Improve How You Speak so That People Will Want to Listen

The human voice is one of the most powerful sounds in the world. It can start wars, and it can say, “I love you.” Yet, many people do not feel as though others listen to them. In his TEDtalk (video below), sound expert, Julian Treasure, shares tips and useful vocal exercises to help you speak in ways that will cause people to want to listen to you.

He highlights 7 habits that should be avoided in the ways we speak and in the things we discuss (See image above or download full-sized version.).

Treasure shares 4 cornerstones on which to stand, to make your speech powerful and to promote change in the world. They are based on the acronym HAIL.

HAIL – to greet or acclaim enthusiastically

Honest – be clear and straight
Authenticity – be your self
Integrity – be your word
Love – wish them well

Treasure concludes by sharing tips on how to speak with empathy, and he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.

Developing Better Presentations

If you’ve been reading this blog long you’ve likely noticed that I have an interest in designing and developing more effective presentations. Nancy Duarte shares some useful advice from her book Slide:ology.

Discussion

I found this to be full of useful tips and strategies. Which of the many suggestions offered resonates the most with you? Please share your text/audio/video reply in the Comments section of this post.

Additional Resources

Here are a few more resources to help you more effectively design your presentations.