How to speak so that people want to listen —06 July 2014
Let me quote this:
“How to speak so that people want to listen” — Julian Treasure
In this useful #ted talk, the sound expert demonstrates the how-to’s of powerful speaking — from some handy vocal exercises to tips on how to speak with empathy.
This talk is so good and practical, I decided to take notes.
The 7 deadly sins of speaking:
- gossip
- judging
- negativity
- complaining
- excuses
- lying
- dogmatism
Watch yourself carefully, try to detect any of the above in the way you speak, and get rid of these bad habits. Instead, take on some good ones, like these:
- honesty
- authenticity
- integrity
- love
Your toolbox for speaking better:
- register: speak from your chest, not from your throat or nose
- timbre: be rich, smooth, warm, like hot chocolate
- prosody: don’t speak on one note
- pace: speak fast to inspire excitement, slow down to emphasize, to the point of a pause in silence, which can be very powerful
- pitch: high pitch can indicate arousal, but most often it’s just annoying
- volume: you can have your audience really pay attention by lowering your voice to almost a whisper