I love the English language! However, as a native English speaker I have the utmost respect for those endeavouring to get to grips with the language’s abundance of inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies. There is a wonderful, if rather long, poem called “The Chaos” (Anon) which charts the majority of the rebellious sounds and would challenge the most confident of English speakers!
My wonderful father-in-law spoke nine languages fluently but I couldn’t begin to get my mouth around the unfamiliar guttural sounds, diphthongs and triphthongs that he rattled off effortlessly in Dutch, Indonesian, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Italian, Spanish and German.
It is only with a great deal of practice and focus that ESL students can master the unfamiliar sounds that are ‘th’, ‘v’, ‘s’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’ etc. However, there is no doubt that the investment of time, money and focus does reap great rewards as “Clarity undoubtedly leads to increased Confidence”. It makes the world of difference to my students to know that they can easily be understood and that there is no lid to their potential for promotion, job satisfaction and social interaction.
In extreme situations, our ability to be understood could be a matter of life and death; in more common situations it can save awkwardness, misunderstandings and even the loss of a job. As English continues to be one of the most widely spoken languages and the official language of the majority of nations we need to persevere with ‘The Chaos’ – Get rid of the lid!
Loving helping others to find their voices!
Presentation Skills TrainingSo, for those who read my blogs, you will know by now that I am passionate about what I do!
I am absolutely committed to helping people to Find their Voices ie. overcome the fear of public speaking in all its various forms – whether to a small group, at a large conference or improving everyday interpersonal skills. Confidence is simply having an assurance that we can do something well through having practiced, workable tools and strategies at our disposal.
As I have explained to many of my clients, I may be confident and experienced at speaking publicly because I have had a lot of practise at it, however, put me in a laser (as some friends of ours did a few months ago) and I capsize the thing! By the end of my first lesson, however, with a patient and kind teacher (thanks Niel) I was jibing brilliantly and sailed into shore relatively confidently. Now I am not intending to sail single-handedly around the world – I would seriously need to build up my skill level and practice hours in order to even think about doing that.
There is obviously a great difference between sailing and speaking though… whilst sailing is a great hobby to have, I have the choice as to whether I want to pursue it or not. Public speaking, however, for most of us, is a very necessary part of life in our workplaces, schools and universities. So, be smart and get some help – you may even begin to enjoy it.
Voice Is Influence
Leadership & Influence, Voice CoachingThe Voice! We have now seen twelve series in the UK of this well-loved singing competition, and have been promised a thirteenth! We love to see the buttons pressed, the chairs swing round and the thrilled look on a contestant’s face as they are recognised as potentially having a voice with star quality.
However, Voice is a lot more than just sounding melodious or hitting high notes, as admirable and as practiced as all that is. Voice, we know, is about influence and it is also about passion. In some contexts, we can positively affect and influence others by our actions alone but, many times, it is our words and how we use them – persuasively, kindly, analytically, reasonably, encouragingly or harshly – that brings influence to bear. We think of the evocative speeches of Martin Luther King Jnr, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gandhi, Hitler, Lenin etc … men and women with powerful Voices and great ability to influence others, some for much good and some for great evil.
We live in a world where it is becoming increasingly important to consider how we are using our voices to bring a positive influence in our worlds of families, friends, and colleagues.
Using your voice
Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking, Voice CoachingAs we consider the miraculous gift that being able to speak is, we realise that, as with any other gifting, we can ignore it; take it for granted or abuse it.
Most of us probably fall into the second category with regards to using our voices until such time as we strain them through misuse and unwittingly find ourselves in the third category. However, what about those of us who ignore the gift, and maybe due to negative experiences or self-inflicted limitations, find ourselves for the most part Silent.
Our mental health is improved as we yield to the deeply human need to speak and to be listened to. Remember Wilson, the volleyball that Tom Hanks’ character Chuck, dressed up in the film “Cast Away”. Wilson proved critical to Chuck’s mental health as his deep need to speak to someone – or anything(!) was evidenced. Some people speak to their dog or cat or plants in the event of having no-one else to speak to.
For those of us who have become “silent”, it is time to pick up the talking spoon again and start connecting with others verbally.
Fear of Public Speaking
Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking“Training with Sarah has demystified the art of public speaking. I always thought it was something some people were just naturally good at – and I wasn’t one of them! With Sarah’s help I realised there are some very real skills I could learn to turn me into one of those ‘naturally good speakers’. Thank you Sarah, I feel so much more confident and now I do well with my presentations and speeches.” HR Professional
It is so easy to look at the strengths of others and feel intimidated or ‘lesser than’ in a particular aspect of our lives. However, as with any area of training and personal development, a little bit of knowledge goes a long way.
A helpful question is “How do you eat an elephant?” and the old adage responds, “One bite at a time!”
If we look at an accomplished public speaker when even the very thought of getting up and speaking in front of people makes us feel sick, it can make the whole process seem even more overwhelming. So let’s instead break it down into bite-size pieces and identify what that person was doing well and why they appear so relaxed and confident? Being willing to learn new things sets us on a course to conquer the fear and limitations around our own lives.
Some adrenalin and nerves are a positive as we stand up to speak, and whether entirely “fear-less” public speaking is a possibility for every person isn’t really the issue … it is more about having some very tangible strategies and competencies to practice and become familiar with so we are growing in skill – we tend to enjoy the things that we feel we do well at! I have testimony after testimony from clients who are actually now enjoying the whole experience of presenting and speaking in front of colleagues, bosses and stakeholders. There is nothing more rewarding for me than to hear that what was so terrifying for clients is now something they are excelling in.
“I never thought I could do so well” … “I did soooo well!” … “I felt so confident and in control!”
Voice training for successful communication
Presentation Skills Training, Voice CoachingImagine a typical scenario; if it is not yet typical for you it very likely will be one day! … “So-and-so is sick today and so you will have to go and speak to our clients and fill them in on where we are up to with the project.” Not the best start to many people’s day, but the job has to be done.
Unless you have had some experience and practise at impromptu speaking, debating or improvisation, then your body likely begins to respond to the request with a number of physical manifestations such as sweaty palms, heart seemingly beating out of your chest, or brain freeze.
Happily, there are a number of well-proven techniques that can help us very practically to handle the above, or similar, situations effectively. However, once we have quickly thought about what we want to say and jotted down some barely legible notes on our phone or bit of paper, we then actually have to vocalise those thoughts and ideas. It is at this point that we have to consider three key things …
Clarity … will people be able to clearly hear and understand what I am needing to communicate?
Fluency … can I fluently and articulately express the information?
Variety … can I speak in a manner that is not going to send my audience to sleep in a matter of a few moments or ‘switch off’ ?
What a gift it is for children and young people to have had practice and experience at speaking more formally with and in front of others; and how necessary to invest in this important life skill if we have not had those benefits at an earlier age.
Accent Softening – Clarity brings Confidence
Skillful Communicating, Voice CoachingI love the English language! However, as a native English speaker I have the utmost respect for those endeavouring to get to grips with the language’s abundance of inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies. There is a wonderful, if rather long, poem called “The Chaos” (Anon) which charts the majority of the rebellious sounds and would challenge the most confident of English speakers!
My wonderful father-in-law spoke nine languages fluently but I couldn’t begin to get my mouth around the unfamiliar guttural sounds, diphthongs and triphthongs that he rattled off effortlessly in Dutch, Indonesian, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Italian, Spanish and German.
It is only with a great deal of practice and focus that ESL students can master the unfamiliar sounds that are ‘th’, ‘v’, ‘s’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’ etc. However, there is no doubt that the investment of time, money and focus does reap great rewards as “Clarity undoubtedly leads to increased Confidence”. It makes the world of difference to my students to know that they can easily be understood and that there is no lid to their potential for promotion, job satisfaction and social interaction.
In extreme situations, our ability to be understood could be a matter of life and death; in more common situations it can save awkwardness, misunderstandings and even the loss of a job. As English continues to be one of the most widely spoken languages and the official language of the majority of nations we need to persevere with ‘The Chaos’ – Get rid of the lid!
The Value of Communication Skills Training
Leadership & InfluenceIt doesn’t matter whether you are in the business of delivering products or services; whether you are in the worlds of academia, medicine or Fintech … whatever your chosen field of work or study, your successes depend greatly upon being an effective communicator. Research has repeatedly shown that when things go wrong in work and/or relationships, we can often trace the problems back to breakdowns in communication. Equally, when things go well, it is often great communicators who have helped to create the successful results. Excellent communication skills are advantageous in every aspect of work, social and family life, and we especially need to be paying attention to our relationships in this social media, online age.
How you communicate, with clarity and boldness, will determine whether you lead, command respect, earn trust and are well liked. Poor communicators often suffer from low self-esteem and frustration.
Becoming a great communicator is not just about handling big crowds or large audiences or having a huge online presence, but it is in the everyday scenarios of life, in the seemingly insignificant one to one interactions. The great news is that these skills most certainly can be learnt and developed.
The Gift of Speech
Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking, Voice CoachingThere are a number of differences that characterise human beings from the rest of the animal kingdom… one of those differences is our ability to speak – to articulate ideas, thoughts and feelings through the medium of words. Our ability to vocalise and speak words is nothing short of miraculous when we consider all that is involved – the process of speech production is a highly precise and practised motor skill.
To simplify the whole process, in an everyday conversation, we firstly have to hear clearly; then we process what we have heard; we then consider our response and vocalise it. Mental processing of information is a science all of its own.
Being able to speak is something that most of us absolutely take for granted until we are faced with the onslaught of a stroke, motor neurone disease or an accident that takes away, even in part, our ability to exercise what is a vitally important function in life.
Give thanks everyday for your ability to open your mouth and speak – and work to make it the best possible experience for everyone listening!
“If only I didn’t have to speak!”
Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking‘Confident Communicating’ regularly works with people who recognise that a lack of confidence in the areas of public speaking and interpersonal communication have held them back from pursuing their dreams and boldly applying for their desired jobs, or going after a promotion; these fears have stunted growth and quite literally kept some clients in a box from which they want to break out. The good news is that it is never too late to begin to work at being a more effective communicator – we start where we are at.
In his book ‘ Power and Influence’, Robert Dilenschneider writes, “You start to communicate effectively, this leads to recognition and recognition in turn leads to influence.” I would like to add a fourth positive outcome to that quote … the word ‘OPPORTUNITIES’ … as we develop stronger communication skills, this leads to more open doors and further opportunities; I have seen this, time and time again.
Our need to continue to grow and develop in our communication skills is a given, as life is full of people and people need communicating to at different times and in different ways! Of course, ‘Communicating’ is not an exact science as we are speaking about human beings with all our idiosyncrasies, differing perspectives and views, presuppositions, expectations and programming, however, it is something that we will be doing until the moment we leave this mortal coil so let’s continue to work at it to be the best we can be in any season of our lives.
NOW is the time to make a CHANGE, take a STEP and G–R-O-W. There is help at hand and there is nothing more exciting than overcoming those things that have held us back for too long.