Page 155 - How To Sell Yourself

154 How to Sell Yourself
Using good communication skills will make public speaking
easier.
The right beginning
Once more, I urge you to start off with proper breathing. It’s the first step in the process of throwing off stress and gaining control of yourself.
Be prepared. That alone will increase your self-confidence enormously. Concentrate on making the briefest possible state- ment of your position. Five words usually have far more impact than 5,000.
Be open.
Be honest, direct, and courteous.
Be personal. Tell the assembled group what this action will
mean to them, their community, their pocketbooks, their neigh- borhoods—this kind of information has impact.
A local hearing is usually much less formal than a legislative hearing. Use the lack of formality to your advantage. Observe any protocol, but be as informal as you feel will help your cause. And talk quietly. Even if the issue is highly charged and the hearing is adversarial, don’t get angry. Don’t lose your temper.
Above all, remember the rules of the confrontation.
Turn negative questions into positive answers.
If you pause and think before you speak, your words will have even greater impact.
Get involved
If you’ve been consumed by fear and have refused to partici- pate in local issues, remember that your viewpoint is just as im- portant as anyone else’s. By practicing the skills and techniques of good communication that apply in any speaking situation, you will be able to make a difference in your community by getting your message across.
It works!
A developer I worked with recommended me to a friend in another city who was proposing a huge new development to a rather