Coaching

Your words are just the tip of the iceberg. What you say is only a very small part of what you put across when you speak with someone. Your words address the facts or what’s known as the content level. But what counts a lot more is the relationship level, meaning the emotional side. Most people pay a lot more attention to how you look and how your voice sounds than to what you are saying. So don’t just focus on what you say, but also on how you say it. Don’t just talk to the camera, imagine an audience behind it. Who are you talking to? Why are they listening? What keeps them awake at night? What are they hoping for? And conversely, what would you like to get them to do?

This is the sort of questions that can help you relate to your audience. Relating with your audience is the key to making your audience remember what you are saying. This is because a relationship is about emotions, and our brain stores emotions in the same area where your long-term memory is located. Words account for only 20 percent of what communication will do. The remaining 80 percent are about the emotions you put across. So being professional can have a lot do with being emotional. To be professional, you need to come across as authentic, as forthright. So make sure you put the right emotions into you statement. Remember, your words are just – the tip of the iceberg.