The Power of Your Speech
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Monday , January 9, 2006
Message #1621
WEALTHY: In a flat market like this, what’s an investor to do?
HEALTHY: A small change in your diet that will have a huge effect
WISE: Daniel Webster on being able to speak well
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
Introducing a 12-part series based on my new book (Michael Masterson)
Join the ranks of Socrates, Abraham Lincoln, and Oprah (Virginia Avery)
A book that should be on every writer’s shelf (Will Newman)
Add the word “vilify” to your vocabulary
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The Attributes of People Who Have Personal Power
When you have personal power, you inspire great work. You do so by finding and nurturing extraordinary talent, setting substantial goals, making those goals seem exciting, and then focusing the entire team on the necessary tasks required to achieve them.
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When I think about my experience in business – what I actually did that worked – I see that much of it runs contrary to the advice you’re likely to read in the popular business press. That’s the reason I wrote my new book, Power and Persuasion. My goal was to help people like you take advantage of what I have learned about achieving and using personal power – what I personally know to be true … and false.
Starting tomorrow and continuing for the next couple of weeks, we are going to be excerpting highlights from the book. It will help you discover the ideas that renew your own vision and inspire you to become the great leader you want to be. I’ll share some little-known secrets about what it means to become a great leader. And I’ll talk about the attributes of personal power – contrarian ideas about leadership that I deal with in detail in the book (and that you’ll also learn more about in the pages of ETR).
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- Michael Masterson
A Market to Remember in 2006?
A little year-end rally couldn’t save the stock market from having a mediocre year. The S&P 500 ended only 3.0% up. That just about covers the inflation rate. In real money terms, the stock market didn’t earn or lose money in 2005 – not a good year by any stretch of the imagination.
Will things get better in 2006? After all, inflation has been held at bay and the dollar remained surprisingly strong. The economy is also in pretty good shape.
But in spite of these positives, companies remain way overvalued and they’re hoarding cash. If they don’t start spending it, they’re not going to grow. Without revenue growth, share price will be held down and price-to-earnings will remain high. Plus, high commodity costs, a cooling real estate market, and growing private indebtedness will all slow down the economy and make it even more difficult for companies to grow.
History tells us that once a market bubble bursts – as it did in 2000-2002 – the following rallies are always temporary. There have been no exceptions. Stock prices always revert to their long-term trend lines.
The market’s post-2002 mini-rally is overdue to end. This year, it will be hard-pressed to match last year’s mediocre performance. I believe the market’s not going to grow more than 2% in 2006 … at best.
But even in flat markets, there are always plenty of companies that do very well … and some that do outrageously well. And many companies that haven’t done so well become bargains because of falling share prices.
My recommendation is to search for those “value” stocks this year – stocks which have fallen too low in price and have thus become great buys. And if you feel that you need a little guidance in doing that, try The Skeptical Advisor. We make just one stock pick a month, using criteria that enable us to choose winners … no matter what the stock market is doing.
[Ed. Note: Andrew Gordon is the editor of The Skeptical Advisor, ETR's investment newsletter. Check it out at http://skepticaladvisor.com.]
“If all my talents and powers were to be taken from me by some inscrutable Providence, and I had my choice of keeping but one, I would unhesitatingly ask to be allowed to keep the power of speaking, for through it I would quickly recover all the rest.”
- Daniel Webster
By Virginia Avery
Language expert Wilfred Funk was one of the first to study highly successful men and women to determine what they have in common. What he discovered was that they all have the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Since then, many studies have shown the same thing. In fact, members of the “speaking” professions – lawyers, politicians, professional speakers, salespeople, and entertainers – are among the highest paid. There appears to be a high correlation between word power and earning power. The ability to speak, to persuade, and to keep an audience’s attention is well rewarded.
What about you? Have you been sabotaging your own success because you feel that speaking in front of a group is something you would rather die than do? If so, it is time to do yourself a favor and learn the skills that can change your life. There is no better time than the new year to develop the confidence to speak up.
Speaking well is considered the number one reason for career advancement. And – no doubt about it – this is an essential business skill. Every time you meet with a client or make a presentation, your company image is affected – for better or worse. From the standpoint of public relations, your business can have no better vehicle than a well-spoken representative.
If you think about it, you’ll see that your most important business – and personal – transactions involve face-to-face communications. To mention just a few: asking for and receiving a pay raise … making a winning proposal … promoting your new service with a speech … and persuading others to back a cause you feel passionate about.
Communication is a complex subject. We communicate more than simply with the words we use. We communicate as much by how we say something as by what we say. We communicate through voice inflection, tone, facial expressions, body stance, and even by the way we breathe. But perhaps the most important aspect of effective communication is having the self-confidence that comes from practice.
I once consulted with a small engineering firm that was on the short list for a contract to design a project for the city of Grants Pass, Oregon. Five firms were making proposals, among them two extremely large and successful companies. Now, I know about as much about engineering as I do about nuclear physics. Nonetheless, I had my client restructure their approach, improve their visuals, and practice … practice … practice their presentation. And, yes, they were awarded the contract.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed: “All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.”
Woodrow Wilson, for instance, started out as a political science professor. He had a reserved manner and a stilted speaking style – not characteristics that make friends and influence people. Recognizing that, he deliberately and systematically set a goal for himself to become a skillful orator. And it worked. His success was so evident that when he delivered his inaugural address as the 28th President of the United States, it was said “not since Lincoln has there been a president so wonderfully gifted in the art of expression.”
Biographer Joseph Tumulty wrote that by the end of Wilson’s life, he “was like a great organist playing upon the heart emotions of thousands of people who were held spell-bound by what he said.”
The ability to speak is one of your greatest gifts. Doing it well can transform your life. You can present yourself and your ideas hesitantly … or you can be purposeful, direct, and confident. It’s up to you.
Think, for a moment, of Socrates, Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Abraham Lincoln, Will Rogers, Martin Luther King, and Oprah. All of them master communicators. These diverse individuals from different times and places made history with their words. They moved others in their time, and they still move us today.
No one is born with the ability to be an expert communicator. But it’s well worth the effort to develop it. Being able to speak with confidence – in any situation – can be one of the most exciting and rewarding skills you will ever have. A deep sense of satisfaction, even exhilaration, comes with knowing you have expressed yourself effectively.
Anyone (yes, even you) can deliver a presentation that will captivate an audience. But it does take preparation, planning … and, of course, practice. Here are some ideas to help you begin to become a master of the spoken word:
Become aware of how you sound. Record yourself … then listen to it as if you were listening to a stranger. What advice or suggestions would you give this person?
Start a file of short stories that you find appealing. Tell these stories to yourself in the shower … then to a few people … then to a few more people … and then to larger groups.
Go to lectures and seminars to hear other speakers. What worked for them? What didn’t?
Beg, borrow, or buy tapes of speakers such as Earl Nightingale, Zig Zigler, and Brian Tracy. Listen to them over and over again.
Consider joining a Toastmasters group where you can practice weekly.
Volunteer to speak at every opportunity.
If you want to make the most progress, and make it fast, get professional advice and coaching.
[Ed. Note: Virginia Avery is a communications specialist who trains and coaches businesspeople to make more profitable presentations. Virginia@AveryPresentations.com]
Today’s Resolution
With the ability to speak well, everything else is attainable. To repeat the words of Daniel Webster quoted at the beginning of Virginia’s article: “If all my talents and powers were to be taken from me by some inscrutable Providence, and I had my choice of keeping but one, I would unhesitatingly ask to be allowed to keep the power of speaking, for through it I would quickly recover all the rest.” So resolve, today, to make becoming an effective speaker – one who communicates clearly and confidently – one of your goals for 2006.
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The Essential Macronutrients in Your Diet, Part 2: Carbs
Carbohydrates have been vilified (see Word to the Wise, below) over the past few years. While carbs are not inherently bad, it is important to choose the right ones. The key is to avoid those that cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to rise rapidly.
That means you should AVOID: sugar, flour, baked goods, white pasta, soft drinks, fruit juices, refined grains, corn, and starches (including white potatoes). Your carbs should come primarily from whole fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and berries. If you enjoy potatoes, stick with yams or sweet potatoes. They have more nutritional value, and they won’t spike your blood sugar as much. If you simply must have bread and pasta, choose products made from whole grains. But a word of warning: If you are overweight or diabetic, it’s best to avoid ALL grains.
If you currently eat a lot of sweets, sugar-added drinks, bread, and pasta, cutting out these foods will not be easy. They put your emotions and your metabolism on an up-and-down rollercoaster that is similar in many ways to the effect of an addictive drug. But after a few weeks or a month, you’ll feel like a new person. The pounds will slip away, your hunger will become more regular and less pronounced, and you will undoubtedly notice an improvement in your energy levels, concentration, and mood.
So, if you haven’t done so already, I urge you to make this change in your diet. You’ll be glad you did.
- Jon Herring
It’s Good to Know: The Writer’s “Bible”
If you do any writing at all, you should own Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White – a 105-page, easy-to-read, classic reference book. You can pick up a new copy for less than $7.
- Will Newman
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Setting Goals –And Sticking To Them – Will Help You Achieve Financial Independence
Don’t take our word for it. That’s the headline from an AP article than ran in hundreds of newspapers across the nation last week.
“This is definitely the time of year to get things started,” was how Barry Armstrong, a Boston financial planner with Woodbury Financial Services put it.
“For some people, it’s a bitter message. There are things that you don’t like doing. But they have to be done.”
Former waitress Pamela Newman went from hand-to-mouth living to owning two condominiums in the San Diego area. What did it take? Resolve.
Resolve to make 2006 the year you kick it up a notch. Here’s how:
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Word
to the Wise: Vilify
To “vilify” (VIL-uh-fie) is to make vicious and defamatory statements about something or someone. The word is derived from the Latin “vilis” (“cheap”).
Example (as used by Jon today): “Carbohydrates have been vilified over the past few years.
Michael
Masterson
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