Here’s How To Sound Intelligent, Powerful, Polished, Articulate and Confident
A post by Patricia Fripp that I strongly recommend you to read. It’s really easy to apply and my suggestion is for you to incorporate the tips immediately in your next conversation with a friend. Internalize it and the next time you deliver a presentation, sounding intelligent, powerful, polished, articulate and confident will be a piece of cake.
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Do you want to sound intelligent, powerful, polished, articulate and confident? Of course you do! Voice coach Carol Fleming, Ph.D. gave me some great insights based on her years of study and working with thousands of clients.
TO SOUND MORE INTELLIGENT:
Speak just a bit slower to allow yourself to select your most appropriate vocabulary and to give the impression of thoughtfulness.
[Eric] Excellent point. People often perceived inexperience with blabbering. So no matter how excited you are, consciously remind yourself to slow down, be it in a conversation or a presentation. Be sure to smile, so that you don’t look TOO serious.
TO SOUND MORE POWERFUL:
Use short, simple declarative sentences. You say what you mean and you mean what you say. Cut out any useless connectors, adjectives and adverbs, especially superlatives.
[Eric] Adjectives and adverbs are words that gives you more information about the noun. Examples of adjectives include “pretty”, “poor”, “old”, while examples of adverbs include “stunningly”, “unbelievably” and “extremely”.
So instead of “The stunningly pretty lady and her unbelievably poor husband walked down the really old highway.”, you should be more direct and say “The lady and her husband walked down the highway.” Notice that the second version has more impact.
Can you imagine if Martin Luther King went “I have an amazingly wonderful dream that is unmatched in this world…”, how memorable will his speech have been?
TO SOUND MORE POLISHED:
Never answer a question with a blunt ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Append a short phrase of clarification. For example, “No, I did not see it.” “Yes, I know Mary.”
[Eric] This applies more to a conversation.
TO SOUND MORE ARTICULATE:
Make a special effort to pronounce the final sound in a word and use its energy to carry over to the following word. Pay special attention to final ‘t’ and ‘ng.’
[Eric] That’s a big problem for some of us because we are lazy with our words. So in order to make sure you enunciate your words, especially the last syllable, slow down!
TO SOUND MORE CONFIDENT:
Carry your body up. Hold your head as if you had a crown on it. Don’t let your arms and legs have side to side motion when you move. Keep your elbows and knees close to the midline of your body.
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Cheers,
Eric Feng
Your Public Speaking Coach
P.S: If you have yet to download the free chapter of The FAQ Book on Public Speaking, click here to get it before it is taken down.
