Taylor Swift - Songwriter & Speaker

Taylor Swift is known for her brilliant songwriting, genius marketing campaigns and so much more.

This past week, Taylor added masterful public speaker to her long list of accomplishments. Her speech captures: the power of the spoken word, the impact of artful pausing and showcases the impression we can make on our audience when we’re connected to our words.

Whether we are speaking to a room of 20 or a stadium of 20,000, never underestimate the impact we can have by showing up as our best self.

Watch Taylor’s full speech here

Why Smiling When Speaking Is A Good Thing

Smiling when speaking:

•relaxes us (the speaker)
•relaxes the listener (our audience)
•connects the speaker and the listener by adding a happy expression to the conversation
•gets rid of any tension or nervousness by exercising the facial muscles upward
•makes us more animated thus increasing the enthusiasm in our voice
•is an action step that consciously moves flat or negative energy
•brings a positive response (smile) from the listener. When we smile at someone, there’s a good chance that they’ll smile back
• adds warmth to a phone conversation. You can hear a smile over the phone…try it!

As an Executive Coach, I help clients develop strong speaking skills and presence. If you need to become a more confident and effective speaker - I can help.

Take It From The Top

Could you imagine going on a long drive to a new place and having no directions? What would happen if you did this?

You might take several wrong turns, end up in the wrong place or possibly have to reroute yourself. Chances are that you might have some hesitancy on the journey as you’re not 100% certain on your direction.

Giving a talk also requires a map. When you engage in any kind of public speaking your success relies heavily on having a clear plan and knowing the points you want to hit.

If you ever feel that you get lost in your thoughts and words when you present or simply feel filled with fear before you begin, writing out strong and deliberate opening and closing lines will help. By leading with a good sentence you start out strong and with direction. You won’t have to worry that you got off to a weak start. The strong opening builds certainty and confidence.

For your next meeting, write out how you want to open and the words that you want to end with. Even if your audience is that of one, you will feel so much calmer and it will not go unnoticed. What’s also helpful is to tie the ending (close) back to the beginning (opening). 

How-To Speak with Confidence

To build confidence when speaking, know what you’re setting out to do and why.

One question to ask yourself, prior to any meeting, interview, acceptance speech, etc. is: “Why am I showing up?”

This question (and the corresponding work in answering it) brings clarity. It also identifies your purpose.

When we are connected to our purpose, there’s often an emotional connection that’s shared through our vocal tone.

Tone gives meaning to words.

When we speak about something that has meaning to us, our audience hears this in our voice. If a message has meaning to us, it will have meaning to our audience, too.

As an Executive Coach I transform the way people speak. The goal is to speak confidently with connection and joy.