Archive for the ‘How We Present Ourselves’ Category

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The Truth About Foreign Accents

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

A study from the University of Chicago found that speakers with foreign accents are viewed as being less truthful by listeners.

There is a big flaw with the study as far as public speakers are concerned. It does not apply.

If you have a very thick accent, are hard to understand and do not enunciate your words, yes you may be in trouble.

Yet how many of us love an accent from a foreign land when the words are clearly spoken and the speaker is easily understood.

Well apportioned accents can go a lot farther than a high pitched or hypernasalaty voice.

Consider the last movie you saw with an actor with a foreign accent. Were you captivated.

It is not as much the accent as it is sense stress, modulation, diction and pronunciation. What we say plays a big part of the picture for public speakers.

If on the other hand I am mis-pro-nounc-e-ating words in a foreign accent, then that is a different story.

So please, master pronunciation, not accent reduction.

Speak well and prosper.

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Posted in How We Present Ourselves, How we say it, What We Say | 3 Comments »

Hispanic Lawyer Marketing: Still Public Speaking

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

A fast growing market for lawyers is the Spanish speaking population.

Hispanic Lawyer Marketing

and

Latino Lawyer Marketing is a resource on how to speak to this group.

There are differences and commonalities discussed. These apply to public speaking.
What we say, how we say it and how we present ourselves require some care when speaking to someone of the Spanish speaking cultures.

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Sarah Palin, ‘Lost’ and Found Answers

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

One rule of public speaking, that is, unless your a risk taking politician, never criticize another speaker. You never know when you will make the same mistake and have to eat crow.

So why did Sarah Palin criticize the president for using a teleprompter? How many presidents before have used a teleprompter? Lets see, just about all of them, so this was just politics as usual.

The the thought occurred, if a teleprompter was not used, there would a greater potential for new books like the three on Bushisims that are currently in print. Well, then it made sense. This would surly make a boost to the economy.

But wait, the Bushism and other Bush spun books did not help reverse the debt problems amassed over the past several years by the politicians who supposedly do not tax and spend. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm.

But, it is unlikely that that would happen with this president.

Then, when seeing the February 23 airing of the ABC show Lost, it became clear.

In this episode, Hurley had written a message on his arm so he would not forget. Do you see the connection. Sarah Palin was one of the Lost survivors. Jacob told her to write on her hand so that she would not forget what the issues she represents and what her purpose was.

This explains why she would attack the President. This is quite simply an ABC Lost and found answer to how we present ourselves in front of an audience.

The bottom line…..
Don’t use the R word, Present Well, Speak well and prosper.

Oh yea, the disclaimer….

I have no political affiliation and I was not paid for this posting. I am using satire, so, if this offends anyone, be assured it is satire. Please do not call for me to be fired. I cannot afford to hire anyone else to do this as I am on my own.

Learn More Public Speaking Tips at Speechmastery.com

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Posted in Audience, How We Present Ourselves | 1 Comment »

Use Stories to Enhance Your Speaking

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Using stories, especially your own can help your public speaking.

This picture from my mother-in-law reminded me of one of the many stories of my life.

frosty out house toilet seat, another definition of the word freezer

Here is the Northern Minnisota definition of 'freezer.'

This reminded me of my youth and having to shovel three foot of snow to get to the outhouse at my Uncle Bud’s. He even had the phone that you had to wind up and ring the operator in order to call outside the area. It was not that long ago.

Apparently things like this still exist.

Incorporate stories from your childhood into your public speaking to make them come alive.

Speak well and prosper.

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Be Contrarian or Why I Hate Haloween.

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

I am not afraid to say I think Halloween is a horrible holiday. I hate Halloween. What is interesting is I have found a lot of people agree with my thinking and are not open to speak their mind unless to someone who shares their belief.

When speaking to our audiences, consider how what you say and how you say it can cause a reaction in your audience. Be careful with this if your new at public speaking. However, at some point, do not be afraid to be contrarian.

One of my colleagues at work, on making this declaration said the pastor of her church feels the same way and preaches it to his small congregation.

So, consider an analogy that I have used for years now.

Would it be appropriate to dress up as a Nazi costume, KKK costume for Halloween? Why not?
For the same reasons some would find this morally repulsive, I find giving honor to demons and the devil in any way, shape or form morally reprehensible. This does not mean I fault those who do it. I fault those who promote it and the religious leaders who claim to worship God but give honor to his chief enemy. Hey, our enemy too depending on your belief.

This is one holiday we can do with out and I will be glad when it is killed, put out of my misery and finally resting in my peace.

What do you think?

Speak well and prosper.

PS. For the sake of full disclosure, I used to go around dressed up as the Devil, of all things and went begging for candy. I do not remember my age but it was a very young age. Eeek.

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Posted in Audience, How We Present Ourselves, How we say it | 1 Comment »

When Should You Use Negative Motivation

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Most of the time it is counter productive to use negative motivation. However there is one exception. This is when you frame the threat as something that the entire group is facing. Then it is a combined threat for everyone, including the one making the threat.

But there is an essential point when the threat has to be transformed into an positive motivation. If you make this switch, then the positive becomes exponential.

This is an essential skill to learn as a public speaking motivator and reaching the audience mind.

To get the answer, go to SpeechMastery.com in the motivation section to get the answer.

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Posted in Audience, How We Present Ourselves, How we say it, Uncategorized, What We Say | 3 Comments »

Speaker Wannabes: Be Heard and Not Seen

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

If your old enough you will remember the saying, “Children should be seen but not heard.”

This got me to thinking. Some people would like to have a career in public speaking but do not necessarily want the attention.

There is a way. On reviewing a sister site, one of the pages spoke of narrating a YouTube video. This is something that does not require any presence on your behalf. However your speaking skills can shine. Further this will get you exposure to get you even more jobs.

Check it out. Realestate YouTube Selling and your public speaking behind the scenes could make you a hit.

This will provide a unique way to present yourself, a unique audience, and another way to master making money from public speaking.

Speak well and prosper.

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Posted in Audience, How We Present Ourselves, Mastering Making Money, c common errors, h common errors | No Comments »

Effective Public Speaking

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Effective public speaking involves mastery of the three pillars of public speaking.

What you say (voice)
How you say it (verbalization)
How you show in front of an audience (visualization)

Master these and you will master public speaking.

The Three Pillars and Effective Public Speaking takes a deeper look at this topic.

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Fun Persuasive Speech Topics

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Here are some Fun Persuasive Speech Topics posted over at Speechmastery.com

Use this list for ideas for public speaking, your next speech or just practice.

Speak well and prosper.

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Posted in A Common Error of Word Use, Audience, How We Present Ourselves, How we say it, Speech Topics, Uncategorized, c common errors, d common errors, h common errors | 3 Comments »

Top 3 Alpha Numeric or Numbers not Use in a List

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

When you read a list of the top 10 or the top Ten, which is the best one to go with? Here is an interesting post of what the best to use and the ones to avoid. The list is more than the top three, but it has the three most effective.

Interestingly, the answer for the top three is not what you might expect.

Click Here to get the list.

Speak well and prosper.

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Posted in A Common Error of Word Use, How We Present Ourselves, How we say it, Uncategorized, c common errors, d common errors | 1 Comment »

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