Brene Brown does many things well with this speech, she uses humor very effectively, she has a winning sense of irony and wit, and she uses stories very well.   But I think what is most effective about this speech is the attention-getter at the top.   Notice the way Mrs. Brown immediately draws the audience in with a witty story at the top about her experience with an event planner.  The story is brief, heartfelt, and funny, and it gets a big laugh.  Once she is done with the attention-getter, she segues effortlessly into her preview for the speech, the “tonight I’m going to talk about…” section.  The audience is immediately hooked, and more than willing to travel with her to its conclusion.

I recently watched “Singing in the Rain”, one of my favorite films.  There’s an incredible song and dance number in that film called “Make ‘Em Laugh”.  The same could be said of a speech, and especially an attention getter.  Make them laugh at the top.  This doesn’t have to be hard, a simple, personal, pithy story will do.  Once they smile, they will follow you anywhere.

A common refrain I hear among my accent reduction clients is “Wait, that’s how you pronounce that word!?  I’ve been mispronouncing it for twenty years, why didn’t my husband tell me!” Or “my wife”. Or “my friends”.  Or my “co-workers”.

There’s a simple reason.  As Americans, most of us are taught to respect the immigrant experience, but unfortunately this benevolent notion seems to have had unintended consequences.  We now live in a culture that is quick to upbraid those who are deemed culturally insensitive, even if their intentions are good, and their offenses slight.   Newt Gingrich, Robert DeNiro, Bill Maher, and Juan Williams are just a few celebrities across the political spectrum that have gotten caught up in one controversy or another.  Bottom line: It’s very, very easy to be misunderstood and judged these days.

This plays out in the world of linguistics.  Fluent speakers of English are reluctant to correct mispronunciations on the part of the ESL speaker due to a fear of being labeled insensitive.  I have never met an ESL client who said to me “Americans are just so rude, they are constantly correcting my speech.”  It’s always the opposite; “Why is nobody helping me with my language skills or offering constructive feedback?”

As a practical matter, most of us want to feel assimilated, feel a part of the culture that we live in.  As it stands in 2012, part and parcel of feeling assimilated in America is being able to speak English fluently.  This does not invalidate the many amazing accents and dialects that exist in American culture.  This does not necessitate the relinquishing of one’s ability to speak other languages well, nor does it necessitate that one abandon one’s use of their accent-of-origin.  It simply means that it is painful to be misunderstood on a daily basis, and that taking steps to avoid this suffering (and yes it is suffering) is to be commended.

So let’s honor the commitment of those who try to improve their fluency by being a little less sensitive around the issue.  For those who speak English well, native- born or not, you can make a difference in the lives of those around you.  If a friend of yours is constantly mispronouncing an important word, consider helping them out.  A simple, polite question to start might be, “Can I give you a little tip with that word?”  You may be surprised how well people respond.

Click here to register for Speak Clear’s Small Group Accent Reduction Course!

New York City is a results driven city.  ”Return on Investment” is a business hallmark, and, it often seems that “getting a return” drives nearly every decision that is made here.  Of course getting a positive result is what we all want, but it’s important to be shrewd about how we get there.  When it comes to accent reduction, the result is in the process.

Many of my clients focus on their articulators in order to change a problem sound.  They contort their tongue, lips and lower jaw into different positions in order to create the correct neutral American sound, often to no avail.  The key to changing a particular sound is learning to hear the sound first and then using your articulators to change the sound.  This seems simple, but in practice it is quite hard.  It requires slowing down the speaking process, and paying very close attention to each sound.

Take some time during your day to really listen to the individual sounds of fluent English speakers.  Can you hear the difference between the words “war” and “worm”?  Do you notice the difference between “debt” and “debit”?  Listen carefully for pitch, volume, and emphasis when picking out vowel and consonant sounds.  Take a moment to notice the overall musicality of a sentence.  How does the pitch rise and fall?  What words are emphasized within a sentence?

It takes work to stick to process, but the result will make it well worth the journey.

Click here to watch a short video and to register for Speak Clear’s Small Group Accent Reduction Course!

Kevin Costner gives a tremendous eulogy here of Whitney Houston.  What makes it work so well?   It’s personal, grounded in wonderful, heartfelt stories, and it’s centered on a simple theme.

Costner starts the speech recounting his youth in the Baptist Church, an experience he held in common with Whitney.  His eye for detail is impressive; notice the way he captures the feeling of sitting in a pew and chatting with friends, or drinking communion wine.

He moves on from his youth, and then describes the story of casting Whitney in “The Bodygaurd”. He narrates stories regarding her doubts about her talent.  He ends the speech by evoking Whitney’s acceptance in front of the divine, a beautiful coda to his earlier stories about the Baptist Church.   Ultimately, the speech is a simple call to action; a message to all who would follow in Whitney’s steps that respecting their talent is a paramount virtue.  Beautiful.

It takes time to write a speech this thoughtful.  It requires sitting with your emotions, your desires, and writing many drafts.  But it is possible, so get at it!  You know you’ve got it in you.

As New Yorkers, we tend to rush to Starbucks, rush to work, rush to meetings, and then, of course, rush through our preparatory work for presentations and Q and A sessions.  But your colleagues will respond best to a clearly defined and deliberate speaking style.  So how can you improve your preparation for Q and A sessions in small business meetings, and slow yourself down a bit?

To being with, write down the top five questions you think you will be asked, and make notes in advance of the meeting as to how you will answer them.   Put your notes on your Ipad if you want. Just bullet points,  nothing fancy.   Be sure to have statistics next to your bullet points to back up your answers.  Keep the notes close by during your Q and A.

If you feel lost while answering a question, try taking Leon Fletcher’s advice in How to Speak Like A Pro, and put a little time pattern on the topic.  Think “what is the past, present, and future issues surrounding this topic?”.  This little bit of craft might help you to speak at length, and avoid rambling.

Finally, take your time and breathe.  Breathe before answering a question, and allow for silence (it’s powerful) before you speak.

If you would like to work on your presentation or Q and A technique, give me a call, and we can set up a free, 20 minute, in-person consultation to further discuss your needs.

If English is your second language, you can use pitch and pausing to vastly increase your ability to be understood.  A thought group is defined by speech specialist Judy Gilbert as follows:

‘When we speak, we need to divide speech up into small ‘chunks’ to help the listener understand messages. These chunks or thought groups are groups of words which go together to express an idea or thought. In English, we use pauses & pitch to mark thought groups.’

Simply by pausing at the end of a thought, and beginning the new thought with a different pitch, you can dramatically improve your English.  Take a look at these sentences and speak them out loud, taking a break at the end of the punctuation, and giving each new thought a change in pitch:

John said, “The boss is absent”.

“John,” said the boss “is absent”.

Lisa said, “My dog is intelligent.”

“Lisa”, said my dog “is intelligent”.

Notice something?  These sentence pairs are identical; it is merely the punctuation, pausing, and intonation patterns that lend meaning.

If you would like to increase your ability to be understood in English, click here to watch a short video and to register for my upcoming small group accent reduction class!

Ric Elias gives a nearly great speech here, he has a strong attention-getter, a lot of wonderful stories, and a strong call to action, but, unfortunately, that work is undercut by lackluster non-verbal communication; a downward vocal inflection style (especially toward the end of the speech), and uninspired movement.

Ric starts with a rousing attention-getter, he tells the audience about the sensory experience of being on the plane that crashed in the Hudson River.  There are many great details here, the sound of “no sound” as the plane’s engines are cut, the look of terror in the eyes of a stewardess, the thoughts that flashed through his mind as he braces for impact.  There is also an excellent call to action at the end of the speech, a detail that many speakers leave out.  All speeches should strive to create some change in the audience and here Ric challenges the audience to imagine as if they had only moments to live, and to think about what they might change.    This is wonderfully creative.

But, alas, Ric appears a little bit out-of-gas.  He shuffles somewhat listlessly, and gestures without much intention.  He allows his pitch to descend at the end of some sentences.

If you are feeling a little lethargic before a speech, try something simple…like push-ups!  Sound crazy?  It’s not.  Even a few push ups will get the blood flowing, and perhaps enliven your body.  If you have a downward inflection style, work with a coach or colleague on your presentation and make sure to lift the last syllable in each sentence.

Keep in mind 80% of our impression of a speaker is nonverbal!  If you feel your presentation style could use some work, give me a buzz, and let’s set up a free 20 minute consultation.

Click here to register for my weekly accent reduction classes!