selection of Published articles by alex joll
Improved Customer Service Through Communication Business: Workplace Communication • Published: January 29, 2013
Value Your Team First
Communication between the staff and customers is of great importance. So is communication between management and their staff.
The staff who come in to contact with customers must understand the situation from the customers' point of view. In the same way the management must understand their staff's point of view.
Any change must be brought about from the top down; with the management setting the example for their staff to follow. The ideal situation would be that management are trained in communication and then in turn pass this training on to their teams.
In a high stress environment such as a hospital it is all too easy to forget, or sideline, the feelings of subordinates, colleagues and customers. It may be the opinion that there is little time in the day for niceties. However, with the right skills it will be possible with no extra cost or time to improve the environment of the whole hospital; both for the staff and the customers.
Recognised Contribution
It is important for each member of the staff, or team, to feel valued. That is the same from the director general down to the lowliest janitor. Each person must feel that their contribution to the hospital as a whole is of importance.
In the case of the hospital: the janitor keeps the floors and surfaces clean to avoid the risk of infection and disease: a nurse makes a patient comfortable and helps cure them by supplying the correct medication: the administrator ensures supplies and smooth running.
Each job has some level of responsibility and each team member must understand this. In turn each manger needs to understand the valuable contribution their team members make. Team members must be praised for good work.
Reward Good Work
To reward an individual for good work need cost nothing but attention to the details. If a janitor leaves a hall particularly clean or a receptionist handles a difficult client well, the manager should recognise this and praise should be given.
If team members turn up and go home with no feeling of worth the job becomes just about the money. Then they will become less satisfied and perform poorly.
People work for money but they enjoy their work when they feel valued. Pay people and they will turn up and do the job. Make them feel valued and they will turn up and do the job well and with enthusiasm.
Implementation: Manages and senior staff at all levels should schedule half an hour a day to go out and see their staff at work (if they are not already doing so). Any time they see an action of a team member of worth they must publicly praise the person.
They should actively encourage managers and team leaders to bring to their attention any team members who have performed well. Then they should seek them out and praise them in front of their colleagues.
Communication
Once team members feel of value they can be asked to help further in improving the situation as a whole. As we have seen, communication between staff and managers is as important as that of staff and clients.
Improved communications will lead to improved work environment which in turn will lead to improved quality of care for the clients. It is not possible to simply change one thing with the staff and have a significant effect. In this case the change must come from a series of training events and initiatives over a sustained period.
There are many aspects of communication and in my latest book "Master Public Speaking in 7 Days", as here, I sort them in to 10 points that can be worked on individually or as a whole:
1. Dress and Appearance
2. Posture and Movement
3. Gestures
4. Facial Expression
5. Eye Communication
6. Voice and Tone
7. Jargon, Words and Non-words
8. Content
9. Enhancements
10. Practice Makes Natural
It is beyond the scope of this article to go in to detail in each of these 10. I will simply summarise as follows:
If you look smart and clean people will assume you are. Stand up straight and move in a positive way, go forward to meet what is ahead with confidence and people will trust in you. If using gestures do so in such a way as to show authority, keep your hands still by your side if not needed. Avoid negative body language which will unsettle the listener.
Smile as often as you can. There are generally 3 types of people when it comes to a smile; those that wear one naturally; those who have neutral faces; and those who look like they are upset even if they are not. A smile disarms your listener and makes them more trusting of you. If you have bad news wear a sympathetic smile. We learn early in life to trust people who smile at us.
Look people in the eye and do not shift your gaze frequently. Even if you are in a hurry you must focus all your attention on the person you are communication with at that time. If your eyes dart you look untrustworthy.
Voice and tone convey your sincerity, care and empathy. The words you use need to suit your audience so avoid technical terms and jargon. Non-words such as um, ur, and, if and many others undermine your message by making you look less confident. If you are lost for a moment, simply pause. The pause adds power and non-word detract from it.
Use illustrations and examples where possible. Help convey the message with ideas from a person's everyday life. Stories can make a message stick in the brain of the listener. Stories are how we passed our history down from generation to generation. Using stories and illustrations will help people take your message away with the and perhaps pass it on to others.
Practice makes natural is my mantra. People should practice the things that they are taught - not so that they have them automated and learned - but instead so that they become part of their personality. These things need to be natural behaviour.
Continued Improvement
Some people might say practice makes perfect; but you cannot attain perfection at all times. So we must strive to continually improve and better ourselves. If we are to do this we must have encouragement from our peers and superiors. There must be an environment of learning and a desire to do the best we can.
This comes with a feeling of making a significant contribution and being valued. We must encourage everyone to adopt this new behaviour and spread it around. This is best done with stories. Stories spread.
If all the stories are bad; bad feedback and comments on the internet; dissatisfaction amongst the staff: the stories are negative...
So it is time to re-write the stories for the good. Get new tales to be told of great deeds done. Of people who have been recognised for their valuable contribution to the hospital, clients and team members. Make this the new story of your business.
Implementing Change
These changes cannot be implemented overnight. They need to come from examples. These examples become the stories told to help spread the effect and behaviour.
First there is the need to identify a defined area to initiate the training and process. Then a program must be designed and implemented. Following that it must be monitored.
Once effective this can be copied across the whole organisation of the hospital. The lead must come from the top and most importantly it must be seen to be adopted by the top management.
The Americans have a saying "Pay it forwards". This is passing on a good deed done to you by doing a good deed for another. This must start with managers and be passed on through the staff all the way to the clients.
With communications training and the ability to recognise and praise valuable contributions of those around us, we can all learn to "Pay it Forwards" and in doing so our environment will change around us for the better.
Alex Joll is author and public speaking coach. For more information and articles visit http://www.alexjoll.biz/index.html
As a subscriber to his newsletter you get free eBooks and articles and monthly tips on enhancing the effectiveness of your spoken communications. Alex offer free seminars and events all over the world so visit the website for more information.
Alex is also a CFO and investment broker. He has lately turned his attention to the topic of "Planning for the Longest Vacation" - more information can be seen on his website - as above.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Joll
Speaking in Public to Have Power and Influence - Making a Good First Impression Writing and Speaking: Public Speaking • Published: January 15, 2013
Dress and Appearance
You never get a second chance to make a first impression; you have 2 seconds: someone introduces you - you walk on stage or stand up, lift your head and prepare to speak...
The whole audience has already made up their mind about you. What do you want them to have decided?
This judging is done by the old or first brain. As we discussed it is continually assessing the situations we are in; it asks is it safe - can I trust this person? People look at you and subconsciously their old brain is deciding whether or not to listen to and believe what you say.
In his book "Blink", Malcolm Gladwell looks in detail at rapid cognition. "It's a book about rapid cognition, about the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye. When you meet someone for the first time, or walk into a house you are thinking of buying, or read the first few sentences of a book, your mind takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions. Well, "Blink" is a book about those two seconds, because I think those instant conclusions that we reach are really powerful and really important and, occasionally, really good."
Gladwell cites a study done at Harvard University that showed how it takes about 2 seconds to make that judgement. Students were asked to evaluate a teacher's performance. Different groups were shown video of teachers and asked to evaluate their performance: First from 10 seconds of silent video footage, then from 5 and finally 2 seconds of silent video. The students in the class were also asked to assess their teacher over the term.
The results were consistent across all the groups. That shows that not only do we make snap 2 second judgements about people, but that we are very good at it. This skill has evolved over thousands of years to be almost a completely subconscious process.
Dress and appearance is essential in that first 2 seconds. Look shabby and people will assume you are shabby, and your message equally so. Look professional and smart and people will assume that you are an authority.
There is a modern view in sales that you should dress to suit your prospect. In this case your audience. So if they wear jeans so should you - WRONG. You need to dress according to your message. If you are a professional, dress as one. If you are in sales, dress smart.
Personally I would recommend dressing better than or at least equally as smart as your audience. Remember that you need to be seen as an authority on your subject. If your hair is greasy and unkempt you will lose authority. If your shirt is unbuttoned or dirty you will have less influence. There are many small details that go to make up an appearance. Get them all right and have more power. Get a few wrong and you give an inconsistent message and undermine what you are actually saying. You will lack influence.
These are simple points that make a huge difference. Look as good as you possibly can. If you lose the first 2 seconds you will have to work for 4 minutes to get the audience to change their mind about you.
Posture and Movement
Stand up straight and tall. Do not slouch or lean. Keep your chin up and act confident. Acting is a good analogy - if you are not confident naturally, then just imagine that you are acting a role as a confident person. Acting is a good way to learn new habits and skills. If we act as if we have the skill then pretty soon we will have it. This is one of the principals behind what Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and other self help authors have suggested.
There is a subtle difference between someone who stands up straight and tall, and someone who allows themselves to slouch. Try standing up now - fill your lungs with air and breathe deeply from the diaphragm.
See how that makes you an inch taller? That inch means more power and authority. It means more believability.
Now try standing up, back up to a flat wall. Put your heals flush to it, and then press your shoulders back to the wall with your chin up. Now walk forwards and feel how just that slight adjustment, especially with your shoulders, has changed your posture.
A strong posture can add to your confidence level and enhance your performance. Practice this whenever you can.
You also need to practice movement. This is very much dependent on where you will stand for your speech. You may even be sitting if you are in a boardroom type situation. If you are a Best Man, the chances are that you will be behind a table and restricted in movement. In these cases you should practice this week's entire course in the situation you will be in on the day. It makes a big difference to be seated so practice for the next performance specifically.
If you do have a stage or open space to stand in, then take charge of it. This is your territory and you must own it. Do not hide behind a lectern. Step out and engage with your audience. Take strides and move with confidence. You can practice this every day. Do not take one step and stop. This looks nervous and lacks confidence. Take one step and then follow it with another one or two.
Move about a stage and engage with the audience on one side. Then turn and move back to the other. Do not over do this movement but do use it to engage the different sections of your audience. Positive movement shows confidence. Moving about gets the audience involved in following you around the stage.
If you are to be seated then practice leaning back and taking up a lot of space. Don't lean far back or slouch. Instead sit confidently upright in the back of the chair. From here you can survey the whole room and engage people individually in the eye on their level or higher. Shoulders up and back and let your posture occupy plenty of space around you. This shows confidence. Give it a go now.
The tendency is often to lean in. You can do this occasionally to emphasise a point, but in the main avoid it as it will diminish your power. Think about how powerful people like Donald Trump sit at a meeting. They take up lots of space and command the room. Try doing this and get used to being the centre of power in a room.
Dress, appearance, movement and posture all show to your audience how confident and powerful you are. They will judge you on this and other factors. get it right and you will have power, authority and influence. Get it wrong and people will switch off to your message and you.
If you would like to know more on how to have power and influence when you peak visit http://www.alexjoll.biz
You will find more articles, my blog and where to pick up a seminar - which are often free to attend. You will also be able to buy a copy of "Master Public Speaking in 7 Days" in which you can learn to have maximum power and effect when speaking publicly.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Joll
Getting Your Message Heard and Having Influence Writing and Speaking: Public Speaking • Published: January 11, 2013
The Gate Keeper
Our evolution has been long and fraught. Species have come and gone and we are developed from many. Our brains have evolved as well, but we still have many instincts that we developed for survival in the wild.
One such example is the "Fight or Flight" reaction to a situation. Just like more primitive animals we evaluate situations and continually ask "is it safe?" this kind of evaluation is happening in what some people call the reptilian or "Old Brain" the evolutionary one that served us so well for thousands of years.
The problem is that when we put ourselves in front of an audience our old brain senses danger. All these eyes looking at us, we have exposed ourselves and are in the open - hence the judgement that we are in danger.
Our old brain wants us to fight or flee, or possibly stand very still and not get noticed. This is the complete opposite of what our new reasoning brain wants. It is a rational more developed brain the "New Brain". It's the one that got us up here in the first place and it knows that we are in no danger.
So we have to overcome our old brain with the rational thinking of the new brain. Sometimes this is easier said than done. But over the following days you will learn to turn this nervousness into positive energy and overcome the old brain.
The old brain is very important in our audience too. As each member of our audience looks at us their old brains are also asking "is it safe?" They are looking at us and judging our performance to decide if they should trust us. If their old brain decides it does not like the look of us, it will not let our message in. This is the gate keeper at work.
To get passed the gate keeper we need to appear confident and have a consistent message across all our forms of communication. This is particularly important for the 67% of non verbal communication mentioned earlier.
If the 67% is wrong or inconsistent our audience will not even hear our message. The gate keeper will decide not to trust what we say so our words will not be taken in by the new brain - which is our real target audience.
The importance of this cannot be overemphasised. We must be believed to be heard. If we do not, we can fail before we even open our mouths.
Be a New Communicator
New communicators are people like Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Oprah Winfrey: quite a mixed bunch. To be honest I am not sure if I am comfortable with Tony Blair because I always found him a little too smarmy and false. However, he was very successful at making a connection and influencing his audience. In looking at him we can see some of the techniques discussed here a little more obviously than with the others. I think this is because he seems to be trying so hard to implement them and be natural, that he comes across as a little false.
Looking at the others we can see a truer natural approach that seems genuine and lets the audience engage with the speaker. Think of Jobs at Mac World and the way he stood up on stage, with no notes, and spoke from the heart. The audience loved it, and consequentially loved what he was selling.
The worst communicators are those who read from a speech. If you want to do that just stand up and hand out a written copy to everyone. They can read it and get all the facts - they can even take it home and refer to it later.
That is not what speaking is about. Speak to influence; speak with passion, authority and confidence. If you know what you are talking about, and you should before you stand up, then you can influence people to your POV.
By all means, if the information you have is technical, give a handout at the END (never during or the audience will start reading that and not be listening to you).
New communicators are not really that new. It is just that so many people from the last century read speeches, that we became accustomed to the "old" style of speaking. It is so dry and passionless that audiences just tune out; especially in the modern age. You have to compete with short attention spans and multi media. If you lose your audience's attention they will be on their smart phones Tweeting and catching up on emails before you get a chance to have any influence.
Alex Joll is author and public speaking coach. For more information and articles visit http://www.alexjoll.biz/index.html
As a subscriber to his newsletter you get free eBooks and articles and monthly tips on enhancing the effectiveness of your spoken communications. Alex offer free seminars and events all over the world so visit the website for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Joll
Value Your Team First
Communication between the staff and customers is of great importance. So is communication between management and their staff.
The staff who come in to contact with customers must understand the situation from the customers' point of view. In the same way the management must understand their staff's point of view.
Any change must be brought about from the top down; with the management setting the example for their staff to follow. The ideal situation would be that management are trained in communication and then in turn pass this training on to their teams.
In a high stress environment such as a hospital it is all too easy to forget, or sideline, the feelings of subordinates, colleagues and customers. It may be the opinion that there is little time in the day for niceties. However, with the right skills it will be possible with no extra cost or time to improve the environment of the whole hospital; both for the staff and the customers.
Recognised Contribution
It is important for each member of the staff, or team, to feel valued. That is the same from the director general down to the lowliest janitor. Each person must feel that their contribution to the hospital as a whole is of importance.
In the case of the hospital: the janitor keeps the floors and surfaces clean to avoid the risk of infection and disease: a nurse makes a patient comfortable and helps cure them by supplying the correct medication: the administrator ensures supplies and smooth running.
Each job has some level of responsibility and each team member must understand this. In turn each manger needs to understand the valuable contribution their team members make. Team members must be praised for good work.
Reward Good Work
To reward an individual for good work need cost nothing but attention to the details. If a janitor leaves a hall particularly clean or a receptionist handles a difficult client well, the manager should recognise this and praise should be given.
If team members turn up and go home with no feeling of worth the job becomes just about the money. Then they will become less satisfied and perform poorly.
People work for money but they enjoy their work when they feel valued. Pay people and they will turn up and do the job. Make them feel valued and they will turn up and do the job well and with enthusiasm.
Implementation: Manages and senior staff at all levels should schedule half an hour a day to go out and see their staff at work (if they are not already doing so). Any time they see an action of a team member of worth they must publicly praise the person.
They should actively encourage managers and team leaders to bring to their attention any team members who have performed well. Then they should seek them out and praise them in front of their colleagues.
Communication
Once team members feel of value they can be asked to help further in improving the situation as a whole. As we have seen, communication between staff and managers is as important as that of staff and clients.
Improved communications will lead to improved work environment which in turn will lead to improved quality of care for the clients. It is not possible to simply change one thing with the staff and have a significant effect. In this case the change must come from a series of training events and initiatives over a sustained period.
There are many aspects of communication and in my latest book "Master Public Speaking in 7 Days", as here, I sort them in to 10 points that can be worked on individually or as a whole:
1. Dress and Appearance
2. Posture and Movement
3. Gestures
4. Facial Expression
5. Eye Communication
6. Voice and Tone
7. Jargon, Words and Non-words
8. Content
9. Enhancements
10. Practice Makes Natural
It is beyond the scope of this article to go in to detail in each of these 10. I will simply summarise as follows:
If you look smart and clean people will assume you are. Stand up straight and move in a positive way, go forward to meet what is ahead with confidence and people will trust in you. If using gestures do so in such a way as to show authority, keep your hands still by your side if not needed. Avoid negative body language which will unsettle the listener.
Smile as often as you can. There are generally 3 types of people when it comes to a smile; those that wear one naturally; those who have neutral faces; and those who look like they are upset even if they are not. A smile disarms your listener and makes them more trusting of you. If you have bad news wear a sympathetic smile. We learn early in life to trust people who smile at us.
Look people in the eye and do not shift your gaze frequently. Even if you are in a hurry you must focus all your attention on the person you are communication with at that time. If your eyes dart you look untrustworthy.
Voice and tone convey your sincerity, care and empathy. The words you use need to suit your audience so avoid technical terms and jargon. Non-words such as um, ur, and, if and many others undermine your message by making you look less confident. If you are lost for a moment, simply pause. The pause adds power and non-word detract from it.
Use illustrations and examples where possible. Help convey the message with ideas from a person's everyday life. Stories can make a message stick in the brain of the listener. Stories are how we passed our history down from generation to generation. Using stories and illustrations will help people take your message away with the and perhaps pass it on to others.
Practice makes natural is my mantra. People should practice the things that they are taught - not so that they have them automated and learned - but instead so that they become part of their personality. These things need to be natural behaviour.
Continued Improvement
Some people might say practice makes perfect; but you cannot attain perfection at all times. So we must strive to continually improve and better ourselves. If we are to do this we must have encouragement from our peers and superiors. There must be an environment of learning and a desire to do the best we can.
This comes with a feeling of making a significant contribution and being valued. We must encourage everyone to adopt this new behaviour and spread it around. This is best done with stories. Stories spread.
If all the stories are bad; bad feedback and comments on the internet; dissatisfaction amongst the staff: the stories are negative...
So it is time to re-write the stories for the good. Get new tales to be told of great deeds done. Of people who have been recognised for their valuable contribution to the hospital, clients and team members. Make this the new story of your business.
Implementing Change
These changes cannot be implemented overnight. They need to come from examples. These examples become the stories told to help spread the effect and behaviour.
First there is the need to identify a defined area to initiate the training and process. Then a program must be designed and implemented. Following that it must be monitored.
Once effective this can be copied across the whole organisation of the hospital. The lead must come from the top and most importantly it must be seen to be adopted by the top management.
The Americans have a saying "Pay it forwards". This is passing on a good deed done to you by doing a good deed for another. This must start with managers and be passed on through the staff all the way to the clients.
With communications training and the ability to recognise and praise valuable contributions of those around us, we can all learn to "Pay it Forwards" and in doing so our environment will change around us for the better.
Alex Joll is author and public speaking coach. For more information and articles visit http://www.alexjoll.biz/index.html
As a subscriber to his newsletter you get free eBooks and articles and monthly tips on enhancing the effectiveness of your spoken communications. Alex offer free seminars and events all over the world so visit the website for more information.
Alex is also a CFO and investment broker. He has lately turned his attention to the topic of "Planning for the Longest Vacation" - more information can be seen on his website - as above.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Joll
Speaking in Public to Have Power and Influence - Making a Good First Impression Writing and Speaking: Public Speaking • Published: January 15, 2013
Dress and Appearance
You never get a second chance to make a first impression; you have 2 seconds: someone introduces you - you walk on stage or stand up, lift your head and prepare to speak...
The whole audience has already made up their mind about you. What do you want them to have decided?
This judging is done by the old or first brain. As we discussed it is continually assessing the situations we are in; it asks is it safe - can I trust this person? People look at you and subconsciously their old brain is deciding whether or not to listen to and believe what you say.
In his book "Blink", Malcolm Gladwell looks in detail at rapid cognition. "It's a book about rapid cognition, about the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye. When you meet someone for the first time, or walk into a house you are thinking of buying, or read the first few sentences of a book, your mind takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions. Well, "Blink" is a book about those two seconds, because I think those instant conclusions that we reach are really powerful and really important and, occasionally, really good."
Gladwell cites a study done at Harvard University that showed how it takes about 2 seconds to make that judgement. Students were asked to evaluate a teacher's performance. Different groups were shown video of teachers and asked to evaluate their performance: First from 10 seconds of silent video footage, then from 5 and finally 2 seconds of silent video. The students in the class were also asked to assess their teacher over the term.
The results were consistent across all the groups. That shows that not only do we make snap 2 second judgements about people, but that we are very good at it. This skill has evolved over thousands of years to be almost a completely subconscious process.
Dress and appearance is essential in that first 2 seconds. Look shabby and people will assume you are shabby, and your message equally so. Look professional and smart and people will assume that you are an authority.
There is a modern view in sales that you should dress to suit your prospect. In this case your audience. So if they wear jeans so should you - WRONG. You need to dress according to your message. If you are a professional, dress as one. If you are in sales, dress smart.
Personally I would recommend dressing better than or at least equally as smart as your audience. Remember that you need to be seen as an authority on your subject. If your hair is greasy and unkempt you will lose authority. If your shirt is unbuttoned or dirty you will have less influence. There are many small details that go to make up an appearance. Get them all right and have more power. Get a few wrong and you give an inconsistent message and undermine what you are actually saying. You will lack influence.
These are simple points that make a huge difference. Look as good as you possibly can. If you lose the first 2 seconds you will have to work for 4 minutes to get the audience to change their mind about you.
Posture and Movement
Stand up straight and tall. Do not slouch or lean. Keep your chin up and act confident. Acting is a good analogy - if you are not confident naturally, then just imagine that you are acting a role as a confident person. Acting is a good way to learn new habits and skills. If we act as if we have the skill then pretty soon we will have it. This is one of the principals behind what Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and other self help authors have suggested.
There is a subtle difference between someone who stands up straight and tall, and someone who allows themselves to slouch. Try standing up now - fill your lungs with air and breathe deeply from the diaphragm.
See how that makes you an inch taller? That inch means more power and authority. It means more believability.
Now try standing up, back up to a flat wall. Put your heals flush to it, and then press your shoulders back to the wall with your chin up. Now walk forwards and feel how just that slight adjustment, especially with your shoulders, has changed your posture.
A strong posture can add to your confidence level and enhance your performance. Practice this whenever you can.
You also need to practice movement. This is very much dependent on where you will stand for your speech. You may even be sitting if you are in a boardroom type situation. If you are a Best Man, the chances are that you will be behind a table and restricted in movement. In these cases you should practice this week's entire course in the situation you will be in on the day. It makes a big difference to be seated so practice for the next performance specifically.
If you do have a stage or open space to stand in, then take charge of it. This is your territory and you must own it. Do not hide behind a lectern. Step out and engage with your audience. Take strides and move with confidence. You can practice this every day. Do not take one step and stop. This looks nervous and lacks confidence. Take one step and then follow it with another one or two.
Move about a stage and engage with the audience on one side. Then turn and move back to the other. Do not over do this movement but do use it to engage the different sections of your audience. Positive movement shows confidence. Moving about gets the audience involved in following you around the stage.
If you are to be seated then practice leaning back and taking up a lot of space. Don't lean far back or slouch. Instead sit confidently upright in the back of the chair. From here you can survey the whole room and engage people individually in the eye on their level or higher. Shoulders up and back and let your posture occupy plenty of space around you. This shows confidence. Give it a go now.
The tendency is often to lean in. You can do this occasionally to emphasise a point, but in the main avoid it as it will diminish your power. Think about how powerful people like Donald Trump sit at a meeting. They take up lots of space and command the room. Try doing this and get used to being the centre of power in a room.
Dress, appearance, movement and posture all show to your audience how confident and powerful you are. They will judge you on this and other factors. get it right and you will have power, authority and influence. Get it wrong and people will switch off to your message and you.
If you would like to know more on how to have power and influence when you peak visit http://www.alexjoll.biz
You will find more articles, my blog and where to pick up a seminar - which are often free to attend. You will also be able to buy a copy of "Master Public Speaking in 7 Days" in which you can learn to have maximum power and effect when speaking publicly.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Joll
Getting Your Message Heard and Having Influence Writing and Speaking: Public Speaking • Published: January 11, 2013
The Gate Keeper
Our evolution has been long and fraught. Species have come and gone and we are developed from many. Our brains have evolved as well, but we still have many instincts that we developed for survival in the wild.
One such example is the "Fight or Flight" reaction to a situation. Just like more primitive animals we evaluate situations and continually ask "is it safe?" this kind of evaluation is happening in what some people call the reptilian or "Old Brain" the evolutionary one that served us so well for thousands of years.
The problem is that when we put ourselves in front of an audience our old brain senses danger. All these eyes looking at us, we have exposed ourselves and are in the open - hence the judgement that we are in danger.
Our old brain wants us to fight or flee, or possibly stand very still and not get noticed. This is the complete opposite of what our new reasoning brain wants. It is a rational more developed brain the "New Brain". It's the one that got us up here in the first place and it knows that we are in no danger.
So we have to overcome our old brain with the rational thinking of the new brain. Sometimes this is easier said than done. But over the following days you will learn to turn this nervousness into positive energy and overcome the old brain.
The old brain is very important in our audience too. As each member of our audience looks at us their old brains are also asking "is it safe?" They are looking at us and judging our performance to decide if they should trust us. If their old brain decides it does not like the look of us, it will not let our message in. This is the gate keeper at work.
To get passed the gate keeper we need to appear confident and have a consistent message across all our forms of communication. This is particularly important for the 67% of non verbal communication mentioned earlier.
If the 67% is wrong or inconsistent our audience will not even hear our message. The gate keeper will decide not to trust what we say so our words will not be taken in by the new brain - which is our real target audience.
The importance of this cannot be overemphasised. We must be believed to be heard. If we do not, we can fail before we even open our mouths.
Be a New Communicator
New communicators are people like Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Oprah Winfrey: quite a mixed bunch. To be honest I am not sure if I am comfortable with Tony Blair because I always found him a little too smarmy and false. However, he was very successful at making a connection and influencing his audience. In looking at him we can see some of the techniques discussed here a little more obviously than with the others. I think this is because he seems to be trying so hard to implement them and be natural, that he comes across as a little false.
Looking at the others we can see a truer natural approach that seems genuine and lets the audience engage with the speaker. Think of Jobs at Mac World and the way he stood up on stage, with no notes, and spoke from the heart. The audience loved it, and consequentially loved what he was selling.
The worst communicators are those who read from a speech. If you want to do that just stand up and hand out a written copy to everyone. They can read it and get all the facts - they can even take it home and refer to it later.
That is not what speaking is about. Speak to influence; speak with passion, authority and confidence. If you know what you are talking about, and you should before you stand up, then you can influence people to your POV.
By all means, if the information you have is technical, give a handout at the END (never during or the audience will start reading that and not be listening to you).
New communicators are not really that new. It is just that so many people from the last century read speeches, that we became accustomed to the "old" style of speaking. It is so dry and passionless that audiences just tune out; especially in the modern age. You have to compete with short attention spans and multi media. If you lose your audience's attention they will be on their smart phones Tweeting and catching up on emails before you get a chance to have any influence.
Alex Joll is author and public speaking coach. For more information and articles visit http://www.alexjoll.biz/index.html
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