Today's secret's - 06/03/14 - Speaking well saves you money - tips and hints.

It is no secret that people are judgemental.

Sad but true.

If you speak correctly it opens more doors and people will listen.
Rightly or wrongly if you are confident and conversational in the way you speak you will find it easier to haggle for a bargain and to get people to agree with you.
If people can't understand you or don't take you seriously you will not get their cooperation.

Learn the correct words for things and the correct way to say words or else you may come across as unintelligent and lose the respect of the person you are trying to get to listen to you.

Make eye contact and be friendly, know your facts. Why should you get a discount? is the item cheaper elsewhere? does the item have a mark or smudge?

Don't be afraid to ask for a deal if you are buying a lot of something. Ask about store discounts or loyalty schemes.

Don't be rude always be polite and nice to the person. Be ready to walk away if you can not get a discount try this with mobile phone contracts and holidays.

Most services can offer something to keep you but be ready to have your bluff called if you are saying give me a discount or I am going to your competitor they may say bye then!!
Be a great customer so that they do not want to lose you. Pay your bills on time and don't be a problem customer or they may just be glad for you to go elsewhere.

To help you annunciate your words try a few tongue twisters (She sells sea shells on the sea shore) practise them and work on your pronunciation.
Record yourself and listen hard to your voice, practise breathing before you speak and then breathing between sentences. Keep your pace steady and your voice at an appropriate level.
Practise moving your lips and mouth, exaggerate the natural movements and see how that effects your speech.

The sounds m,v and f get lost in speech so try to make them active sounds. Stretch your mouth and practise the vowel sounds.

If you have difficulty with certain words whisper them to yourself a few times and then try again. It can often help.

Don't waste money on voice coaches or public speaking teachers just have confidence in your ability.

If you are required to speak in public for any event remember to speak clearly and not to rush. Try to have a guide line of what you want to say written down but don't read it out word for word or it sounds mechanical. Use your natural flare, be animated, enjoy what you are saying and use the tone and pitch of your voice to emphasise the important points.
Use your arms and hands more, be a bit of a caricature of yourself and move around a little if you can.
If you make a mistake just laugh it off and move on, don't dwell on it or you will begin to stumble over other words.
Breath and relax, if you have the time before a hard conversation, meeting or speech do a few stretches, your neck, back and shoulders need a good stretch and you need to stand up straight to keep your lung capacity at it's best.