One way that successful speakers engage their listeners is by pacing effectively and allowing each idea to “land” before going on to the next idea. This helps listeners understand fully and gives variety to the delivery. I recommend a rehearsal exercise based on one that I learned from the Academy-Award-winning actress, Olympia Dukakis.
Today, I’ll present the first step in this process: Think in thought groups, rather than thinking in words. This will help your pacing become organic, authentic, and compelling.
Research tell us that people don’t think in words; we think and listen in complete thoughts. Match the way you speak with the way your listeners listen! Apply my adaptation of Olympia’s technique, which was originally created to help actors internalize the sections and emotions of a scene. I have adapted Olympia’s technique for business speakers, so that you will develop greater sensitivity to your listeners and more consistently pause, tune in, and allow each idea to “land” before you go on to the next idea.
Begin rehearsal for any business talk with a simple exercise:
Set out a few chairs, as you would for the game musical chairs. Begin by sitting in one of them.
As you rehearse aloud, move to a different chair each time you complete a thought. Speak each complete idea from a difference chair.
Repeat this exercise until your mind and your body have internalized the moments when each complete thought has ended and the next one is about to begin.
This simple exercise will increase your awareness of your thought groups. It will help you become more sensitive to your listeners and be better able to pause, tune in to the listeners, and allow each idea to “land” before going on to the next idea.
You listeners will understand more fully and be more fully engaged!
If you prepare your business presentation by memorizing, you will probably end up sounding “canned” — the quickest way to get prospects, clients, and other business listeners to tune you out. To avoid this problem, do what the best actors do: internalize, don’t memorize.
Most actors try to avoid rote memorization of a script, because memorization has a tendency to block the most important part (and the most connective part) of speaking: our communication actions that lie beneath the words. Effective rehearsal is the rehearsal of communication actions/”objectives” (rather than the words themselves), in order to sound conversational and authentic at every moment.
When I played Amanda in The Glass Menagerie last summer, I was working with a young actor who tried to memorize lines by associating them with his blocking (i.e., where he sat, stood, and moved on stage). The director changed the blocking many times during our rehearsal process: of course, the actor then had difficulty remembering his lines! He was then forced to learn lines with a different strategy: he began to internalize his lines by associating them with his underlying actions/objectives. This allowed him to not only remember his lines perfectly, but to sound conversational, authentic, and believable. His lines and physical behavior created a unified, seamless whole.
Business speakers, whether using notes or not, should internalize (not memorize) your content. You need a strategy to help you become deeply connected to your message, so that listeners will believe that you are fully committed and that you and your message are “one”.
Do the following: divide your notes for a talk into “beats” (individual topics that are smaller than your overall message). For each beat, choose a communication action directed toward the listeners. As you rehearse aloud, focus on the underlying communication action of each beat; keep it at the forefront of your mind, and pursue it energetically.
You will be better able to remember your content fully; you won’t have to worry about “memorizing” anything. Your voice and body language will support your words, turning your content and demeanor into one organic, unified, and seamless message.
When you rehearse this way, you’ll never have to worry about “over-rehearsing”, because your rehearsal will never produce a “canned” delivery. Instead, your rehearsal will help you speak with authenticity and maximum impact.
I recently played the role of Amanda Wingfield in the play, “The Glass Menagerie” and was reminded that so much of the rehearsal process for a play should be used by business people who want to make a dynamic impact when they speak. Here are two tips that can help enhance your credibility during business meetings, presentations, sales calls, and more.
Engage With Vocal Variety: Our director was confident that we actors would have no problem making ourselves heard by audience members in the last row of the theater. Knowing that there were some intimate, “lower volume” scenes in the play, she took the extra precaution of planting an assistant at various spots in the last row to listen, so that we actors could be told of any moments when we could not be heard adequately. Business speakers/presenters who are not using a microphone can benefit from a similar strategy, to help you use a range of vocal dynamics (sound volume) to engage your listeners. Do the following: Arrive at your speaking venue/meeting room early; arrange to have someone listen as you speak parts of your talk, and be sure to speak any sections where you will choose to use a lower volume than usual (perhaps for dramatic effect). Use your sound assistant’s feedback to guide you on your volume levels, so that you can use a range of vocal dynamics with the confidence that you will always be heard. This range of dynamics is key to listener engagement.
Feel and Look Like Your Message: As we rehearsed “The Glass Menagerie”, I naturally wanted to immerse myself in the character and the setting as quickly and thoroughly as possible. One way that I do this when rehearsing a play is to wear rehearsal clothes that give me the same (or similar) feeling as the costume(s) in performance will. This helps me feel/appear to be “one” with the character, so that the audience will perceive no difference between “Maria” and (in the case of this particular play) “Amanda”. As a business speaker/presenter, your rehearsal process can help you become “one” with your content, so that every nuance of your delivery will project and support one, seamless message. Try the following as you rehearse. Consider the nature of your message, who your listeners are, and how they dress. Allow this information to help you plan what you will wear. When rehearsing, wear those clothes or even just one or two pieces from that outfit (shoes, blouses, and jackets are particularly useful for giving you the right feeling). Become conscious of the way your clothing affects your feelings about yourself and your demeanor, and make any necessary adjustments in clothing. This will help you feel and project the image you desire.
Use these strategies from the theater, and watch your prospects, clients, and other business listeners become increasingly engaged when you speak!
Business listeners respond well to a speaker’s positive energy and lightness of being. As a speaker, you can project this kind of lightness by doing a quick emotional clearing in advance — the way actors do before going on stage.
At least an hour before you have that important business conversation, meeting, or presentation, do the following:
Take your “emotional temperature”. Identify your current emotional state: happy, sad, nervous, excited, disappointed, excited, angry, etc.
Find a private area to release these emotions in a big way, even if it feels exaggerated or “phony” to do so. For example, you can jump for joy, shout, laugh out loud, shed a few tears, if necessary; whatever you need to do to release your emotions, especially the ones that are less pleasant.
Do some deep breathing with long, slow exhalations to a count of ten; then stretch out your arms, legs, back, and shoulders to release your emotions more fully.
If you are having any emotions that will not serve to enhance your speaking delivery, releasing those emotions in advance will decrease the power they have over you and will decrease any negative impact they might have on the way you speak.
You will be more “present” with your listeners and more available to respond to them authentically “in the moment”.
You will be free to use you positive and upbeat energy to engage and inspire your listeners — with a lightness of being that will help put them (and you) at ease.
You can increase the impact that you have on your business listeners by revealing who YOU are when you speak!
Consider the impact that actors have on their audiences. Many years ago, Marlon Brando said, “Acting is the ancient, instinctive art of representing ourselves to others in a way that reflects how we truly are.”
Successful business speaking also reflects how we truly are. It shows your business listeners what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and how they might do it better. It also shows them how you, the speaker, truly are. And that means WHO you are.
Convincing actors and persuasive business speakers make their greatest impact through self-revelation.
To play a character convincingly and make the audience believe, actors reveal truths that lie in the deepest places of their own hearts: truths that lie inside every heart. The ability to reveal what is both personal and at the same time universal creates for the audience a transformative experience: when audiences recognize themselves in a character – when they can identify — they can understand more about our human condition, our limitations, and, most importantly, our potential.
This ability to reveal what is personal and at the same time universal is important in business speaking, too. Whether you are giving a power point presentation or talking with a prospect on a sales call, revealing who YOU are is a key ingredient in making a deep connection with your listeners and building their trust.
When you prepare to speak for business, decide what you will reveal about yourself in the following areas:
1. Your personal perspective about your business message
2. Your appreciation of your listeners and your enjoyment in speaking with them
3. True stories from your own life that will help illustrate your message
Be sure that your communication is supported by your vocal delivery, your body language, and every aspect of your demeanor.
Reveal who YOU are when you speak, to build trust and make your greatest impact!
In my last blog, I wrote about your use of pauses, to allow your ideas to land when you speak & engage your listeners.
Today, I’m going to talk about the power of the surprising pause. Successful business speakers, like good actors, use the surprising pause strategically to command attention and add depth to their message. The element of surprise is a key factor in capturing and keeping your listeners’ attention when you speak for business. Pausing at meaningful and surprising moments can be helpful to you in three ways:
1. It creates variety in your delivery: A moment of unexpected silence provides the greatest contrast to a stream of words.
2. It creates suspense: It teases your listeners for a moment, making them want to hear more.
3. It gives your listeners a window into your inner world: Listeners want to know what is “going on” with the speaker underneath the words. A surprising pause filled with meaning allows your listeners to observe a different quality in your expressiveness and gain additional perspectives.
In the video version of this blog, I demonstrate now just how effective a surprising pause can be. You may wish to view that now; simply click the thumbnail for the video.
If you prefer to continue reading:
I use the following sentence as an example of the use of the surprising pause. It’s a sentence about concept of supply and demand: an excerpt from a play called Other People’s Money, by Jerry Sterner; which was first produced Off Broadway and later made into a film with Richard Dreyfus. Here is the sentence:
“One day, when the dollar is weaker or the yen stronger, or when we finally begin to rebuild the roads, the bridges, the infrastructure of our country, demand will skyrocket.”
Logical but predictable moments to pause would be after the words, “day, stronger, and country”. A more interesting choice would be to add meaningful pauses after the words, “dollar, yen, and demand”. The surprise and suspense created in those moments leads to a more compelling delivery.
As you rehearse your business talk, consider why and when you will pause. Take logical, meaningful pauses at moments when those pauses might be most surprising.
Make your delivery truly compelling — and captivate your listeners!
In today’s blog, I’ll write more about how to keep your listeners engaged by allowing your ideas to land when you speak.
Last time, I wrote about Step One in this process: Speak in thought groups. Today, I’ll write about Step Two: Pursue your point with energy and focus. I’ll share some early advice given to me by one of my teachers: the late Mira Rostova, (who for many years was coach to the great film actor, Montgomery Clift).
One of the most common mistakes speakers make is to put focus on (to stress) each word – or too many words — within a complete thought. Speakers who do this are usually attempting to be clear, but the result is often a delivery that sounds unfocused, pedantic, or even condescending. While every word that you speak “counts” and should be understood by the listener, take time to consider which of your words should receive focus and which should not.
Prepare with these three strategies:
1. Review your notes and identify the focus word of each complete thought. Remember that the more words you stress, the more you lose focus and clarity — so be very discriminating as you choose your focus words. Make word-stress choices in creative ways that add depth and an interesting perspective to your ideas. This can add an element of surprise to your delivery, which is very engaging.
2. Underline the focus words of each complete thought.
3. Rehearse aloud, stressing only the focus words of each complete thought. Put your attention on your focus words. Keep them at the forefront of your mind, and pursue them energetically as you speak. My late teacher, Mira Rostova, used to say, “Go for the point! Go for the point!” Mira was talking about pursuing your point with focus and energy. Rehearsing this way will help you drive your ideas and will prepare you for the third and final step in this process.
So, be sure to read my next blog: Step Three for How To Engage Your Listeners by Allowing Your Ideas to Land When You Speak.
Successful speakers engage their listeners by pacing the message in a way that allows listeners to understand fully. The key is to allow your ideas to “land” when you speak. I recommend a technique based on one that I learned from my mentor, the Academy-Award-winning actress, Olympia Dukakis.
In today’s blog, I’ll present Step One:
Think in thought groups, instead of thinking in words. This will help your pacing to become organic, authentic, and compelling.
Research tells us that people don’t think in words. We think (and listen) in complete thoughts. Match the way you speak with the way your listeners listen! As you prepare to speak for business, focus on your thought groups by using these three strategies:
1. Review your notes and analyze your whole message. As you rehearse aloud, be conscious of the number of complete thoughts that you present in each sentence – probably one, two, or three complete thoughts in any given sentence.
2. Be mindful of the moments in your message when one complete thought ends and the next one is about to begin. These are your transition moments.
3. Here is a useful and fun technique adapted from the theater. My mentor, Olympia Dukakis, taught me a rehearsal technique that helps actors internalize the actions and emotions of each section of a play script. I have adapted Olympia’s technique for business speakers, so that you will become sensitized to your thought groups. Here is a good way to begin your rehearsal process:
1. Set out a few chairs, as you do in musical chairs, and begin by sitting in one of them.
2. As you rehearse aloud, move to a different chair each time you complete a thought. Speak each complete thought from a different chair.
3. Rehearse this way until your mind and body have internalized the moments when each complete thought has ended and the next one is about to begin.
This early rehearsal exercise will increase your awareness of your thought groups and will prepare you for Step 2 in this process (which I’ll be writing about soon).
Be sure to read my next blog and/or watch the videoblog: Step 2 for “Engaging Your Listeners: Allow Your Ideas to Land”.
At networking events, do you fail to project the image you desire? Do you find it difficult to turn networking conversations into relationships that lead to sales?
It may be because you are not speaking strategically to project a spirit of cooperation.
Here are some “Networking No-No’s” (behaviors that work against a spirit of cooperation):
• Doing most of the talking and/or interrupting your conversation partner: Instead, find out about the other person. Ask questions, listen actively, and respond with words and body language. Mirror back to the speaker what you have understood him/her to say. Let your conversation partner do most of the talking!
• Trying to sell your products/services: Instead, give before you get. Listen for ways that you can help your conversation partner. Offer introductions, suggestions, information, invitations, volunteering, advice, etc. This increases the likelihood that your listener will want to collaborate and reciprocate!
• Being carelessly “broad” in attempting humor with people you’ve just met: Instead, when using humor, stick to self-deprecating humor. Remember that individual sense of humor (influenced by culture and other complex factors) is a delicate and mysterious phenomenon. If you tell a joke or make a comment in jest that the listener doesn’t understand, misconstrues, or simply does not find funny, your attempt at humor may backfire. When you wish to use humor with a new acquaintance, poke fun at yourself. Most people will appreciate your humility and ability to take yourself lightly.
When networking, be a “smart talker” in the true sense of the word. Project a spirit of cooperation and begin building relationships that lead to sales!
I recently read an article by Kevin D. Wilde (VP and Chief Learning Officer at General Mills) about the shortness of time that managers get when they need to persuade their CEO’s of the value of proposed initiatives. Wilde suggests that, when you have just a few minutes to win over the CEO, it is crucial to make your message “executive crisp”.Wilde makes excellent recommendations for advance preparation before speaking with upper management: (1) boil the message down to its essence, (2) communicate that the need is real and that the solution is practical, and (3) make a logical connection between the need and the proposed solution, etc. While very useful, these strategies fail to address two key ingredients in the art of persuasive speaking: visual and vocal impact.According to a Harvard Business School study, only seven percent of the success of business speaking is based upon content. A full ninety-three percent of the impact that business speakers make is based on their visual and vocal impact: how they deliver their message to build belief within the listener.In this blog, I will offer a few visual strategies that will help increase your persuasive power with upper management, no matter what department you work in, and no matter how little time your are given to make your case. In my next blog, I will address the vocal strategies that will help. Be sure that your visual performance projects poise and passion. Whether you are seated or standing, imagine that your legs are tree trunks and that your feet are the roots of a tree extending deep into the ground. Stand away from furniture and resist any temptation to lean for support. If you are seated, sit tall, leaning forward slightly from the waist up (to help convey interest and enthusiasm). Make eye contact throughout your talk, and maintain a smile that is varied in accordance with your content, moment to moment. Gesture with both arms/hands whenever possible, rather than one.No matter how many minutes upper management can spare, your best content will have persuasive power only when your visual and vocal performance convey your own conviction, poise, and passion. Stay tuned for my next blog, to read about vocal strategies that will give you real persuasive power.
