Is speaking a dying art?
Has scrolling and typing overtaken the voice?
Speaking can sometimes seem like a dying art – the tongue superseded by typing fingers. My grandparents, who died in the 1990s, would have been astonished by human behaviour today: constantly checking our devices, peering into our phones as we walk down the street.
They would wonder why on earth we would message someone when they are just a few desks away or in the next room.
They would remark on offices that have become silent spaces, punctuated only by tapping keys.
They would find it hard to believe that work relationships can be mediated without speech.
They would be staggered by the pace at which we try to keep up with our devices, careering through our lives without stopping to breathe, to connect, to be present for others.
We hide silently behind screens for most of our lives. It’s no surprise that if you put yourself out there on the global digital stage – on a podcast or on YouTube – and you haven’t been using your voice much and you haven’t practised, you are bound to experience anxiety.
Over time these moments knock our confidence.
At the same time as the world of work becomes a more silent place, many of us are actively getting into habits which make confident speaking harder. All the texting and emailing and leaning over screens has a big impact on our physical selves.
People speak faster, with shoulders tensed, eyes glazed and with shallow breathing. At precisely the same time as our modern media requires that we are totally natural, unwaveringly individual, our gadgets are making it harder to do when we speak.
Have you ever wondered if all that swiping and scrolling is making you worse at getting your words out calmly and coherently? Just think about it now: you look at your phone with your head down; notice your breath, is it shallow and are you holding it? Your focus is inwards, rather than out into the world around you.
When pressure meets a lack of practice it creates paranoia. Think of one of those moments in life where external pressure meets the stress created by your devices.
Used to peering into a screen, hunched over, your body is far more likely to interpret an audience that is looking at you as a threat. Your stressed system labels the rush as bad. Frightening. Dangerous, even. And your system raises the alarm: your heart rate rises, your blood races to the heart and limbs. You get speedy, you rush or you fluster and mumble. Or worse, you go blank. The good news? With a little awareness of the impact our devices can have, this is all infinitely avoidable. And that’s what mindfulness is designed to help us to do, right? Well, yes and no. Mindfulness is wonderful and will help enormously. But there’s a missing link.
The Tibetan Buddhists don’t talk of mind–body–spirit; they talk of mind–body voice. And we need to create this link between the mind, body and voice. That’s what my system is all about. I want you to feel in control, not just before you speak, but when you speak. And, more than that, I want you to learn that it is possible to actually calm yourself down as you speak, so that you don’t ever have to feel like a runaway train.
And in the digital age there is more reason than ever before to find your voice.
Do take a look at my free mini course Gravitas designed to be digested in just under an hour and is the perfect kick start to your public speaking journey with me. Download right away for FREE - what’s not to like?!
Have a great weekend
Caroline x