Delivering Dynamic Presentations: Using Your Voice and Body for Impact (Part of the Essence of Public Speaking Series) »

Ralph Hillman Ph.D. is Professor of Speech Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. He is widely known among professional speakers in the National Speakers Association as "the speaker who speaks to speakers about speaking." His area of expertise is the use of delivery factors - voice and body - in business presentations. He also speaks extensively to business audiences on self-esteem and the handling of stress. He was a keynote speaker for the annual meeting of Toastmasters International in Toronto, Canada. He is co-author of Communication Strategies and WFYV: Work For Your Voice, a text on voice improvement.

The credibility of the speaker is the single most important factor in any speaker's success, according to nearly every speech textbook. Communication research reveals the importance of other factors: the speaker's delivery, appearance, body language, and vocal skills. The use of space affects the speaker-audience relationship: the speaker who is too distant from the audience, rambles aimlessly, or violates the audience's space works against the audience's trust. A monotonous voice pattern may not only put some to sleep but irritate and alienate those who manage to stay awake! Hillman covers the whole package, showing how presentation can make all the difference in how well your message is understood. From effective pitch patterns to the amazing impact of posture, Hillman shows how to develop communication behavior that makes a positive first impression and keeps the attention and interest of the audience to the closing words.