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Loud & Clear

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Loud & Clear

5 Steps to Say What You Mean and Get What You Want

Career Press,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Many people would rather run across a busy highway than give a speech. But anyone can become a good orator. Learn it here.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Becoming a successful public speaker is an acquired talent. Those who suffer stage fright or who don’t speak well may believe that they can do nothing to become commanding communicators. They are wrong. Take Ancient Greek statesman Demosthenes. As a youth, he had such a severe speech impediment that people would mock him whenever he spoke. To cure himself, Demosthenes practiced giving speeches with pebbles in his mouth. Eventually, he became one of the classical world’s greatest orators. Anyone can learn to become a strong speaker and communicator. One good way to do so is to read Karen Berg’s new book on powerful communication. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone who must speak clearly and persuasively to others. Today, that includes just about everyone.

Summary

Can Anyone Out There Hear Me?

Do people listen to you when you speak? Or are they distracted? Maybe they are paying attention to their BlackBerrys or cell phones. Maybe it is their surroundings or associates. Getting people to pay attention isn’t easy, so you must speak up. Indeed, you need to adopt the “loud and clear approach.”

It involves five steps:

1. “Probe: Targeting Your Audience”

The first rule of communication: know your audience. This is true if you speak to one person or to one million. Who are your audience members? What do they care about? Research them using multiple perspectives: age, gender, nationality, interests and so on. What are your common bonds? Family? Hobbies? Books? Don’t assume anything. Not all women enjoy cooking. Not all men are sports fans. Dig for the information you need. Find out what your audience needs from you. Ask these questions: Do I have a relationship with the audience? What is it? How much do my listeners know about me? Will they consider me credible? Will they care about me at all? What do the audience members want to hear from me?

Fashion your speech in such a way that they get what they want. Use the...

About the Author

Karen Berg is a communication and presentations expert. She trains individuals to make strong oral presentations in business meetings, at shareholder events and on the witness stand.

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