling in a different way.
A lot of people who come to me for presentation skills coaching comment on my voice. “Ooh,” they say. “How can I get a voice like yours?” “20 years of voice training,” is my usual glib reply.
