Chapter 3: Transform Your Delivery

Part 1: Key Words Every Public Speaker Must Know (Vocabulary)

Part 2: 10 Delivery Principles Every Speaker Should Use

1. Set the Stage

2. Control the Energy

3. Speak Up!

4. Sweeten It!

5. Power of the Pause

6. Engage, Engage, Engage

7. Use Your Space Wisely

8. Respect the Time

9. Dance with Your Audience

10. Have Fun!

Practice Speech: Famous

Practice Speech: Movie

Practice Speech: Introduction

Objectives

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

1. Recall key terminology necessary to critique a speech.

2. Detect behaviors speakers use to create interest and evoke an audience.

3. Spot speaker behaviors which cause audience members to typically disengage or respond negatively.

4. Discover the Ten Delivery Principles.

5. Examine which delivery principles you will find to be most challenging.

6. Master Delivery Principle 1-6 using the Practice Speeches.

When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things. —Joe Namath

Speakers with terrific delivery technique are confident, and they create a meaningful connection with their audience. How do they do it? Although they sound like separate threads, confidence and connection are two sides of a coin. The more rapport you establish, the more confident you become. Confidence inspires creative approaches to developing powerful connections. The great news is that building confidence is a learnable skill. Master it and you will leave audiences spellbound.

What do you think you can do to develop your confidence and find a way to actually connect with them? Consider a speech, presentation, speaker, or teacher who has really connected with you. What did they do to create that rapport?

Note: If you are having a difficult time thinking of one, why not take the time to watch some of the most viewed talks on TED Talks?

Interaction 3.1: Behaviors of Great Speakers

Put a check mark next to each behavior great speakers exhibit and an ‘X’ next to behaviors great speakers never do.

______ Great pace, not too slow, not too fast

______ Aware of audience verbal or nonverbal cues

______ Responded to audience verbal or nonverbal cues

______ Considered perspective of individual audience members

______ Accurately anticipated audience response to the message

______ Balanced information with explanation

______ Told stories

______ Got you to think about your stories

______ Creatively involved audience

______ Used visuals or props that helped information take form and meaning

______ Creatively incorporated visuals and/or props by engaging audience

______ Carefully considered what to do and how to do it

______ Rewarded audience members for response

______ Expressed gratitude for audience’s undivided attention

______ Spoke fast, difficult to grasp information or spoke slow, frustrating to follow

______ Unaware of audience verbal or nonverbal cues

______ Did not respond to audience verbal or nonverbal cues

______ Made blanket generalization about groups and/or sub groups

______ Poorly anticipated audience response to the message

______ All information without explanation

______ No personal stories told, stuck to the facts.

______ Did not ask audience members questions

______ Spoke to the audience but failed to involve them

______ Visuals or props distracted from information

______ Poorly incorporated visuals or props

______ Shared the content without evidence of careful thought or consideration

______ Sat down and received applause

Answer: first half to the break is check marks, bottom half is ‘X’s.

Which list of options did you check off? Hopefully you were able to recognize that the top half of the list presented characteristics of great speakers.

Chances are, the best speakers didn’t hurry! Chances are, they had time to listen and respond to your verbal or nonverbal cues. Chances are, they considered your perspective and how you responded to the message. Chances are they considered various options for inflection on specific key words, emphasis and implemented pauses to create affect. Chances are, they didn’t fill the entire presentation with information, but shared personal stories and asked questions to prompt you to recall experiences related to the topic. Ultimately, these individuals thought carefully about what to do and how to do it for maximum results with the audience.

But, how did they do it?

This chapter includes scripted strategies to help you become the best speaker you can be. The first step is building a workable vocabulary that allows you to accurately express a speaker’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Part 1: Key Words Every Public Speaker Should Know

Every speaker should know the key vocabulary terms in the list below. Familiarize yourself with them. Reminder cards can help cement any unfamiliar words or ideas in your brain. Mastering this terminology will help you accurately evaluate your performance and others. The core definitions were adapted from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.

Note: The score is so you can rate yourself and others in the activities described after the vocabulary words. 1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest.

Interaction 3.2: Use the Right Word to Rate the Speaker

Step 1: Familiarize yourself with these words.

Step 2: Listen to a TED Talk at www.TED.com

Step 3: Score the speaker on a scale of 1-5 on how well they illustrated each of these words in their speech. Mark the number on the left space of the Score on the Vocabulary Words.

Step 4: Self Analysis. Consider your capacity as a speaker. Using the scoring provided on a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your ability to do each of these well in a speech. Redeliver one of the speeches you have delivered for the first two chapters or evaluate your use of the vocabulary words when you complete the practice speeches at the end of this chapter. Score yourself on the right slot next to each word. On a scale of 1-5, rate your ability to fully realize the opportunity each word offers to enhance your speaking ability. Periodically reevaluate yourself and assess your progress.

Table 3.1: Vocabulary of Speech

Definition of Verbal Elements

Articulation: Speak clearly, distinctly

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Cadence: Rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Emphasis: Intensity, significance or stress that gives impressiveness or importance to something

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Enunciation: Pronounce all syllables clearly

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Language: Specific word choice used

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Inflection: Change in pitch or loudness of voice; the change of form that words undergo to mark such distinctions as those of case, gender, number, tense, person, mood, or voice.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Pace: Rate of performance or delivery: Tempo

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Pitch: Difference in the relative vibration frequency of the human voice that contributes to the total meaning of speech

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Projection: Control of the volume, clarity, and distinctness of a voice to gain greater audibility

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Pronunciation: Articulating a sound or word

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Volume: Degree of loudness or intensity of a sound

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Wording: Act or manner of expressing with words; selected to express a thought

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Definition of Nonverbal Elements

Audience connection: Degree to which you cause your audience to focus on your message; created by a combination of mannerisms, poise, leadership, enthusiasm, food, visuals, voice, projection, etc.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Aura: Distinctive atmosphere surrounding a given source

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Body Language: Bodily mannerisms, postures, & facial expressions that can be interpreted as unconsciously communicating a person’s feelings or psychological state

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Commitment: Loyalty, devotion, or dedication

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Confidence: Feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstance; faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Contextual Background: Parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect, set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event. The social, historical, and other antecedents or causes of an event or condition.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Dress: Choice of clothing

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Dynamic: Relating to energy; marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Energy: Vigor, liveliness, and forcefulness. The capacity of a body or system to do work

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Eye Contact: Act of looking directly into the eyes of another person.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Facial Expression: Communicates information about emotions

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Gestures: Form of nonverbal communication in which visible bodily actions are used to communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Manage your “Face” (Face work): If challenged by your audience, avoid engaging in a tit-for-tat exchange save face by recognizing the challenger and redirecting the focus of the speech in the direction you want. When challenged by one’s audience, always handle your response politely & never give away your power as the speaker. (You exemplify leadership for the audience.)

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Pause: Brief suspension of the voice to indicate the limits and relations of sentences and their part; a reason or cause for pausing (as to reconsider)

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Poise: A well-balanced state; easy self-possessed assurance of manner; gracious tact in coping or handling

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Posture: Way in which someone carries his or her body; body position or bearing

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Practice: Activities involved in preparing for a presentation, considering not just words but additional elements such as handouts, visuals and other elements. Ready and able to deal with something

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Proxemics: Space dynamics. Study of how we perceive and use intimate, personal, social, and public space in various settings including awareness and dictates of cultural paradigms

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Set the Stage: Before you speak a word, command audience attention nonverbally by projecting the significance of your words, through your energy and intensity.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Sweeten It: Extend or cause to extend.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Tone: Used to set the mood; any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength, source, etc.; quality or character of sound; a particular style or manner, as of writing or speech.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

WIIFM: An acronym standing for, “What’s In It For Me?” WIIFM is the stuff that shows how or why what you have to sell or say matters to those who you are trying to sell or say it to.

Score 1-5: ____ self _____speaker

Simply reading a list of vocabulary words or completing an activity is not enough to develop your public speaking ability. Comprehension and mastery aren’t that easy. Whenever you have the opportunity to hear a speech, think about the words and principles. Flip the channels on the TV or watch videos of speakers on YouTube or other websites. Explore how well or poorly the speakers illustrate the vocabulary words.

Part 2: 10 Delivery Principles Every Speaker Should Use

How does a poor speaker improve? These 10 Delivery Principles have proven successful in improving the skills of speakers at any level. Review the list of Delivery Principles and their definitions. The Delivery Principles are in a particular order. As you attempt to master each, begin by challenging yourself with the first three Delivery Principles and evaluate your progress. As you master each, move to the next principle. The sample speeches at the end of each chapter are designed to help you develop these principles.

Table 3.2: 10 Delivery Principles

Delivery Principle 1: Set the Stage

Start smart. Your speech begins well before your opening words. First impressions matter. Explore each step that leads to the first impression:

Step 1: Before the speech,

Step 2: Taking the stage,

Step 3: Establishing initial audience connection, and

Step 4: Speaking your first words. Plan accordingly.

Delivery Principle 2: Control the Energy

Be alert to competing energies unique to each speaking environment. Speaker’s energy, audience energy, and room commingle to create a complex dynamic. Anticipate and respond appropriately to create a conducive, receptive environment.

Delivery Principle 3: Speak Up!

Engage your diaphragm to speak up. Speaking from your diaphragm ensures that words are fueled by your breath and resonate from deep within you. Over time, speaking from your throat rather than your diaphragm can damage your vocal cords. There is a direct correlation between controlling nervous energy and speaking up. The more you confidently speak, the more confident you feel.

Delivery Principle 4: Sweeten It!

Make the speech all that it can be by taking advantage of every opportunity your speech allows. Each speech contains specific opportunities to consciously engage the audience and make the content come alive. Plan ways to capitalize on every opportunity. Look for ways to activate each of the five senses. Implement each delivery principle as well as you can. Most people have few opportunities to stand before an audience and create change. . . make the most of the opportunity. Guess what? When you plan cool things, you will get excited to share them with your audience.

Delivery Principle 5: Power of the Pause

Use the power of silence to solicit a specific response from the audience. Four types of pauses are transitional, dramatic, impact, unplanned. Although they may arise spontaneously, for best effect, plan pauses in advance.

Delivery Principle 6: Engage, Engage, Engage

Plan thoughtful ways to keep your audience involved in your presentation prior to taking the stage. The 4 Ps for an engaging speech include personal stories, probing questions, physical activities, and props.

Delivery Principle 7: Use Your Space Wisely

Study how to take best advantage of different space configurations to solicit the best audience response. Cultural influences create a powerful response to space dynamics within each of us. Breaking cultural norms can be a very powerful way to gain the audience’s attention. Your space includes staging various different elements including use of stage, interaction with podium/lectern, movement into the audience, and the placement of the speaker’s body in respect to audience.

Delivery Principle 8: Respect

Speaking engagements fit into events in a very specific way both in purpose and the time allotted. First and foremost, seek and respect guidelines on time and have an awareness of where the presentation fits into the event. Depending upon the location and cultural nuances at play, you as the speaker should adapt to the specific event context.

Delivery Principle 9: Dance with Your Audience

Develop an acute awareness of how each audience member responds to each word, pause and gesture you convey during your speech. Read, respond and react appropriately to fulfill the ultimate purpose for the speech.

Delivery Principle 10: Have Fun!

Once you have mastered the other Delivery Principles, have fun. Relax and be “in the moment,” able to enjoy and have fun with the experience. The more you remain in the moment, the less anxiety you’ll feel, and the more easily you’ll be able to actually look forward to your audience appreciating your efforts.

Delivery Principle 1: Set the Stage

When exactly does a speech begin? Does it begin when you stand up? When you begin speaking? When you walk onto the stage? When you agree to speak to the audience? No doubt, there are various answers to this question, but it is my belief that the speech begins well before you speak your first word. I believe the speech begins when you agree to present to an audience. The audience feels everything that goes into putting the speech together. A quote by Somers White supports this idea, “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” Keep this in mind while we discuss this point.

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Before the Speech

Whenever you enter a room where you will be presenting to an audience, consider the fact that the impression your audience formulates of you begins long before you start speaking. Have you ever seen presenters enter the room with their shoulders slightly slumped, looking a bit disoriented and fumbling through materials while moving toward the front? After taking the stage, they look down at a stack of cards, breathing in, and starting to speak to the cards? How good is this speech going to be? Great? Probably not. How did you know? Nonverbal cues! Herodotus, a Greek historian who has coined many clever quotes, said, “Men trust their ears less than their eyes.”

In contrast, have you observed a speaker who is completely prepared as you enter the room? Handouts, props displayed, they greet you with a smile and a nod or “Hi, welcome.” As they take the stage, they stand poised, their shoulders back, their eyes looking directly into audience members. When they take that breathe in to begin, they keep that rapport and confidently deliver their first line. How do you think this speech will rate? Excellent? I agree. They showed me before they ever got started.

Nonverbal communication accounts for more of any given situation than the words themselves. So always be careful of what your nonverbal behaviors are saying—especially during meetings or job interviews. First impressions endure, even if you manage to overcome them later. Nonverbal signals important for speakers include factors such as:

1. Posture: Does your posture emit confidence or your insecurities? Be mindful of nervous behaviors, such as nail biting or tapping a hand or foot.

2. Clothing: Dress professionally as a sign of respect to your audience (unless there is a legitimate reason not to do so—some events require other attire). Clothing is a form of respect. Dressing well and looking your best for a presentation adds credibility and increases your self-confidence. Wear comfortable clothes. This doesn’t mean jeans are okay, but don’t wear a shirt or slacks that are tight, making you uncomfortable. Wardrobes should always have a “go-to” professional outfit. Hats can interfere with eye contact, and historically have been considered rude for men to wear them inside. Body piercings can distract attention from your intended message.

3. Hygiene: In today’s society, smelling like cigarettes can definitely distract from your message. Use scents sparingly to avoid irritating those who have allergies or dislike them. Be particularly careful of this during interviews.

4. Organization: If you seem frazzled and disorganized, you send the message that you are unprepared and out of control. This is not a strong way to begin your presentation. You will have to work extra hard to change an unfavorable first impression.

5. Time Management: Arrive at least an hour before your presentation, even if you cannot enter the room; if you are driving and traffic can be a factor, err on the side of caution. Test any electronics. Arrange props and any associated materials. Never have your audience watch you “get ready.” That communicates that you are not prepared and is a sign of disrespect.

6. Expressions: Your facial expressions matter. They have a direct impact upon the impression you make with your audience. Monitor them throughout the entire event. Beware of revealing anxiety and stress in your expressions. Smile . . . smiling is huge (provided the tone of the speech permits)! Smiles help the audience feel comfortable and emit a sensitive, caring, and friendly affinity. It is natural and easy to focus on your next words or even your stress—don’t let these thoughts control your facial expressions. Breathe, remember to let your face relax and respond appropriately to your audience members.

7. Eye Contact: Provide good, clear eye contact. Don’t look away from people or stare at the floor or a wall. You want to make eye contact and manage your message. The eyes are windows to a person’s soul, so use your eyes to communicate the intangible message of your speech. Let your enthusiasm for your message put a sparkle in your eyes!

8. Disruptions & Interference: Be careful that you do not allow any interruptions or interference with the audience’s ability to view your beautiful face and eyes. Beware, it happens all the time. For instance someone gets a cute haircut, the cut is designed to reveal a lovely angle. The only problem is it falls across the face, which is fantastic for everyday activities but interferes with the audience’s ability to see your facial expressions. Always secure hair out of your face and eyes. Recently, I was delivering a workshop. Each person in the workshop actually delivered a short speech. One of the seasoned speakers had just gotten a darling new haircut, it was quite becoming. When she sat down, I shared this advice. After several other speakers delivered their speeches, another woman with a similar cut delivered her speech, the same thing happened—the hair intruded in the message. Immediately the previous speaker sought me out and said she, “Got it”. Speakers with long hair that is not tied back face the same issue. Get your hair out of your face and eyes, give the audience full access.

If you wear glasses, be sure that they are clean and that they did not slide down on your nose obstructing your audience’s ability to look into your eyes. Having worn glasses since elementary school, I know only too well how, amid the fear and anxiety of presenting often our glasses become an after thought, just a natural extremity. It is easy to forget to take stock of how they impact our appearance. Often when I coach speakers who wear glasses, it is difficult to see into their eyes as their spectacles have slid down. In that position, rather than serving as an amplified mirror to a person’s soul, it appears to be a line crossing out their eyes. Some glasses are designed to be smaller and stylish with a predominant line right across the top of the brow. Only problem is if they slide down at all, the glasses interfere with a clear view of their eyes. Personally if I can avoid wearing my glasses and opt for contact lenses, I do.

Taking the Stage

Once you walk into your delivery space (your platform), take charge and own it. You must exhibit leadership skills here so the audience will trust you not to waste their time. Public speaking is the language of leadership; lead your audience. Have the confidence to accept the responsibility you’ve accepted by addressing the audience directly.

A confident beginning will be easier if you have taken the time earlier to get comfortable with this space. Take the advice in Point 5. Arrive early and get set up so that when it is time for you to address the audience you can fully focus on connecting with the audience. Preparation prevents fidgeting, wrestling through papers and belongings trying to locate cards or thumb drives. Allow plenty of time to set up and test equipment of any sort. Expect that something will go wrong and give yourself time to trouble shoot. The last thing you want after the effort you have put forth for this presentation is to look unprepared and stressed because you didn’t get there 15 minutes earlier. If you are incorporating slides, displayed on a projector, never depend upon the internet or local intranet to work—always have your content on a USB drive. Connect the drive to your keys so it doesn’t get lost! Finally, print your presentation, be sure to have hand-outs in case the projector fails.

The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid. —Lady Bird Johnson

Beginning the Speech

Most speakers begin speaking before the audience is ready to listen. Hold on! Wait for them to turn their attention to you. Once you take the space, hold your head up confidently, plant your feet comfortably, and ground yourself. Breathe. Smile. Warmly look into your audience’s eyes. Wait for them quietly, without words. When I set the stage, I like to silently ask them if I can “have this dance,” meaning when I speak, I plan to lead the audience in a tango with my words. Give them time to stop doing what they are doing and direct their attention to you. Demand their undivided attention. They will give it to you if you wait. We teach people how we expect to be treated. If you move on without everyone’s focus, you give the audience permission to not pay attention.

This Set the Stage principle goes beyond the “stage.” Every time you address an audience or even a friend, there is internal and external noise that competes with virtually every word you say.

Make no mistake; every time you interact with others, their minds are all over the place, and you are competing for their attention. Tell the audience nonverbally that you spent time and energy to make this worth their while. Multitasking has become a societal norm; holding people’s attention increasingly becomes more of a battle—a tug of war. Convey your request for their full attention in every aspect of your body language and request their full attention. They will give it to you. Wait for it. . . give a pregnant pause and the audience will literally lean forward in anticipation.

First Spoken Words

Your first words are always the most important words of the speech. They need to convey excitement and evoke curiosity so people will want to keep listening. Many people carelessly begin their speech with meaningless filler words like: “ Um. . . So. . . Well. . .” Or they begin without impact, nothing to grab the audience’s attention. “Hello, how are you today?” or “Good afternoon” or my personal favorite worst opener, “Today, I’m here to speak with you about XYZ.” Put more effort and thought into your first impression (we will discuss some dynamic ways to grab the audience’s attention when we discuss the Formula). Deliver your first words with intent. Looking the audience right in the eyes and speaking meaningful words loudly. Memorize your first few lines. Rehearse them well so you can consciously engage the audience by looking them directly in the eyes, speaking loudly, emphasizing key words with a compelling inflection while maintaining body language that is confident, approachable, and open.

When you project your voice, plug in your loudspeakers, and use your diaphragm. Make your vocal inflection interesting. Try saying your first words different ways, using various approaches to your intonation, pacing, and emphasis. Choose which delivery strategy works best. You can even record yourself on your cell phone so you can hear which actually sounds best.

A big mistake that people make is to look down at their cards when they reach the front rather than establishing and maintaining eye contact right away. Know your first line—have it memorized and practiced. Your first words should be strongly projected, filled with energy, designed to solicit their full, undivided attention. The pitch should go up then down. Speak slowly. Your first words are the most important. Once you have spoken, use that dynamic energy to “swing them on the dance floor” with the words you so carefully designed! Enjoy!

If your audience is focused on responding to a text or otherwise occupied, they will miss key information from the introduction you worked so hard to develop. Imagine your speech as a plane taking off. The plane can’t leave the boarding gate until everyone is buckled into their seats. Your audience should be buckled in when your speech begins! You don’t want them disoriented and trying to catch up as you progress through your introduction and body. If you nail your opening, the rest of your speech is set up for success.

Consider how this parable relates to your approach to your speech.

Two Wolves

An old Cherokee told his grandson: “There’s a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It’s anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is good. It’s joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, and truth.” The boy thought about it and asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed.”

This parable highlights why Setting the Stage makes all the difference. When you begin your speech with confidence and control, standing poised, establishing direct eye contact with your audience members, speaking clearly with pauses and vocal variation you “feed” the positive emotion for a “good delivery”. As a result, your confidence will grow. If you begin your speech driven by fear, allowing anxiety to sabotage delivery by causing slumping, looking down, speaking too fast, rocking from side-to-side, or not waiting for your audience—you will “feed” that intent throughout the rest of the speech. Setting the stage correctly allows you to feed the good wolf!

Interaction 3.3: Steps to Set the Stage

Create a checklist of things you must do to master setting the stage.

Before:

Taking the Stage:

Beginning:

First Words:

Delivery Principle 2: Control the Energy!

Energy management is crucial to the speech process, and controlling the energy within the room while giving a speech is one of your chief responsibilities as a speaker. You must assess and manage the variables you observe. Your energy is the vigor, liveliness, and forcefulness that drives your message. The audience also has energy, and you must be able to monitor the energy level of your audience while simultaneously managing your own. Perhaps this sounds complicated, but you do it all the time. Essentially, energy is life, and without it, you are dead! Any time we’re around other people we react to each other’s energy.

Think back to a time in childhood when you came home and walked into the house. Can you recall having an overwhelming sense that something was terribly wrong? Instead of assessing the situation and naturally greeting whoever was usually there, you quietly tiptoed to your bedroom. Perhaps you offered to help prepare dinner instead of just asking, “What’s for dinner?” Instinctively, you knew. . . something was wrong! You just hoped that it was nothing you did! You also knew better than to antagonize your guardians or give them an opportunity to turn that negative energy in your direction.

Sometimes the opposite happens. Have you ever gone to meet a friend and without even looking at their face, you knew they were ecstatic and something fantastic had happened? You assessed the situation and responded accordingly. But how exactly can we make these predictions? Body language and nonverbal cues obviously play a part, but your friend’s energy permeated the room—you felt excitement and enthusiasm without speaking a word. A person cannot exist without their energy. Our energy vibrations protrude around our bodies—indeed, others feel them.

In any given speech, several different types of energy need to be harnessed.

Room Energy

The dynamics of the room also impact the energy of the presentation. If you have anything to say about it, do everything that you can to find the perfect space for your presentation, a space that would satisfy Goldilocks.

Always find out as much as you can in advance about variables that influence the presentation. Request a description of the room from your contact for the speech and discuss any special arrangements that may be possible and desirable. Accommodate your audience whenever possible. Few things can disrupt the energy of your presentation more than an uncomfortable environment.

Speaker Energy

This is the energy you, the speaker, emit to the audience. What can influence your energy?

• Your energy related to the presentation: Your excitement, enthusiasm or belief you have in the topic or the audience receiving the message. Your confidence level in presenting the content. The degree of anxiety you feel.

• Your energy related to other factors: Personal situations like your health or well being that day can affect your energy during a presentation. A family or work crisis can be draining. Perhaps you ran into traffic and arrived later than planned.

Interaction 3.4: Toy with Your Energy

Stand up with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold your arms out with your palms facing each other. Take a deep breath. Slowly let it out. Close your eyes and slowly, very slowly, bring your palms together. As you move your hands toward each other, concentrate on what you feel. Do you feel a slight resistance? Are the inside of your palms growing slightly warm? How about a little tingly feeling? As your palms move closer, the resistance might increase. Play with it; see if you can mold it into an energy ball. Continue to push your palms together and actually push the energy into yourself.

What you’ve just experienced is your personal energy; the energy surging through your body that keeps all of us alive. This energy is your life force. Your body has an energy field some refer to as your aura. Scientists know that the aura exists because it can be measured with advanced technology called bio-electrography (Jacka, 2011).

Audience Energy

• Collective Energy: Each audience has a collective energy, a personality that develops by the sum of its parts. As a speaker, it is your responsibility to be aware of the energy of the group—you will have to interact with your group’s personality. As soon as you enter a room, begin your assessment. Put little feelers out. Do people seem stressed, bored, excited, engaged, or disengaged? Notice the dynamics, the norms, the common or shared objects—a name tag, uniform or the way, group members introduce themselves.

Note: An audience member who begins rummaging around, texting, avoiding eye contact with the speaker, and obviously paying little attention, distracts other audience members and harms your ability to deliver your best speech. When you are in the audience yourself, pay attention, be respectful and support the speaker by being receptive to the message. A negative attitude from one audience member can change the dynamic of the entire group and the outcome of the presentation.

• Individual Energy: Each person in the audience is unique. Sometimes you find real gems. These people help advance your message, while at times others may seem compelled to impede it. Obstructive people are often seeking recognition. Give it to them! As you observe the group, take note of the extroverts or those individuals who stand out—there is a good chance they will make themselves noticed during your presentation, that engagement will either help or hurt your presentation. If you have the chance ahead of time, introduce yourself, ask them a question, and look for ways to include them by acknowledging them at an appropriate point during your message. This is a great way to get them on your side using their energy to support and enhance your message rather than distract.

Questions come from individuals. If you open yourself up to questions, take time to think before responding. Repeat the question to yourself, be sure you don’t jump to conclusions too soon, or too emphatically. So many times as an instructor or workshop facilitator, someone asked a question and I responded reflexively. . . and incorrectly! I made an assumption based on what I thought they meant, and I was just wrong. Stress can cause your mind to reach false conclusions about the purpose of the question. This tends to happen more often with groups of people you know. If this happens, don’t be afraid to own your error, take responsibility and say, “I’m sorry, I totally misunderstood the question!” To prevent misunderstanding, reflect a question back to the person who asked it. “What did you think it meant?” or “Could you repeat the question? I want to be sure I understand.” Then smile.

Merging the Energy

Remember Charles Humes’ statement “Every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership.” Your responsibility as the speaker is to lead the group. How can you get the collective energy of the room to support your direction?

First gauge your own energy level. Next, gauge the energy level of the audience and the room. Your energy level must be higher than that of the group, but not too high. Each time you face an audience, you have to know where their energy is and gauge the level of energy you project to them accordingly. Ideally, you want the audience to increase their energy level until it reaches yours. Have you ever been in an audience where the speaker’s energy was lower than the audience’s? The audience probably was zoning out! As a result, they derived little benefit from the presentation. When the speaker’s energy sinks below the audience, you’ve lost them for the balance of the speech. Always control the energy of the room.

Does Your Anxiety Interfere with your Ability to Control the Energy?

If your anxiety level seems to control you, precluding you from controlling your own energy or the energy of any audience member, try this.

1. Focus on Audience: Practice the “Secret” for overcoming anxiety: get over yourself. Think about your audience receiving your message than your own nerves.

2. Test each tip to reduce your anxiety level. (These tips are located on page 41 in Chapter 2.)

3. Deliver a few speeches. How? Where? Attend one of our workshops either virtually or in person. Our workshops run periodically, check our website for the latest offerings: www.yourbestspeechever.com. If you complete the certification series, you will have delivered five speeches! I guarantee that your anxiety level will decrease simply as a result of your body becoming familiar with the experience of being in front of an audience. Take a public speaking class or join an organization like Toastmasters that is there to help you develop your public speaking skills.

4. Master the Set the Stage Principle! The Delivery Principle of Set the Stage requires that you control your energy before you begin your speech. If you work through the steps of Set the Stage, your ability to control your energy will increase . . . I promise!

How to Control Shaking

If you suffer extreme anxiety, you may be thinking but what if I’m shaking? How can I control my energy? The answer is to go bigger with your movements! Consider this, if your leg is moving. . . walk to the other side of the audience with intent. If you do, your leg will no longer be shaking. You went bigger than the nervousness, and took control of your energy. The same works for your hands. If you notice your hands shaking, make larger hand gestures and then you will be in control of them movements. If the speech does not allow for movement, direct the excess energy into your voice. Lead actor Michael J. Fox from the legendary movie, Back to the Future , suffers from Parkinson’s disease. With his organization he is dedicated to finding a cure from Parkinson’s disease through aggressively funded research. He starred in the hit series Spin City despite his disease. He would shake, but if you observed him, his movements were large and exaggerated. He jumped over a couch or circled a desk with his hands stretching back and forth in front of him. In this way, he was able to control the tremors or perhaps override the tremors with a larger movement, thus gaining a sense of control.

Gauging your energy level effectively during your delivery is vital. If you let the energy fall too low, you risk losing the audience to boredom, internal noise or even sleep; if it is too high, you risk losing them because they refuse to take the leap up to where you are—they may even think you’re a bit nuts. The more I teach energy level, the more I realize how it directly connects with the next principle, Speak Up.

Delivery Principle 3: Speak Up!

Where is your message coming from? Allow it to resonate from deep within you. The deeper it resonates from within you, the more it becomes your own. I find that as a coach, if I ask the speaker to speak up, their energy level automatically increases, and their presence fills the room more fully. Speak your message and plug in your body’s loudspeaker: your diaphragm. If you speak with shallow breaths, it sounds shallow—there isn’t enough breath to project the words so the throat muscles are used. Practice breathing deeply from your diaphragm, is your message resonating deep within you or at a surface level?

Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall. – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Having coached thousands of developing speakers, I’m amazed at how this one simple tip helps individuals push through their fear. Speaking up increases your energy, and amazingly, fear subsides! Nervousness washes away and you are able to channel your anxiety to work for you. It empowers you! Expand. . . go big!

When you speak up, you open your diaphragm. As a result, your whole body expands, and your posture is more confident. Conversely, shrinking, retracting, and mumbling typically result from fear and anxiety. By concentrating on opening your mouth, breathing deeply, and speaking up, you will move into the confidence zone.


Figure 3.1: Speaking from the Diaphragm

Pay attention to your diction as you speak! Take care to enunciate and pronounce each word distinctly. Pronunciation involves saying the word correctly with the appropriate stress and intonation. Enunciation involves stating something clearly — think of it as expressing something one syllable at a time.

Interaction 3.5: Are You Speaking from Fear or Confidence?

Try this physical experiment.

Version 1: Adopt a posture that projects fear. What happens to your body? Do your shoulders slouch and head move forward and down? In this position, say, “This will be my best speech ever.”

Version 2: Now adopt a posture that projects pride and confidence. Remember Amy Cuddy’s Power Poses we discussed in Chapter 1? Stand like Wonder Woman or Superman! Can you feel your shoulders move back, head up? Now say, “This will be my best speech ever.”

Question:

1. Which version had you Speaking Up more?

2. Which version had you believing more in your pronouncement?

Isn’t it amazing how a change in our posture can cause us to project a completely different emotion? Besides adopting “power poses,” how do you project your voice? Increasing your volume requires exerting more energy. Focus on this relationship between your volume level and the energy you exert to speak. Raise your energy level and your projection naturally follows (unless you are intentionally trying to whisper). Connecting with your diaphragm and breathing deeply gives you more breath to empower your words.

One trick to determine if you are using your diaphragm is to punch yourself in the stomach—if you keel over, your diaphragm is not engaged. This may sound extreme, but when I speak to an audience, you can haul out and punch me in the gut and my voice will not even shake. When I’m “Speaking Up,” my diaphragm is engaged and the muscles are able to withstand the assault. During workshops, if I hear someone speaking from their throat without engaging their diaphragm, I demonstrate this technique and punch them in the gut—it works!

Some suggest imagining an orange in your throat, so your throat widens allowing more sound and air to flow through it. I have found that if you reach forward and hold your heels (preferably while sitting in a chair) you force the air out of your stomach and you can feel it pass through your throat from your diaphragm. This can help you become aware of where your breath should originate. Many vocal therapists suggest an activity that involves lying on your back with your knees up, placing your hands underneath your belly button and breathing deeply. The point here is to engage your diaphragm to experience “belly breathing.”

Focusing on breathing correctly can also calm your nerves—just don’t hyperventilate! When you are breathing more deeply, your posture improves and your words are stronger as they’re coming from deep inside you—amazingly, your confidence increases.

Another trick that tends to immediately connect you with your diaphragm is to envision someone you love standing in the middle of the street; your voice is the only thing that can make them aware of the oncoming bus about to hit them. What do you say? “WATCH OUT!!!” In that moment, where did that message originate? Hopefully, from deep within you! Find that place and practice speaking from there.

You can easily conduct a search on the internet to find countless more techniques to speak from your diaphragm. There are numerous resources available online to help you work on your ability to project. Projecting well is a prerequisite for speakers, actors, and singers. Search the Internet for ‘Using Your Diaphragm Exercises’ and/or ‘Articulation and Diction Exercises’.

Resources to Develop Your Vocal Ability

Delivery Principle: Speak Up! :

• Video Link

Using Your Diaphragm Exercises:

• http://messagemasters.squarespace.com/articles/speak-from-the-diaphragm.html

• http://www.wikihow.com/Sing-Using-Your-Diaphragm

• http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/topic/soft-skills/can-you-hear-me-back-practical-tips-projecting-your-voice

• http://www.wikihow.com/Talk-With-a-Deeper-Voice

• http://choirly.com/how-to-breathe-with-your-diaphragm/

Articulation and Diction Exercises:

• http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/business-career/public-speaking/diction

• http://procw.hubpages.com/hub/voice-warmups

• http://www.weheartdrama.com/63/vocal-exercises-tongue-twisters/

Note: At the time of this printing, these links were live. Should any become inactive, search with key words like “project your voice”, “diaphragm exercises”, “articulation and diction” to find additional information.

Respect the power of words. Treat them with care. I like to envision that my words are like “balls”, my mouth like a pitcher propelling the words to the back wall, over the heads of my audience members. Never project words into the ground or into notecards or a paper. Words have energy, and they need to carry across the room and reach the back wall so the entire audience can experience the energy from them.

Delivery Principle 4: Sweeten It!

Have you ever heard the saying, “Sweeten the Deal”? Essentially that means, “Make a bargain or a business transaction more appealing by adding value to the transaction.” This principle also speeches. Make your speech more appealing by packing it full of value for your audience. Allow me to explain.

Interaction 3.6: Name that Tune!

Name a song you think everyone, from 9-99 years old, knows and likes.

Remember the simple children’s song, Row, Row, Row Your Boat ? Over the years, I have asked thousands of people, from all different places, that same question. Most have heard the song.

Interestingly enough, when I go around the room and ask individuals what their favorite song is, and then ask the other audience members if they have heard the suggested song, few have any idea of what the song is. So, what makes this song so widely known by diverse audiences representing various cultures, age groups, and backgrounds? Undoubtedly, there are many reasons, but it is a children’s song! There are many children’s songs, but few are as easily recognizable by such diverse audiences as this one. It is repetitive, true, but many repetitive songs are easily forgotten. It must be something more! I think it stands the test of time because they sweetened it! They made the song all it could be.

Sing this song and notice the monotony of the first line. “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.”