ARE YOU BEING THE VERY BEST COMMUNICATOR YOU CAN BE?

If Not Why Not?
What is it that makes one person compelling in front of an audience or in a meeting, while another can’t seem to get their message across? Many people assume the answer is in the quality of the content. If the message is there, how it is delivered doesn’t matter all that much. But have you ever felt that you had something valuable to say that just wasn’t granted the importance it deserved? Did you know why?

There is a very real aspect of performance in every human interaction. We are visual beings. We make judgments in seconds that absolutely dictate our subsequent attitude. And the judgment we don’t make visually, we make in response to what we hear. Not the words, but the quality of the voice that is speaking them, the feeling that the sound of that voice is evoking in us. These responses are almost completely unconscious, but make up over 90% of our decision – is this person worth listening to, or not?

Clearly, then, it is crucial that we hone our skills as performers. A command of the two most powerful influences of all – the voice and the body – will allow us to access the deeper qualities that make our communication brilliant.

When it comes to presenting to an audience, or even taking part in a meeting – accessibility, vitality, authenticity and sheer force of personality are what allow the words to get from your mouth to the listeners’ ear. These qualities conspire to create that seemingly magical ability to ‘connect’ with an audience.

Every individual has some unique attribute that, if confidently allowed expression, captures the listeners’ attention. They naturally desire to know more, to hear more. The challenge is to recognize and eliminate the limiting habits that, to one degree or another, all of us have. Then we can freely express that special quality that makes each of us…interesting.

Authentic speaking, openness, focus, the courage to risk vulnerability and the ability to convincingly take a stand are all characteristics of a powerful public speaker, a powerful leader and a powerful human being. Developing these skills allows for the most important attribute of all – the ability to genuinely be aware of and listen to others, so that they come away stirred by a sense of their own uniqueness and their own passion.

Accomplish this, and you have transformed from a good presenter to a truly inspiring communicator.