Recently, I worked with an NFL player in voice and presentation skills. During his 3rd session, he discovered the techniques for increasing his volume without shouting which I refer to as projection. He was stunned. It did not hurt his throat; it sounded better; and, his voice carried with more depth and breadth.
This is not the first professional athlete I've taught who has discovered the benefits of projecting the voice. Athletes, politicians, teachers, trainers, coaches, ministers, professional speakers, and even those who work in loud environments notice a tremendous difference when they learn the correct techniques for increasing their volume.
Unfortunately, if you are speaking loudly for long periods of time, you may also be suffering from vocal abuse which is characterized by chronic hoarseness, sore throats, or even loss of voice by the end of the day. And, if you frequent loud bars, projection is the only way to be heard without hurting your throat or your listeners' ears!
In order to increase your volume properly, you will need to do 3 things first:
1. Breathe with the support of your diaphragm;
2. Use your chest cavity to power your sound; and
3. Find the optimum pitch of your speaking voice.
This technique is how you make the change from your habitual voice to your 'real' one. In the process, you will discover a sound that is deeper in pitch, warmer in quality and resonant. You will know when you have found it because you will not only hear the difference but you will feel your chest vibrating when you speak.
Once you have made this change, you will be able to increase your volume by means of your pelvic muscles instead of just your throat and voice box. Those pelvic muscles, sometimes referred to as your girdle of strength, will enable you to amplify your voice comfortably and with ease.
If you need to be able to speak with a larger volume of sound, stop shouting or yelling and learn how to project your voice instead. Your throat will thank you as well as your listeners!
The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit Voice Dynamic and watch Nancy as she describes Your Volume Control.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_Daniels
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Three Key Elements of Every Great Speech
These three elements are powerful ingredients that must use in every speech if you want your audience to keep listening long after you have finished speaking.
They take their roots in ancient Greece.
The ancient Greek orators studied the most effective speeches ever made in all of history and reached the conclusion that all those speeches had these three elements.
You can be sure that they will go a long way in making your speeches impactful and unforgettable.
1.ETHOS
This is the root word for "ethics". It refers to the your integrity as the speaker as well as the character of your message. In essence, it refers to your credibility, sincerity and believability.
The more credible you are as a speaker, the more receptive your listeners will be.
For instance, people would rather listen to a medical doctor deliver a speech on HIV/AIDS than they would a motor mechanic. Similarly, the average audience would rather listen to a motor mechanic deliver a speech on automobile repairs than a medical doctor.
"Ethos" is also demonstrated in your mannerisms, accent and intonation. Your message will be better received if you are natural and authentic.
It is necessary to learn from others but you must always stay true to yourself.
2.LOGOS
This is the root word for "logic". Every speech must be logical.
Remember that in lesson one, I mentioned that public speaking is "...deliberate and structured..." You cannot afford to ramble or take your audience for granted.
Whenever you are privileged to speak in public, ensure that your presentation is logical, systematic, intelligent. This boils down to two things-research and reflection.
Research will provide you with facts and figures.
Reflection will help you organize those facts and figures in a way that will reinforce your message.
Your arguments should be reasonable. This can only happen if you reason.
3.PATHOS
This is the root word for "passion." This refers to emotions, sympathy and imagination.
PATHOS deals with the emotional appeal of your presentation.
Every effective speech has an emotional component. People buy things for emotional reasons not for logical reasons. Think about the several women who have as many as 50 pairs of shoes in their closets.More often than not, they keep those shoes because of how they "feel" when they wear them.
If you watch the adverts on CNN or BBC and other global TV networks, you'd see how much emphasis advertisers place on the emotional component of their products.
In essence, people are emotional. It's important to take note of this because every speech is like a sales pitch. You want your audience to buy into your message or mindset so you must have the right emotional appeal to match your objective.
You don't smile when you ought to be sober neither do you frown when you are making an exciting point. More so, avoid speaking in a monotone.
Infuse emotions-anger, joy, sobriety, fear, desperation, confidence, displeasure, satisfaction, serenity and other emotions when necessary.
Let's go over the three key elements again:
1.Ethos-your integrity and the character of your message.
2:Logos-reasoning, facts and figures.
3.Pathos-emotional appeal and imagination.
Damilola Oluwatoyinbo is a blend of gifts and grace.
He is dynamic speaker, inspirational writer, infopreneur and trainer.
His blog http://www.damioluwatoyinbo.com attracts readers from over sixty countries. Subscribe to his 7-part public speaking course FREE OF CHARGE today by sending a blank email to publicspeakingsuccess@getresponse.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Damilola_Oluwatoyinbo
They take their roots in ancient Greece.
The ancient Greek orators studied the most effective speeches ever made in all of history and reached the conclusion that all those speeches had these three elements.
You can be sure that they will go a long way in making your speeches impactful and unforgettable.
1.ETHOS
This is the root word for "ethics". It refers to the your integrity as the speaker as well as the character of your message. In essence, it refers to your credibility, sincerity and believability.
The more credible you are as a speaker, the more receptive your listeners will be.
For instance, people would rather listen to a medical doctor deliver a speech on HIV/AIDS than they would a motor mechanic. Similarly, the average audience would rather listen to a motor mechanic deliver a speech on automobile repairs than a medical doctor.
"Ethos" is also demonstrated in your mannerisms, accent and intonation. Your message will be better received if you are natural and authentic.
It is necessary to learn from others but you must always stay true to yourself.
2.LOGOS
This is the root word for "logic". Every speech must be logical.
Remember that in lesson one, I mentioned that public speaking is "...deliberate and structured..." You cannot afford to ramble or take your audience for granted.
Whenever you are privileged to speak in public, ensure that your presentation is logical, systematic, intelligent. This boils down to two things-research and reflection.
Research will provide you with facts and figures.
Reflection will help you organize those facts and figures in a way that will reinforce your message.
Your arguments should be reasonable. This can only happen if you reason.
3.PATHOS
This is the root word for "passion." This refers to emotions, sympathy and imagination.
PATHOS deals with the emotional appeal of your presentation.
Every effective speech has an emotional component. People buy things for emotional reasons not for logical reasons. Think about the several women who have as many as 50 pairs of shoes in their closets.More often than not, they keep those shoes because of how they "feel" when they wear them.
If you watch the adverts on CNN or BBC and other global TV networks, you'd see how much emphasis advertisers place on the emotional component of their products.
In essence, people are emotional. It's important to take note of this because every speech is like a sales pitch. You want your audience to buy into your message or mindset so you must have the right emotional appeal to match your objective.
You don't smile when you ought to be sober neither do you frown when you are making an exciting point. More so, avoid speaking in a monotone.
Infuse emotions-anger, joy, sobriety, fear, desperation, confidence, displeasure, satisfaction, serenity and other emotions when necessary.
Let's go over the three key elements again:
1.Ethos-your integrity and the character of your message.
2:Logos-reasoning, facts and figures.
3.Pathos-emotional appeal and imagination.
Damilola Oluwatoyinbo is a blend of gifts and grace.
He is dynamic speaker, inspirational writer, infopreneur and trainer.
His blog http://www.damioluwatoyinbo.com attracts readers from over sixty countries. Subscribe to his 7-part public speaking course FREE OF CHARGE today by sending a blank email to publicspeakingsuccess@getresponse.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Damilola_Oluwatoyinbo
Friday, May 28, 2010
Get Rid of Public Speaking Fear by Knowing Your Audience and Your Environment
You may be wondering, "Won't my speech work regardless of whom I'm speaking to or where I'm speaking?" Well, the short answer to that is, "Maybe." You could give the exact same speech in the exact same manner to a dozen different audiences in a dozen different settings, and it could go just fine. However, you could also find that one audience is too young for your speech content, and another audience too mature; or you could find that one speaking environment gives you a presentation space that is so large that you don't have enough visual aids to make it look "filled", while another presentation space may be so cramped that you don't have room to put up the visual aids that you need, or to interact with your audience.
The truth is, you never really know. Therefore, it is always a good idea to do as much research as possible about your audience and your environment, so that you will be able to make necessary adjustments to your speech beforehand. There are a few things that will set a public speaker off-balance, and make room for the ever-lurking public speaking fears to greet them and take over, like walking into a room and seeing an audience for an environment that is far different than what the speaker expected.
Of course, it's not always going to be possible for you to physically visit the environment in which you will be speaking before you get on stage to give your speech. Likewise, it's not always going to be possible for you to meet the members of your audience beforehand to find out how old they are, whether they are mostly male or female, or whether they are mostly liberal or conservative. However, often times, you will have at least the few minutes before your speech available to survey your speaking environment, and to observe the people in your audience as they filter into the room.
The space that you have available on your stage will affect the number and types of visual aids that you will be able to use during your presentation, so any information that you can gather beforehand about the size and shape of the space will be valuable to you as you are planning a particular speech. If you are unsure of whether or not you'll be able to use a visual aid because of space limitations, it's a good idea to have a backup plan ready - you may be able to give a verbal description that will adequately replace the visual aid, or you may have a transitional phrase or two ready to bridge the gap caused by omitting that part of your speech.
Another element of your presentation space that is just as important as the actual amount of space available is the number and types of resources that you will have available to present visual aids. Don't just assume that you will have a projector available to show PowerPoint slides, or even electrical outlets to plug in a laptop or projector. These are the types of surprises that can throw you off and frustrate you in the moments before you begin your speech - for many speakers, they can even be enough to set off a wave of panic that can trigger many of the emotional and physical symptoms of public speaking fear.
Likewise, any information that you can find out about your audience before you take the stage is extremely valuable. Now, I'm not suggesting that you stereotype your audience, but it is good to know certain characteristics of the makeup of your audience, so that you can adjust the flavor of your speech a bit.
For example, if your audience is primarily made up of people over the age of 50, you may want to do a quick review of your speech material to see how many pop-culture references are there. This is not to suggest that no one in your audience will understand a pop-culture reference, but in the vast majority of cases, you will find that it is easy to lose an audience on a point illustrated by a reference that they aren't familiar with.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Severt
The truth is, you never really know. Therefore, it is always a good idea to do as much research as possible about your audience and your environment, so that you will be able to make necessary adjustments to your speech beforehand. There are a few things that will set a public speaker off-balance, and make room for the ever-lurking public speaking fears to greet them and take over, like walking into a room and seeing an audience for an environment that is far different than what the speaker expected.
Of course, it's not always going to be possible for you to physically visit the environment in which you will be speaking before you get on stage to give your speech. Likewise, it's not always going to be possible for you to meet the members of your audience beforehand to find out how old they are, whether they are mostly male or female, or whether they are mostly liberal or conservative. However, often times, you will have at least the few minutes before your speech available to survey your speaking environment, and to observe the people in your audience as they filter into the room.
The space that you have available on your stage will affect the number and types of visual aids that you will be able to use during your presentation, so any information that you can gather beforehand about the size and shape of the space will be valuable to you as you are planning a particular speech. If you are unsure of whether or not you'll be able to use a visual aid because of space limitations, it's a good idea to have a backup plan ready - you may be able to give a verbal description that will adequately replace the visual aid, or you may have a transitional phrase or two ready to bridge the gap caused by omitting that part of your speech.
Another element of your presentation space that is just as important as the actual amount of space available is the number and types of resources that you will have available to present visual aids. Don't just assume that you will have a projector available to show PowerPoint slides, or even electrical outlets to plug in a laptop or projector. These are the types of surprises that can throw you off and frustrate you in the moments before you begin your speech - for many speakers, they can even be enough to set off a wave of panic that can trigger many of the emotional and physical symptoms of public speaking fear.
Likewise, any information that you can find out about your audience before you take the stage is extremely valuable. Now, I'm not suggesting that you stereotype your audience, but it is good to know certain characteristics of the makeup of your audience, so that you can adjust the flavor of your speech a bit.
For example, if your audience is primarily made up of people over the age of 50, you may want to do a quick review of your speech material to see how many pop-culture references are there. This is not to suggest that no one in your audience will understand a pop-culture reference, but in the vast majority of cases, you will find that it is easy to lose an audience on a point illustrated by a reference that they aren't familiar with.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Severt
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
How to Find a Good Public Speaking Coach
Public speaking is a very important topic in today's world. If you are a business man then you have to master the art of speaking in front of an audience. But not only as a business man.
There are lots of points in life where you have to speak in front of people, and nothing will gain you more then the ability to deliver a great presentation.
But how do you quickly get better at public speaking? One aspect will definitely help you speed up your learning process and that is having a coach.
In this article I will cover how you can find a good coach.
Doing some research about good public speaking coaches is almost always worth the effort. You can't expect to find your perfect coach within an instant. Do some thorough research. Depending on your needs you might want to have a coach who has perfected the art of speaking in public.
If you are searching for someone like that then you might want to search for World Champions of Public Speaking. Nothing is more a sign of mastering public speaking then to be a world champion.
Asking the people around you might also be a great option. Usually there is a friend who knows someone that could either help you find a coach or who is a coach himself. Just be sure to ask your friends whether they know someone that might help you and everything will go from there.
You will be able to instantly find a coach just through your friends. You will be amazed by how fast you will be able to find one.
If you still weren't able to find someone then you might think about asking people from your work environment about it. If they don't have a clue then go ahead and ask your boss. He is probably going to like your effort and might be able to hook you up with some very good public speakers.
Public speaking is important and there is nothing more important than learning from someone who has the experience and skills necessary to deliver a dazzling presentation.
If you want to improve public speaking skills then be sure to visit my website. Ultimately it will help you to become a better public speaker.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julius_Kuhn-Regnier
There are lots of points in life where you have to speak in front of people, and nothing will gain you more then the ability to deliver a great presentation.
But how do you quickly get better at public speaking? One aspect will definitely help you speed up your learning process and that is having a coach.
In this article I will cover how you can find a good coach.
Research
Doing some research about good public speaking coaches is almost always worth the effort. You can't expect to find your perfect coach within an instant. Do some thorough research. Depending on your needs you might want to have a coach who has perfected the art of speaking in public.
If you are searching for someone like that then you might want to search for World Champions of Public Speaking. Nothing is more a sign of mastering public speaking then to be a world champion.
Friends
Asking the people around you might also be a great option. Usually there is a friend who knows someone that could either help you find a coach or who is a coach himself. Just be sure to ask your friends whether they know someone that might help you and everything will go from there.
You will be able to instantly find a coach just through your friends. You will be amazed by how fast you will be able to find one.
Business
If you still weren't able to find someone then you might think about asking people from your work environment about it. If they don't have a clue then go ahead and ask your boss. He is probably going to like your effort and might be able to hook you up with some very good public speakers.
Public speaking is important and there is nothing more important than learning from someone who has the experience and skills necessary to deliver a dazzling presentation.
If you want to improve public speaking skills then be sure to visit my website. Ultimately it will help you to become a better public speaker.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julius_Kuhn-Regnier
Monday, May 3, 2010
How to Create a Better Speech
Everyone has to speak in public at one point in their life. Some don't see it as hard to stand in front of an audience while others truly struggle to just squeeze out one sentence.
No matter whether you are struggling at speaking in public or if you are a natural talent, without a good speech it won't be worth it.
So let me share with you some tips to create a better speech.
Outlining your speech is an important step to make it better. This doesn't mean that you should write the whole speech down but it does mean to have a clear idea of the structure of your speech.
After outlining your speech ask a friend to take a look at it. Does everything make sense to him? Also think about the ways you could move from one point to the next.
Pracitcing is probably the most important part of giving a speech. You should practice your speech in front of an audience, preferably in front of people you are familiar with.
This will not only to help remember your speech better but it will also make you much more confident when speaking in public.
Whatever you do, ask for feedback! It's really important. You could also rely on getting feedback through videotaping yourself. It's a great way to see how well you are presenting yourself.
It will in the end help you a great deal to become better at public speaking.
Was this a useful tip for improving your public speaking skills?
No matter whether you are struggling at speaking in public or if you are a natural talent, without a good speech it won't be worth it.
So let me share with you some tips to create a better speech.
Outline It
Outlining your speech is an important step to make it better. This doesn't mean that you should write the whole speech down but it does mean to have a clear idea of the structure of your speech.
After outlining your speech ask a friend to take a look at it. Does everything make sense to him? Also think about the ways you could move from one point to the next.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Pracitcing is probably the most important part of giving a speech. You should practice your speech in front of an audience, preferably in front of people you are familiar with.
This will not only to help remember your speech better but it will also make you much more confident when speaking in public.
Ask for Feedback
Whatever you do, ask for feedback! It's really important. You could also rely on getting feedback through videotaping yourself. It's a great way to see how well you are presenting yourself.
It will in the end help you a great deal to become better at public speaking.
Was this a useful tip for improving your public speaking skills?
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