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Chapter 7

Honing Your Platform Skills

In This Chapter

arrow Putting your voice to good use

arrow Speaking with your eyes

arrow Making a good impression with your posture

Richard Burton, one of Britain’s premier actors, had a supremely magnetic and charismatic stage presence along with an incomparably rich and resonant voice. It was said that Burton could read names out of a phone book and make it sound like a dramatic Shakespearean performance. James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Wells, and Meryl Streep are just a few of many other actors who brilliantly use(d) their voices to enchant, scare (Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in the first Star Wars movies), tease, express remorse, taunt, show affection or passion, punctuate, surprise, add urgency, and, with consummate skill, project every emotion that human beings can feel and show. Former U. S. president Ronald Reagan used his professional acting skills — body movements and broadcast-quality voice — to look and act the part of the confident world leader, giving speeches that touched the hearts of millions.

Every innovative presentation requires not just excellent technical speaking ...

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