Cornerstones of Speaking
In the past few years, I've improved my focus on listening and being patient while communicating. For example, if I'm in a discussion with someone and we both start to talk at the same time, I stop talking to let them speak first. In my opinion, this not only demonstrates patience, it also shows that I care and am truly interested in what they have to say. However, I haven't given much thought about what to do to capture others attention. That is, until now. The Charisma on Command video, "Kevin Hart's 3 Secrets To Hilarious Storytelling" outlines several mindsets that lead to great stories. It explains that you must capture attention before you start a story, commit to the story, and play the character. While thinking and preparing for my presentation this week, I have been self-aware when telling stories. I think where I struggle is to get others attention.
I'm not necessarily comfortable being the center of attention by saying things such as, "Listen" or "True story" like Kevin Hart does in the video examples. When attending Basic Instructor Course, we learned preambles could be verbal distractors and were encouraged to be aware of our "distractors" and take measure to forgo using them. Although Kevin Hart is entertaining, they seemed more like crutch words. "Crutch words are those expressions we pepper throughout our language as verbal pauses, and sometimes as written ones, to give us time to think, to accentuate our meaning (even when we do so mistakenly), or just because these are the words that have somehow lodged in our brains and come out on our tongues the most, for whatever reason." (Doll, 2012) I remember listening to a presentation once where the speakers crutch word was "So". He used that preamble over 40 times in an eight minute speech; it was extremely distracting and unprofessional sounding. As a previous instructor, I now cue in to others' verbal distractors as well as my own. Other ways I might capture the audience's attention are to use props and expressive communication. I also like the idea of committing to the story being told and playing the character. Being in a more expressive and enthusiastic state get people to listen and allow me to engage with the audience. Whalen explains a wonderful way to instantly capture your audience's attention is to open with a question. (2007) I like the idea of using a question because you begin to have a conversation with the audience and it may ease anxiety.
In his video, “How to speak so that people want to listen” Julian Treasure shares tips on how to speak with empathy. His seven deadly sins of speaking include gossip, judging, negativity, excuses, exaggeration, and dogmatism. We need to avoid these habits to communicate enthusiastically with each other. His HAIL acronym clearly demonstrates how honesty, authenticity, integrity and love are vital to his vision for a resounding world of listening and understanding (2014). Treasure's insight was very helpful in what to say and how to say it. He states, we speak not very well to people who simply aren't listening in an environment that's all about bad acoustics (2014). However he challenges and imagines a world full of powerful speaking and conscious listening. Keeping this video in mind, I will aim to speak with honesty, authenticity, integrity and love. Moreover, I will avoid the seven deadly sins while presenting my ideas in the future. "What counts most in a business presentation is communication with the audience of facts and emotion, spontaneously delivered, by a well-prepared authority on the topic: you." (Whalen, p. 109)
Charisma on command. (2016, February 22). Kevin Hart's 3 Secrets To Hilarious Storytelling. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn_L4OPU_rg
Doll, J. (2012, September 7). Actually, Literally, What Your Crutch Word Says About You. Retrieved September 28, 2017 from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/09/actually-literally-what-your-crutch-word-says-about-you/323648/
Treasure, J. (2014, June 27). How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure (TED Talk). Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI
Whalen, D. J., & Ricca, T. M. (2007). The professional communications toolkit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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