power of speech

One thing that I discovered in my internship this summer is the power of speech. The ability to be able to talk to many different types of people is something that is beneficial, not only in the business sense, but in everyday life. Techniques can be used to persuade, calm, enthuse and so much more. Some people are born with the innate ability to just talk to people (maybe the guy that can talk himself out of a ticket time after time after time), but most of us have to fine tune our own speaking skills.
One of my jobs this summer was to RSVP my boss to several fashion events. The events were meant as networking opportunities for my boss, so that she could keep up-to-date on the ever-changing fashion world. This duty always struck fear into my heart because I had to convienently leave out certain "aspects of her job." Or as I call it -- lying. Well, not technically lying, so much as just leaving out some of the truth. In order to get her into these parties I had to leave out the fact that she was doing PR for our showroom and focus on how she has been a contributing editor for overseas magazines. The reason for leaving out the PR bit was because they would not want her to come knowing that she is part of their competition.
So, after multiple calls and successful RSVPing, my boss decided that I had talent on the phone and was able to somehow "get my way." I never really thought much of myself as a talented speaker, but as I watched other interns struggle with word stumbling and dead silences on the phone, I recalled many instances in my past where it was part of my job to talk to people and the constant practice made me a much better speaker. Four years of sorority recruitment gave me two solid weeks a year on talking to random people about anything I could. Sometimes it was easy, but sometimes it was very difficult to get people to speak. I also looked back at my work experience and found that many of my jobs required me to speak to all kinds of different people. Working in retail required me to speak to everyone; on the phone and in person, and I became aware of the different approaches to customers and making the sale.
I guess what the point of this blog is just that being able to speak to people is invaluable and can help you so much in the professional world. And, the best part is that you can practice and fine tune your skills! One thing that I try to do is talk to people in elevators or waiting for the bus. Forcing yourself to speak to people not only lessens the uncomfortable silence, but helps you get better at your speaking skills.
So force yourself to step out of the box and start talking to people!