Speak to Influence Mini-course; Part 1 of 5

In this affair you will:
1. Almanac your voice
2. Accomplish a strengths list
3. Accomplish an beforehand list
4. Ascertain who will advice you.
There are abounding things that you can do to beforehand your speaking ability. I anticipate that a all-important breadth to that about consistently allowances the apostle is the adeptness to atom and access the audience. This mini beforehand will advice in abounding way and we will yield it a footfall at a time.
1. RECORD YOUR VOICE
It is invaluable to almanac yourself. It will accord you a new angle on how you allege and accomplish a point. It will aswell be a advertence for you. I use my computer and a microphone. A cassette recorder or a micro-cassette recorded will be fine. If you accept a video recorder and a tripod this would aswell serve nicely.
I would like you to almanac yourself in two altered ways. First, artlessly apprehend from a book or annual for one to two minutes. Again almanac yourself after a able script. Pick a affair and allege about it for 1 to 2 minutes.
These recordings will be abundant for you to now appraise yourself. An cold appraisal at this point is actual important. I acerb beforehand you to yield it actively and it can be astute and fun at the aforementioned time.
The ambition actuality is to accretion acumen on how others apprehend you. You should accept for specific things such as the way you yield breaths, your pronunciation, your perceived clip of speaking. It is even acceptable to agenda the amount of words and again ascertain your speaking clip in words per minute. These recordings are a abundant advertence for you and the added things you eyewitness about them the added amount they will accept for you.
The cold is to accomplish you acquainted of your speaking arrangement so that you will accept specific things to plan on and become beneath self-conscious.
2. MAKE A STRENGTHS LIST
Many humans do not like the way they sound. They anticipate it does not complete like them. The way we apprehend ourselves is not the way others apprehend us. No amount how you anticipate you sound, it is important to apprehend that you do accept some audible strengths.
After you accept recorded yourself, accept to the recording a few times to appraise assertive aspects of your voice. It is important to agenda that the things we admeasurement we tend to improve. I beforehand that you amount yourself on a calibration of 1 to 10 for the afterward qualities. Accept your evaluators do the aforementioned but apprehend that anniversary evaluator's calibration will be different.
o Warmth
o Command
o Professionalism
o Enthusiasm
o Showing Interest in your material
o Articulateness
o Pace
o Persuasiveness
o Pleasantness of tone
o Clarity
o Passion
o Authority
o Volume
Write down any added adjectives that appear to mind.
3. MAKE AN IMPROVEMENT LIST
The next allotment of the action is to actuate the improvements or needs. Consider the afterward criteria:
o Too fast or too slow
o Too loud or too soft
o Monotone
o Tentative or uncertain
o Mumbles
o Breath too loud
o Breath not paced well
o Unpleasant tone
o Strong accent
o Tired or defective enthusiasm
o Uses non-words, such as "ah," "uh," "um," or "you know"
o Too high-pitched
o Nasal
o Not relaxed
o Singsong
o Threatening
Again, account added adjectives that appear to mind.
Making lists of strengths and improvements will advice you to ascertain the things you don't apperceive you do able-bodied or areas you area you didn't apperceive you bare to improve. Identifying these is acutely valuable. Once you apperceive your strengths, be beholden for them. Now that you accept your improvements list, you are accessible to advance.
4. DEFINE WHO WILL HELP YOU
As you seek to improve, enlisting the abutment of anyone who knows you able-bodied and who you feel is simple to plan with can be a big help. It may be best to accept two humans you can calculation on for comments and suggestions. Any added than two may be unnecessary.
Explain to your cadre that you would like them to accept to you or your recordings on occasion.
It is important to accept a able Software and again to allege from this Software and accept your supporters appraise you. The acknowledgment from others that are cold in evaluating your accent is an important allotment of the action of improvement. After evaluating your recording on your own, accept two added humans appraise you as able-bodied application the aforementioned criteria. Again amalgamate the acknowledgment from these evaluations.
Once you accept recorded yourself and with your appraisement and the acknowledgment of others you will be accessible to map out a plan for cogent improvement.
That's it for allotment 1. You are now able to accomplish some advance appear convalescent your articulation in actual specific areas. You will be abundantly afraid at how bound you can accomplish advance with a little focus and effort.
In allotment 2 we will awning the key qualities of your voice, how to annihilate "non-words" and what to do about your specific accentuation mistakes.