October 18, 2005 Present Like A Pro Newsletter
Inspiring You to Discover, Develop, & Delight in Your Strengths
Greetings!
Welcome fellow speaker! This weekly newsletter from Present Like A Pro is here to provide you with on-going tips and inspiration as you develop your skills as a speaker. In every issue are practical tools that you can use in your very next presentation.

Don't miss 15 Ways to Add Impact with Your Voice, the second one hour event in our fall teleseminar series! It will be held Wednesday, November 2, 2005 from 5-6 PM MST. Registration is limited and ends Friday, October 28th. Find out more and sign-up now by clicking here.

This edition: 1,138 words; 2-3 minute read

Yelling Is Not A Special Effect
by Sara Schaffer   4 Ways to Add Impact with Your Voice
My husband and I weren’t quite sure how to react as the pastor yelled his message to us. We were visiting this church, and we were not used to his style of teaching. I wondered as I listened if he perhaps wouldn’t be a bit more effective if he simply spoke calmly to us.

Whether it’s a preaching, teaching, or some other type of presentation, overall, yelling is not an effective way to reach an audience. Instead, here are 4 ways to add impact with your voice and Present Like A Pro!

#1 – Project; don’t yell. At times, yelling might be the right means emphasize your point. More often, however, projecting your voice will go a long way to giving you credibility and impact with your audience. Consider someone who mumbles. They are hard to hear and believe. Projecting your voice displays confidence and consideration of your listeners.

#2 – Speak quickly. Another great way to be dynamic is to talk fast. When you have a dry or fact-filled part of your talk, consider speaking more quickly to encourage and keep your audience’s attention. Fast speech can also be humorous if you purposefully go on and on and on (and on and on) with a long dramatic pause at the end.

#3 – Be monotone. Purposefully use a boring voice to illustrate something uninteresting. For example, if you are promoting a big event, consider using a monotone voice to say “You could stay home Saturday night and watch TV.” Then, contrast the flat tone with an upbeat, enthused “Or, you could JOIN US!

#4 – Sing! A powerful way to grab your listeners is with singing. It is especially effective at the beginning or end of a talk to express both the feeling and the message you are there to convey. If you don’t feel comfortable with your own musical talent, consider having someone else sing for you.

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If you want to add impact and creativity to your presentations, check out the great resources at Present Like A Pro, and sign up today for our upcoming teleseminar on 15 Ways to Add Impact with Your Voice.

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Consider if your voice helps or hinders the reception of your message. On another visit to the same church, my husband and I realized that the pastor actually had a lot of great things to say. Unfortunately, the first time we were there, we only heard the yelling – not the content.

You can quickly add impact to your talk with your voice. Project, talk fast, be monotone (on purpose), and sing! You will notice an immediate response from your audience when you deliberately alter your speaking style. As you add impact with your voice to your next talk, you will Present Like A Pro!

Pointing Fingers & Other Unhelpful Gestures
  Finding The Gift in The Obstacles
I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a great job. I speak, I coach, and I even get to write out my thoughts on life in my very own newsletter. Overall, I have nothing to complain about.

That is, I had nothing until my computer and my new pc card decided not to get along.

Then I not only had to complain, but I found that I had to keep on speaking up until someone could actually help me. I’ve been to several stores and have made numerous calls. Most often the result was the computer company telling me it’s the pc card company’s fault and vice versa.

Pointing fingers apparently doesn’t stop in third grade.

Since no one took the blame I decided that they both must be wrong. I have spent days on the phone trying to resolve this technical problem from both sides. Finally I had to step back and say – what’s the gift in this situation?

The gift?! Can I find anything good in all of this?

Certainly the gift is not the frustration, lost hours of work, or even the new enormous amount of knowledge I’ve accumulated about my computer and pc cards. No, but there must be a reason, and even a gift in here somewhere.

And then I saw it in a number of different ways, but a quote from Mother Theresa sums it up beautifully, “We can do no great things, only small things done with great love.”

Hours and hours on tech support and I have found myself with a choice. I can get frustrated and angry, or I can be lovingly persistent. One gives me a gut ache and the other is great practice in becoming the person I truly want to be.

When all is said and done, hopefully my pc card and computer will get along. I believe they will, and in the meantime I will have learned to be both assertive and caring. Refining my character by learning to love – despite its packaging that truly is a gift.

Listen to This Teleseminar!
 
15 Ways to Add Impact with Your Voice Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 5-6 PM MST

Are looking for fun, creative and effective ways to spice up your presentations? Discover over a dozen ways to simply add more impact with your voice! This teleseminar is available in five money-saving packages.

Sign up today! Registration closes next Friday, October 28, 2005.


Register Now!
 
Special Offers
 
Need A Speaker? In addition to presentation coaching, Sara regularly speaks to corporate and community groups. Whether you are looking for something educational, motivational or inspirational, she will add humor and depth to your next special event. For booking information, contact Sara today at: 303-818-2509 or sara@presentlikeapro.com.

Do you work at Ball Aerospace? If so, you can receive Presentation Coaching as part of the training offered by your company! Find out more at the TLC website. Just click on the Other Development link to get to the coaching corner.

Visit our website to view previous newsletters and to find out more about the free surveys available from Present Like A Pro.


 
 

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