Recently I ran a voice training workshop for candidates working for their Masters in Business. Some attendees spoke English as a second language, others lacked confidence, were aware that they did not project their voice and a common theme was anxiety about mumbling.

During the ‘Voice for Presentations’ training, I tackled each of these recurring themes with the young people, keen to advance their speaking skills.

We experimented with personal space, we tackled the perennial problems of imposter syndrome and worked with each other to identify the best ways of standing and sitting to convey confidence.

The day was very enjoyable with the group gradually growing in confidence to speak in front of others and the ability to take on new speaking skills.

To begin with, there was a reluctance to ‘speak up’, there was reticence about using positive body language and a real push-back about speaking ‘off the cuff’. With support, practise and positive peer support, each person developed much more presence in the room and with their speech.

Some of the feedback following the voice for presentations workshop included:

• I have understood that while I can say words clearly, small pauses provide an opportunity to add emphasis
• I learned about keeping more composed with minimal gestures when speaking
• The workshop helped to boost my confidence and improved my positive body language

It is a great joy to provide speech skills training to young people on the brink of their career. There is a passion and excitement for self-improvement and for taking on new speaking skills to improve their chances of securing a good job. During the course of the speech skills workshop there was a tangible growth in confidence as individuals became more familiar with their presentation and their words flowed more freely and naturally.

This brings me to the next point about speaking well in public. It is essential to know your subject and be able to speak about it without basic notes. Many people I have coached over the years have benefited from knowing their subject well before they start being coached to speak more fluently. This can only come from rehearsing your presentation, speaking out loud, trying out phrases, pauses, sentences until they are so familiar, THEN you can begin to polish your speech delivery.

By the end of the speaking skills workshop, each person was much better equipped to speak to their specific subject through repetition and practise. Each person delivered a short speech which was confident, had clarity and was impactful. A distinct elevation of confidence followed and this splendid package of speech skills landed in the muscle memory of each candidate in the voice training workshop.

The candidates gave each other positive and genuine feedback and overall the voice training session was rated an outstanding ‘excellent’. Other feedback included ‘love the idea of no phone’ and ‘application to job interview was great’. The supportive and structured framework proved extremely positive to elevating the candidates’ voice skills to a new height.

If you would like to organise a voice skills workshop for your organisation or simply brush up on your vocal presentation skills, please get in touch for a completely free chat.