When someone looks at you, your visual image is obviously the first thing they see. And, that image has an impact on the other person - your attire, your figure, your face, your hair - everything that is presenting the picture of you. But what happens when you open your mouth to speak?
Have you ever considered whether your speaking voice does justice to the visual image you project? Or whether the content of what you are saying is being well-served by the sound of your speaking voice? When you answer these questions, bear in mind that I am talking about the voice you hear on your answering machine or voicemail - not the voice you hear in your head. (What you hear on your voicemail is the sound by which everyone else recognizes you.)
If you voice is high-pitched and squeaky or shrill, or nasal and strident, or child-like in quality, the image your voice is projecting certainly doesn't justify your visual image or the content of what you are saying.
Recently, I had a client who was working on improving his speaking voice. When he first phoned me, I heard a voice that was nasal and relatively high-pitched for a man. When he later sent me a photo, I was dumb-founded because the picture showed a handsome, well-built tall man in his 40's. The voice I heard when he first called me, however, led me to believe that he was a wimpy little man in his early 20's.
In truth, I wish I looked like I was still in my early 20's but I don't want to sound that young. Nor do I want to sound old. What is fascinating about good voice training is that your 'real' voice is ageless. My voice does not give away my age. In addition, it doesn't age me either. When I am 85 years old, I may look like it but I will never sound old. If you haven't seen my photo and were to phone me, you would not be able to place an age on me. I could be 25 or 65. The reason is because I've taken the pressure off my vocal folds (cords) and am using my chest to power my sound. The result is a voice that is deeper, richer, warmer, and resonant.
In the case of my client, the change he made in his voice is so dramatic, that when he phoned me after finding his 'real' voice, I did not recognize him. Today his voice definitely does justice to his visual image.
Next time you hear your voice on recording equipment, listen closely and ask yourself if what you hear does justice to the rest of the image you are projecting.
The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit Voice Dynamic or watch Nancy in a brief video as she describes The Power of Your Speaking Voice.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_Daniels
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Public Speaking - Creating a Positive Impact.
We all know that people, when they first meet us, form an opinion of us within the first handful of seconds. How you look and sound at the start of a presentation is vital. Your impact dictates how the audience will interpret your messages. If you have a low impact, the audience will tend to question everything you say. If you start with high impact, the audience will tend to 'hear you out'.
Clearly when we are presenting to someone, we are communicating with them. So let's remind ourselves of the way human beings communicate with each other.
Words 7% Tone 38% Body language 55%
So what does that tell us as far as presenting is concerned? If 'words' are only 7% of our ability to communicate, then we had better not rely on them! We have all seen presentations where the presenter did little but talk words at us, whether they read them from notes or from their visual aids, and we will remember how boring it was, how quickly we lost interest. Presentations like this do not work. The speaker fails to get his message across. (We call these 'survival specials', the speaker's only objective being to 'survive' the presentation and sit down when it's over. There's no attempt to achieve anything.)
For our presentations to have impact, therefore, we need to do more than just speak the words, we need to bring some variety into our tone of voice and use our body language positively. Why is body language so vital? To understand this we need to be aware of the power of the senses in receiving information during face-to-face communication:
Eyes 83% Ears 11% Touch 3% Taste 2% Smell 1%
So the body language we are using is hitting our audience's most powerful and most used sense, the eyes. It is vital that we use our body language positively.
Nerves are a problem for all presenters. Everyone is nervous when they present, at least for a time. (We reckon if you're not feeling nervous when you present then you need psychiatric help!). How nervous? Well it varies from person to person and from occasion to occasion. Even experienced presenters are nervous at the start of a presentation but what they know is that they will quickly calm down as they get into their talk. Inexperienced presenters think that nerves only happen to them. (I like surveys and this is one of my favourites - what makes people frightened? However many surveys are done on people's fears, public speaking always comes out as number one. Death is usually third or fourth! Logically, people would rather die than stand up in front of an audience! I have learned never to run presentation skills courses in high buildings. If I have to, I make the participants pay in advance!)
Nerves affect the way we look on stage. We tend to loose control of our legs and our hands. We are so full of adrenaline that we can't stand still. We 'dance' around stage; we fidget. Train yourself to stand still at the start of your talks, feet about shoulder width apart. And get your hands under control by holding hands with yourself at around navel height. By placing your hands there, they are in the best position for gestures to get going.
So how do we control these nerves? In the long run by doing lots of presenting. Experience teaches us to live with our nerves and teaches us that we do get over them a few seconds or minutes into our talks. In the short term, the secret is good preparation and understanding that you never look as nervous as you feel.
Bob Malloney, a personal skills trainer for over 20 years, can help you to make a real difference to your presentations, all from the comfort and convenience of your PC. Streaming video courses that replicate instructor-led training in Personal Organisation, Presentation Skills, Relationship Selling and Negotiating Skills. Register now for a free, no obligation 7-day trial at
http://www.videocoaching.tv
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Malloney
Clearly when we are presenting to someone, we are communicating with them. So let's remind ourselves of the way human beings communicate with each other.
Words 7% Tone 38% Body language 55%
So what does that tell us as far as presenting is concerned? If 'words' are only 7% of our ability to communicate, then we had better not rely on them! We have all seen presentations where the presenter did little but talk words at us, whether they read them from notes or from their visual aids, and we will remember how boring it was, how quickly we lost interest. Presentations like this do not work. The speaker fails to get his message across. (We call these 'survival specials', the speaker's only objective being to 'survive' the presentation and sit down when it's over. There's no attempt to achieve anything.)
For our presentations to have impact, therefore, we need to do more than just speak the words, we need to bring some variety into our tone of voice and use our body language positively. Why is body language so vital? To understand this we need to be aware of the power of the senses in receiving information during face-to-face communication:
Eyes 83% Ears 11% Touch 3% Taste 2% Smell 1%
So the body language we are using is hitting our audience's most powerful and most used sense, the eyes. It is vital that we use our body language positively.
Nerves are a problem for all presenters. Everyone is nervous when they present, at least for a time. (We reckon if you're not feeling nervous when you present then you need psychiatric help!). How nervous? Well it varies from person to person and from occasion to occasion. Even experienced presenters are nervous at the start of a presentation but what they know is that they will quickly calm down as they get into their talk. Inexperienced presenters think that nerves only happen to them. (I like surveys and this is one of my favourites - what makes people frightened? However many surveys are done on people's fears, public speaking always comes out as number one. Death is usually third or fourth! Logically, people would rather die than stand up in front of an audience! I have learned never to run presentation skills courses in high buildings. If I have to, I make the participants pay in advance!)
Nerves affect the way we look on stage. We tend to loose control of our legs and our hands. We are so full of adrenaline that we can't stand still. We 'dance' around stage; we fidget. Train yourself to stand still at the start of your talks, feet about shoulder width apart. And get your hands under control by holding hands with yourself at around navel height. By placing your hands there, they are in the best position for gestures to get going.
So how do we control these nerves? In the long run by doing lots of presenting. Experience teaches us to live with our nerves and teaches us that we do get over them a few seconds or minutes into our talks. In the short term, the secret is good preparation and understanding that you never look as nervous as you feel.
Bob Malloney, a personal skills trainer for over 20 years, can help you to make a real difference to your presentations, all from the comfort and convenience of your PC. Streaming video courses that replicate instructor-led training in Personal Organisation, Presentation Skills, Relationship Selling and Negotiating Skills. Register now for a free, no obligation 7-day trial at
http://www.videocoaching.tv
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Malloney
Wedding Speeches For the Best Man - Seven Key Ideas For Writing Your Best Man Speech.
When writing your best man speech here are a few things you should consider when you write your speech.
1) You were picked as the best man - Remember that you were picked as the best man out of all the other possible people so make sure you take the time to properly write a good speech. Don't rush your speech, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to write it. It's probably not best to do it in one sitting, give yourself some time to think of the stories that you will want to share in your speech.
2) Try to keep it short - Try not to ramble on and make it a long and detailed speech. A good best man speech is only 5-10 minutes long. Remember, the bar is closed during your speech so people want it to be over as fast as possible, I know that might be a little harsh but people will become unfocused if your speech is too long.
3) Explain how you know the bride and groom - Even if your the brother still explain who you are and how you know the bride and groom. Most of the bridges family and friends probably won't know who you are so let them know.
4) Tell a story about both the bride and groom - The story that goes over the best is one that's humiliating for the groom and where the bride comes to the rescue and takes care of the groom.
5) Thank the parents - Thank both sides of the family, most of the time the brides parents pay for the wedding if that's the case don't say "thank you for paying for the wedding" say something along the lines of "thank you Mr. and Mrs. Jones for making this all possible, this is a very special day and we are all grateful to be here to share this moment with (bride and grooms name).
6) Best wishes to the bride and groom - Make sure that you wish them the best and that you hope they have happy, long, and healthy marriage together. Thank the groom and let him know how happy and thankful you are to be the best man.
7) Raise a toast - Raise your glass and lets celebrate this wonderful day!
These are just a few of the tips that I learned along the way when doing my best man speeches, I've done four now. If you want a more detailed version of the steps that I used in writing my wedding speeches for the best man, you can learn here http://easy-best-man-speeches.info
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_McNicholas
1) You were picked as the best man - Remember that you were picked as the best man out of all the other possible people so make sure you take the time to properly write a good speech. Don't rush your speech, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to write it. It's probably not best to do it in one sitting, give yourself some time to think of the stories that you will want to share in your speech.
2) Try to keep it short - Try not to ramble on and make it a long and detailed speech. A good best man speech is only 5-10 minutes long. Remember, the bar is closed during your speech so people want it to be over as fast as possible, I know that might be a little harsh but people will become unfocused if your speech is too long.
3) Explain how you know the bride and groom - Even if your the brother still explain who you are and how you know the bride and groom. Most of the bridges family and friends probably won't know who you are so let them know.
4) Tell a story about both the bride and groom - The story that goes over the best is one that's humiliating for the groom and where the bride comes to the rescue and takes care of the groom.
5) Thank the parents - Thank both sides of the family, most of the time the brides parents pay for the wedding if that's the case don't say "thank you for paying for the wedding" say something along the lines of "thank you Mr. and Mrs. Jones for making this all possible, this is a very special day and we are all grateful to be here to share this moment with (bride and grooms name).
6) Best wishes to the bride and groom - Make sure that you wish them the best and that you hope they have happy, long, and healthy marriage together. Thank the groom and let him know how happy and thankful you are to be the best man.
7) Raise a toast - Raise your glass and lets celebrate this wonderful day!
These are just a few of the tips that I learned along the way when doing my best man speeches, I've done four now. If you want a more detailed version of the steps that I used in writing my wedding speeches for the best man, you can learn here http://easy-best-man-speeches.info
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_McNicholas
Which is Better In Public Speaking - Impressing Or Expressing ?
There is no doubt that public speaking is a battle, a battle often lost because the speaker is trying to be something or someone he is not. What is interesting about public speaking is that you stand a much better chance of winning the battle if you would stop trying to impress your audience. Instead, you should express to your audience.
Good public speakers talk to their audience, not at them. They treat their audience just as if they were having a conversation in their living room. For some, however, that is the battle. Being able to acknowledge your entire audience is one of the secrets of good public speaking. I have heard some 'professional' speakers advising their clients to find a focal point in the room and address their talk to that particular spot. I could not disagree more.
If you focus on only one thing or even just one person in the room, you are not acknowledging your audience: you are also not talking to them. And, after a brief amount of time, they will be fully aware of your discomfort, your nervousness, your angst.
Your objective should not be to impress your audience with your words, your delivery, your personality or whatever. Your objective should be to speak from your heart as well as your head. In doing so, you will be expressing yourself.
Public speaking is the art of communicating with your audience. The important word in that statement is with. Their reaction to you is the two-way part of the conversation. They could be nodding their heads in agreement, or shaking their heads in disagreement. They might be laughing, smiling or frowning. Even the movement of their bodies is part of that communication. If you have their rapt attention, then there will be very little movement on their part because you have them on the edge of their seats. If, on the other hand, they are restless, fidgeting, checking their iPods, or even talking amongst themselves, then you have an audience that is bored.
Impressive public speaking results from expressive public speaking which can only be achieved when you:
1. know your material;
2. make eye contact with those throughout your audience;
3. speak with color, with life, with emotion;
4. believe in yourself; and, most importantly,
5. breathe throughout your entire delivery thereby controlling your nerves, your voice, your breathlessness, and your words.
If you can accomplish the above 5 steps, you will be expressing yourself. And that is what impresses an audience.
The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit her website at Voice Dynamic or watch a brief video as Nancy describes Dynamic Public Speaking
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_Daniels
Good public speakers talk to their audience, not at them. They treat their audience just as if they were having a conversation in their living room. For some, however, that is the battle. Being able to acknowledge your entire audience is one of the secrets of good public speaking. I have heard some 'professional' speakers advising their clients to find a focal point in the room and address their talk to that particular spot. I could not disagree more.
If you focus on only one thing or even just one person in the room, you are not acknowledging your audience: you are also not talking to them. And, after a brief amount of time, they will be fully aware of your discomfort, your nervousness, your angst.
Your objective should not be to impress your audience with your words, your delivery, your personality or whatever. Your objective should be to speak from your heart as well as your head. In doing so, you will be expressing yourself.
Public speaking is the art of communicating with your audience. The important word in that statement is with. Their reaction to you is the two-way part of the conversation. They could be nodding their heads in agreement, or shaking their heads in disagreement. They might be laughing, smiling or frowning. Even the movement of their bodies is part of that communication. If you have their rapt attention, then there will be very little movement on their part because you have them on the edge of their seats. If, on the other hand, they are restless, fidgeting, checking their iPods, or even talking amongst themselves, then you have an audience that is bored.
Impressive public speaking results from expressive public speaking which can only be achieved when you:
1. know your material;
2. make eye contact with those throughout your audience;
3. speak with color, with life, with emotion;
4. believe in yourself; and, most importantly,
5. breathe throughout your entire delivery thereby controlling your nerves, your voice, your breathlessness, and your words.
If you can accomplish the above 5 steps, you will be expressing yourself. And that is what impresses an audience.
The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit her website at Voice Dynamic or watch a brief video as Nancy describes Dynamic Public Speaking
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_Daniels
What Makes a Great Professional Speaker ?
People think that you ought to have all this skill and gift to grow a professional speaker, yet, there are other important factors that determine your ability to succeed. Technically, you can say and do all the proper things. You may have the correct details and present it in an organized format, but your true success will be found in your ability to touch base with your listeners instead of presenting a delivery well. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!
Here are your real tools that you'll need to have that will spur you on to success! Making misunderstanding at the podium does not mean failure. Your biggest mistake is not reaching your guests with the message you have!
1. Your attitude speaks through and through. Why are you presenting this information? Are you here because it's a job requirement or a method to earn an income? The attitude you take concerning the material you present will show through in your presentation.
2. Your passion communicates more than you'll ever say! Passion brings a specialist speaker's material to life for their audience. Your guests will know if you're keen about what you're discussing or not. What is more, they'll need to draw on your passion to move them into taking action.
3. Your ability to empathize with the needs and wants of your audience will get you to a success! You need to have an ability to respond in a split second to the needs of your viewers. In order to perform this, you have to commence interacting with your viewers to get a feel for where their hearts and minds are concerning your message. You'll have to think rapidly on your feet and be in a position to adjust your warning and you'll have to be sensitive to "feeling" out your audience.
4. Your ability to make your lesson easy to figure out and implement will help you reach more people! The easier your solution is, the easier it will be for your listeners to take the action you're recommending in your presentation.
5. Your physical energy communicates the passion and life in your moral. Excitement is contagious. So is monotony. You've need to get your listeners excited about what you'll be presenting. This needs having the physical energy to rev up your listeners as you speak excitedly, can move all over the room excitedly and present your material in an exciting manner.
6. You need to love in order to become worthwhile. This is the heart and soul of true charm. A general love for what you do, the topics you speak on and the people you're speaking to are necessary elements to your speaking career. This love will depart this world even when you are talking about the most up-to-date theory in quantum mechanics!
These little talked about traits will be the true foundation of ensuring your success! More than technical skill, these soft skills are the real tools you'll need to get bigger paid speaking jobs. These equipment is the elements that will draw your viewers to you. If you take a little time to work at building these skills, your prosperity will be inevitable.
Laurence has been writing articles online for nearly 3 years now. Not only does this author specialize in weight loss, fitness and diet, you can as well check out his latest website on portable toddler travel bed and sunshine kids car seat.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laurence_Shields
Here are your real tools that you'll need to have that will spur you on to success! Making misunderstanding at the podium does not mean failure. Your biggest mistake is not reaching your guests with the message you have!
1. Your attitude speaks through and through. Why are you presenting this information? Are you here because it's a job requirement or a method to earn an income? The attitude you take concerning the material you present will show through in your presentation.
2. Your passion communicates more than you'll ever say! Passion brings a specialist speaker's material to life for their audience. Your guests will know if you're keen about what you're discussing or not. What is more, they'll need to draw on your passion to move them into taking action.
3. Your ability to empathize with the needs and wants of your audience will get you to a success! You need to have an ability to respond in a split second to the needs of your viewers. In order to perform this, you have to commence interacting with your viewers to get a feel for where their hearts and minds are concerning your message. You'll have to think rapidly on your feet and be in a position to adjust your warning and you'll have to be sensitive to "feeling" out your audience.
4. Your ability to make your lesson easy to figure out and implement will help you reach more people! The easier your solution is, the easier it will be for your listeners to take the action you're recommending in your presentation.
5. Your physical energy communicates the passion and life in your moral. Excitement is contagious. So is monotony. You've need to get your listeners excited about what you'll be presenting. This needs having the physical energy to rev up your listeners as you speak excitedly, can move all over the room excitedly and present your material in an exciting manner.
6. You need to love in order to become worthwhile. This is the heart and soul of true charm. A general love for what you do, the topics you speak on and the people you're speaking to are necessary elements to your speaking career. This love will depart this world even when you are talking about the most up-to-date theory in quantum mechanics!
These little talked about traits will be the true foundation of ensuring your success! More than technical skill, these soft skills are the real tools you'll need to get bigger paid speaking jobs. These equipment is the elements that will draw your viewers to you. If you take a little time to work at building these skills, your prosperity will be inevitable.
Laurence has been writing articles online for nearly 3 years now. Not only does this author specialize in weight loss, fitness and diet, you can as well check out his latest website on portable toddler travel bed and sunshine kids car seat.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laurence_Shields
What Does the First Year Of Professional Speaking Look Like ?
Unless you're already a famous person, you'll have to go through building your professional speaking career from the ground up. This may mean work, but if the topics you plan to be speaking on are your passion, this won't be a chore to do! Also, depending upon how fast you are in a position to build connections and establish your reputation as a speaker will determine how fast you move through this phase of career building.
The first phase of building your career is filled with obtaining the word out that you are for sale for hire as a professional speaker. Then of course you'll gain practiced as you speak free of charge. Yes, that's right - free. Your main goal is create a database of customer and testimonials concerning your work before you hit the large time. One resource stated that you should plan on speaking for free for a minimum of 200 hundred times to construct a prosperous reputation and foundation of practiced. The aim of all of this is that a great many speaker bureaus and meeting planners want speakers with seasoned and an acknowledged reputation in this line of business they are in. As of now, you are working on creating your future success!
Here are some things you are able to do as you start your professional speaking career.
1) List the topics you can speak on. Join a social network like LinkedIn ( referred to as the social network for professionals) or forum and list those topics there.
2) Write some articles on these subjects and post them on the free article sites. You can also post articles on your own web site and add them to social bookmark sites. Whoever reads your article will see your bio at the bottom of each article and you'll promote yourself as a speaker for these themes!
3) Get as many free speaking engagements as feasible. Refer to your library or the Chamber of Commerce. Get feedback from your free speaking engagements and begin compiling a directory of these.
4) Take a professional picture of yourself. People wish to feel linked to you and personalizing your web site by adding your picture to it is only one of the ways. Additionally, you'll need a professional photo for your portfolio
5) If you are a specialist in a trade, write articles for your industry's trade publications. Sometimes these publications will ask for a short (1-2 sentence bio) where it is possible to list "professional speaker" as part of your livelihood listing. One benefit is that you can also get paid writing.
6) Get online and create a blog or website about the subjects that you cover. To make use of web 2.0 to create human relationships with potential clients along with peers in your industry. Promote yourself as a specialist speaker and a concept leader in your industry.
7) Add a tagline to your email signature. Whoever gets your emails will see that you are an expert speaker for hire.
8) Investigate the industry for pay rates and begin developing a fee schedule for your speaking engagements. We mentioned earlier that you should expect to speak without charge, yet, speaking free of charge could also turn into a paying job for you. What would you charge?
9) Establish a demo video of a speaking occasion you've done. You can employ clips from several of your speaking jobs (including the free ones).
During this first phase, you're fundamentally building your professional speaking portfolio. You'll need this portfolio to trail higher paying jobs with speaker bureaus and meeting planners. You're already working towards your future success!
Darrel has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in weight loss, fitness and diet, you can also check out his latest website on sunshine kids car seats and portable toddler travel bed
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darrel_Stephens
The first phase of building your career is filled with obtaining the word out that you are for sale for hire as a professional speaker. Then of course you'll gain practiced as you speak free of charge. Yes, that's right - free. Your main goal is create a database of customer and testimonials concerning your work before you hit the large time. One resource stated that you should plan on speaking for free for a minimum of 200 hundred times to construct a prosperous reputation and foundation of practiced. The aim of all of this is that a great many speaker bureaus and meeting planners want speakers with seasoned and an acknowledged reputation in this line of business they are in. As of now, you are working on creating your future success!
Here are some things you are able to do as you start your professional speaking career.
1) List the topics you can speak on. Join a social network like LinkedIn ( referred to as the social network for professionals) or forum and list those topics there.
2) Write some articles on these subjects and post them on the free article sites. You can also post articles on your own web site and add them to social bookmark sites. Whoever reads your article will see your bio at the bottom of each article and you'll promote yourself as a speaker for these themes!
3) Get as many free speaking engagements as feasible. Refer to your library or the Chamber of Commerce. Get feedback from your free speaking engagements and begin compiling a directory of these.
4) Take a professional picture of yourself. People wish to feel linked to you and personalizing your web site by adding your picture to it is only one of the ways. Additionally, you'll need a professional photo for your portfolio
5) If you are a specialist in a trade, write articles for your industry's trade publications. Sometimes these publications will ask for a short (1-2 sentence bio) where it is possible to list "professional speaker" as part of your livelihood listing. One benefit is that you can also get paid writing.
6) Get online and create a blog or website about the subjects that you cover. To make use of web 2.0 to create human relationships with potential clients along with peers in your industry. Promote yourself as a specialist speaker and a concept leader in your industry.
7) Add a tagline to your email signature. Whoever gets your emails will see that you are an expert speaker for hire.
8) Investigate the industry for pay rates and begin developing a fee schedule for your speaking engagements. We mentioned earlier that you should expect to speak without charge, yet, speaking free of charge could also turn into a paying job for you. What would you charge?
9) Establish a demo video of a speaking occasion you've done. You can employ clips from several of your speaking jobs (including the free ones).
During this first phase, you're fundamentally building your professional speaking portfolio. You'll need this portfolio to trail higher paying jobs with speaker bureaus and meeting planners. You're already working towards your future success!
Darrel has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in weight loss, fitness and diet, you can also check out his latest website on sunshine kids car seats and portable toddler travel bed
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darrel_Stephens
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Seven Steps to Beat the Fear of Public Speaking.
Glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking is way up there with the fear of death. Apparently studies have shown that the Americans fear public speaking more than death, and that the British fear it only second to death.
That really doesn't surprise me. I used to be an actor, and I remember the first time I did my first professional soliloquy on stage, I was terrified! Then I remembered my training at drama school, to centre my self, and to breath in and out evenly. Every actor has nerves before going on stage, but they soon learn how to get into character by using certain techniques.
If you suffer from fear of public speaking then follow the tips below they will really help you immensely. Remember if this is your first time doing a speech then accept that you aren't going to be as polished as a seasoned public speaker. If you have ever seen the movie The Matrix, remember where Neo tries to do a tremendous jump between two skyscrapers and he falls immediately to the ground? Well nearly everyone fails first time it's called learning what not to do. You'll get better as time goes on.
Some great tips to help with public speaking:
1. Don't take any mood-altering substances:
Most people believe that drinking large amounts of caffeine, alcohol, or smoking cigarettes, or marijuana before speaking will calm them down, or improve their speech delivery. The thing is these substances don't. They are just an emotional crutch.
2. Try not to eat before your speech:
A full stomach will greatly decrease your energy level and your ability to concentrate. This is because your body is too engaged in digesting food. Anyway you don't want to pass wind while your doing your speech!
3. Make sure to Look your best:
Wear clothes that are appropriate to the occasion. And make sure you are clean and tidy. When you know you look good you automatically feel more confident.
4. Introduce yourself:
A good way to ease your nervousness before going on stage to do your speech, is to introduce yourself to as many of the audience as you can. Especially those sitting in the front row. While you are doing your speech you can look at these people in the eyes just for a few seconds. Doing this will increase your rapport with the audience as well as making you feel more comfortable.
5. Don't just go up to the platform and start your speech:
First centre yourself on the platform by standing with the spine erect and shoulders relaxed. Then look to the back of the room and find a spot that you can look at just above eye level. Look at this spot for a few seconds while breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth evenly. Then bring your eyes down so you can see all of the audience even the ones at the side of you. Keep this peripheral vision going all through your speech. (Peripheral vision means to be able to see what's in front of you as well as what is at the side of you.) Using this peripheral vision technique will help to keep you focused and relaxed. Remember while you are centring yourself visualize a positive outcome.
6. Don't memorize your speech word for word:
Just write out some bullet points of the main ideas you need to cover. If you follow a written speech you'll bore people to death. Anyway a little spontaneity will ad interest to your speech.
7. Turn up at least half an hour before the event:
If you turn up early you can then get used to the space, and the platform you will be speaking from. Walk about the area you will be delivering your speech from. Make the space your own!
Finally, there are worst thing than making a speech I don't know what they are, but there are. Good luck!
The author is a certified trainer in hypnosis, a master practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Timeline Therpay. He is currently studying for his masters degree in metaphysics.
For free videos on self help and positive thinking please click the link below now!
http://www.destroynegativethinkingpatterns.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dion_Daly
That really doesn't surprise me. I used to be an actor, and I remember the first time I did my first professional soliloquy on stage, I was terrified! Then I remembered my training at drama school, to centre my self, and to breath in and out evenly. Every actor has nerves before going on stage, but they soon learn how to get into character by using certain techniques.
If you suffer from fear of public speaking then follow the tips below they will really help you immensely. Remember if this is your first time doing a speech then accept that you aren't going to be as polished as a seasoned public speaker. If you have ever seen the movie The Matrix, remember where Neo tries to do a tremendous jump between two skyscrapers and he falls immediately to the ground? Well nearly everyone fails first time it's called learning what not to do. You'll get better as time goes on.
Some great tips to help with public speaking:
1. Don't take any mood-altering substances:
Most people believe that drinking large amounts of caffeine, alcohol, or smoking cigarettes, or marijuana before speaking will calm them down, or improve their speech delivery. The thing is these substances don't. They are just an emotional crutch.
2. Try not to eat before your speech:
A full stomach will greatly decrease your energy level and your ability to concentrate. This is because your body is too engaged in digesting food. Anyway you don't want to pass wind while your doing your speech!
3. Make sure to Look your best:
Wear clothes that are appropriate to the occasion. And make sure you are clean and tidy. When you know you look good you automatically feel more confident.
4. Introduce yourself:
A good way to ease your nervousness before going on stage to do your speech, is to introduce yourself to as many of the audience as you can. Especially those sitting in the front row. While you are doing your speech you can look at these people in the eyes just for a few seconds. Doing this will increase your rapport with the audience as well as making you feel more comfortable.
5. Don't just go up to the platform and start your speech:
First centre yourself on the platform by standing with the spine erect and shoulders relaxed. Then look to the back of the room and find a spot that you can look at just above eye level. Look at this spot for a few seconds while breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth evenly. Then bring your eyes down so you can see all of the audience even the ones at the side of you. Keep this peripheral vision going all through your speech. (Peripheral vision means to be able to see what's in front of you as well as what is at the side of you.) Using this peripheral vision technique will help to keep you focused and relaxed. Remember while you are centring yourself visualize a positive outcome.
6. Don't memorize your speech word for word:
Just write out some bullet points of the main ideas you need to cover. If you follow a written speech you'll bore people to death. Anyway a little spontaneity will ad interest to your speech.
7. Turn up at least half an hour before the event:
If you turn up early you can then get used to the space, and the platform you will be speaking from. Walk about the area you will be delivering your speech from. Make the space your own!
Finally, there are worst thing than making a speech I don't know what they are, but there are. Good luck!
The author is a certified trainer in hypnosis, a master practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Timeline Therpay. He is currently studying for his masters degree in metaphysics.
For free videos on self help and positive thinking please click the link below now!
http://www.destroynegativethinkingpatterns.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dion_Daly
The Simple Art of Learning to Breathe PROPERLY !
When I was living and acting professionally in New York, I took a course on meditation at the Himalayan Institute. Casually one day, the teacher expressed an opinion that has stayed in my mind ever since.
"We don't have an epidemic of heart disease in this country," he said. "We have an epidemic of breathing disease."
You could call that a "breathtaking" statement in itself. It certainly resonated with someone for whom-as a stage actor-breathing and breath control were central to my art. What the teacher was saying was that, typically, our heart isn't given enough oxygen because of poor breathing habits. A heart continually deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen will naturally fare poorly over time. Interestingly, the same careless breathing habits will negatively affect your performance as a public speaker.
Why? Well, an interesting fact about public speaking is that breathing for speech is different from breathing for life. The latter is sometimes known as "vegetative breathing," meaning that it is passive and not aimed consciously at a goal. In speech, however, breath not only is the energizing force which powers our vocal cords. It must also be controlled to achieve the effects a speaker desires. Chief among these is sustaining the sound, since in English the most important words-the ones that need to be "punched"-usually come at the end of a phrase or sentence.
This means that as speakers, we use controlled exhalation that is much longer than the "quick in and out" inhalation-exhalation cycle of breathing for life. We must control our exhalation, and that means taking full breaths that form the reservoir of air that powers our speech. Speakers therefore must breathe more deeply than in everyday vegetative breathing. This is often a particular challenge in public speaking, when self-consciousness and adrenaline are enticing us to breathe shallowly and rapidly.
Getting a full reservoir of air that allows us to sustain our vocalization is only one benefit to slower, deeper, relaxed breathing for speech. A full rush of air that fills our lungs actually slows our heart down, calming and centering us. Try this exercise yourself: Get a baseline pulse rate at your wrist, then take a huge intake of air, pause for a few seconds, then "whoosh" it all out in a big exhalation. You should feel a distinct slowing on your pulse rate in the first few seconds afterwards.
Another reason to breathe fully and deeply is that it oxygenates our brain. And the brain needs this precious fuel oxygen if it is to function at top efficiency. In the speech environment where thinking on one's feet is paramount, this is no small benefit. So, try some relaxation exercises--lying down or sitting, it really doesn't matter--that teach you to breathe slowly and more deeply. You'll feel good, and you'll be more centered and ready to speak. Equally important, you'll look good by avoiding a "caved in" appearance. Best of all, you'll be able to vocally support your crucial points as you talk.
One other suggestion: As you do your relaxed breathing exercise, try to get your inhalation and exhalation to be continuous. That is, there should be no starting or stopping point where the inhalation ends and the exhalation begins, and vice versa. Think of your breathing rhythm as a figure "8" on its side, which is actually the symbol for infinity: there is no break anywhere. Unobstructed breathing like that helps loosen the mental blockages that are so often part of our trepidation about speaking in public. All in all, not a bad package of benefits from the simple art of learning to breathe properly, is it ?
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Genard
"We don't have an epidemic of heart disease in this country," he said. "We have an epidemic of breathing disease."
You could call that a "breathtaking" statement in itself. It certainly resonated with someone for whom-as a stage actor-breathing and breath control were central to my art. What the teacher was saying was that, typically, our heart isn't given enough oxygen because of poor breathing habits. A heart continually deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen will naturally fare poorly over time. Interestingly, the same careless breathing habits will negatively affect your performance as a public speaker.
Why? Well, an interesting fact about public speaking is that breathing for speech is different from breathing for life. The latter is sometimes known as "vegetative breathing," meaning that it is passive and not aimed consciously at a goal. In speech, however, breath not only is the energizing force which powers our vocal cords. It must also be controlled to achieve the effects a speaker desires. Chief among these is sustaining the sound, since in English the most important words-the ones that need to be "punched"-usually come at the end of a phrase or sentence.
This means that as speakers, we use controlled exhalation that is much longer than the "quick in and out" inhalation-exhalation cycle of breathing for life. We must control our exhalation, and that means taking full breaths that form the reservoir of air that powers our speech. Speakers therefore must breathe more deeply than in everyday vegetative breathing. This is often a particular challenge in public speaking, when self-consciousness and adrenaline are enticing us to breathe shallowly and rapidly.
Getting a full reservoir of air that allows us to sustain our vocalization is only one benefit to slower, deeper, relaxed breathing for speech. A full rush of air that fills our lungs actually slows our heart down, calming and centering us. Try this exercise yourself: Get a baseline pulse rate at your wrist, then take a huge intake of air, pause for a few seconds, then "whoosh" it all out in a big exhalation. You should feel a distinct slowing on your pulse rate in the first few seconds afterwards.
Another reason to breathe fully and deeply is that it oxygenates our brain. And the brain needs this precious fuel oxygen if it is to function at top efficiency. In the speech environment where thinking on one's feet is paramount, this is no small benefit. So, try some relaxation exercises--lying down or sitting, it really doesn't matter--that teach you to breathe slowly and more deeply. You'll feel good, and you'll be more centered and ready to speak. Equally important, you'll look good by avoiding a "caved in" appearance. Best of all, you'll be able to vocally support your crucial points as you talk.
One other suggestion: As you do your relaxed breathing exercise, try to get your inhalation and exhalation to be continuous. That is, there should be no starting or stopping point where the inhalation ends and the exhalation begins, and vice versa. Think of your breathing rhythm as a figure "8" on its side, which is actually the symbol for infinity: there is no break anywhere. Unobstructed breathing like that helps loosen the mental blockages that are so often part of our trepidation about speaking in public. All in all, not a bad package of benefits from the simple art of learning to breathe properly, is it ?
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Genard
How to Deliver an Unforgettable Speech and Make the Audience Crazy About You.
Delivering a speech is a hard task. Yes, if you were just new in the arena, of course, you would feel incompetent and all. But with practice everything will be fine and dandy.
Here are some things to consider when you want to make your audience go crazy about you, and your performance:
1. Practice. Yes, sans practice your delivery would be chaotic, unless you have mastered the art and science of public speaking. But, a newbie must undergo series of training from their mentors, or self-help books, audio materials, etc.
2. Improve your vocabulary. The more words you know, the better a chance to express yourself in a comprehensible way. Exactness of word to illustrate your point is a tool to making your speech or message easy to absorb by your audience.
3. Be yourself. No need to ape someone. Be unique. Develop your own way of taking the center stage and let them be amazed on how you make them enthralled. A good speaker sets the milieu simply by standing there without uttering a word; but, the time he speaks everybody is trapped in his world. Yes, audience becomes oblivious of the inadequacy of the venue, say lacking proper ventilation due to overcrowding, etc.
4. Deliver as if it is your last. Yes just like an actor, his competence is gauged by his latest movie-- when it becomes box office hit, he is effective and all. You as a speaker must do the same. Pretend that you are evaluated by an all-knowing veteran in the public speaking world and your performance would speak of you either a great speaker or ineffective one.
5. Assess yourself. In every speaking engagement you have, why not learn a thing or two? The audience reaction or responses could give you some hints on how you deliver your speech. They know if you had ample preparations before going live and when you were inadequate in your performance by merely presenting your topic as if a routine given to you.
Audience deserves respect. Give it to them by making your speech a meaningful one. Get creative and see how it would impact to them.
There is always room for improvement. Yes, in fact it is the biggest room in the world of learning. Have fun and experience learning a thing or two on your journey to becoming a great speaker someday.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Icabandi_Nabiong
Here are some things to consider when you want to make your audience go crazy about you, and your performance:
1. Practice. Yes, sans practice your delivery would be chaotic, unless you have mastered the art and science of public speaking. But, a newbie must undergo series of training from their mentors, or self-help books, audio materials, etc.
2. Improve your vocabulary. The more words you know, the better a chance to express yourself in a comprehensible way. Exactness of word to illustrate your point is a tool to making your speech or message easy to absorb by your audience.
3. Be yourself. No need to ape someone. Be unique. Develop your own way of taking the center stage and let them be amazed on how you make them enthralled. A good speaker sets the milieu simply by standing there without uttering a word; but, the time he speaks everybody is trapped in his world. Yes, audience becomes oblivious of the inadequacy of the venue, say lacking proper ventilation due to overcrowding, etc.
4. Deliver as if it is your last. Yes just like an actor, his competence is gauged by his latest movie-- when it becomes box office hit, he is effective and all. You as a speaker must do the same. Pretend that you are evaluated by an all-knowing veteran in the public speaking world and your performance would speak of you either a great speaker or ineffective one.
5. Assess yourself. In every speaking engagement you have, why not learn a thing or two? The audience reaction or responses could give you some hints on how you deliver your speech. They know if you had ample preparations before going live and when you were inadequate in your performance by merely presenting your topic as if a routine given to you.
Audience deserves respect. Give it to them by making your speech a meaningful one. Get creative and see how it would impact to them.
There is always room for improvement. Yes, in fact it is the biggest room in the world of learning. Have fun and experience learning a thing or two on your journey to becoming a great speaker someday.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Icabandi_Nabiong
Monday, 1 February 2010
Public Speaking - Using Your Voice With Power and Impact
In case you were thinking of just getting on with it, here are three really good reasons why you should think carefully about your voice and how to make full use of it when you speak in public:
1. Audiences are more inclined to listen to an interesting voice, hence the use of actors in voiceovers. And they will stop listening if they struggle with the audibility of a presenter.
2. Just as with visual stimulation, auditory stimulation has a huge influence, much of it subconscious, on how an audience responds to the speaker and interprets the meaning in the message.
3. Public speaking is a physical pastime just like sport. The more you do it the better you should be. The more coaching and practice you have the better you will definitely be....and with greater power and stamina. And if you fail to warm up first you may well strain yourself!
Coaching your voice
• Sing in the shower. Give your lungs and larynx a good work out it will also add power to your voice.
• Practice your scales. Go through each of the vowels moving up and down to retain comfortable use at high and low levels. Humming will get you to feel your comfortable vocal range
• Read out loud. Children's story books are great to practice dramatised delivery of words and comfortable regulated breathing.
Posture
• Correct posture will result in a relaxed upper body which will mean better breathing and better voice power. It is that simple.
• Stand upright and straight with shoulders back and chin gently lifted.
• Centre yourself and turn from the hips 45%s left and right.
• Practice lifting and rolling the shoulders to relax them.
• Imagine you are balancing a book on top of your head
• Tilt the head up it helps relax the jaw
• Relax yourself physically, loosen the jaw to relax the throat, and release the tension from your shoulders and neck and improve resonance.
Breathing Control
• Good breathing creates resonance which creates vocal power. Trying to squeeze power from the throat or unnaturally lowering the voice in a growl will strain your voice.
• Practice breathing evenly from the diaphragm and not the chest. It frees up the chest to add sound capacity and resonance. And it gives greater stamina.
• As a breathing stamina exercise, inhale counting to 5, hold and exhale counting to 5, and repeat increasing the count up to 10
• Practice speaking within your vocal range and diaphragm capacity to develop a powerful voice not a strained voice that is forced from the throat. When you speak, leave something in reserve on the out-breath.
Nurturing your voice
• The dreaded "gruffness" is nearly always due to digestive mucous in the tubes caused by eating too late or food that is too rich. So avoid both.
• Avoid coffee and chocolate, these dehydrate you.
• Lubricate your throat. Warm water with lemon is highly recommended.
• If you need to clear your throat cough quietly rather than "slap" the vocal chords
Projecting your voice
• Enunciate. Open your mouth and project the words. Speak as if you want to be lip read.
• Smile as you speak!
• Aim your voice to the last row in the audience. Keep your chin up.
Emphasise through Pace
• Maintain attention and emphasise meaning by increasing pace when talking about up-beat, new, exciting things.
• Encourage the audience to agree and to accept your point by increasing pace.
• Slow down when emphasising seriousness, concerns, or when asking the audience to think hard about something
Emphasise through Pitch and Modulation
• Add interest and meaning with high pitch to emphasise excitement, surprise, belief in what you are saying.
• Use low pitch to emphasise seriousness and concern, and when you are being reflective.
• Move from low and high pitch to stress changes in mood and lead audience thinking.
• Questions end on a high pitch and statements end on a low pitch.
• Use following silence to dramatically emphasise the point just made. Use it to encourage the audience to reflect and consider. Use it to indicate a change in direction in a presentation. And use it to take a sip of water!
All of these tips will add power and impact to your presentation delivery. Practice them regularly so that they become natural habits and the more powerfully persuasive you will be.
Bob Howard-Spink is a partner in Persuadability. For more advice and free tips on how to present your messages with persuasive language and compelling images please visit us at http://persuadability.co.uk.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Howard-Spink
1. Audiences are more inclined to listen to an interesting voice, hence the use of actors in voiceovers. And they will stop listening if they struggle with the audibility of a presenter.
2. Just as with visual stimulation, auditory stimulation has a huge influence, much of it subconscious, on how an audience responds to the speaker and interprets the meaning in the message.
3. Public speaking is a physical pastime just like sport. The more you do it the better you should be. The more coaching and practice you have the better you will definitely be....and with greater power and stamina. And if you fail to warm up first you may well strain yourself!
Coaching your voice
• Sing in the shower. Give your lungs and larynx a good work out it will also add power to your voice.
• Practice your scales. Go through each of the vowels moving up and down to retain comfortable use at high and low levels. Humming will get you to feel your comfortable vocal range
• Read out loud. Children's story books are great to practice dramatised delivery of words and comfortable regulated breathing.
Posture
• Correct posture will result in a relaxed upper body which will mean better breathing and better voice power. It is that simple.
• Stand upright and straight with shoulders back and chin gently lifted.
• Centre yourself and turn from the hips 45%s left and right.
• Practice lifting and rolling the shoulders to relax them.
• Imagine you are balancing a book on top of your head
• Tilt the head up it helps relax the jaw
• Relax yourself physically, loosen the jaw to relax the throat, and release the tension from your shoulders and neck and improve resonance.
Breathing Control
• Good breathing creates resonance which creates vocal power. Trying to squeeze power from the throat or unnaturally lowering the voice in a growl will strain your voice.
• Practice breathing evenly from the diaphragm and not the chest. It frees up the chest to add sound capacity and resonance. And it gives greater stamina.
• As a breathing stamina exercise, inhale counting to 5, hold and exhale counting to 5, and repeat increasing the count up to 10
• Practice speaking within your vocal range and diaphragm capacity to develop a powerful voice not a strained voice that is forced from the throat. When you speak, leave something in reserve on the out-breath.
Nurturing your voice
• The dreaded "gruffness" is nearly always due to digestive mucous in the tubes caused by eating too late or food that is too rich. So avoid both.
• Avoid coffee and chocolate, these dehydrate you.
• Lubricate your throat. Warm water with lemon is highly recommended.
• If you need to clear your throat cough quietly rather than "slap" the vocal chords
Projecting your voice
• Enunciate. Open your mouth and project the words. Speak as if you want to be lip read.
• Smile as you speak!
• Aim your voice to the last row in the audience. Keep your chin up.
Emphasise through Pace
• Maintain attention and emphasise meaning by increasing pace when talking about up-beat, new, exciting things.
• Encourage the audience to agree and to accept your point by increasing pace.
• Slow down when emphasising seriousness, concerns, or when asking the audience to think hard about something
Emphasise through Pitch and Modulation
• Add interest and meaning with high pitch to emphasise excitement, surprise, belief in what you are saying.
• Use low pitch to emphasise seriousness and concern, and when you are being reflective.
• Move from low and high pitch to stress changes in mood and lead audience thinking.
• Questions end on a high pitch and statements end on a low pitch.
• Use following silence to dramatically emphasise the point just made. Use it to encourage the audience to reflect and consider. Use it to indicate a change in direction in a presentation. And use it to take a sip of water!
All of these tips will add power and impact to your presentation delivery. Practice them regularly so that they become natural habits and the more powerfully persuasive you will be.
Bob Howard-Spink is a partner in Persuadability. For more advice and free tips on how to present your messages with persuasive language and compelling images please visit us at http://persuadability.co.uk.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Howard-Spink
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
