Update: I received some powerful lessons last Saturday during the 3rd Annual School of Public Speaking sponsored by the National Speakers Association's San Diego Chapter. The excellent faculty of authors, consultants and experts gave the eager audience everything they'd hope for.

Barbara Sanfilippo taught about how to build a dynamic presentation from scratch. Terry Ross shared secrets of how actors prepare themselves before the curtain goes up. Russ Stolnack had everyone twisted in knots with his off-the-cuff humor. Jim Cathcart explained about the steps to Intelligent Motivation. And Milo Shapiro gave us insights about handling every conceivable disaster during a presentation.

I love this stuff. They even fed us lunch. And the ocean views were spectacular. You'll always gain something at events like these. If your want to improve your speaking skills — check out your local chapter of The National Speakers Association for similar events.

Feature Article: The Power of Vocal Variety

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Seeing is Believing...

Terry Ross, owner of Acting Professionally invited a lady on stage. The lady gave a short, deadpan humor presentation as Terry observed. Then Terry offered her a few tips. The most important tip being to remain in the neutral position. That's where you stand tall, hands to the side, head straight, and shoulders back.

Because once the lady relaxed into her comfortable position where she shifted her weight onto one of her hips and her opposite shoulder dropped — everything changed. Her power was negated. She instantly lost all credibility. She went from powerful to puny.

Yes, your body language matters. At all times. Even when you think nobody's watching.

The Power of Vocal Variety

Dear Associate,

It seems the average person's attention span is shorter than ever. The media, the Internet and technology have been major players in the arena of capturing people's attention. Today's television program, which is operating at warp speed, is pumping out so much data that it's dumping more information to its audience in five minutes as a thirty-minute program would four decades ago.

Which produces a unique problem if you're trying to get your message across...

It's getting your message across.

Because as a public speaker, trainer or educator you're competing for audience attention without the cool tools the studios have at their disposal. You may get a microphone, but that's it. PowerPoint may help, but it can also be a distraction. Props may be useful if not tacky or overdone.

Quite frankly, you don't want to bore your audience. If you sound dull and dry, they will receive little value from your message and most likely tune you out. To hold people's interest, you simply must sound interesting. This begins by mastering one of the basic weapons of public speaking: vocal variety.

Here's are five vocal variety tips that will boost audience attention and retention:

1) Keyword is king. Each idea, phrase or thought has one keyword, which stands out. Keywords are normally nouns or verbs. Your listeners will pick up on emphasized words automatically. If there is no differentiation your audience will have a tougher time feeling your message.

2) Bite-sized chunks. Another underutilized concept to stir interest is breaking your speech into very small ideas or phrases. It's similar to mini sound bites. Your listeners will appreciate, understand and remember the small, vivid pictures you've painted.

3) Sustained inflection. Inflection is varying your pitch upward or downward. Sustaining an inflection with those small phrases means sustaining the pitch, which retains your audience's attention on your ideas until you reach your final point. This is not the same as speaking in monotone.

4) Woofer Syndrome. When making your point, drop your pitch to a lower register. The lower notes convey a warmer, rounder and deeper tone. Your sincerity stands out even more when you sound like Barry White.

5) Turn on the adrenaline. Great communicators know how to vary the energy level. Give the most important ideas the greatest amount of energy. Relax during the softer segments. Intensify during the build-up. Your speech will sound like a symphony piece.

Mastering these five vocal variety tips will make you sound pleasant, natural and expressive. Your audience will get value from your message and they will want to hear you again. Give yourself a high five!

Warm regards,