A year ago today, William Shatner became the oldest person to fly to space. What inspiration should we draw from that? How about bringing emotion into your speaking!
Mr. Shatner is known for a his “unique” delivery, which merited this definition in UrbanDictionary.com:
“Man, that actor is so over the top. He’s not acting, he’s shacting.” Check out this example.
I believe that to develop a speaking skill, it’s helpful to practice it an exaggerated amount. Have fun with it. Then in real-life, if you do only a fraction of what you trained for, it will seem natural.
Think about athletes and pushups. There is no sport where you do 50 pushups, but the strength you develop can be invaluable in a game situation.
Here’s a way to do some “dramatic pushups” — find a some song lyrics and read them aloud. But REALLY pour yourself into them… read them as if they were the most important words ever uttered. I made this a group activity my speaking club, and read the lyrics to “Help” by the Beatles. We all enjoyed the opportunity to channel our “inner Shatner”.