Watch Your Mouth: Persuasive Oration
Language, like persuasion, is an art. It's an art that can be mangled, yes. And as with any art, unless you're a prodigy, as Mozart was with music, as H.P. Lovecraft was with poetry, as Pablo Picasso was with painting, then most likely you will have to practice to be good at the art of language.
As persuaders we primarily use our language skills to work with our affluent prospects and clients. We are served well when we use these language properly and speak powerfully.
It's likely that the more you read, the bigger your vocabulary (unless you're only reading, say, People Magazine or one very precise genre with limited language specific to that type). One of the most valuable things you can do to increase your vocabulary, is read.
With that said, having a huge vocabulary doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be a great speaker. Oration is completely different from vocabulary. A huge percentage of people have the fear of public speaking. There's also the little issue of having something of interest to say.
Okay, now you've got your vocabulary, you've overcome the fear of public speaking, you have something interesting and valuable to impart to your audience. . . now you have to deal with the delivery.
Recently my transcriptionist told me that I say the phrase 'in other words' a lot. She makes a good point. I suppose I do this for two reasons. The first is that I am attempting to deliver the information I have for my students in as many ways as possible. Secondly, I'm not one to use the stalling word 'um', and 'in other words' may be taking the place of 'um' in how I speak.
"Um. . . Slips, Stumbles and Verbal Blunders and What They Mean" by Michael Erard is a great new book about language. I learned something amazing in the first few pages. Since as far back as the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, some form of 'um' has been used in all languages. It's universal. The French say 'euh', in Spain it's 'eh'. So it's safe to say that this is an innate human characteristic.
Only since the twentieth century has 'um. . . ' become unpopular likely with the advent of television and radio. And if you were in the debate club in school or did any public speaking in an academic setting, you know that teachers frown upon and attempt to vanquish 'um' from all presentations.
The beginning of 'Um. . .' (the book) describes the transcriptionists of the Federal News Service. These transcriptionists do the closed captions that scroll across you TV screen. The FNS has style guidelines that their workers must follow, for example, 'umms', 'ahs', 'uhs' and 'ers', are all left out. If the speaker has a false start of one or two words, that's left out as are partial words. There is one exception to this rule: everything a policymaker says is typed out verbatim, ums, ers, uhs, partial words and fragments included.
I couldn't help myself. I skipped ahead and read the chapter on George W. Bush. And while it's not as funny as 'Bushisms' it is quite an interesting take on perception and how people view him as a result of his "disfluencies". Some consider him 'down home' and 'one of the people', with his speech patterns and gaffes making him more accessible and affable. While others consider his blunders to be an indication of his 'lack of preparedness' and/or intelligence and a dangerous indication of a 'disconnect with reality'. Either way, whichever side you're on, some of his more memorable malapropisms are really amusing.
This week pay attention to the way you talk. See how many ums, uhs, false starts, stumbles, gaffes and blunders you make. And pay attention to the way other people talk. Is there a secretary in your office who uses 'like' every other word, or an associate who constantly stumbles? How do you perceive them?
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.
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by: KenrickCleveland
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