Oral communication: Choose a face to charm listeners2 min read

Reading Time: 2 minutesReading Time: 2 minutes

In oral communication, people often face anxiety and uncertainty about how to behave and talk about themselves in the most efficient way. Lecturer in Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business Kelly M. McGonigal shared a few tips that people can use to communicate successfully in the episode Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast.

Tip #1 – Choose an appropriate face
Professor McGonigal claims that each person can show 3 sides of her personality: a face of wonder, passion, and magnificence. In other words, in each public speech, self-presentation, or a dialogue, you can tell about something that you:
• wonder or curious about — your interests in personal or professional life,
• passionate about — drivers that motivate you and the values you stick to,
• have a unique experience in — your authentic wisdom that may help others in decision-making.

Showing these faces wisely, and adapting to situations and people you are talking to, will make it easier to charm a person and build trustworthy relationships in a short time. You may find out more about the faces of one personality and other techniques of business communication in the podcast.

Tip #2 – Make anxiety your friend, not an enemy
Kelly M. McGonigal also gives valuable advice on how to rethink anxiety in communication. People used to think of anxiety and their heart pounding as something negative, being sure that it distracts them from the main activity. Professor McGonigal suggests considering anxiety as a signal that the activity (for instance, public speech) you are anxious about is meaningful and valuable to you, which is a good and positive sign. In other words, Stanford GSB lecturer believes that if we are nervous about such things that we are in charge of (speaking, teaching, or performing), it only means that we put our heart into this activity and we care about the people we talk to, which seems to be an inspiring idea.