9 Speaking Habits That Make You Sound Smarter
1.
Stand or sit with spine straight but relaxed.
Eloquence
is more than just how you use language. It's also how you use your body
language. The position of your back is the foundation of your body language and
therefore the root of your eloquence.
Slumping
communicates a lack of confidence in yourself and your words. The other
extreme, a ramrod straight back, says "fight or flight." A straight
but relaxed spine puts you in a mental and physical state from which words flow
smoothly and easily.
2.
Keep your chin up.
The
position of your head is just as important as the position of your spine, a
fact reflected in many common expressions. To "hold your head high,"
for example, is to show pride and determination. To be "downcast"
means you're already beaten down.
An
upright head is essential for eloquence for physiological reasons as well. A
tense neck (inevitable if your head is facing down) tends to strangle your
words, preventing you from speaking clearly.
3.
Focus on your listeners.
Eloquence
is meaningful only if people are listening to you, and they won't listen if
you're thinking about something else or if your eyes are wandering all over the
room. Eloquence without attention is mere speechifying.
Two
special cases: Avoid glancing sideways; it makes you seem dishonest
(shifty-eyed). If you must check your notes, use your eyes to look downward
without nodding your head.
4.
Speak loudly enough to be heard.
For
maximum eloquence, speak loudly enough so people farthest from you can hear but
not so loudly that it's uncomfortable for those in front.
If
you're unsure of your volume, ask somebody in the back if they can hear you
clearly. If they answer yes, say "How about this?" in a voice
slightly less loud. If they answer no, crank your voice up a notch.
However,
never raise your voice to a yell. Yelling makes you sound insane rather
than eloquent. If you find yourself in that position, either ask for a
microphone or request that people move closer.
5.
Buttress words with appropriate gestures.
Use
your hands to emphasize key points. The easy way to learn this skill is to
watch how celebrities and popular public speakers use gestures as they speak.
Note how their hand movements seem to "emerge" from their words.
If
you're not actively using a gesture, keep your hands still. Fiddling with your
glasses, rattling your papers, scratching yourself, and so forth will distract
the audience from your message and "cancel out" your eloquence.
6.
Strategically position your body.
Add
power to your words by moving your body appropriately. For example, if
you're speaking to a group from a stage, you might move from one spot to
another to signal that you're introducing a new idea.
Similarly, when
sitting at the conference table, incline forward slightly when you want to
emphasize a point. Reorient your sitting position when you move from one
subject or concept to another.
7.
Use vivid words that everyone understands.
Cliches
(especially biz-blab) are the opposite of eloquence. Use unexpected but
common words or phrases that illustrate points in a memorable manner. Example:
"common as houseflies" rather than "dime a dozen."
Also
avoid words that your audience might not understand. Using fancy words
makes you sound snobby, not smart. If you absolutely must introduce a term
unfamiliar to the audience, define it in plain language.
8.
Speak at different speeds.
Speaking
at a single speed quickly turns whatever you're saying into a monotonous drone.
Instead, slow down and speed up depending upon the importance of what you're
communicating at the time.
If
you're summarizing or going over background, speak more quickly than when
you're providing new information. When you're describing introducing an
important concept, slow down to give listeners time to absorb it.
9.
Use pauses to create emphasis.
Silence
isn't just golden; it's also the crowning glory of eloquence. For example, a
slight pause before you're about to say something important create suspense. It
leads your audience to "hang on your every word."
Similarly, a pause after you've said something important
emphasizes its importance and gives listeners a moment to reflect on its
importance.
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/9-speaking-habits-that-make-you-sound-smarter.html
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