5 Amazing Solutions to Get People to Listen When You Speak
Have you ever been at a meeting and felt like no one was listening to you when you spoke? 
Here is a 3-minute crash course that will help you command the room and be more influential. Avoid these five common mistakes and try these suggestions so that you are compelling to listen to…
1. TMI (Too much information!)
Speaking with too many details can turn your listeners away faster than you can count to five. Staying on point and providing concise responses is a tool you want to use if you want to be an effective communicator. Limit your responses to 30 seconds every time you speak. That means that you need to know the exact point you want to make. Then say it! Avoid the details and the flowery descriptions at all costs. If your audience wants more information, they will ask.
2. Distractions
Any distractions in the conversation will take your listener away from focusing on your message. Typical distractions are often related to body movements (too many hand gestures, playing with an object, etc.), word fillers (“like” “um” “you know what I mean” etc.), and annoying or distracting voice characteristics like “uptalk” or “glottal fry.” How can you know if you have distractions? Video and/or audio record a telephone conversation and then play it back to listen. Look and listen carefully at your speech behaviors. Are there any behaviors that you could eliminate to be more effective? The more body and speech control that you have, the more competent you will appear.
3. Not loud enough
If someone can’t hear you, it will be very difficult to listen! Use good breath support and push air out harder to get the volume that you need. You can also use exaggerated mouth movements to increase volume.
4. Monotone
Pitch variation in running speech is much more compelling to listen to than flat, monotone speech. Be sure to speak with a lot of pitch changes. Stress words in sentences with a higher pitch. . Practice exaggerated pitch changes before the meeting to warm up and discover just how much pitch range you have that you can use in speech.
5. Too sophisticated (or not sophisticated enough) vocabulary
If you are speaking above someone’s head (technical information to a non-technical audience) or below them , you will quickly turn the audience away from you. Before you speak, think about the audience’s needs and what words will resonate with them. Think about how you might explain your 30-second point to a direct report vs. your manager or the senior level executives. Modifying your message to meet their specific needs will propel your likeability and trustworthiness. Oh, and avoid overused and cliché jargon. Here is a great article on “Jargon Madness.”
Are there other mistakes that you hear and would you like to hear about the solutions?
Tags: business jargon, communication skills