People think at 600-800 words a minute, but only speak at 115 to
300.
Which is why people only have eight seconds to gain someone’s
attention.
The only time this isn’t the case is when giving a presentation.
Speakers have about 30 seconds—if they’re saying something
valuable to the audience. *
As if all that doesn’t make sales difficult enough, how it is said is actually more
important than what is said.
We are visual creatures. We believe what we see more than what we
hear.
Here’s the breakdown:
Body language =
55 percent,
Paralanguage
(tone of voice, pitch, volume) = 37 percent.
Words = 8
percent. **
Regional dialects and class accents—which often carry
stereotypes—also complicate the matter.
Think "street slang" versus "erudite academic".
Individual words also have positive and negative connotations or
feeling responses, which affect people without them being consciously
aware of it.
Have your elevator pitch ready, but in the long run, being
genuine, interested and compassionate works better than a canned pitch.
For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at (916)
455-4790 or visit www.dellrichards.com.
*Max Potentials seminar
** Albert Mehrabian’s “3 Vs”
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