Everyone in business, at some stage or another, has to address an audience, whether that’s a team meeting, client consultation or full-scale sales conference.
Maximising the effectiveness of your voice and presentation was the subject of a recent WBG guest presentation by Laura Field, a public speaking and drama coach.
In her talk, titled ‘Speaking Clearly, and Making an Impact’, Laura advised speakers to…
- Research your audience’s expectations.
- Look at different areas of the room at some point.
- Allow the audience to see your face.
- Smile when you begin speaking, to relax yourself and the audience, and
- Use gestures (within reason!) to bring your speech alive.
To maximise the impact of your talk, Laura recommended…
- Changes of pitch/tone/pace.
- Strong contrasts to make a point.
- Short anecdotes to illustrate.
- Concise use of language.
- Show respect and interest in your audience.
- Gentle humour (if you feel comfortable).
- Open body language, and
- Eye contact.
If you would like to learn clear, confident and expressive speech techniques, contact Laura Field email laura@spokenwords.net, tel 07793 812364, website www.spokenwords.net