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Articles from Nancy Daniels | Selfgrowth.com
- ***Is There a Difference Between the Personal Introduction and the Elevator Speech? - by Submitted on Apr 30, 2009 from Nancy DanielsWhile my last two articles dealt with the elevator speech, I wanted to take this opportunity to explain the differences between the elevator speech and the personal introduction. You may think that the two are one and the same, but they are not. One of the factors that differentiate the two is ...
Views: 3766 - ***Why You Need an Elevator Speech! - by Submitted on Apr 28, 2009 from Nancy DanielsHave you ever stood in line waiting for service? Stupid question, right? Have you ever used that time to introduce yourself, your product or your services to the individual in front of you, in back of you, or along side of you? If not, then you are missing a golden opportunity for potential ...
Views: 2006 - ***Stop Mumbling and Cure Lazy Lip Syndrome Today! - by Submitted on Apr 24, 2009 from Nancy DanielsThere is nothing more frustrating than having people ask you to repeat yourself because they did not hear what you were saying. There are several reasons why this may be happening: you may be soft-spoken; you may have an accent in which you are not enunciating your words clearly; or, you may ...
Views: 12099(1 vote) - ***Discover How to Have a Deeper, Richer Speaking Voice - by Submitted on Apr 21, 2009 from Nancy DanielsWhen we think of the great speaking voices, those that come to mind are the likes of Vin Diesel, Kathleen Turner, James Earl Jones, Cher, Sean Connery, Morgan Freeman, Demi Moore, Barry White, and John Rhys-Davies. What distinguishes these particular voices from those of many other great ...
Views: 7449 - ***Are You a Whisperer? - by Submitted on Apr 20, 2009 from Nancy DanielsAre you one who often reverts to whispering or speaks consistently in a soft voice instead of a normal volume of sound? I am not talking about the horse whisperer or the dog whisperer in this particular case, but the individual who speaks in a whisper even when his/her throat is not sore or ...
Views: 2646 - ***The 2 Things You Must Do to Eliminate a Nasal Voice - by Submitted on Apr 19, 2009 from Nancy DanielsWhen we hear the word nasality, we tend to think of New York City and her 5 boroughs. Excessive nasality is not limited just to New Yorkers though. I have found various forms of nasality common in certain pockets of both the United States and Canada. If you are from Philadelphia, Detroit, or ...
Views: 25623(6 votes) - ***Is Your Accent Holding You Back? - by Submitted on Apr 14, 2009 from Nancy DanielsIn today’s multicultural world, many people are looking to eliminate their accent and I have a better suggestion. Instead of trying to get rid of your dialect or accent, why not clean it up? You may believe that your accent is keeping you from getting the job you want or moving ahead in ...
Views: 3311(1 vote) - ***A Better Voice is Just a Breath Away - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2009 from Nancy DanielsThe number of people looking for information, books, CDs, and seminars on self-improvement is staggering. Ever concerned with honing our business skills, improving the image we project, feeling good about ourselves, juggling jobs and family…we are all on the search for bettering ourselves and ...
Views: 3515 - ***Stop Shouting -- Learn the Power of Projection - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2009 from Nancy DanielsDoes this sound like you? You spend a few hours at a football game and find you have no voice afterwards. Or perhaps you are coaching your kid’s soccer team and, after an hour of practice, you have a sore throat. Or maybe you have been providing some training sessions and your voice is hoarse ...
Views: 3982(1 vote) - ***One Voice Matters -- Yours! - by Submitted on Apr 10, 2009 from Nancy DanielsWhen it comes to improving your presentation skills, only one voice matters – yours! Have you ever considered what your speaking voice is saying about you? Have you ever listened to a recording of yourself? No, I mean listened, truly listened to how others recognize your voice. Most people ...
Views: 3362 - ***What is Your Most Valuable 'Commodity' in Public Speaking? - by Submitted on Mar 30, 2009 from Nancy DanielsWith the wealth of information available at our fingertips, it is interesting to note how little is said about our most valuable asset or ‘commodity’ in public speaking. We are so consumed with learning the best means of creating and delivering our material that our focus often ignores our ...
Views: 1632 - ***Voices That Crack, Quiver and Quake - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2009 from Nancy DanielsAre you plagued by a voice that cracks, quivers or just isn’t there when you need it? Often occurring at the most inopportune times, all three problems are usually caused by stress on the vocal folds (cords). Because your vocal folds are an organ, it is important to treat them well; and, ...
Views: 2606 - How to Deliver a Speech (And Not Sound Like You Are Reading It!) - by Submitted on Apr 05, 2015 from Nancy DanielsWhile you may be giving presentations in your business or your public speaking career, there are times in which you may be called upon to give an actual speech and not a presentation. One of the differences between the speech and the presentation is that the former should be read and the latter ...
Views: 4563 - ***How to End Breathlessness in Public Speaking - by Submitted on Mar 09, 2009 from Nancy DanielsOne of the most common complaints I hear from my clients is that they run out of air in public speaking. And, not surprisingly, breathlessness at the lectern often goes hand in hand with nervousness. Let’s look at the picture in its entirety. Nervousness does not cause breathlessness. It ...
Views: 1857 - ***The 'Conversation' in Public Speaking - by Submitted on Mar 08, 2009 from Nancy DanielsIn teaching public speaking, I find that many of my clients, as well as my students, stand at the lectern or on the podium and try to be someone or something they are not. The result is a forced delivery that does not sound natural. The best in the business – and not necessarily the most ...
Views: 2062 - ***The Type A Personality and Public Speaking - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2009 from Nancy DanielsWhen it comes to public speaking, those who have the most difficulty permitting themselves to deliver a dynamic presentation are those of the Type A personality. Characterized by an intense drive for perfection, the Type A individual does not allow for mistakes. And, that is the crux of the ...
Views: 2870 - ***Talk TO Your Audience, NOT AT Them - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2009 from Nancy DanielsOne of the secrets for becoming a dynamic public speaker is to make eye contact with your audience. While there are some courses on presentation skills or public speaking that teach you to stare at an object on the wall in order to eliminate your nervousness, I couldn’t disagree more. Forget ...
Views: 2445 - ***The Best Way to Conquer Nervousness in Public Speaking - by Submitted on Jan 29, 2009 from Nancy DanielsThere is a lot of information on the internet today about eliminating your nervousness in public speaking. I suggest learning how to control it instead, allowing your nervousness to work for you and not against you which can take your delivery to new heights. What I offer is not a tip or a ...
Views: 1798(1 vote) - ***Stop the 'Um's and 'Ah's and Get Your Message Across - by Submitted on Jan 18, 2009 from Nancy DanielsHave you ever listened to a speaker who used so many ahs or ums that you started counting them? When that happens, you then lose the ability to concentrate on what the speaker is saying. Suffice it to say that the ums or ahs become the message. Um, ah, uh and you know are verbal tics ...
Views: 2296 - ***Why the Soft-Spoken Voice Does Not Sell - by Submitted on Jan 16, 2009 from Nancy DanielsWhen people ask you to repeat yourself, do you think that you have been speaking loudly enough? Do you often get interrupted when you are talking? Do you feel that no one is listening to you? If you are soft-spoken, I’m sure that I just hit a nerve. You are being talked over or interrupted ...
Views: 2683 - ***Fear of Public Speaking: Is It Justified? - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2009 from Nancy DanielsThey say that man’s greatest fear is public speaking and that his second greatest fear is dying. According to Jerry Seinfield that means, "that most people at a funeral would rather be in the coffin than give the eulogy!" To my knowledge no one has died from public speaking. Your hands may ...
Views: 2583 - ***How to Succeed in Public Speaking When Outside Stress Gets in the Way - by Submitted on Jan 02, 2009 from Nancy DanielsThrough my many years of speaking, teaching and training, I have found that by concentrating on the moment you can move ‘above’ the stress that you may be experiencing at a given time and deliver a dynamic speech or presentation. Most actors, musicians, athletes and public speakers as well are ...
Views: 2770 - ***Never Let Them 'Hear' You Sweat - by Submitted on Jan 01, 2009 from Nancy DanielsDoes your voice ‘shake, rattle and roll’ when you stand to introduce yourself or address an audience at the lectern or the boardroom table? When I started my voice improvement business back in 1989, I joined the local chamber of commerce and attended a new members’ orientation. The room was ...
Views: 2007 - ***Why Nervousness in Public Speaking Is a Good Thing - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2008 from Nancy DanielsAll the talk about eliminating your nervousness, putting a stop to nervousness, or defeating your nervousness, misses the boat on one basic fundamental: nervousness is a bonus. It can give you an edge that is an asset if you learn how to control it. Early in my career, one of my clients ...
Views: 2224 - ***Persistent Sore Throats More Than Just a 'Pain in the Neck' - by Submitted on Dec 12, 2008 from Nancy DanielsSome people can yell or talk non-stop all day and never experience hoarseness or sore throats; others cannot. Your voice is as individual to you as are your fingerprints: no two are alike. They may be similar but not exact. In that sense, your vocal apparatus is also unique. For 60 years, ...
Views: 1673 - ***Why Public Speaking Is NOT Acting - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2008 from Nancy DanielsHaving read Jane Andrew’s article entitled Public Speaking is Acting, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you why the best public speakers are not acting: they are communicating. Acting requires memorization of a script that has been marked by the actor; i.e., pause here, smile ...
Views: 2074(1 vote) - ***How To Make A 10-Minute Presentation When You Need 40 to Do the Job - by Submitted on Oct 31, 2008 from Nancy DanielsOne of the best courses I had in college was an English class on the 18th Century Novel. My professor assigned one book per week and would ask one question per book for which we were allowed to answer on only one typewritten, double-spaced page. The problem was that the question asked could be ...
Views: 3146 - ***The Value Of The Anecdote - by Submitted on Oct 24, 2008 from Nancy DanielsIn public speaking, the anecdotes you include in your presentation can say a lot about you as the speaker. Simply put, the anecdote is a very brief retelling of a true account which can be humorous or interesting, but more importantly, is relevant to your topic. The value of the anecdote is ...
Views: 3177 - ***Zero In On Your Smilers - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2008 from Nancy DanielsRecently I gave a presentation at a Summit Conference in New York City and was confronted with a very ‘tight’ audience. I was blessed, however, to have two women in the large ballroom who smiled throughout, nodding their heads in agreement with everything I said. The second blessing was that ...
Views: 1562 - ***Freezing, Forgetting, & Other Foibles In Public Speaking - by Submitted on Jul 16, 2008 from Nancy DanielsNo matter what your phobia in addressing an audience, there is a reason that man’s greatest fear is public speaking: we don’t want to make a fool of ourselves. And, no matter how many courses or programs you take, no matter which techniques you use to control, eliminate, or ignore your ...
Views: 1850 - ***The 5 Things You Must Do BEFORE Opening Your Mouth to Speak - by Submitted on Apr 18, 2008 from Nancy DanielsWhen invited (or ordered!) to give a presentation or a speech, most of us think that what comes out of our mouth during that 5, 10, or 45 minute delivery is the ‘piece de resistence’ when in fact, without proper preparation, it may be a disaster. I liken good preparation to the 5 Ws of good ...
Views: 2056(1 vote) - ***The Use Of Vulgarities, Obscenities & Swearing In Public Speaking - by Submitted on Apr 14, 2008 from Nancy DanielsBecause we as a people are losing our sense of decency, vulgarities are becoming the norm in our everyday life: we see it in people’s actions; we see it in the entertainment world; we hear it in conversation on a daily basis. So how do we judge what is appropriate in public speaking? The ...
Views: 4780 - ***Believing In Yourself At The Lectern - by Submitted on Apr 09, 2008 from Nancy DanielsOne of the characteristics of dynamic public speakers is that they believe in themselves. We all know that public speaking is man’s greatest fear; however, if you approach the lectern doubting yourself, how successful do you think you will be? Believing you cannot do it is a recipe for ...
Views: 1748 - ***Speaking In Monotone - How To Be More Expressive In Your Delivery - by Submitted on Apr 08, 2008 from Nancy DanielsThrough my many years teaching voice improvement and presentation skills, I have found some interesting correlations between personality types and the degree of expressiveness heard and seen in people. While I am about to be most ‘politically incorrect,’ those who tend to be more expressive in ...
Views: 4785 - ***Is Your Personal Introduction Something Worth Remembering? - by Submitted on Apr 03, 2008 from Nancy DanielsHave you ever been to a business meeting in which all in attendance had to stand and introduce themselves and you heard basically the same thing from each and every individual? One of the worst things we do as a people is our personal introduction. While the names and the businesses will be ...
Views: 2527 - Does Your Handshake Match Your Speaking Voice? - by Submitted on Apr 02, 2008 from Nancy DanielsWhat does your handshake say about you? Confident, diffident, overbearing, wimpy? Does the sound of your speaking voice match the grip of your handshake? In teaching voice improvement, I have found through the years that those whose speaking voices are weak or wimpy very often follow through ...
Views: 1657(1 vote) - Help -- I'm 35 But I Sound Like A 12-Year-Old! - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2008 from Nancy DanielsHave you ever considered the sound of your speaking voice and what it says about you? Have you given any thought to the fact that your speaking voice could be holding you back from landing a particular job or getting that promotion? Take this scenario for example. There are two candidates ...
Views: 2646 - ***Content Or Delivery - What Counts The Most? - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2008 from Nancy DanielsWhile some academics may argue that one’s content is more important than one’s delivery, I beg to differ. If one’s delivery is of lesser value than one’s content, why not copy the speech, pass it out, and then everyone can go home or back to work? Assuming your audience is there to hear you ...
Views: 5284 - ***The Best Means Of Practicing Your Presentation - by Submitted on Feb 28, 2008 from Nancy DanielsOne of the best tools for improving your presentation skills is to video-record yourself as a means of practice. While you may think this is a bit extreme, it really isn’t: you will learn so much by watching yourself on video. A lot of people are recorded during their presentation, but ...
Views: 1965 - ***What Causes Debilitating Fear At The Lectern? - by Submitted on Feb 20, 2008 from Nancy DanielsThrough my many years teaching voice and presentation skills, I have found that those who experience truly debilitating, gut-wrenching fear of public speaking have had a bad experience sometime during their elementary or even middle school years when they’ve been required to stand and speak. ...
Views: 1825(1 vote) - ***The 5 Secrets Of Dynamic Public Speaking - by Submitted on May 12, 2014 from Nancy DanielsAs A voice specialist, I teach people not only how to improve the sound of the speaking voice but also how to be a dynamic public speaker. Below are listed the 5 most important things you should do that will allow you to control your nervousness as well as deliver a dynamic presentation. ...
Views: 12723(1 vote) - The Truth About Loss of Voice, Hoarseness, & Vocal Abuse - by Submitted on Apr 03, 2007 from Nancy DanielsMany people suffer from chronic hoarseness, sore throats and even loss of voice; and, most of these people do so because of misuse of the speaking voice. It is common; it is world wide; and, it is a growing concern. Through the years that I’ve had a website on voice improvement, 40% of those ...
Views: 2393 - A Better Voice is Just a Breath Away - by Submitted on Jan 19, 2007 from Nancy DanielsA Better Voice is Just a Breath Away The number of people looking for information, books, CDs, and seminars on self-improvement is staggering. Ever concerned with honing our business skills, improving the image we project, feeling good about ourselves, juggling jobs and family…we are all on ...
Views: 6285(1 vote)