Delivery

30Jul

Don’t Forget to Breathe

I spent last week in SA running workshops for both Flinders University medical workforce and Limestone Coast Regional Development. My 3rd visit, and always so rewarding. And one of the topics that came up again - for many different reasons - breathing!  At the risk of banging on about this again - believe me, it bears repeating - we often don't realise what a big deal taking enough breath can be when we speak. There are so many benefits such as: - Being able to think more clearly. - Telegraphing control and authority. - Life-force and energy: demonstrating this is a known winner for audiences.  - Projecting...

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16Jun

The Audience Takes its Cue From You

What you put out, you are likely to get back.

To give you a metaphor illustrating this: If you're the slug at the front, expect your audience to be slugs in the seats. This may be an extreme visual, but there's so much truth in it. Your audience will respond to your energy, vibrancy, and engagement with the topic, and what they see from you as the presenter or speaker is what they will mirror back.  So if you're low in energy or appear disinterested, be prepared for that to come right back at you. Of course, we need to expand on this metaphor—you...

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05Jun

Internalise don’t Memorise

If you’re preparing for a talk or an interview, and you write down the exact words that you want to say first and then try and remember them in the event, you’ve potentially got an issue.

You may get:

disconnected from the meaning behind the words, because you're so hung up on getting exact wording right. disconnected from the audience because you're in your head rather than with them. distracted by trying to remember the correct words or phrases. frustrated if something you said didn't come out exactly as you wanted it to. In all these cases, you've - even temporarily - lost...

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08May

Asking Questions

When you give a presentation, do you ask enough questions? Even if they’re rhetorical questions, many people don't have enough questions in their presentations. It's simply a series of statements.  And the higher level thinking or the more familiar the topic, the more involved we are, the less easier it is to remember that sometimes we need to flip and turn a statement into a rhetorical question. For example, I was working with a client in sustainability who had some incredible stats, that she simply clicked through to on the slides and… there they were. And that was a perfect moment, which we...

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10Apr

Want to be a More Powerful Speaker?

Extend your vocal range.

You'd probably agree with me that one of the most crucial aspects of  an audience's ability to "hear" us is the amount of vocal contrast we use. (There are other contrast aspects too, topics for another day.) Coming across as varied enough is a key challenge that so many speakers have to face. Low vocal range equals low contrast, and low contrast leads to low engagement. We all have a natural range, don't we? Varying from very little change (almost monotone in delivery), to highly expressive...even dramatic! You can probably think of people who demonstrate very different ends of that scale! If...

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12Mar

How strong is your mind-to-mouth connection?

One of the things we’re always aiming for when we speak is to be clear. Sometimes to be impactful as well, but definitely to be clear. 

[Video content is below, too, if you prefer to watch.] And one of the key reasons that we don’t achieve this clarity goal is when our mouth is ahead of our mind: we don't have a strong mind-to-mouth connection.  When our mouth is running the show, any of these issues can happen. I'm sure you'll recognise yourself in at least one of them! Most people do at least one of these on a regular basis. We: Ramble ...

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28Feb

Do you Prefer “I feel” or “I think” when you Speak? And Why it Matters.

Speaking with a younger client hoping for promotion this week, she was telling me about meeting a partner in her firm to discuss her concerns about a team process.

And I noticed in her retelling of the conversation with him that she was continually using “I feel” and “I felt” to describe what she was observing.  Even though there were feelings involved on her part, using this language can be a concern for a few reasons:   For us. Saying “I feel” - it’s personal. It’s closer to us. We are actually priming ourselves to attach more strongly to the idea we’re expressing. This...

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18Jan

Why and How to Practise Speaking Under Pressure

The why - and how - to practise speaking under pressure: why it matters, and 2 super-practical tips. Do you ever get frustrated by the fact that you can practise and be fine at home or in front of the dog...but when you get into the actual space, things start to unravel? Or you feel more stressed than you thought you would, and that catches you by surprise? Here's a 2-minute video on how to put yourself under deliberate pressure in order to increase your capacity when you're actually speaking. By testing yourself in the ways I mention in the video - and there...

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12Dec

Speak to me, not ‘everyone’!

Speak to me, not 'everyone'

As communicators, we're always on the lookout for ways to connect and engage with our audience. What do you think is not ideal in these two examples? 1. An email I received this week from UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees): "Dear Sarah, Thank you to everyone who has donated to help..." 2. My weekly email from Tim Ferriss of 4 hour week fame, which begins each week with "Hi All!" and ends "Have a wonderful weekend, all." Agh!

Tell me: do these communications engage with you directly?

Do you feel connected - as an individual, just one person -...

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16Nov

The Value of Volume When You Speak

What do I mean by the value of volume?

The amount of sound we make when speaking in public has impact far beyond simply people being able to hear us. And it doesn't matter if you're highly experienced, or new and nervous: working with aspects of volume is a great way to access greater courage or presence.

1. Let's look at volume and nerves first:

If you're anxious, your system tends to shrink and contract. And you may recognise any of these as a result: low breath, low energy, mind-blanks. This contraction happens to both your mind and your body...one follows the other: and the...

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