Selling Yourself As a Speaker 89
Then look up and say:- I’m not saying you must write simple sentences.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - I’m saying simplify your sentences.
I’m sure it doesn’t seem natural to you yet. It feels forced.
Practice, practice, practice!
Go back and try it again a couple of times. See if it doesn’t
start to feel better.
Keep trying it. In fact, try it out on a friend. Notice that
each time you do it, it gets a bit smoother. It flows a little easier.
Each time is a rehearsal. It will flow even better and faster
when the thoughts are your thoughts instead of mine. What-
ever you do, don’t get discouraged. It’s taken the best speakers
I’ve trained time to get used to this technique. It’s new. It’s
strange. But it works.
Here’s another series of sentences I’d like you to try in order
to get the hang of it.
- Your mouth should never move when your
eyes are down.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - That’s a 10-word sentence.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - It’s not necessary to look at the page.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - You can pause.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - Then you look down.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - The next sentence is short.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - So you can speak the thoughts to the audience.
Pause. Look down. Look up and say: - Instead of reading to the page.