Monday, August 11, 2014

THE OVERWHELMING POWER OF DIALOG



A common mistake of inexperienced speakers is an over-use of narration instead of dialog. Think of narration as just standing there and holding forth, or “talking at them,” and you get the idea. Instead you score big with dialog. Consider this:
·      Dialog forces you to move on purpose, and your audience will of necessity be captivated watching, literally, a moving target. Maybe it’s just the turn of the head in the following: [slightly to the left] “Bill, did you remember to bring the money?” [then slightly to the right] “My God, was I supposed to bring it?” Or, when delivering dialog between an adult and a child, try looking down and to the left [adult to child], up and to the right [child to adult].
·      Dialog also cries out for both emotional content as well as economy of expression. So, instead of “Bill was really angry when he said he wasn’t going” say, “Bill said, ‘I’M NOT GOING!’” - and put the anger in both your voice and your body language.
An effective public speaker masters all the elements of communication such as economy of word choice, eye contact, vocal variety, appropriate audience involvement – and mastery of the power of dialog.

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