You Were Born to Speak

The Natural Speaker

When speaking expert Richard Newman taught English to Tibetan monks, he found that body language was helpful when he had to communicate across language barriers. Newman had to match his words to his facial expressions to make himself understood. He later enrolled in acting courses to improve his communication skills. He learned about subtext – how actions can affect or even contradict the meaning of the performers’ words. Subtext is an important component of communicating. Your body conveys information to your audience, but physical and linguistic habits often entrap speakers. Your habits can keep you from communicating authentically and congruently. 

People build up emotional armor to defend themselves against rejection. Shyness and bravado are emotional armor that inhibit communication. Work through these inhibitors by thinking about a time you experienced rejection. Identify three good results that emerged from that situation. A study researching whether presentation style alone could shift audience perception showed that it could, regardless...