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The Professor We All Hated
“Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?”
Remember that famous scene from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” when Ben Stein takes attendance? (If you don’t, watch it here.)
He’s dry. He’s monotone. He’s exactly who you DON’T want to be as a speaker.
When we focus intently on remembering what to say, we often come across just like Ben Stein. It’s entertaining in the movie, but the opposite in real life.
A product manager client of mine was “Ben Stein 2.0.” Funny enough, he was also named Ben. Ben wasn’t dry in casual conversation. In fact, he lit up telling me about his next dirt bike race.
But as soon as Ben started to present, all joy, emotion and expression drained from his body.
Ben (no smile, no energy): “I’m so excited to share a solution to the problem my team’s been researching for 15 months.”
Me: “Are you truly excited? You don’t sound like you are.”
Ben (nodding quickly and speaking emphatically): “Yes! Nobody’s been able to figure this out until now. It could change the whole space.”
The enthusiasm Ben showed when talking one-on-one with me was totally missing from his “official speech.” He was so hung up on recalling what he’d memorized, he lost all emotion.
The fix? Having Ben only write down the key messages he wanted to remember. As he shared those messages through natural, conversational speech – no script – his real emotion and passion shined through.
His face lit up and started smiling. Nothing is more welcoming than a smile.
His gestures became more enthusiastic and reinforced his verbal message.
His boss became just as excited as he was to learn about the team’s solution
Does your passion and personality shine through when you speak?
What happens to your face, voice and body when you get hung up on what to say next?
#GoToSpeaker #speaking #presentation #publicspeaking #voice