The media of this new century have shown that knowing about how to speak to an audience is very important. Speaking well in public has never stopped being so. Every day there are more opportunities to communicate with the desired audience, but the high number of unprepared speakers to do so makes us see that this skill is still not taken seriously.
By: ottogutierrez@ymail.com
Traditional and new media are full of speeches, audios, interviews, clips, podcasts, and more versions of voices of people trying to inform, communicate, persuade, or manipulate other people. It occurs in all subjects from areas as entertainment to ethics, through sports, politics, or the economy. There are many celebrities that we can hear, and why most fail to captivate their audience? The answer is simple because they do not know how to do it even though speaking is inherent to the human being since childhood and is the oldest means of communication of humanity.
A study published by the University of California indicates that 75% of people suffer from some fear of public speaking. 20% focus on anxiety symptoms rather than speaking well. Only 2% suffer from some clinical discomfort that prevents them from speaking well. In the end, there are very few good speakers. Another study published in 2019 by N. Gómez indicates, among other problems, that 19% lose mental clarity when speaking. The latest study, conducted among people who do it well and effectively, indicates that 90% of success depends on the method.
Although there is no single method to do it well and contrary thousands of methods, schemes, tips, therapies, sessions, trials, and others, are offered to promise to work on the form or include therapeutic and superstitious elements, the truth is that talking about the method, each speaker should choose the one that suits them best. In this activity, different consultants are offered as well, but several elements must be taken into account when choosing. I recommend choosing someone with proven experience, who teaches you to see the errors and to improve them in a self-sufficient way without requiring consultation or session. Let the method teach you the resources that a good speaker should use, and perhaps most important, as it allows you to self-evaluate to continue improving.
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A method must contain the persuasive procedures that decrease the psychological resistance of the recipients, the persuasive factors, and the effects that Roiz talks about. It must also have the golden rules of a good speech, the requirements of a good speaker, preparation, and self-evaluation of the speech that Studer describes.
As I said at the beginning, traditional media such as digital media and social networks, although they have different formats, have a common denominator which is, to speak well to persuade as, it was said before, or to generate engagement as it is said now. To speak well is to use the word and its ways of expressing it appropriately to activate the neurotransmitters and awaken the interest to give at that moment with our words, the immediate response that the brain demands.
With all of the above, I have developed a successful method and, I want to share with you so that you have a point of comparison when choosing a method. It is named the ADLE, which summarizes Attitude (2), delivery (6), language (6), and effectiveness (6). These four dimensions include the 20 elements that are part of what a good speech should contain, and the person must do as a speaker. Those 20 items are rating on a scale of 1 to 5. The highest rating will be 100 and the lowest 20. The evaluation can be done by the speaker only or can also be done by a consultant or together. In those cases, the values in each element are averaged and added together to get the final evaluation, and according to the score obtained, we will have the following table of the score and the initial idea to do some improvement activities.
91 – 100: This score shows that the speaker possesses extraordinary and refined qualities to communicate his message. It reflects detailed and planned conjugation of the elements according to the type of message.
81 – 90: This range corresponds to people who have found the perfect mix of each of the elements but still making specific errors related to delivery and language.
71 – 80: In this group are people who have found the elements that improve their performance and are heading to a higher level but still make mistakes mainly on the efficiency.
61 – 70: This is a level shown by people who know the key elements of effective communication but tend to get distracted in the background issues neglecting the form. With greater concentration, they will level up. They require more practice because they often repeat mistakes in each of the four dimensions.
51 – 60: This segment corresponds to people who continue to favor substance over form. They are afraid to launch into communication that incorporates elements of the method. They are not comfortable with several of the aspects of delivery, language, and efficiency. They need to decide to be effective.
Less than 50: They must improve all the elements, and the most convenient thing will be to have specialized professional help.
Knowing how to speak well and effectively to the public may be something that no one praises in you, but it is undoubtedly, what will make those who listen to you believe you, identify with your message, accept it and adhere to it. This will also make each of these people a preacher of your message without your prompting. It is what makes their message multiply. It is what strengthens the CTA that each speaker looks for in their receivers. It is not difficult to achieve. 75% who fail today can speak well. They need to know how to do it and apply it.
We must leave behind the belief that public speaking is related to prosopopoeic speeches of the past. Today modern life includes workshops, conferences, seminars, and other closed-door events. In electronic media use, sound bites, interviews, and debates. The digital media has, blogs, podcasts, clips, tweets, posts, and others that are very popular to persuade and engage more people around a message. A well-executed method will turn into accepted and mobilizing speeches that strengthen the positioning and reputation of a speaker who works every day, no matter the field in which he wants to stand out. To learn more about how to implement a method, such as the one I suggest here, or to evaluate the one you currently use, write to me at ottogutierrez@ymail.com, tell me about your need or project, and I will surely be able to help you.
Otto Gutierrez 