In part 3 three of the program
we will cover how to:
1. Speak with authority
2. Conquer speaking stress
3. Get your listeners’
attention
4. State your case with care
1. SPEAK WITH AUTHORITY
You have control over how
you look and sound. If you
want to sound authoritative,
then make sure you look authoritative
and feel authoritative.
When you are getting ready
to speak, form a mental image
that relates directly to the
manner in which you want to
deliver your message. If you
want to be authoritative,
then picture someone from
your experience who has delivered
a speech in an authoritative
manner. You might think of
President John F. Kennedy,
for example. Emulate this
person when you speak.
Also think of a single word
or phrase that embodies that
person’s way of delivering
the speech. For an authoritative
speech you may think of “strength,”
“power,” or “authority.”
Repeat that word in your mind
until your state of mind matches
the meaning of that word.
Last of all, consider your
body language. It is hard
to sound or to be authoritative
when you are hunched over
a podium, bent over a table,
or slouched in your chair.
Whether you are standing or
sitting, have proper posture,
do not fidget, and do not
let your eyes drift. If you
are making a voice-narration
using a script then stay focused
and do not let your mind drift.
2. CONQUER SPEAKING STRESS
Having a bit of speech fright
is very common and normal.
The feeling of being uncomfortable
can occur when the group you
are going to address is large
or small. You may even feel
stress when you speak with
just one person. For example
you may become nervous when
you are going to speak with
your boss.
Symptoms of speech fright
include a trembling voice,
anxious feelings, and a loss
of your natural speaking pace.
Some people experience a pounding
heart and high levels of perspiration.
All of these symptoms are
primarily caused by high levels
of adrenaline. What can you
do about them?
First, when you are getting
ready to speak, make a point
of taking a few deep breaths.
Deep breathing helps you to
focus and prepares you for
breathing at a proper pace.
Early in my speaking career,
an older master told me that
a few minutes before a speech
he often felt the surge of
adrenaline. He dealt with
it by pretending that he was
getting up at that point in
time to speak. It was his
way of “burning off”
some of that adrenaline. He
psychologically burned off
some of his anxiety by doing
this. By combining this mental
technique and by taking some
deep breaths you may be able
to burn off just enough of
that extra surge in adrenaline.
I use these techniques as
well and find them both helpful.
Second, before you speak,
visualize yourself delivering
the speech smoothly and with
confidence. In the movie “My
Dinner with Andre,”
the main character tells a
story about being in a play
when he was young. A fellow
child-actor told him that
it would be hot and stuffy
on stage under the lights,
and he would be sweaty. The
other person was trying to
convince him that he would
be unsuccessful on stage.
It was exactly the wrong mental
preparation. Do the opposite
and imagine successfully communicating
with the audience before you
even step in front of it.
When you do begin speaking,
never apologize for being
nervous. Your nervousness
is often not obvious to others.
No one can see your pounding
heart. Your apology only draws
attention to the problem and
distracts from your message.
Keep in mind that you are
usually much more critical
of yourself than anyone in
the audience will be.
As you gain confidence and
speak more often and apply
some of these techniques your
level of nervousness will
diminish.
3. GET YOUR LISTENERS’
ATTENTION
When making a presentation,
consider how you could tell
a story to make your point.
Everyone loves a good story.
By telling a story you put
it in context and add a real-life
human dimension to it. Imagine
being able to tell great a
story about your business
or your product or service
and the benefits of working
with you or using your product.
This is a very compelling
thing to do with a potential
customer.
Telling a good joke that
relates to your topic can
effectively get the listeners’
attention, but do not try
to be too funny. Some people
have a knack with humor and
others do not. If the joke
is short, and relates somehow
to the topic and you feel
comfortable telling then I
say go for it. If you are
uncertain for any reason then
it may be best to not use
humor.
In a conversation with a
small group or one-on-one,
you will be perceived as interesting
if you show sincere interests
in others. Make a point of
asking questions, not just
talking about your own topics.
When you ask a question make
it open ended and one that
people cannot answer with
a simple yes or no. By engaging
their participation, you naturally
engage their attention.
Remember that the sound of
your voice is one of your
most valuable attention-grabbing
tools. Be crisp in your language
and tone. Take the burden
off the listener by being
interesting and concise.
When creating your message,
give your audience incentive
to listen. Think of an attention-grabbing
“headline” that
relates strongly to what’s
in it for the listener.
“Jim, I just thought
of a way to reduce customer
turnover by 50%. Can I have
a few minutes to tell you
about it?”
No matter whom you are speaking
to, make your message stand
out by injecting energy into
it. Be alive and show enthusiasm.
Adding enthusiasm engages
the listener and thus adds
interest to your message.
4. STATE YOUR CASE WITH CARE
You may have been hearing
lately about your emotional
intelligence. Your emotional
intelligence, or EQ, is your
ability to understand and
relate to your feelings and
emotions and the feelings
and emotions of others. Researchers
now believe that when it comes
to predicting success your
EQ is far more of a factor
than your IQ.
High-EQ people do three things
that make them effective communicators.
First, they establish empathy
that conveys respect and understanding.
They ask questions and acknowledge
emotions. They check their
timing and only proceed if
the timing is right. If we
are sensitive we will know
when a person does not have
the time or whether you need
to make your point quickly.
An idea may have to be presented
in small increment rather
than all at once. To have
empathy means that you have
an understanding of the other’s
problems, feelings, and points
of view. The effective speakers
of the world do this well.
Most people do it poorly.
Second, they then check for
the audience’s willingness
to listen. If the person you
want to talk with is not ready
and you push ahead anyway,
it will be difficult or impossible
to make your case.
If the timing is right and
you have their attention,
make your case.
The third thing that high
EQ people do is that they
deal well with objections.
As you do convey your message,
you may come up against objections.
This is normal and good. Objections
shows interest – welcome
and embrace them.
I will illustrate how a lack
of objections related to a
lack of interest. I once gave
a talk to IBM that was organized
by our local salesperson.
The audience assembled, but
the “stage setting”
was done by the local sales
staff, and a key point was
missed. The preparation failed
to make sure that the audience
was in a position to use the
new product we were introducing.
The audience was polite but
not engaged and no objections
were raised either during
the talk or during the question-and-answer
segment—not even one!
The local sales people seemed
happy with the presentation
and that there were no objections.
I knew that little business
would come from this presentation.
In the end, it took much longer
than expected by the local
sales force to develop business
at this IBM location with
this new product. The point
of this story is that an engaged
audience does raise objections
and you need to deal with
them effectively.
If you do encounter an objection
or two here is an effective
three-step way to work through
objections.
1. Repeat the objection.
This gives you a moment to
think and ensures that you
understand the objection.
I have seen many an inexperienced
salesperson answer an objection
that was never asked simply
because they did not understand
the objection.
Repeating the objection also
gives the other person the
opportunity to hear what they
have just said. You are giving
them the chance to clarify
themselves or, if the words
seem unreasonable, the chance
to change their opinion without
losing face.
2. Never match the objection
with equal force. Instead,
ask a question, such as, “Why
do you think that way?”
or “What do you think
are some options that could
lead to a solution to this
issue?” These questions
show your willingness to be
open-minded, that you think
the objection is important,
and that you appreciate the
fact that the person raised
it.
3. Ensure that you have addressed
all the objections by asking
some additional questions,
such as, “Is there anything
that you would like to discuss
further?” or “Have
I made everything clear?”
If you set the stage properly,
make your case, and then handle
objections effectively you
are well on your way to success.
In part 4 we will be looking
at some of the dos and don’ts
when using the telephone and
how a script is used to create
a professional message.
