“People buy people,” “People buy from people they like, know and trust.” In the words of Nick Nanton, a leading expert of personal branding and a top thought leader in the world.
“How people speak to other people makes a big difference as to whether people like, know and trust each other”. In the words of Sandra McKnight, renowned international expert in the speaking voice.
Today’s social culture has changed whom we admire, what we buy and how we make decisions about purchasing.
And it’s more important than ever to lead your company/ business in a very public way and that means communicating effectively so that people know, like and trust you...and ultimately buy from you as a result.
Speaking in a polished, powerful and persuasive manner is the bottom line to getting your message heard.
Let me tell you an extraordinary story of how Shawn, one of my clients and the CEO of a Silicon Valley IT company discovered that the power of telling a convincing story made all the difference in landing an international deal worth millions.
It was not just the story content but also Shawn’s delivery of the story that conveyed his vision and captured the imagination of his client. His staff had worked diligently to pull together all the parts of the presentation and to create a clear, informative and provocative power point. Now it was up to Shawn to deliver it.
To open strong and use his voice to grab the attention of the audience and then beat by beat to lead them through a compelling story to a powerful conclusion that led to only one result: closing the deal.
In the beginning of his Executive Speaking Skills program he told me that through client based, anonymous evaluations of his presentations, he found out that some of his clients felt that he was a bit arrogant and talking down to them. His executive coach mentioned that the delivery of his opening was rather dull.
This is relevant feedback, because as we know, personal interaction affects buying decisions more than price. According to Bain & Company, a customer is more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service-related rather than price or product-related. In this case if the client feels that Shawn doesn’t relate to people that well, he will most likely lose the business.
In the first voice coaching session, Shawn immediately became aware of why he came across as arrogant. He was trailing off at the end of his thoughts and speaking very fast (over 160 words a minute) Shawn was glad to know that this could easily be corrected and he would no longer be perceived in a negative way.
It took nothing more than to practice and to incorporate the right speaking skills into his every day speech and he would be perceived as being open, professional, engaging, articulate and in charge of his delivery.
Learning to breathe and project his voice and to breathe between his thoughts not only got rid of filler words, “ah” and “Um” (sound familiar) but also gave his speech good pacing and phrasing in presentations and daily conversation.
Improving his pronunciation also helped to slow him down and gave his speech credibility and the power of the well-spoken word. Now Shawn “turns a phrase” like the best public speakers.
Shawn is a leader and celebrity in his company and delivers a compelling story as to why his clients need to buy his product. As a result Shawn’s company is also a leader and celebrity in their industry.
Find a compelling story that will build your brand, attract more customers, and close more deals. Let your delivery of that story create a community that knows, likes and trusts you—and therefore does business with you and refers others too.
NOTE: Want to learn to speak Confidently and Persuasively with your customers so they get to know, like and trust you.
Go to www.voicepowerstudios.com/analysis.html right NOW and sign up for a Free Voice Consultation/Analysis.
Discover the steps anyone can master. Speak with Power and Confidence. Engage your clients and customers. Enjoy!
