Episode 51: Real Talking Tips – What Are Your Problem Areas… in Speech, That Is!

Successful speech communication is easily received by the listener and engages the audience.

– YOU have the ability to make people feel and take action.
– You have the choice to offer a suggestion rather than a demand.
– You have the ability to guide the listener into accepting and adopting your message as their own.

That’s the power of words, how you deliver the message, and own the results as a voice actor, podcaster, public speaker, sales person, or presenter.

Episode 51 is a review of the topics we worked on in S1: Real Talking Tips and in my Elaine A. Clark books, There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is and Voice-Overs for Podcasting, plus my two speech apps, Activate Your Voice and Adding Melody To Your Voice.

What areas of speech do you need to improve?
(Each area links to a specific episode or start of the series.)
1. Clarity, Resonance, Breath Support, and Power.
2. Natural Talking Speed (Ep 7 & 8) and Use of Tempo Changes (Ep 18-22).
3. Storytelling (Ep 14 & 15), Emotional Opinions, and Creation of a 3-D World.
4. Emphasis on Key Words (Ep 28-37) and Voice Placement Locations (Ep 38-41).
5. Motivation, Action, Through Line, and Story Arc.
6. Authority, Logic, and Emotion.
7. Consistency and Confidence.

Practice along with the Real Talking Tips videos, audio podcast, this blog, my Elaine Clark apps – Adding Melody To Your Voice and Activate Your Voice plus my best selling Elaine A. Clark books, There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is and Voice-Overs for Podcasting.

Click the video above to watch or click the audio podcast below to listen, follow, or share.

51: Can You Identify Your Speaking Problem Areas?

Well, here we are at Real Talking Tips 51. In the first 50 episodes of S1: Real Talking Tips, we explored an assortment of speaking techniques that can be used in voice-overs, podcasting, public speaking, sales calls, and presentations. These solid and effective communication skills transcend all genres of speech… whether you’re in person, talking on the phone, recording a script, or speaking to an audience.

Successful speech communication remains the same: Engage the audience through your voice and movements so the person or people you’re talking to can easily receive and understand the information and feel energized to take action. That action may be to rethink how you do something, be open to new possibilities, try a different approach, become aware of alternative options, or accept a tangible, physical, or emotional change.

Most people are reluctant to embrace change. The arc of the story that we worked on in Real Talking Tips 50 is all about recognizing and supporting change. That way the message and approach to how someone says something doesn’t flat line or become stagnant.

We can’t excel at everything. So, let’s take a moment now to see if you can identify any of your speech problem areas.

Speak Like A Pro.

Remember way back in the very first Real Talking Tips episode when your initial communication improvement assignment was to make a list of your strengths and weaknesses? Throughout this Real Talking Tips series, I encouraged you to review that list and either add, subtract, or move items from one side of the list to the other.

Holding a mirror or magnifying glass up to us is never easy. Yet, the items you listed – or didn’t even realize you needed to list – may have become more clear and focused as you practiced and progressed through each episode of this Real Talking Tips speech communication journey. As I said before, YOU have the ability to make people feel and take action. You have the choice to speak as if it’s a suggestion rather than a demand. You have the ability to guide the listener into accepting and adopting your message as their own. That’s the power of words, how you say them, and how to own the results.

Let’s review the topics we worked on in S1: Real Talking Tips and in my books, There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is and Voice-Overs for Podcasting, plus my two speech apps, Activate Your Voice and Adding Melody To Your Voice.

The following list is synopsis of the speech areas we covered in Real Talking Tips episodes 1-50. Take a moment to list the speaking voice problem areas that you would like to improve. (Each area links to a specific episode or start of the series.)

1. Clarity, Resonance, Breath Support, and Power.
2. Natural Talking Speed (Ep 7 & 8) and Use of Tempo Changes (Ep 18-22).
3. Storytelling (Ep 14 & 15), Emotional Opinions, and Creation of a 3-D World.
4. Emphasis on Key Words (Ep 28-37) and Voice Placement Locations (Ep 38-41).
5. Motivation, Action, Through Line, and Story Arc.
6. Authority, Logic, and Emotion.
7. Consistency and Confidence.

Listen to Elaine A. Clark’s Real Talking Tips Podcast To Improve Your Speaking Voice.

Most people prefer working on the things done well rather than the areas that need the most improvement. Then, when direction or feedback is given, the speaker tends to PUSH their strengths out of their natural speaking strength zone and into their weaknesses area.

By recognizing our weaknesses and spending time improving those items that we identified, they become part of who we are and a familiar friend. Our weaknesses are part of our DNA and who we are as an individual. Our weaknesses may never go away but, over time, we can develop tricks and habits for dealing with those specific areas of speech that are unique to us.

Here’s your WEAKNESSES LIST assignment.
1. Make a list of the areas of speech where you have the most difficulty.
2. Go back, review, and make a list of the Real Talking Tips episodes that focus specifically on your problem speech areas.
3. Create a personalized exercise routine that warms up and improves those speech weakness areas. You’ll find a lot of practice tips in the third section of each S1: Real Talking Tips podcast where I give you specific assignments. And don’t forget you can also find lots of speech and performance supporting information in my Elaine Clark books and apps.
4. Pay attention to your improvements! When a weakness becomes a strength, move that speech communication item into the STRENGTHS category.

In Real Talking Tips Episode 52, get ready to score your speech success!

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