"Speak to Captivate: Unlocking the Art of Engaging Communication"

The human voice: It's the instrument that we all play. It is possibly the most powerful sound on the planet. It is the only one capable of starting a war or saying "I love you." Despite this, many people have reported that when they speak, they are ignored. Why is that? How can we communicate loudly enough to effect change in the world? What I'd like to suggest is that we need to break a few bad behaviors. I have compiled a list of seven deadly sins of speaking for your enjoyment. I am not pretending that this is an exhaustive list.

But these seven, I believe, are really major habits that we may all slip into. First, gossip. Speaking negatively of someone who is not present. It's a bad habit, and we know that five minutes later, the person gossiping will be chatting about us. The second step is to judge. We know people who behave like this in conversation, and it's difficult to listen to someone when you know you're being judged and found wanting at the same time. Third, negativity. This is something you can fall into. My mother, in her later years of life, became very pessimistic.

And it's difficult to listen. I recall telling her once, "It's October 1 today," and she answered, "I know, isn't it dreadful?" (Laughter) It's difficult to listen when someone's so negative. (Laughter) Another example of negativity is complaining. This is the national art of the United Kingdom. It is our national sport. We moan about the weather, sports, politics, and everything, but complaining causes infectious suffering. It is not spreading sunlight and light throughout the planet. Excuses. We have all met this person.

Perhaps we have all been this guy. Some people have a tendency to throw blame. They simply pass it on to others and refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, making it difficult to listen to someone who behaves in this manner. Penultimate, sixth of seven, needlework, exaggeration. It sometimes demeans our language. For example, what would I describe as something that is truly awesome? And then, of course, this exaggeration turns into lying, and we don't want to listen to those who are lying to us.

Finally, there's dogmatism. Confusion between facts and opinions. When those two things are confused, you're listening into the wind. You know, someone is blasting you with their ideas as if they were true. It is difficult to listen to that. So here they are: the seven deadly sins of speech. These are the things I think we should avoid. Is there a constructive way to think about it? Yes, there are. I'd like to argue that there are four incredibly significant cornerstones, foundations, on which we might stand if we want our speech.

To be powerful and effect change in the world. Fortunately, these objects spell words. The word is "hail," and it has an excellent definition. I am not referring to the material that falls from the sky and smashes you in the head. I'm referring to this definition: to greet or acclaim heartily, which is how I believe our remarks will be received if we stand on these four principles. So, what are they standing for? See if you can guess. The letter H stands for honesty, which means saying what you mean and being straightforward.

The letter A stands for authenticity, which simply means being yourself. A buddy of mine defined it as standing in your own truth, which I believe is an excellent way to express it. The I represents integrity, keeping your word, doing what you say, and being someone others can trust. And the letter L represents love. I am not referring to romantic love, but to wishing people well for two reasons. First and foremost, I believe that total honesty may not be desirable. My gosh, you look terrible this morning. Perhaps that isn't necessary. Honesty, when combined with love, is wonderful.

However, if you truly desire someone well, it is difficult to judge them simultaneously. I'm not sure if you can do those two things at once. So, hail. Also, that's what you say now, because as the old song goes, it's not just what you say, but how you say it. You have an incredible toolkit. This instrument is fantastic, yet it is a toolbox that few people have ever opened. I'd like to have a little rummage in there with you now and simply pull a few tools out that you would like to take away and play with. This will increase the power of your speech. Register, for example. Now, falsetto registers aren't always beneficial, but there's one in between. I'm not going to go too technical here for those of you who are voice trainers. However, you can locate your voice. So if I speak up here in my nose, you can tell the difference. If I go down into my throat, which is where most of us talk the majority of the time. But if you want weight, you have to move down here to the chest.

Do you hear a difference? We vote for politicians with lower voices because we connect depth with power and authority. That's the register. Then there is timbre. It's the feel of your voice. Again, study reveals that humans love voices that are rich, smooth, and warm, much like hot chocolate. If it isn't you, don't worry; you can train. Go and hire a voice coach. There are other fantastic things you can do to improve the timbre of your voice through breathing, posture, and workouts.Then prosody. I enjoy prosody. This is the sing-song, the metalanguage we utilize to convey meaning. It is the root of conversational meaning. People who speak entirely on one note are extremely difficult to listen to, especially if they lack any prosody. That is where the term "monotone" or "monotonous" comes from.

Also, we're seeing recurrent prosody, in which each sentence finishes as if it were a question when it's actually a statement. If you rep eat that one, It's actually limiting your ability to communicate through prosody, which I believe is unfortunate, so let's try to break the habit. Pace. I can get really excited by saying things rapidly, or I can slow down to emphasize, and the end result is, of course, our old buddy's silence. Is there anything wrong with some quiet during a conversation? We do not need to stuff it with ums and ahs. It can be really powerful. Of course, pitch is commonly used in conjunction with tempo to signify excitement, but it can also be used alone.

Where have you left my keys? (In a higher pitch) Where have you left my keys? So there's a tiny difference in meaning between the two deliveries. Finally, consider volume. (Loud) I can become quite aroused by employing volume. Sorry if I startled anyone. Alternatively, I can encourage you to pay attention by becoming very silent. Some individuals broadcast all the time. Try not to do this. That is known as sodcasting, which is the reckless and inconsiderate imposition of one's sound on those around them. Not nice. Of course, where this all comes into play most of the time is when you have something extremely vital to do. It may be standing on a stage like this and delivering a speech to people. It could be a marriage proposal, a request for a rise, or a wedding speech.

Whatever it is, if it is truly important, you owe it to yourself to examine this toolbox and the engine on which it will be used, and no engine runs properly unless it has been warmed up. Warm-up your voice. Let me teach you how to do it. Would you like to stand for a moment? I'll show you I do six vocal warm-up exercises before each and every talk I give. Do this every time you have an important conversation. First, raise your arms, take a deep breath in, and then sigh out, ahhhhhh, like that. One more time. Ahh, very good. Now we're going to warm up our lips by saying, "Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba." Very good. And now, brrrrrrrrrr, just like when you were a child. Brrrr. Now your lips should be moving. Next, we'll do the tongue with an exaggerated la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.

Beautiful. You're getting really adept at this. Then, roll an R. Rrrrrrr. That's like champagne for your tongue. Finally, and if I can only do one, the professionals refer to this as the siren. It's quite good. It starts with "we" and ends in "aw." The "we" is high, whereas the "aw" is low. So you say, "Weeeaawww, weeeaawww." Fantastic. Give yourselves a round of applause. Please have a seat. Thank you. (Applause) Next time you speak, prepare those in advance. Let me just put things in context to conclude. This is a major point.

This is where we are today, correct? We don't communicate well with people who aren't listening in a setting dominated by noise and poor acoustics. I've discussed it at various points throughout this stage. What would the world be like if we could speak strongly to people who were actively listening in places that were fit for purpose? To expand on that, what would the world be like if we were making and consuming sound purposefully, as well as planning all of our environments? consciously for sounds? That sounds like a great society, one where understanding is the norm, and it's an idea worth propagating. Many thanks.