Persuasive Speaking

Speaking is a very important part of our society today.  You present yourself and your attitude in what you say and how you act.  Your tone of voice controls the way people perceive you and can greatly enhance or detract from the message you are trying to get across to someone.

When speaking to someone you must first gain their attention.  Let's face it, it's no use trying to tell a baseball fan anything if he's watching television during the 9th inning of a tie ball game.  Your message either won't be interpreted properly or won't be interpreted at all.  The volume at which you talk can be a great attention getter, if you use it right.  If you walk to the front of a class and quietly ask for some attention, odds are no one will even notice you.  If you walk up in front of a class and scream "EVERYONE SHUT-UP!", you'll probably notice a slight difference in how much attention you'll get.  Though, screaming may get you some attention for the moment, no one likes to be yelled at and they will eventually lose interest in what you are talking about and continue with whatever they were doing before you interrupted them.  To keep people's attention you have to talk in language that they understand, and find a compromise between shouting at them and quietly asking for attention.

After you get an audiences attention and are able to keep their attention, you're home free.  People are gullible.  You can make them do whatever you want with the power of your voice; you just have to make them think that they'll like it or gain something from it.  There are countless examples of this that are spoken and written.  Almost all chain letters use this principle.  The masters of this little technique are those pesky salespeople who call you and want you to change long distance carriers or buy some carpet cleaner, and we can't forget the grand-daddies of all the smooth talkers, the infomercial people.  All these people use their tone of voice and volume successfully to make you do what they want you to do, buy their product or use their service.

Tone of voice and voice control is a handy skill to learn and will serve you well if you can master it.  Take some tips from the pros...watch government officials speak, listen to the MCI lady before you decide not to use her long distance plan, or flip on the infomercial at two in the morning.  You see, it's not what you say, it's how you say it.