Whether you’re presenting a speech at your club meeting, introducing a speaker at a social event or delivering a sales pitch, you will always connect with your audience if you stage some silence before you speak. In the immortal words of William Shakespeare – “I stand in pause where I shall first begin.”
The power pause method has been the key to magnifying the messages of many great orators, however, stage silence before you begin your presentation should not be overdone. Your expressed purpose should be to make sure you have the undivided attention of your audience. Before you start, try locking your eyes on each of your listeners with a stare, as you silently review in your mind each word of your opening sentence. Make your Power Pause your final preparation before you begin to speak.
When you’re sure, you have your audience attention, it is wise to acknowledge that you now have their attention with a smile or perhaps a gentle nod. The Power Pause is the great equalizer. Whether you’re male or female, tall or short, dapper or grungy, an audience will lend you their ear if you take the time to make your audience stare back at you in hopeful anticipation, before you begin. Stand and steer with confidence as if to say I am ready for you. Are you ready to listen to me.
The Power Pause is one of the keys to charisma – that special power some speakers have naturally or develop. A power that makes them able to influence others and attract their attention and admiration. Audiences usually listen attentively to people they like and those who they admire. The Power Pause can also be your safety net also as you stare out into that audience for the first time from the platform. Let your audience embrace your silence. Take time to gather yourself, your thoughts, tame those butterflies as you begin to deliver what everyone present waited with bated breath to hear; your opening with a roar or a whisper.
One of the best skills all speakers must develop is the art of being quick, witty and polite. Without a doubt, one of the best ways to defuse conflict is with wisdom, wit, and humor. Wisdom comes with time. However, humor and wit take practice. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader who also used wisdom, humor, and wit effectively to defuse conflicts. He was a lawyer, activist, and politician who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India. Here is an example of his wit, his wisdom, and his humor.
I joined Toastmasters in March of 1997 and received my first DTM in July 2007 under the original education program. In 2017 we had the rollout of Pathways in our District 4. I achieved my second DTM award in November 2018 after meeting all the Pathways requirements for a second DTM Why did I undertake a second DTM? Because it was time for change.
Competitive speaking can put a speaker’s development on the fast track. To prepare for competitions, speakers must pay attention to those details often ignored. Here are a few of those details to consider as you prepare for your next speech to compete at the Club, Area, Division, District or International level of competition:
There is a fine line between public speaking and performing when you are on the platform. However, if you are performing more than you are speaking when your purpose for being on stage is public speaking, you are on the wrong side of the line. In some cases, when speakers are not comfortable or too familiar with their message, they may begin to perform. What most audiences want from a speaker is their message, not an act. If you can make a connection with your audience through your message, there is no need to go into acting mode. Even if that act makes your audience laugh or cry, you run the risk of detracting from your message and your acting may become a distraction.
Voice relaxation is essential for good speaking, especially when doing vocal exercises. Many people “talk in their throat,” meaning they hold their vocal tones too far back. When your vocal tones are too far back in your throat, your jaw muscles tense up and your voice sounds harsh and squeezed. You cannot produce a fine, resonant, pleasing tone when your throat muscles are pinched, tense, or strained.
Regardless of the occasion, we must have a purpose for speaking? The 4 Types of speeches are to INFORM – PERSUADE – INSPIRE – ENTERTAIN.
When you are on the speaking platform, have you ever found your mind twisting and turning, groping for words or at a loss for your next thought? Do you then turn to the most commonly used filler words like “Ahs,” “Ums” and the dreaded “You know”? How do you silence your “Ah” counter?
Do you know the sound of your voice? What you sound like. Have you ever been told you speak too fast, too slow; too loud too soft or you lack vocal variety. Perhaps when speaking privately, you have never received that type of feedback. It may be accepted as part of your personality. But what is your response if you receive this feedback when speaking in public. Whether we speak publicly or privately, the objectives are to be heard, understood and to be repeated. Your volume, rate, pitch, tone, and prosody determine how your message is interpreted. Your vocal variety, your voice inflection, and nuances determine how your message is understood. Often, it is not only what you say. It is how what you said was heard and received. Take a moment, record yourself to listen to the sound of you. If you do, you may be in for a huge surprise.
The art of persuading audiences and judges is as old as life itself. However, success or failure depends largely on how well you succeed in making your case. At Toastmasters meetings speeches are evaluated; we “evaluate to motivate.” But too often we highlight the good and whitewash that which needs improvement. In speech contests, presentations are judged to pick a winner. The objectives are very different; however, one may conclude that it does not matter if you are being evaluated or judged when your purpose is making your case.
Speaking For All Occasions 
You must be logged in to post a comment.