As the Knoxville Opera cast continues to dig deeper into the music of Bellini’s Norma, I have been struck by the conductor’s comment, “You could dispense with all the tempo markings: faster, slower, allegro, andante, etc. The one word that encompasses them all is… Expressive.”
He is right. If you cannot express yourself with feeling and craft, you might as well be reading the phone book.
Great performers and presenters can put meaning into anything. (How often have you heard “I would pay to hear Meryl Streep read the phone book”?)
This is why I love helping speakers with their delivery.
There is craft involved in deciding what to emphasize, when to be louder and when softer, when to speak faster or slower. I call it “The Melody of Your Message”.
And then there is the art of connecting to your heart, imbuing your message with feeling.
Think about why your words matter to you and what will make them matter to your ideal clients.
Then work on how best to express them.
As an example, watch this video of Meryl Streep reading a sexy oatmeal recipe.
Copyright© 2014 Elizabeth Bachman, San Francisco, California. All Rights Reserved.