communication

Communication Breakthrough # 5 – BREATHE

It’s a natural human reaction to hold your breath when you feel tense. The best way I know to relieve jitters – is to take a few slow, deep breaths using your diaphragm. Breathing also helps your voice sound smooth and calm.

Communication Breakthrough #1

1. DON’T MEMORIZE YOUR SPEECH You know what it’s like — you hear an important keynote or business speaker begin to address the audience, and you can just “tell” its memorized. How? The speaker sounds rote. There’s little intonation. The message is lost because the speaker isn’t natural. The speaker is nervous because he/she is worried [...]

Communication Breakthrough #3 – SILENCE IS OK ( YES!)

Many people tell me that the reason they say “um”, talk fast, or speak without pausing, is because they don’t like silence, or they feel the audience won’t like silence, or they worry that they will be interrupted. Surprise!! A pause allows the audience to think about what you are saying, and it punctuates your [...]

Communication Breakthrough #4 – YOUR OPINION MATTERS

When you are presenting on any topic, add something of yourself to the mix – your opinion, a personal anecdote, or a touch of humor. Ill bet the audience will remember this personal touch – and it will make a difference between a static “ presentation”, and a memorable experience.

Virtual Communication: Make Your “Web Personality” Exciting

Did you know that in the corporate world today – more and more communication, training, and meetings are done in the form of webinars, via Skype or similar programs, or videoconferencing. One interesting story about this comes to mind – my husband, who is a lawyer in a downtown Toronto firm, tried to set up [...]

Communication Breakthrough #2 – BE YOURSELF

Many people separate their “speaker style” ie. the way they speak during a presentation, from their natural conversational style. Put yourself in the audience – wouldn’t you prefer to have a “conversation” with the speaker, rather than being formally “presented to”? When you are the one presenting — have a conversation with the audience – [...]