One aspect of being an engaging speaker is being unpredictable, and that includes the volume of your voice. Boring speakers speak at the same volume for their entire speech (they also speak at the same speed and level of intensity.) This is why boring speakers put people to sleep.
It has never been easier, faster or cheaper to capture video of your CEO or Spokesperson speaking directly to the camera and then distributed via the web, DVD, Ipod or other video outlet. Unfortunately, most videos I see like this are horrible!
Why, because the spokesperson is reading from cue cards or feebly trying to follow a TelePrompTer. These are hard tasks to do if you aren’t a professional actor or newscaster.
Why is it that some people are great at giving a prepared speech to their bosses or superiors, but are then down right horrible when it comes to answering questions during or after their presentation?
My clients often hear me beg them to recount conversations they’ve had in the past for stories to be used in their speeches. The key is to re-live the dialogue you’ve had with people. This is standard advice you can get from any presentation guru. If you want to take it up a notch however, the key is to alter your voice to sound like the other person.
To people in your business and professional life, the most powerful thing you can ever say to them is not “I Love you.†Instead, it is asking them “What do you think?â€
Henry Kissinger was notorious for asking politicians and journalists alike this one simple question, “What do you think?†throughout his assent. Kissinger worked his way up the government hierarchy and beyond by making every conversation partner feel as though he was highly interested in their opinions.
Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t.