Great professional speakers deliver speeches that are engaging to listen to and that also draw in their audiences visually. They keep their gestures to a minimum and use them purposefully to emphasize the content of the message. They make eye contact with each audience member as though they are the only people in the room. They express sincerity through a smile and appear to be relaxed.
Even if you aren’t a professional speaker, paying attention to your “visual presentation” in conversation is important! Do you make eye contact with the listener? Do you use your eyes, eyebrows and mouth to express your meaning? Or do you have more of a deadpan expression? Are your hands close to your sides, wide open or constantly moving out of nervous habit?
Have you ever felt frustrated that the conversation you had with a colleague or supervisor fell short of your intentions? Maybe you were trying to communicate something and it was clear that he/she didn’t understand what you said. Here are some ideas that may help you:
As I have evolved as a speech and voice coach over the years, it has become clearer to me that the way we sound creates perceptions and influences the audiences we encounter. You have an identity, too, based on the way you sound and the way you look. It’s a personal brand that you have available to use as a tool to market yourself, to persuade and influence and to create greater impact. Your personal brand differentiates you from everyone else.
Sarcasm in the workplace exists at every level of management. Americans sometimes make comments that aren’t sincere or are meant to be a little degrading. In order to be sarcastic, we adjust our vocal tone and often times, our facial expression.Try saying, “great” sarcastically. What do you do vocally to make it sound sarcastic?
The art of communication isn’t so easily mastered, because in reality, communication can be tricky and become a source of misunderstanding and conflicts. If someone has ever told you, “It wasn’t what you said, but how you said it,” your listener is telling you that you’ve just communicated a lot more than just the words. Tone of voice is often a source of hurt feelings and miscommunications because our tone communicates to others what we’re feeling when we say things. Here are a few ways to self-monitor your vocal tone:
Sometimes the most dreaded “presentation” that people tell me they dislike the most, is impromptu speaking. They fear of stumbling on words, sounding dumb, and drawing a blank when they are called upon to give an opinion. There is something about unplanned presentations, which makes people want to crawl under the table and hide. Believe me; you are not alone if you would like to become invisible when all eyes are on you to speak. I get many requests from my clients to help with this skill (and it truly is a skill). But let me assure you that you can develop it, if you are not at the level you wish to be. Here are some pointers:
I’d like to use National Smile Month as a campaign to boost your executive presence. How? Well, read on and discover how your smile can provide you with all of the self-confidence that you need to have all the executive presence you desire….
Some people may argue that Americans have learned to be sloppy speakers because they aren’t very precise with their diction and reduce or eliminate sounds and words. But we often minimize/eliminate sounds logically and conveniently to create a smooth, natural flow of speech. Here is an example…
