The pause is one of the more powerful tools in your Speaker’s Tool Box.

I posted a short video on the effective of a pause a few weeks ago. This is followup to that post to further expand on what I shared.

In this video I share a powerful example of how a student followed my advice and used a pause instead of making excuses when he ran out of thoughts on an impromptu topic he was speaking on. His pause lasted at least 7 seconds making the moment very memorable. So memorable that I am still talking about it more than 3 years later.

The pause is a powerful tool. Don’t underestimate its potential to improve your speaking.

Now go out and Make Your Voice Heard!

Want to learn the 5 Tools (you already have) to become a confident, engaging and effective speaker? Click the link for FREE video training. The Speaker’s Tool Box

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment or suggest a topic for a future blog.

With the written word we have a variety of ways to draw attention to a key word, phrase or message. We can italicize, bold, underline, use capital letters, use different fonts, different colours, use commas, exclamations, colons, etc. With the spoken word we can do something similar by using vocal variety. We can use volume, tone, speed and the pause to name a few. Vocal variety can breathe life into your speech or presentation.

Vocal variety will breath life into your speech or presentation. No one likes to listen to a monotone speaker regardless of how good the message or content is. Some speakers are naturally loud and booming and difficult to listen to for long periods. Others might be soft spoken causing their audience to strain to understand what they are saying. Use vocal variety to spice it up a bit. You can speed up to convey a sense of urgency. You can slow down to emphasize a point. You can speak loudly to draw attention to your message. You can use tone to convey a variety of emotions.

Vocal variety is one of the tools in your Speaker’s Tool Box

Now go out and Make Your Voice Heard!

Want to learn the 5 Tools (you already have) to become a confident, engaging and effective speaker? Click the link for FREE video training. The Speaker’s Tool Box

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment or suggest a topic for a future blog.

A good, well placed, quote can be very powerful in a speech or presentation. It can succinctly say what might take you several sentences to say. The quote has to be related to your topic or at the least linked to your topic so that it doesn’t feel out of place.

I use quotes in just about every speech and presentation that I give. I have a collection of 2-3 thousand and I have dozens committed to memory. I find myself, more often than not, using them spontaneously. I feed off my audience when I speak. I always deliver my core message however I will do it differently with each audience. Something an audience member says or does will trigger a particular quote that I feel fits the moment and I will share it with the audience to reinforce my point. I always make sure it is used in context with my message. If it doesn’t support the message I don’t use it.

I recommend create a personal collection of quotes that resonate with you. If they resonate with you then you will be able to use it more convincingly with your audience. Quotes are much more effective when they are not read. If you are going to use a quote memorize to make it more impactful.

I never know when or where I will here or see a quote that feel fits my style so I always carry a small pocket book so that I can capture them. I realized a long time ago that I can’t rely on my memory to document them later. I call it my ‘Ink It When You Think It’ book. I now use it to capture all kinds of nuggets, not just quotes. I review the book every couple of months and transfer the nuggets to my computer.

Quotes can be a tool in your Speaker’s Tool Box.

Now go out and Make Your Voice Heard!

Want to learn the 5 Tools (you already have) to become a confident, engaging and effective speaker? Click the link for FREE video training. The Speaker’s Tool Box

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment or suggest a topic for a future blog.

What do you want to be known for when you speak? Do you want to be known as enthusiastic? as sincere? as authentic? as knowledgeable? When you speak reflect on the 2-3 virtues that you want to be known for and you will cause those virtues to be transmitted through your speech or presentation. It will bring out your unique style.

I find that whenever I reflect on a particular virtue when I speak it has an impact on me. For example, if I reflect on being enthusiastic I automatically inject more enthusiasm into my speaking. If I reflect on being optimistic my vice takes on extra life. The same can be said about compassion, concern or any other virtue. Recognizing what virtue would be best suited for a particular message within your speech and reflecting on it can make a world of difference in how your message comes across.

Reflecting on virtues can be another tool in your Speaker’s Tool Box.

Now go out and Make Your Voice Heard!

Want to learn the 5 Tools (you already have) to become a confident, engaging and effective speaker? Click the link for FREE video training. The Speaker’s Tool Box

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment or suggest a topic for a future blog.

One of the most important aspects of oral communication is listening. Many of us listen looking for the opportunity to speak ourselves and not paying near enough attention to what the other person is saying. When we do this we miss out on a wealth of information.

When we listen to the radio or our iPod we are practicing passive listening. We are not listening with intent. However when we practice active listening we are listening to get as much information as possible. The better we are at active listening the more information we will gather. With more information we can make better decisions, judgements and interpretations.

I am reminded of the quote “The greatest compliment I was ever paid was when someone asked me my opinion and actually took the time to listen to it.” – Unknown We are perceived very differently when we make ourselves present in the moment and practice active listening and we have more information to work with.

Many people think that if you are the speaker you don’t need to focus as much on listening. Nothing could be further from the truth. Studies have shown that as much as 55% of face to face communication occurs at the non-visual level. For a speaker or presenter that represents a wealth of information. If you are dealing with a large audience then it is likely that vast majority of your audience’ communication will be at the non-verbal level. So it is important that we pay attention to our audience and that we take advantage of every opportunity to ‘listen with our eyes’.

Do you want to be a more effective communicator? Practice active listening.

Active listening is a tool in your Speaker’s Tool box

Now go out and Make Your Voice Heard!

Want to learn the 5 Tools (you already have) to become a confident, engaging and effective speaker? Click the link for FREE video training. The Speaker’s Tool Box

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment or suggest a topic for a future blog.