The 3Vs of communication refer to Visual, Verbal and Vocal. An effective communicator uses all three of these to optimise their communication and to get their message across clearly.
Have you ever noticed that when you’re speaking on the phone that sometimes you can’t quite work out how they “feel” about what you are saying or that perhaps you’ve misinterpreted what they’ve said? This is because visual communication is so powerful. The non-verbal cues we send to our audience or colleagues has greater impact than we think. For example, your audience is more likely to tune out if you spend your entire presentation looking at your PowerPoint or reading your notes. Or they may be so distracted by your constant pacing backwards and forwards across the stage that they can’t focus on what you’re saying. Making eye contact with your audience assists with keeping your audience engaged. In addition, having a strong, confident stance assists your audience in believing in your message.
When preparing a presentation we often spend a lot of time thinking about what we’re going to say i.e. the verbal message. But even though we spend time thinking about and preparing our message, do we actually spend the time thinking about how it will be interpreted by our audience? The verbal message must be targeted to meet the audiences’ education level, emotional receptivity and background. There is no point in using a bunch of TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) if your audience doesn’t know what these are.
Lastly, think about how you’re going to deliver your message. The rate, pitch and volume with which you deliver your speech will all impact on your audience’s engagement in what you’re saying. No one likes to listen to someone speak in a monotone voice for hours on end so make sure you mix it up. There may be parts where you slow down and pause allowing your audience to reflect and engage with your content and there may be other times where you speak a bit faster to get them revved up and excited. Above all though make sure you speak at a volume that your audience can hear!
So, the next time you’re giving a presentation try not to think about just your verbal message but engage with the visual and vocal as well. Remember, you are saying just as much with your body and voice as you are with the words that come out of your mouth.