Supplementing Your Air Supply
While breathing with the support of your diaphragm helps you control your nervousness in any form of public speaking, breathlessness can easily be eliminated by supplementing your air supply. When I teach breath support, be it privately, corporately or in the Voicing It! dvds, I liken the chest cavity to a balloon: as long as the balloon is inflated, you will have air to carry the voice. The problem for many people is that they wait until their 'balloon' is totally deflated to take their next gasping breath of air. Instead, supplement. As you speak and before you run out of air, pause and take a supplemental breath to keep your balloon inflated. Most people do this in normal conversation without thinking about it. Try treating your audience just as if you were talking to them in your living room. You will feel more relaxed and comfortable and breathlessness will be no more.
Find out more....
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Greetings!
Many people contact me because of breathlessness in public speaking. Do you ever wonder when to take a breath in normal conversation? The answer is probably, No.
Why then do so many people have a problem in public speaking? Nervousness is the answer. In fact nervousness in public speaking is the reason for most of the problems we encounter when standing at the lectern: speaking too quickly (let's get it over with!); speaking too softly (maybe they won't hear me!); an abnormal rise in the pitch of the voice (I sound ridiculous!), my voice is quivering (I am so embarrassed!).
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| What Makes a Speaker Dynamic? |
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Some courses on public speaking or presentation skills advise you to stare at something on the wall in order to control your nervousness. That is not good advice. That is wrong. Those who stare at an object while speaking are certainly not dynamic speakers, let alone good ones!
What distinguishes dynamic speakers from the rest is that they speak to their audience, not at them. This means that you, as the speaker, should speak in a conversational style with color/emotion in your delivery, and make eye contact with your audience. In order to make eye contact with your audience, you will have to acknowledge those on the left side of the room and on the right, not just those in the middle. In order to acknowledge those on all sides, you will have to move your head. By moving your head, you will begin to notice that you are feeling more comfortable because you are actually talking to these people, not at them. |
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| Projecting a Dynamic Image |
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If I were to poll my clients, they would tell you that one of the greatest benefits of breathing and speaking with their 'new' voice is the increase in their confidence level. How would you rate your level of confidence when you stand to give that speech or make that presentation? Could it use some bolstering?
With Voicing It! you will sound better, you will probably look better, and you most definitely will feel better about yourself. And... if you feel good about yourself, you're going to project a more positive, a more dynamic image. |
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Click here to learn more about Voicing It! |
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