The Music of Your Speech
Musicians and dancers talk about “musicality” in their respective arts. They say it’s something you feel in your bones and your muscles when you are performing. It’s interpreting the music, or the dance, through how it is performed. Speakers, too, can display charisma in this manner.
The charisma we’re talking about here comes from your gestures, the expressions on your face while you are speaking in public, smiling with your whole body, not just your lips; it’s the emotion you are conveying through your words and your visage. Your audience can truly sense your intention, passion, and meaning if you know how to communicate with charisma. If you are speaking to persuade, such as in politics or sales – all the better because you need your audience to feel the musicality in your voice and see it in your movements.
Especially during the summer because […]
As a business professional, your day is filled with interactions ranging from short telephone calls to important conversations with colleagues, sales presentations, and the occasional formal speech.
As an entrepreneur or an employee, your average day is filled with interactions with others. In addition to phone calls, formal speeches or presentations, training sessions, media interactions, and numerous dialogues with colleagues and customers or clients, networking events can be some of the most important venues for making a good first impression!
Proposals delivered by multiple people from the same company or organization are interesting to watch from a “30,000 foot” view. There are many people involved; each has an agenda. What is their focus? Who should talk, when, and for how long? What is everyone’s individual role? Did the group come across as they envisioned?
I’ve heard it said that at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket then giving the eulogy. Speaking can be a frightening thing for most people, but once you conquer that fear, the world can open up for you. Whether it’s a short speech during a monthly meeting at work or a presentation that promotes your business, speaking is a great way to get noticed and move forward with your goals. Here are a few tips that will help you present like a professional:
Executives often spend “windshield time” and even scheduled time crafting the words they will use to convey their vision. With so much time spent on what to say, why is it that we often have to repeat ourselves two or three – or ten – times before we get everyone in the office “on board”? I’ll tell you why: it’s not just about what you say; it’s how you say it that makes the difference. Content represents only 7% of what people remember after they have heard you speak. The bulk of what people understand (93% of it, actually) is conveyed through your gestures, the eye contact you make with the crowd, your body language and movement, and your tone of voice. Does your body language and tone of voice “say” what you want it to say; what you intended?
Last time we started our “Top Tips for Your Next Speaking Engagement”. This is Part 2 of better microphone usage: