How to be a Champion Communicator?
Be a Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (VAK) Speaker. Make What You Say Listenable for Every Audience Member
All great speakers make what they say interesting. Remember that every audience member is slightly different. People tend to learn best in one of three modalities: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (physical). Masterful public speakers understand and employ all three modalities so they successfully reach every audience member. The objective of public speaking is to make what you are saying listenable to every audience member, whether they respond best to visual, auditory, or kinesthetic modalities.
Each modality comprises different key words, voice qualities, and body language. When I say “Be a VAK,” I mean be able to reach your audience using all three modalities. Truly great speakers can sense when their audience gets it. Masterful speakers leverage these three modalities to ensure they get their point across.
I will now walk through each VAK modality.
VISUAL MODALITY [V]:
Characteristics of Visual People:
- They stand up or sit up straight.
- They are neat and well dressed, and their clothes say, “Look at me!”
- They are not good at understanding verbal instruction. You demonstrate for them.
- Their voices are higher and louder than most, and they speak more quickly than others.
- They use phrases such as:
- Clear-cut
- In view of
- Let’s look at this
- Appears to me
- See to it
- Can I see it?
- Show it to me
Optimal Speaking Style:
You need to paint a picture when you speak to visual people. Those who speak and learn best in a visual mode tend to talk very fast and are affected most by what they see in their heads. Visual people tend to relate to very fast talkers. They might exclaim, “Look! I get it! I see what you are saying!” Often, they will ask, “Can you see what I am saying?” To communicate effectively with a visual person, you might say, “If this project LOOKS profitable to you, then let’s go ahead and FOCUS on moving forward.” Or, perhaps you might tell him or her, “I have a HAZY idea and need another LOOK to be certain this is the most ATTRACTIVE decision to make.”
AUDITORY MODALITY [A]
Characteristics of Auditory People:
- They are influenced more by what they hear
- They tend to slow down their speaking, and their voice is exceptionally resonant
- They tend to speak clearly and can repeat words back verbatim
- They like talking on the phone and listening to music
They use phrases such as:
- Clear as a bell
- Loud and clear
- To tell you the truth
- Tune in
- Describe in detail
Optimal Speaking Style:
An auditory person wants you to say to them, “If I could TELL you about a solution that would increase your profit and productivity, would you want to HEAR about it?” They use phrases such as “I HEAR what you are saying and it SOUNDS good” and “LISTEN, PAY ATTENTION to me, we need to DISCUSS this further.”
KINESTHETIC MODALITY [K]
Characteristics of Auditory People:
- Their rate of speech is the slowest of all the modalities.
- Their feelings are most crucial in how they perceive messages.
- They use phrases such as:
- Touch base
- Warm and fuzzy
- Start from scratch
- Get a handle on
- Come to grips with
Optimal Speaking Style:
A kinesthetic person wants to hear you say to them, “If we could TOUCH BASE, PULL SOME STRINGS, LAY OUR CARDS ON THE TABLE, and help you make more money, you would want to get a FEEL for it, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, that FEELS right to me and I get a WARM and FUZZY feeling from what you are saying.”
The essence of communication is your audience’s response to you. How long will you listen to a boring, monotone presenter? Not long. Don’t be one. Be a VAK instead.
