Watch Your Mouth: Persuasive Oration

Language, like persuasion, is an art. It's an art that can be mangled, yes. (Just look at poor Miss Teen North Carolina for a classic language malfunction.) And as with any art, (unless you're a prodigy as Mozart was with music, as H.P. Lovecraft was with poetry, as Pablo Picasso was with painting), most likely you will have to practice to be good at the art of language, and subsequently the art of persuasion.

As we gear ourselves toward persuading the affluent, using language and speaking powerfully will serve us well.

The more you read, the bigger your vocabulary.

However, a huge vocabulary doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be a great speaker. Oration is a different best altogether.

The next step in powerful oration, if you're not afflicted by the fear of public speaking, is having something to say.

The next obstacle. . . the delivery.

I've been told that I say 'in other words' a lot when I do my seminars and conference calls.

I do this in part because I want to be fully understood.

The second reason. . .I don't use the word 'um' and I think 'in other words' is taking the place of 'um' in my language patterns.

In his new book, 'Um. . . Slips, Stumbles and Verbal Blunders and What They Mean,' Michael Erard discusses 'um' as a universal language filler. In Spain they say 'eh' and in France it's 'euh' and Mr. Erard suggests that this language filler has been around at least since Ancient Egypt and Greece.

Since the advent of television and radio 'um' has been thought of something we need to extinguish from usage. Instead of verbal filler, it has wrongly become an sign of a lack of verbal polish.

'Um. . .' starts out in the offices of the Federal News Service. This is where the transcriptionists type out the news, political speeches, etc., that is 'of record' and appears as closed captions for hearing impaired.

At the FNS, the transcriptionists are given style guidelines: 'um', 'uh', 'ah' and 'er' are all left out, as are false starts of one or two words and partial words. The one exception for all of these rules is that absolutely everything a policymaker is typed out.

This got me thinking about perception and our president's speech "disfluencies".

Some consider George W. 'down home' and 'one of the people' with his speech patterns and gaffes making him more accessible and affable. While others consider his blunders to be an indication of his 'lack of preparedness' and/or intelligence and a dangerous indication of a 'disconnect with reality'.

No matter what you think of the man, you've got to admit some of his blunders have been really funny.

My suggestion this week: pay attention to the way you talk. See how many ums, uhs, false starts, stumbles, gaffes and blunders you make verbally.

Language is a critical part of persuasion and the ums, uhs, and other fillers 'say something' to your prospect when you verbalize them. Keep that in mind when you are persuading the affluent.

Article Source: http://www.myaddirectory.com

Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent clients using persuasion. He runs unique public and private seminars and offers home study courses, audio/visual learning tools, and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.

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