Great public speakers are really good at sounding like they mean what they say. They practise it, they check for it and they rehearse it because it’s so important. That doesn’t make them liars, unless they’re pretending, it makes them professionals.
How many speakers have you seen who seem like they don’t really believe what they’re saying? Or more commonly, seem like they neither believe or disbelieve? And is that ever appropriate in a professional environment?
Committing to your message is a really big barrier for some of the most honest and sincere people in business, because believing in what you say, and sounding like you do, are hard things to do. Why? because being really committed to something opens you up to hurt and ridicule, and is not very fashionable in the 2000’s.
Diffidence is de riguer, cynicism is cool but it doesn’t make you powerful or influential.
Jim Harvey
