Sometimes the best words in your speech aren’t words.
Sounds
Your mouth is able to make so many different sounds. Why confine yourself to words? Come to think of it… Why confine the sounds to your mouth?
Audiences love sounds. They’re unexpected. They’re different. They shake things up. However, few speakers incorporate them in their speech. Do you?
Storytellers do.
When someone is riding a horse they’re not afraid to make a kloppety-kloppety sound. When someone falls, they’re more than willing to do an AAaaaaaaaaa and a Pgggggh.
They do snores, they do guffaws, they do heartbeats, they do….
…silence.
They hoot, they boom, they bubble, they purr, they squeek, they huff, they puff.
Things that are hard to write down. Because they’re not words.
Three dimensional
Often, when we write our speech, we forget these simple interjections – we go into literature mode. Speechcraft doesn’t stop with writing. Paper is two dimensional. You need three.
Why do sounds work so well?
Because they are received and processed at a more basic level in the brain. They bypass the language center and immediately communicate with the emotional core. We call it public speaking but speaking is not just a linguistic exchange.
Challenge
So here is your challenge: for your next speech or presentation: introduce a well placed sound. Whether it’s with your mouth, your body, or an instrument doesn’t matter. As long as it adds to the story. You’ll notice that a well placed sound can say more than a 1000 words.
What sounds have you used in your speeches and presentations? Let me know!