How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Página 282

To counteract boredom, use your basic pace most of the time, and vary it
in one of two ways from time to time. Slow your pace down when you
wish to appear thoughtful; when you want to give people the impression
that you are working through a process of induction or deduction, even as
you are speaking; when you have something particularly important or
serious to say; or when you wish to show great respect. Increase your pace
when you want to create excitement and energy.
Vocal Fillers
Fillers can destroy your presentation, hurt your credibility, and annoy
your audience. Most people feel they don't have a problem with this, and
most of them are wrong. You would be amazed when you tape yourself
what words you use to fill in space during a speech. Fillers are not
acceptable and need to be eliminated from all speech. Vocal fillers include
the common "um," "er," and "uh." Some people have their own
idiosyncratic way of filling in the silence between ideas that makes them
uncomfortable. Some repeat the first two or three words of a sentence
until their brain catches up and they decide what they're going to say.
Others might say, "Okay" at the end of every sentence, as if they're
checking audience comprehension.
Pitch
Pitch is the highness or lowness of the speaker's voice. Low is best. In our
culture, deeper voices are generally interpreted as reflecting authority and
strength, for both men and women. In addition, a deeper voice is
stereotypically considered to be more believable, indicative of an
individual's sincerity and trustworthiness. Many speakers practice
lowering their voices because of the benefits of a lower pitch. Some
speakers even drink hot tea before they speak, a technique that creates a
lower sounding voice.
Remembering to employ variety in your speaking is a constant challenge,
but it is of paramount importance. You can help people remain alert and
pay attention while you speak if the pitch of your voice rises and falls.
There are two main reasons why this strategy works. First, the varying
pitches will prevent your voice from sounding monotonous. Second, the
varying inflections can help emphasize a particular word. Remember, if
you are not an engaging speaker, you will not be persuasive.
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