Case study – with existing concern
A CEO had exactly 3-minutes to present 21 slides in an ‘investor pitch’ meeting. He was concerned he’d sound nervous and would need to speed through his material.
We said, “Easy… do these 2 simple things:”
- Slow down the first word of each phrase.
When you do this, you unconsciously lower your pitch. And a lower pitch conveys confidence (rather than a high pitch which conveys nerves).
- Double the space between sentences.
When you do this, you continually have time to regroup your thoughts and catch your breath. This means you mitigate getting tongue-tied and speaking in circles, and instead ultimately get through more material, in less time, with a more comfortable/confident feel. Doubling the space between sentences also gives listeners more time to absorb what you say and keeps your breaths lower. All wins.
2 simple techniques, and his two concerns were no longer a concern.
We give ‘voice adjustments’ like this every day.
Case study – assessment
A corporate presenter felt she did fine. “No one says anything bad about my speaking.”
We reviewed her presentations and offered 3 ‘voice adjustments’.
A later email included, “OMG that was the best thing, I had no idea what I was doing wrong and how the fixes made a big difference!” Another email, “I’m winning twice as much now!”
We give ‘voice adjustments’ like this every day.