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Top Speed: Great in the Movies, Bad at the Mike!
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
You're charged with energy and maybe a bit nervous. Too often this can
translate into talking too fast, maybe even a rise in voice pitch until
the best-intentioned speaker sounds like Minnie Mouse.
Pay attention to audience feedback. If one person reports a problem with
understanding you, this may be an individual perception or opinion. But
if several do, it's time to time yourself.
Try this test. First, tape-record a casual conversation with a friend.
Then compare the number of words per minute to a tape recording of one
of your recent speaking presentations. Do you always speak quickly? Or
just when you're giving a speech? Was your presentation deliberately
speeded up to meet some time constraint? If so, were you trying to
include too much material? (That's a signal to cut some information so
the rest is more effective.)
If you decide you need to slow down your delivery, start before you even
hit the podium. As you're putting together your remarks, think about
logical places to slow down. It's okay to speak quickly as long as you
leave yourself room for pauses and silence. The faster you talk, the
longer your pauses should be. Give the audience time to digest what
you've just said. If you say something really profound or suggest
something like, "Consider the proposal in front of you," you are asking
the audience to think. Give them time to do so.
Finally, here's an excellent slow-down exercise. Practice reading your
speech aloud. Pause for one second at a comma, two seconds at the end of
a sentence, and three seconds after a paragraph. (You can count the
seconds the same way you did as a child, saying "one-Mississippi,
two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi " silently to yourself.) Then,
breathe and smile!
(299 words)
Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE is a San Francisco-based executive
speech coach, sales trainer,
and professional speaker
on Change, Customer Service, Promoting Business, and Communication Skills.
She is the author of Get What You Want!, Make
It, So You Don't Have to Fake It!, and Past-President of the National
Speakers Association. Meetings and Conventions Magazine named Fripp "one
of the country's most electrifying speakers!"
We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost
this material as long as Patricia Fripp's name and contact information
is included. PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800
634 3035, http://www.fripp.com
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