Why Vocal Work is Important
My main goal in teaching public speaking is to help you feel confident in your delivery, to eliminate barriers between your message and the audience's ability to receive your message and to give you tools to keep your machine in good running order so that you can continue to deliver your important message. If you lose your voice because you've been unnecessarily straining it, no fabulous PowerPoint presentation complete with videos and music is going to save you.
Recently, I had a discussion with another public speaking instructor who maintained that voice work, body work and stress reduction work in presentation preparation were not important. It coincides with some of the questions I've been asking people who work for larger companies - ones who have the finances and infrastructure to offer public speaking/presentation workshops for their employees. I've been asking what kind of voice and physical presentation work they've been taught, and the answer inevitably is: none.
What is interesting to me is how much time, money and effort are spent crafting a well-flowing, easy to follow PowerPoint presentation, complete with a formula of key points and corresponding visuals, and yet the vessel of communication (i.e. you) is left out of the equation. I find it difficult to follow a presentation from somebody who is not comfortable in their skin, or whose voice is not reflecting confidence or is difficult to hear or understand. And from a coaching perspective, if you don't know how to take care of your body and your voice, how can you continue to deliver presentations if your main gear starts to break down?
Upon reflection, I think the other public speaking instructor mentioned above was referring to the recent round of counter-evidence against Amy Cuddy's Power Poses (I still use them, and explain why in my workshops). But she also suggested that the vocal/body/stress reduction work is flaky. To this, I couldn't disagree more.
I understand the value of presentational materials, including a well researched, well organized and well structured presentation. And here's the key: delivered clearly, confidently and without difficulty. Those last points can only come when you've done work on a core level, and when you've spent time on your voice and your body.
One last piece: if you work on your voice, your body and your ability to connect with an audience, you can deliver your information well without any bells and whistles. The ability to convey information to a group of people is a highly coveted skill. Don't short change yourself on working on the one piece that you can build to a brilliant advantage: yourself.
