Just Speak To Be Heard

The human voice is the most powerful noise in the world, yet many people feel they are not being listened to. How can the way someone speaks be changed so that he or she can be empowered by their speech? This was the question posed by Julian Treasure in his 2013 TedTalk “How to Speak so that People Want to Listen” (0:23). Throughout his talk, Treasure describes the steps that he believes should be taken to allow his audience to speak with power and the control necessary to make the change.

The first step to improving speech is to identify the habits that make it appear weak. Treasure calls these habits the “seven deadly sins of speaking” and lists them as gossip, judging, negativity, complaining, excuses, lying, and dogmatism (2:40). The theme of these “sins” is the expression of negativity and animosity, which, Treasure claims, is difficult to listen to (2:44).

Some of the habits may also cause the listener to lose trust in the speaker. For example, if the speaker is gossiping and judging others, the listener may assume he or she is also being spoken badly about. This doubt is a contributing factor to the lack of attention given to the conversation. All of the “seven sins” cause the listener to doubt or feel negative about the speaker in some way. These habits are dangerous to the mind of both the listener and the speaker and should be avoided if one wants to make an impact with his or her words.

The same way he tells about unhealthy speaking habits, Treasure tells the audience, “there are four really powerful cornerstones, foundations, that we can stand on if we want our speech to be powerful and to make a change in the world” (3:00). These four habits are honesty, authenticity, integrity, and love. The goal is to use words to spread joy and inspire confidence. Their use is also important for gaining the trust of an audience. Treasure uses the example that, “if you’re really wishing somebody well, it’s very hard to judge them at the same time” (4:00). Expressing all four of these traits is essential for building the rapport necessary to have a truly impactful conversation. This is because being known for speaking honestly and with integrity will break down the barriers of distrust the listener may have. Furthermore, most people enjoy hearing being spoken to kindly, so speaking lovingly encourages listening by telling the listener what they want to hear. Honesty, authenticity, integrity, and love are essential parts of speech if the speaker wants their words to make a positive impact.

Another way to encourage active listening is to modulate the voice, because, as Treasure states, “It’s like the old song. It is what you say, it’s also the way that you say it” (4:14). This is because humans are naturally inclined to listen for certain speech patterns and intensities. Some of the “tools” he lists include register, prosody, pitch, among others. Essentially, he discusses the way the voice sounds and how that may affect the way words are understood (4:20). For example, if a mother were to ask her child a question, it would have a different meaning if it was yelled or if it was asked softly. This is a fairly obvious example, but the small tonal qualities of the voice are often not consciously thought of. These not often considered techniques include register and prosody, and can have a large sub-conscious effect on the intended audience. A good example of this is the American presidential elections. The American people tend to elect presidents who have a lower sound to their voice (5:12). This is because a low voice is associated with power. Because the qualities of the human voice can have such a large impact on the audience, the ability to control the sound will allow the speaker to voice their thoughts more strongly.

Although knowing how to modulate the voice is an important factor in the presence of one’s speech, warming up the lips, vocal cords, and tongue before an important presentation or conversation is likely the most critical step in projecting a strong vocal presence. This is why stage performers are often practicing vocal warmups before a performance, they require the ability to remain coherent in a large auditorium and retain the audience’s attention. Those same skills can be applied in everyday life to prevent being ignored. During his talk, Treasure has his audience go through multiple warmups, including lip trills, tongue rolls, and sirens. He claims the most important is the siren, which is when someone moves from the bottom of their vocal range to the top and then back down in an imitation of a police siren (7:43). Like a musician, a speaker must do warmups if he or she wishes to create a sound that is controlled and resonates with the audience.

As can be seen, Treasure is using his platform to request that the members of his audience consider how the words they use and how they choose to say those words may impact the way their ideas are perceived. The ability to speak powerfully and with confidence is too uncommon and as a result, there is an excess of negativity and feelings of being ignored. To conclude his speech, Treasure claims that if all people were to use his techniques to speak and listen consciously, the world would sound more beautiful (9:22).