Everyone also asks me what the secret is being a good communicator. At first I found that question hard to answer. Now I’m 100% sure that after 12,000 interviews there is one thing all good speakers, broadcasters heck good conversationalists have in common. Drum roll please.. It’s Authenticity.
Too often people memorize talking points only to fumble around when they are speaking because it’s not their words. No harm in having an outline if you’re doing a presentation or speech but for goodness sakes make sure you own it. In other words it’s the way you tell a story or make a point not something somebody told you to say.
I truly believe the people who are best at networking do it naturally. What I mean is they act and speak the same way whether they are meeting a famous person or “Joe” down the street. In a world cluttered with technology our face to face communications become even more important, because they are more rare. Don’t blow it by putting too much pressure on yourself to speak a certain way. Be who you are and your conversations, interviews and presentations will sound a whole lot better.