Written by: Calvin Niles, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Everyone has something to say, something to share. Be it a personal story, a piece of research, or a professional presentation. Whichever it may be, we take pride in how we deliver our presentation and want our audiences to remember what we said, how we made them feel, and what they learned.
How do we achieve this? Below I share 5 steps to speak for influence and persuasion and why I have chosen them.
Before we move on, let us get to grips with some basic ingredients.
You are reading this because you want to influence and persuade the listener to think, believe or do something. Employing rhetoric has been studied for hundreds of years of civilisation and the findings exhibit common ingredients. These can be defined as Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
4 century BC Greek philosopher Aristotle laid the foundation of rhetoric and modern communication principles in his work The Art of Rhetoric citing three core means of persuasion through speech; Ethos - Credibility, Pathos - Emotion, and Logos - Logic.
Why your audience should believe you
Ethos is accomplished when your audience is completely conscious that you are worthy of credence. As a speaker, this is all about you and your personal brand. It is important that, coupled with your authenticity, you let your credibility shine through. This is especially important in cases where you want to persuade your audience to listen to and believe your key message! While Aristotle points out that practical intelligence, a virtuous character, and goodwill through speech are key, I believe it is important that these facets are true, thereby being congruent with your authenticity.
Why your audience should care about what you are saying
Pathos. Emotional connection. It is all about the emotional journey. By connecting with your emotional self, your emotional experiences, or even a vicarious experience you stimulate your audiences’ feelings too. It plays a significant role in persuasion simply because human emotions can augment our judgments as listeners.
Why your audience should be rationally persuaded
Logos. Your audience wants to be persuaded by your argument. By supporting your key message through logical steps and references to evidence like case studies and statistics, you appeal to your audience’s rationale. Using logos may also include citing historical analogies, or other authorities on the subject as a point of reference. Since persuasion means inducing (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument, it is especially important that Logos is used to maximum effect.
1. Be Yourself
“Authenticity is the alignment of head, mouth, heart, and feet - thinking, saying, feeling, and doing the same thing - consistently. This builds trust, and followers love leaders they can trust.”- Lance Secretan
I define authenticity as simply living your truth. Others say it's when people are ‘real’ or ‘genuine.’ Of course, it is a normal human condition to present various versions of your personality when we are in different situations. Your behaviour in the presence of your boss or at work with colleagues will probably differ from the way you are in front say, your parents or your partner or friends. These “personalities” are ultimately inventions that we all create. They are not who we are. See yourself as the consciousness that sits behind all of these impermanent traits.
The animal part of our human evolution is all about survival and so we make judgements very quickly, unconsciously “sizing each other up” if you will, in matter of moments. These ‘snap judgement, called ‘Thin Slicing’, serves us very differently in the modern world compared to a millennia ago. However, I can see how these evolutionary traits mean that your audience will detect something askew if you are not being authentic in your speech.
Authenticity requires that you allow your true self to shine through. It can involve a process of continuous evaluation through self-analysis and human connection, critical thinking and growing awareness. In Philosophy Now Ben G Yacobi sums up the idea of authenticity as “an individual mission, since each person has their own way of being human, and consequently what is authentic will be different for each individual. Furthermore, personal authenticity is highly contextual, and depends on various social, political, religious and cultural characteristics. But the unique nature of each individual is best seen not in who he is, but in who he becomes, and becoming authentic is a continuous process, not an event. It involves not just knowing oneself, but also recognizing others and the mutual influence between individuals. If the quest for personal authenticity is just for self-fulfilment, then it is individualistic and ego-based; but if it is accompanied with the awareness of others and the wider world, then it can be a worthwhile goal.”
One can say that it is with this acceptance that you are then able to be yourself. Authenticity holds the key for you to be able to establish a strong presence not just in your presentations and talks, but in your everyday life.
Being yourself is key and is a fundamental part of cultivating trust. So, meditate, do your reflective and self-discovery work, and let yourself shine.
2. Be Your Best Self
“People have a lot of control over their ability to rise to the occasion and to show their best or their aspirational selves.” - Amy Cuddy
It is worth saying that you are not going to feel that you can conquer the world every day. Being authentic doesn’t mean that when your energy is low you should bring your audience’s energy down with you! In the context of your presentation or talk, being your best self means finding your optimum state in that moment so that you can affect your audience in this most impactful way.
Our body can be used as an amazing tool that will allow your authenticity to radiate. Understanding how your physiology can influence how you feel and vice versa is key. The relationship between our thoughts and our emotions are interdependent; our thoughts influence how we feel, and how we feel influences our thoughts and so on. To be your best self at your next presentation, tap into your body to put yourself in a positive state.
This idea was explored in Amy Cuddy’s talk on her own research which proved that you can directly increase your confidence levels and reduce stress by simply modifying your body language. Through this change we alter the balance of hormone levels in our bodies, influencing our behaviour and the way we feel. This kind of ‘co-dependency’ explains the idea that not only does the mind directly influence the body but that the body also influences the mind.
Embodied cognition, another field of research, explains that the human body is an integral part of cognition itself. The body language project summarises that “the embodied mind holds that the nature of the mind is determined by the form of the human body. Put another way, cognition is grounded in bodily experience, and rationality is greatly influenced by our bodies.”
In the knowledge that our minds are not only influencing our bodies but that our bodies are influencing our minds, it is important that you recognise the power your body has to influence your emotions, feelings, and thoughts. One of the fastest and most effective ways to hack your physiology is through conscious control of your breath. Make breathing exercises part of your daily routine to shortcut your confident use of the bio hack. Your breath is your life force and careful attention to mastering your breathing techniques will not only release pent-up energy in your body, but also opens you up, freeing you from self-indulgent and sometimes self-sabotaging thought. It allows you to be present in the moment, communicate more mindfully and be much more lucid and free-flowing.
3. Convey Conviction
“Believe in yourself, and find ways to express yourself, and find the discipline to keep growing.” - Michael Feinstein
Presenting with conviction helps your persuasion. Conviction demonstrates to your audience that you believe what you are telling them to believe. Through assertiveness you will be able to project your authority with maximum impact. I define assertiveness in this context as being able to effectively espouse your point of view, through the conscious combination of your body language and words during your talk. It is important to note that what lies at the core of conveying conviction is the extent to which you believe your own messages! Principally because your audience will find it hard to believe what you say if you do not believe what you say in the first place. I recommend not delivering talks on content that you do not actually believe yourself.
Neuroscientist Dr. Benedetto De Martino’s research in confidence in value-based choice demonstrates the principle that the power to persuade others lies within your own confidence. His research included analysis of the interaction between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and an adjacent area of the brain. The Wellcome Foundation said of De Martino’s research, "Throughout life, we’re constantly evaluating our options and making decisions based on the information we have available. How confident we are in those decisions has clear consequences. For example, a lack of confidence may make it harder to persuade others or lead us to spend time re-evaluating previous decisions.” For the highest confidence in your speech, it is critical that your content is congruent with your beliefs.
People use their head, arms, and hands in everyday communication, often unconsciously. Many of the elements we refer to here are innate. Our real aim here is to bring more of these innate elements out of our unconscious and into our full awareness so that you really punctuate and accentuate your presentation purposefully. Using gestures to add emphasis to your messages will help to reinforce your key message or supporting messages. Using open gestures, which move away from your body, and extending them out to your audience can help to break any barriers between you and the audience.
Significantly, the power of gesture can develop profound understanding between you and your audience. This common understanding that David McNeill calls mind- merging, relates specifically to his research on mimicry of gestures in the Gestures of Power and The Power of Gestures. The idea that the meaning of something can be better understood between individuals when gestures are employed. Strive to use gestures consciously to embolden the content and meaning of your presentation and project your authority with conviction.
Some relevant gesture types I often use and share with clients are:
Iconic gestures – how you would open your arms to describe how wide or big something is
Metaphoric gestures – how you might use your hands to explain an idea or concept
Affect gestures – this is emotion or feeling expressed; how you might cover your open mouth when hearing something shocking
Beat gestures – this is the rhythmic beating of a finger, hand or arm; how you might bang one closed fist in your open palm to emphasize a point
4. Vivify Your Voice
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” - Maya Angelou
Your voice emanates from your power centre. It is the tool that you use the most to mark your presence in the world and is a critical part of human communication. Like our bodies, our voices reflect how we feel. For most of us, our voices are our primary, conscious way of communicating. It holds significant power in its ability to impact others. However, like our bodies, we can trigger changes in our feelings through the manipulation of our own voices. Jean-Julien Aucouturier demonstrated the changes in emotional states by using a digital audio platform to modify the emotional tone of people’s voices while they are talking, to make them sound happier, sadder, or more fearful. So, be sure to modulate your voice consciously in your speech to help project feeling and captivate your audience.
Julian Treasure details six key vocal tools that you can use to maximum effect in his insightful TED talk on sound. These are Volume, Prosody, Pitch, Pace, Register, and Timbre.
Volume & Prosody. Use sufficient volume not only so that your voice fills the room, but that it reflects your comfort and knowledge with a subject to project your authority. Similarly, using volume to create contrast between assertions, quotes or impressions captivate your audience. Prosody is when we put sounds together in connected speech. An impactful talk depends as much on intonation, stress, and rhythm as on volume.
Pitch & Pace are very powerful vocal tools since people consider lower-pitched voices to be more persuasive and authoritative. A good voice projection combined with a lower pitch or ‘Earth Voice’ and a moderate pace are important techniques for projecting your authority. Speaking at a faster pace usually suggests passion or excitement while a slower delivery can emphasise particular points that you want to draw your audience’s attention to.
Register & Timbre. Register is used to describe a section of the voice and where the voice resonates in the body and the resulting quality or timbre of the voice. Vocal timbre is all about the quality of tone being produced. Your speech may employ bright, dark, rough or smooth, qualities. Even though our voices are individually unique, where your voice is in the body can add impact to your presentation. For example, a weightier voice is located more in the chest and can be used to drive home a poignant moment of your speech while a higher head voice can express exclamations.
5. Share Your Story
“Everybody - every single person - has a story. Find yours and tell it in your voice.” -Kenya Barris
Stories hold the ultimate power to inspire your audience. They have been central to how we understand who we are and our journey throughout generations. Stories are the libraries of humanity and are not bound by race, place, or time. It is through the use of stories that you will access the imagination and emotions of your listener.
Telling your audience a story creates a very powerful effect that Uri Hasson calls brain to brain coupling. The secret of stories is that they transfer experiences directly to the brain of the listener. Hasson’s research shows that “during successful communication, the speaker’s and listener’s brains exhibit joint, temporally coupled, response patterns. Such neural coupling substantially diminishes in the absence of communication, for instance, when listening to an unintelligible foreign language. In addition, more extensive speaker-listener neural couplings result in more successful communication.”
When you combine the previous four steps with the power of a story you engage the listener's senses and emotions for big impact. It is the ultimate combination of sound, words, and meaning. Your audience sees what you see, hears what you hear, and feels what you feel. They empathise. In this moment you have captivated your audience completely. They are in your mind and heart. It is important to speak to your in audience in a way they can understand. This means not just in language but also in experience. One of my subjects, The Power of Analogy, is a great example how you could trigger the understanding of complex information in the minds of the listener, primarily through association. Stephen Klein describes association in psychology as the mental connection between concepts, events, or mental states that usually stems from specific experiences. In other words, when you hear a story that you understand, you develop empathy with the teller because you essentially experience the events for yourself!
When searching for stories to share, you may tell of those from other people's experiences. The lessons of your mother’s upbringing or moral of perseverance from your football coach. You may want to use a personal story to contextualise a powerful message and to highlight why your subject means what it does to you. Your story will help to radiate your authenticity because your message comes to life as finds power in your emotions. When we go within and explore our own experiences, we access a wellspring beneath the crustaceous elements of our outer selves. Words in your presentation give you a framework, a body if you like, but a story gives that a beating heart and brings it to life.
Stories in themselves are not the end; stories are the means. In this context, they serve an ultimate purpose.
Ready to tell your story? Uncover the secrets of storytelling in this FREE eBook, 6 Top Tips for Storytelling Success.
Follow Calvin for more on stories, mindfulness, and poetry on his YouTube channel, connect with him on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or visit his website for more.
Calvin Niles, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Calvin Niles is a communication coach known as The Mindful Storyteller, making a positive impact on the lives of leaders, entrepreneurs, coaches, and wider society through his services and products. Through his experience in mindfulness, storytelling, coaching, and business, he empowers others to be authentic and impactful in their communication. Calvin has worked with hundreds of people from leaders in large corporates to SMEs, and from solopreneurs to some of the top 10 charities in the UK.
