Image via WikipediaIf you speak with impact, you will be admired, respected and remembered. There are several key elements to high-impact speaking. Study them all. Use them all. Master them all. These tips are precious. These techniques are to be cultivated. These little feelas are applicable whether you are speaking via telephone, webcam, or in person -- whether presenting yourself and your thoughts to a crowd or to a select group in a boardroom or a boxcar.
People judge you (very rapidly) by your appearance, your carriage (your posture, your poise, your air of self-confidence, your "charismatic presence"), and by the way in which you speak.
1) Look these BIG THREE techniques up, and then incorporate every one of them in your speaking: rhythm, rhyme and cadence;
2) Speak clearly. Enunciate for clarity, and especially for emphasis;
3) Stay on point. Your first sentence should directly address the topic to be spoken about, and you must emphasize precisely why it is crucially important for everyone to be paying close attention. Your words are important. They convey knowledge. They are weapons of persuasion. You are exerting a force when you speak. You have the power to start or quell a riot. You do;
4) Be as brief as possible, but be certain to express your complete thought. Don't "wing it." Plan what you are going to say. Don't hesitate and temporize with stutterances {*a Lingovation} "um...er...ah..." or clearing your throat. It is far better to pause momentarily (and make it appear deliberate and dramatic) than to destroy your effectiveness by making non-speech noises;
5) Speak in Staccato. Bulletize or outline each point directly for emphasis. Don't speak in meandering prose, or rambling. Make points -- as if each were an immutable Law of Physics. You can even number them if you'd like. Each point should be delivered like a punch. Each must be a nugget of brilliance. Your audience should perceive you as their commanding officer -- they should feel like students, hanging on your every word as if not doing so would cause them to fail a test.
When you have finished delivering your words, instead of summarizing, use that last bit of time to grab an acknowledgement from your listeners by asking an anchoring and positioning question. You may use cues such as: "Have I made myself clear?" "Is there anyone who is even slightly confused?" Say "Thank you." Then either leave rapidly (as if you had some important business to attend to), or sit down slowly and majestically, as if you had just delivered the Gettysburg Address -- whichever is appropriate in the circumstances.
Do it. And thank you.
Douglas E Castle
Chairman, TNNWC Management Consulting Services
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