It’s hard to believe that the Olympics are almost over and there will be no more late nights! I hope that you have been enjoying these tremendous athletes and all their heartwarming stories!
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Last week we discussed five tips for speaking in cross-cultural conversations. Today, we explore the last five tips and tricks:
6. Pause periodically to give your listener time to process what you have said.
If you are making a few errors in your speech, the listener needs time to figure it out or “translate” what was said. Give your listener this time by pausing briefly.
Would your speech compare to an SUV (using a lot of words to convey your message) or more like a Hybrid (speaking more efficiently using fewer words)?
In American business, we value conciseness. Communicating succinctly is an effective and powerful tool for persuading, convincing, or reinforcing messages. Speech that is too wordy is dull and boring and may leave the listener wondering what the point is. Similarly, a response that take 3-4 minutes to get to the point is too long to hold someone’s attention especially if the speaker veered from the main point in off-topic details. You or the speaker may have even forgotten what the question was after several minutes.
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While many things can go wrong in a presentation, don’t forget to consider all the things that you do well to awe your audiences. Here are 12 speech, language, and voice gifts to “give” your audiences every time you present. They will love you for it!
1. Optimal pitch–The pitch you speak at every day is your habitual pitch level. But does it match your optimal pitch level? The optimal pitch is where you vocal cords function their best. Too low or too high can be hard to listen to and could damage your vocal cords and make you hoarse.
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Are you always heard when you speak? There are many people who wish to project their voice more to be better understood.There are many people who wish to project their voice more to be better understood. In fact, many executives both male and female, ask me why others have a hard time hearing them and what they can do to project their voice.
There are two primary reasons that a voice lacks volume:
1) Inadequate breath support,
2) Inadequate mouth opening
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Does it ever feel like you are interrupted by your colleagues? Are others being more assertive and talking over you even when it should be your turn? If it happens frequently, make the following checks on your communication to determine why it is happening.
First of all, does it take you a while to make a point? Learning to get to the point quickly is a skill busy leaders need to master. Some non-native English speakers struggle to make a point because they lack the vocabulary. You may need to work on vocabulary building activities first.
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How you stand, place your arms and feet and hold your head are indicators of how self-confident you are and whether or not you will be taken seriously. The first step in successful body language that conveys confidence is your standing position or posture. If you feel like it, stand up and get into neutral position:
Place equal pressure on both feet (no shifting from leg-to-leg).
Your feet are hip width apart.
Your knees and thighs are relaxed.
Your shoulders are back and down.
Your hands are comfortably at your sides.
Your chin is up and parallel with the floor.
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Do you want to be called a “Polished Speaker?” One characteristic of a polished speaker is enunciating clearly!The acceptable pronunciation of any word is determined exclusively by its usage in the general population. But a dictionary can be a valuable tool to learn how to pronounce words. Pronunciation in the dictionary is represented by symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). If you’re not familiar with IPA, each symbol in the IPA stands for one sound. This is different from our regular alphabet in which one symbol stands for many sounds. For instance, the sound /a/ can be produced as in bad, bade, and ball. Mastering the IPA system will assist you in many ways, particularly when you need to look up a word.
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“Trust is a powerful force that builds loyalty, increases credibility and supports effective communications. It gives you the benefit of the doubt in situations where you want to be heard, understood and believed.” From How Leaders Can Communicate to Build Trust, Ivey Business Journal
Let’s face it….likeable people are trustworthy. No one will buy into your ideas, products or initiatives if you aren’t likeable. Of course, you can’t force anyone to like you and you don’t want to sound insincere. Here are some ways to enhance the” Like-ability Factor” so that you are instantly more trustworthy through your speech, language, and voice skills.
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Did you know that millions of Americans experience hearing loss in at least one ear? It seems to be true for me, too. I am in a crowded room with lots of noise in the background while trying to carry-on a conversation with my spouse or my colleagues. I am watching their mouths carefully (reading their lips) because I am not getting all the words! I seem to miss some words which affects the content of the message but I’m too embarrassed to ask them to repeat it again! This only happens when there is a lot of background noise.
