May is Better Speech and Hearing Month - Public Speaking Tip 1

Do you need a check-up from the neck up? May is Better Speech and Hearing Month and all month I'll be sending you tips on caring for your voice and articulators.

Just like working out at a gym, your facial and oral muscles need to be exercised to function well. Singers and performers warm up by singing scales. Public speakers need to do the same for their articulation.

Here is today's tip:

Warm up before your public speaking engagement with these vocal exercises for the lips, tongue, and jaw.

Lip trills: Say brrrrr. with your lips. It's the sound you make when you're cold. If you do it correctly, your lips will vibrate.

Lip and tongue coordination. Say puh tuh kuh, puh tuh kuh, puh tuh kuh in rapid fire succession.

Lip coordination: Place a pencil between your teeth and say this tongue twister-"Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers". It causes you to over articulate which will improve your clarity.

Jaw: Place the top of your hand under your chin. Drop your jaw as low as it can go. With your hand in place, say Yaw, Yaw, Yaw.

Do this daily or at least right before your next presentation. You'll feel more relaxed and you'll articulate more clearly and fluently.

Can Your Audience Still Hear Your Voice After Your Presentation?

Does your audience still hear your voice after your presentation? This was one of the provocative questions asked at the 2013 National Speakers Association convention. The event was held in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. And I was loving this event!  I came back excited and with new ideas to share with you.

Here are some thoughts from these memorable keynote speakers to help you take steps toward speaking success:

Walter Bond

Former NBA player and rising star in the speaking business.

1. You can have a pity party for 3 days, and then you better have a plan.
2. Validation is a lost art.
3. Always look like success. Always look like money. And if you're not that good, look good and be quiet.
4. The likeability factor is the best kept secret in business.
5. Can your audience still hear your voice after your keynote?

Bruce Turkel

Helped create some of the world's most compelling brands

1. People don't buy what you do, they buy who you are.
2. A good brand makes people feel good. A great brand makes them feel good about themselves.

Phillipp Riederle

18 year old podcast genius from Germany focusing on New Media and youngest ever NSA convention speaker

1. Make your customers your friends.
2. The hormone Oxytocin increases when using Facebook, Twitter, texting. It feels like we are cuddling.
3. Communication today = more contact, access, publishing.

Connie Dieken

Executive coach and former award-winning journalist

1. Your outer presence is how you make people feel.
2. There are three layers of presence: stability, credibility, likeability.
3. We're living in a world that demands perfection and craves authenticity.

I'm still hearing the voices of several keynote speakers a week later. Why is that? Walter Bond told a joke every two or three minutes and was a master storyteller. He really kept us engaged. Bruce Turkel gave everyone a harmonica and taught us how to play a song. Phillipp was remarkable for his youth and his cutting edge research. Connie went out into the audience from the stage and interacted with individuals. She asked people, "What is your one word?"

Does your audience forget your message as soon as they leave the room? Learn to make your message memorable!