Speech Coach Helps Put Spark Into Business Presentations

BY LINDA MCDONNELL, Staff Writer

Videotapes don’t lie.

There on wood behind the microphone is vast and board, studying the wavy of the carpet, his left hand flipping up every few seconds like the gate to a parking lot, on-ing and off-ing as by mid of an air traffic accident, as boring as the police report must have been.

From off-camera a high-pitched and mellow-ish voice interrupted his ruminations on the elusive virtues of Lyndon-Air at rush hour.

“What are you trying to tell us? There’s nothing authentic in what you say. I don’t trust what you’re saying. It doesn’t seem to matter to you.”

His droning description and her rapid-fire intervention continued until the manager got angry. He looked at her, sliced the air with his arms and spoke with fervor and without hesitation: “You’re getting to me… I get the sense that you’re just waiting there to interrupt me.”

That was the moment Anett Grant had been angling for: a chance to see the manager’s natural speaking style. By capturing his aggressive, effective style on videotape, she could help him see what came naturally to communicate his message more effectively—whether it be about an old traffic accident or current financial results.

This is Grant’s business: Fixing the newly pale-m, quavery voices and shifty eyes of corporate managers and executives. In the first year of Executive Speaking, Inc., the former theater director has used one-day seminars and special coaching to help 250 Twin Cities managers and executives put some pizazz in their public speaking.

At the beginning they talk to themselves. By the end of the day they’re concerned that you understand.

As Grant, 30, explained, “at the beginning they talk to themselves. By the end of the day they’re concerned that you understand.”

In her small studio-office in Butler Square, Grant uses tools—videotape and one critique—as simple as her message: “My goal is honest, open communication. No lies. No distortion. You can be yourself. All people want to know in a presentation is ‘Can I trust you?’ Not a lot of facts and details… if you trust the man, you trust his information.”

She deals with people who range in age from 20 to 65, in positions from first-line supervisors to chief executive officers. “They are the quiet ones. The low-profile types. The ones who just get the job done. All of a sudden they get to positions in their company where they have to talk.”

Back to the man with the tale of the traffic accident. After his eruption, which Grant…

The Captioned Photos

The five sequential photos above the article illustrate common physical “distractions” or habits that speakers often exhibit. The captions:

1. Don’t Be/Hands On Hip: Relates to off-balance posture.
2. Don’t Touch Face: Rubbing neck, nose, ear, etc.
3. Don’t Cross Arms: Crossed arms or defensive posture.
4. Don’t Play With Hair: Self-explanatory fidgeting.
5. Don’t Put Hands in Pockets: Hiding hands, which can signal discomfort.