Thursday, February 26, 2009

Modern Jargon

I have been reading a very interesting book on moden jargon called ‘Shoot the Puppy- a survival guide to curious modern jargon of modern life by Tony Thorne. It’s hilarious, informative and a delightful read for the language lover. Thorne narrates some really interesting anecdotes and also the known origins of the words.
Some examples:

al desko which means without leaving the desk
blook which is a book derived from a blog
road warrior which means a travellor on business.

The book satisfies as the author puts it one’s infolust.The BBC recently posted an interesting article on the oldest English words.

Tara

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Resonance of Authenticity

Today I want to talk to you about what I like to refer to as the “Resonance of Authenticity”.

Those of you who attended my MLMTeleclass on February 14th will know what I mean with that.

As a speaker - and that includes anyone who relies on their voice as a medium in whatever they do – your voice is the first point of contact between you and the people with whom you are communicating - your clients, your students, your customers, your employees, or your audience.

Your Voice is Your Calling Card...

Your voice is very personal. It is a direct expression of who you are – it is an energetic representation of you – of ALL of you.

The way you present yourself and the way your voice carries your message across are crucial to how you are perceived, no matter what the actual content of your message is, regardless of your expertise.

What does that mean?

It means that it is not just WHAT you say – it is HOW you say it…
But perhaps even more importantly, it is WHO is saying it…

Who is the person BEHIND the voice. What is the message BEHIND the message – what are you transmitting…?

You are ALWAYS transmitting something – so you are ALWAYS communicating, even when you don’t mean to, and even when you are not aware of it.

Using Your Voice Properly Really Means Two Things…

There is your physical voice that is operated by your body and is clearly audible to everyone – and then there is YOUR voice, as in who you are and what you project energetically.

What kind of energy is BEHIND your words?

Do you speak with a balanced, clear and strong energy - or do you sometimes communicate mixed messages when you speak?
Is the message behind the message telling a different story than the one you are attempting to communicate?

We obviously want people to realize how wonderful and amazing we are and how valuable our service is!

This is why, to be TRULY great communicators we simply have to look the full picture.

We need to approach the development of our speaking skills holistically.

We have to do both the INNER and the outer work.

If we want to truly inspire and impact people we cannot afford to ignore to look at our own dissonance if it’s there!

The Resonance of Authenticity…

Body language, voice dynamics and voice technique are all important factors for successful speaking. You can work on all of those and gain a certain degree of mastery purely from a practical perspective.

But what is it on a subconscious level that controls both body language and voice dynamics?

YOU do – the person BEHIND the voice. YOU add life and emotion to the sound and the overall expression.

More important than all the technical stuff that can be learned and that can SUPPORT and greatly enhance your expression, your ability to be powerful, dynamic, resonant and so on; more important than ANY of those is to establish what I like to call “The Resonance of Authenticity”…

What does it take to be an AUTHENTIC speaker, somebody who speaks FROM the heart TO the hearts of people.
Someone who has a purpose and a vision that they are compelled to share.
Someone who feels passionate about that purpose and that vision.
Someone who has a VOICE inside of them busting to get out…

Someone who needs that voice to be heard, REALLY heard – not just in the physical sense but on an emotional level as well.

A voice that reaches out – and into people’s hearts.
A pure un-diluted, authentic voice that represents the real YOU, all that you are – and all that you CAN be.

Your voice is very susceptible to both physical and emotional influences.

Therefore, as a powerful speaker you simply have to be aware of both the voice technicalities and your emotional well-being.

Your voice, your mind, and your emotions work together – always!

If you’re feeling nervous or insecure – it will show.
If you’re feeling small, not worthy, not knowledgeable enough, not successful enough etc.- it will show.
If you’re impatient, anxious, needy, sad or angry inside – it’ll show, and so on and so forth.

If you send out mixed messages, people won’t hear you, or they will hear parts of you that you did not intend or did not want for them to hear - they will subconsciously react with resistance or even suspicion..

Your spoken message will not fully come across in the way that you wish for it to do if your energetic message counter communicates.

Your intended message will be tainted, or diluted or, distorted, or, worst case, simply disregarded.

Consider…

Listen to you own inner voice.
What is it saying?

What are the things inside of you that might not resonate with what you wish to project?
What is the message BEHIND the message – what are you transmitting?

What could YOU be communicating energetically that is not congruent with the message that you want to communicate?

What do you hear in your own voice?
1 Physically
2 Emotionally/energetically.

A really great way to work on not just your psychical sound but also you energetic transmission is to do is to record yourself. Most people do not like this very much, but it really is great training. So record yourself and track your progress – you’ll be surprised.

To Create Real Impact….
Practice communicating clearly and undiluted and SPEAK not just a conscious level but on an emotional level too.

Practice being totally PRESENT whenever you speak. This will project confidence and balance.

Practice total RESONANCE between you and your message; say what you mean – mean what you say.

Fuel your message with passion and real emotion – and you will move and inspire people beyond your words!

When we are able to connect with that deep authentic part of ourselves that speaks our truth, our wisdom and our passion – we don’t need any gadgets or fancy stuff.
We simply have all that we need inside of us.

We all have a natural Resonance of Authenticity – don’t be afraid to use it!

Listen to your heart and speak in your own voice.
When you do, people will let you in and listen to you with open, receptive ears AND hearts.

To your Speaking Joy and Success,
Suzann

Monday, February 23, 2009

The Goal


Greatest Goal II
Originally uploaded by scottwills
The Goal

Before we deliver or even begin crafting our speech there is that one thing to consider that could make all the difference. What is the goal of the speech? Is it to inform, persuade or simply narrate a story? Make your goal as specific as possible. Before giving any speech, presentation or workshop I write out the goal, call it statement of purpose if you will in a single sentence. For e.g I want to inform the audience about the latest features of product XXX or I want to motivate my audience to take action XXX
It is only after I have set a clear goal do I research data and structure my speech. Needless to say without a clear goal, a speech may end up as a rambling account of loose facts leaving the audience confused.