|
Do you speak with all the energy of a house
plant? Do you pepper your conversation
with too many “Uhs” and “Ums.” Do you keep
your face in a permanent state of “boredom”?
More importantly, do you want to change some of
these habits?
If so, then do what Benjamin Franklin used to
do. Pick
one point of improvement and work on it
continuously for a single month. Ben didn’t
know it at the time, but he was changing habits
using a technique that psychologists call
“reticular activation.”
Reticular activation is the little bug we plant
in our heads to sensitize ourselves to certain
things. For example, reticular activation is
what makes you suddenly begin to notice all the
blue Toyota Camry's on the road two days after
you've bought your blue Camry.
You can use reticular activation to change and
improve your communication habits. You simply
need to plant in your head a bug to change a
habit. Write down what you want to improve at
the beginning of every day. For example:
·
Want to eliminate “uhs”, “ums” and other “filler
words”?
Sensitize your brain to make yourself pause every
time you’re about to use a filler word.
·
Want to remember to smile?
Tell your brain to remember to smile as you
speak. Do like the best telemarketers do and
put a mirror on your desk and make sure you're
smiling while you talk into the telephone. The
listener on the other end of the line may not be
able to see the smile, but they sure can hear
it!
·
Voice energy an issue?
Put sticky notes everywhere to remind you to
speak with passion.
What does this have to do with Benjamin
Franklin?
Ben didn't know the term reticular activation.
But he certainly understood the concept. After
some experimentation, Franklin learned that it
took 21 days to change a habit. He'd pick one
thing he'd want to change and work on it for
three weeks. Then he'd work on something else
for 21 days.
So take a tip from one of our founding fathers.
Pick one thing you want to work on and focus on
it for 21 days. Before you know it, you'll no longer be using
those annoying filler words and you'll be coming
across as a confident communicator.
At Speechworks we help our clients learn how to
give presentations that connect with the
audience. If you’re interested in becoming a
great communicator give us a call at
404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net |
