Did You Know…How You Say What You Say Matters

Jack did you know that how you say what you say matters in your believability?

Today at Toastmasters here in Brownsburg, my good friend Troy Hanna gave a really good speech appealing to the audience to support the halting of “The Grind,” an ancient tradition of slaughtering pilot whales off of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. I won’t go into the story that Troy told, you can find out more about all this at Animal Planet on television or their website.

Here’s what I learned while listening intently to Troy’s speech. While it was a compelling speech it could have been one that moved people to action to support the point of view Troy proposed. Here is some of what he said and what I believe he should have said. Remember, you say as much if not much more with your tone and body language (physiology) than you do with just the words you speak.

When talking about a fact he researched on the internet he, with a squinted eye and scrunched face,said, “I believe…” and then went on to relay a point of his research. What he should of said, while holding his chin high, and making eye contact with a member of the audience is “Research shows…” or “According to my research…” and then make his point.

When talking about a fact about the Faroe Islands soil quality Troy said “I think it’s about 2 to 3 inches thick…” and then finished his point about how the soil wasn’t suited for growing food. Perhaps he should have said, “The soil on the Faroe Islands is only 2 to 3 inches thick…” and then add his facts about the soil quality.

Troy is a great speaker and a very passionate individual for animal rights and I appreciate his point of view. I only share these few tips as an example for you to think about your talks of persuasion and how we can all be much better than we think and than we are now.