+91 9930931613
+91 9930931613
Many executives and professionals face some challenges when they need to speak about their business.
Their most common challenges are:
– Speaking in a disjointed, hesitant manner.
– Taking too long to make a point.
– Not explaining things in a clear, easy-to-understand way.
– Going off topic and giving vague replies to questions.
Do you also face these or other challenges when you need to speak to your clients, colleagues, or the media? If you do and are already working on overcoming them, that’s great. Read what follows for three concepts you can use to help you with your efforts. It’s an extract from a guideline I wrote for a company asking why many people don’t speak with clarity, even after trying for many years.
Why many people don’t improve their speaking style even after trying for long.
After people realize they must get some help to improve how they speak, what do most of them do? They try “free tips” from the internet on public speaking, accent change, voice tone and body language. Or they ask colleagues for some ideas and may buy a course or book on “communication skills.”
Sure, these can help, but do they always get people the results they want? Many people tell me that even after trying all these routes, they don’t speak the way they want to—and know they should. They feel that something is still missing from what they wanted to learn, or in the way they are trying to learn.
If you feel the same way, work on these three concepts.
● Message before technique
● Your natural style
● Learn for your present need
Message before technique
When people want to improve how they speak, they think they must first master some specific speaking techniques. The popular techniques are body language, voice tone, accent and reading out info-rich slide presentations. They never work on becoming clear and in control of their message first. So when they speak, their message does not come out the way they thought it would.
If people interrupt them with questions or ask for clarity, they panic and overthink what to say. Then they speak too fast or in a hesitant manner, making it hard for people to understand what they are saying. (If people cannot understand what you are saying, they will not know what you want them to do next.)
They also do not appear confident about themselves, which is not a good thing. (People like to work with those who appear confident. If you do not appear confident of yourself, people will not feel confident about you.)
Some people argue that body language and voice tone matter the most. To that I ask them how those things would matter if the format of the communication changed.
For example, what if the meeting got canceled, and they had to email their message instead? How would their body language and voice tone matter then? Or what if the video conference or network system failed? If they had to present their plans over the phone instead, how would their body language matter then?
So before trying to master a speaking technique to deliver your message, become clear and feel in control of your message first. Your message is the critical part of your communication as people act on that. When you are sure of what to say, you will say it in a way that will have a powerful impact on people. A strong, easy-to-understand message will help to compensate for your saying it in a weak manner.
Your natural style
Everyone has a unique speaking style. One of the worst things people do when trying to improve how they speak, is moving away from their natural style. Instead of knowing and strengthening their natural style, they try to learn to speak like someone else! They want to speak like the person in the video they are learning from or someone they admire.
That is not an efficient way to learn how to overcome your speaking challenges. All that will make you do is speak in a manner that does not reflect your personality and domain authority! Why would you ever want to speak like someone else? Your personality is unique. No one can express your knowledge and ideas better than you. So know and strengthen your natural style and use it to have a greater impact on people when you speak. Never let someone else’s speaking or writing style replace or dominate yours.
Learn for your present need
Many people think they must learn public speaking to have a greater on impact on people when they speak. They also they think they should learn to deliver presentations in a dazzling, dramatic way.
It is good to learn all this, but think about whether you need to start there and when and where you will use that knowledge. Two mistakes people make with trying to learn public speaking first are:
Mistake #1: They learn techniques they don’t need now. Instead, they should first work on the two concepts you read earlier: “Message before technique / Your natural style.” Become sure of your messages and natural style, then use that power in whatever else you want to learn.
Mistake #2: They try to use public speaking techniques every time they speak! That is absurd and you should never try to do that. You have many speaking environments everyday so you must know how to adapt and share your message for those environments. You won’t be able to use public speaking techniques everywhere. People who try this, often end up looking foolish in front of the people they are speaking to.
Every speaking occasion is unique.
– How you must speak to large audiences differs from how you must speak to a few people.
– How you speak when there is more time differs from how you must speak when there is less time.
And what about learning to handle interruptions and tough questions? These situations throw many people off balance and make them lose control of the moment.
So when you look for ways to improve your speaking style, check if
(1) You need to learn those things now?
(2) Will they help you adapt for your everyday environment?
You can realize where to start by asking yourself these questions.
– Where do you need to speak most often? It is to people you know, like clients, colleagues and customers. Forums and media interactions? In-person or remote?
– Which are the top three specific speaking blocks you want to overcome? Will the source of learning help you remove those blocks first?
– When you finish learning, how will you recognize the change you wanted?
Want to experience how to get the change you want?
Try out the three concepts I shared above. They will help you. After that, if you need my help for exclusive guidance on how to have a greater impact on people when you speak, contact me.
I’ve been in marketing and public relations for forty years and worked with amazing people and companies. I know the different speaking and writing challenges people face and how to overcome them.
Whatever you want to learn new or make greater, I will work 1-on-1 along with you on that. We will remove what is not working for you and replace it with what will. We will focus on what you need the most for your everyday work environment. At the end, you will have your own system to feel confident and in control speaking to your clients, colleagues, the media, and even your friends.
Kais Rahimtulla
Communication Coach | Media Trainer
Founder, KR CSCHOOL for Great Communicators
+91 9930931613 | kaisr@kaisrahimtulla.com
“People like to work with who they feel confident about. You can give them that confidence by the way you speak.”
“People like to work with who they feel confident about. You can give them that confidence by the way you speak.”
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