Do you use your voice when you publicly speak?
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To use the voice to best effect in a presentation involves us having to put a great deal of effort into the way we manipulate it. So how do you best use your voice?
1. Adding some confidence. If our audience doesn’t believe in us, then why will they bother giving us the time of day, let alone sit through our presentation?
2. Conviction in what we are saying is also key. Putting across our passion, despite the fact that we are genuinely convinced in our own argument, can cause our audience to doubt us and put question marks over what we have to say.
3. Enthusiasm, too, is essential. If we are confident and are convinced in our own arguments, then very likely we will also come across as enthused. Being enthusiastic is also infectious. If we sound all fired up by what we say, the chances are we will have an easier ‘sell in’ of our ideas than if we appear not so turned on by the subject matter in hand.
4. Our integrity is also something that must never be brought into question. If we try to bluff our way through a sticky patch, we can be sure the audience will almost certainly catch us out with the result that nearly everything else we say may also be challenged.
5. Of course, if we can show we have a widespread grasp of the subject in hand by being able to show off our knowledge, then that too is very important, though not necessarily essential. Or is it? Broadcasters most often talk about a subject with which they are not very familiar. After all, not every broadcaster can be well versed in every subject. But the fact that they have done their research thoroughly gives them the wherewithal to ask searching questions of their interviewees and, as such, shows them to be ‘instant experts’!
Finally, having a good voice is certainly a valuable asset, but is hardly essential to a good presentation. Few are blessed with really beautiful voices, but there are thousands more who are good presenters.
Preparation and practice. Preparation for enthusiasm as it is very difficult to be enthusiastic about a topic you aren’t close to, Preparation for confidence – you know what you’re speaking about and don’t have to worry about “knowing your stuff” and this equally relates to conviction, knowledge, and integrity.
All the preparation in the world doesn’t equal the actual experience. So take every opportunity to speak in public. You can tell yourself to have a confident and enthusiastic speaking voice and you can half all the preparation in the world…but the actual experience can drain away all of it. The more you become accustomed to doing it, the more natural it is, and your volume, confidence, and enthusiasm will increase. It is like any other skill….wobbly the first time you ride a bike? Now you get on one without even thinking about having to balance. Don’t have a clue where the letters are on a keyboard? Practice typing and once you’ve got the keys down you not only don’t LOOK at the keys, but you don’t even have to think about what your fingers are doing. It’s natural. That’s what you want to be as a public speaker…….”a natural.”