The Public Speaking Expert: This Speaking Mistake Makes People Ignore You! These Small Mistakes Make You Unlikeable!

Vinh Giang (0:00)

You have this ability to become confident in every single area of your life. It's about us just learning a new series of behaviors. For example, there's something called a Siren Technique.

Steven Bartlett (0:07)

In three, two, and one, I eat as I'm crazier than usual.

Vinh Giang (0:13)

Fantastic, that's fantastic. You did a great job, right? Okay, and then this next one is volume. So critical. Because if I just increase my volume and I talk like this, I sound a little bit aggressive, don't I? But with volume, to highlight something, you could go very quiet. So it's about waking people up to the power of their voice. And we all have access to these tools. Let's go through all five.

SPEAKER_3 (0:31)

Vinh Giang is the award-winning speaker and communication expert who helps people harness the power of their voice and body language in all areas of their life.

Vinh Giang (0:38)

Just so overwhelming of how many people are suffering with not being able to communicate. They're asking, I'm introverted, does that mean that I'm doomed? How do I become more confident? How do I speak on the spot? And we think there's no way for me to ever change this. It's super sad because I lived a massive part of my life like that. I was the awkward kid. I couldn't communicate with anyone. I moved schools so many times because I was a bully. But then I broke the mold and then I just learned all these new behaviors. It just completely changed me and anyone can do this in three to six months. And I'm going to teach you. So the first thing that really matters is a three step process. I call it record and review. It's going to dramatically change the way you talk and the way you show up.

Steven Bartlett (1:10)

But how do we start a conversation with another human being?

Vinh Giang (1:13)

I've got a simple game called High Low Bufferware. And it gives you three opportunities for a conversation to spark. It will play in a second. And then there's hand gestures to level up your physical presence. And then a simple framework that helps build connection.

Steven Bartlett (1:23)

There's so many other things we can talk about and we're going to go through them. But some people do have severe social anxiety. What do you say to those people?

Vinh Giang (1:28)

The first thing I would do is...

Steven Bartlett (1:36)

Vinh, if you had to summarize what it is you do fundamentally and why you do it, how would you summarize it?

Vinh Giang (1:45)

I help people learn that they have access to one of the most beautiful instruments in the world that can help them negotiate whatever reality they desire. And I learned this through my first ever vocal teacher, Ms. Stanley. And I'll never forget this experience.

There's a dingy music corner in South Australia, and I would go there for lessons. And the first time I met her, I walked into the room, she's old lady, and she says nothing to me except the words, sit down, young man. So I sit, it feels super awkward, it feels super weird. And then she plays one key nonstop on the piano for two minutes. It's literally, I was like, oh shit, this is like something out of a horror movie. And then she turns around, she goes, how do you feel? I said, nothing, weird, awkward, what? And then she goes, good, turns around, plays this beautiful song called Mariage D'Amour. Goes on for two minutes. And then she turns around, she goes, how do you feel? And I said, weirded out from before still. But I feel, wow, that song had love, there was lust, there was romance, there was excitement. And she goes, good. Honey, most people go through life speaking like this. I'm going to teach you how to speak like this. And that's, to me, at the time, I remember thinking to myself, that is the greatest sales pitch I've ever heard in my life. Because I'm now going to sign up for 12 classes with you because you've just helped me realize something. I've been struggling with my entire life. I haven't been thinking about my voice as an instrument. I thought it was a tool. What do you do with a hammer? You use a hammer. What do you do with a screwdriver? You use a screwdriver. What do you do with a piano? You play with it. What do you do with the violin? You play with it. And she started to teach me that I have this instrument that depending on how I play it, it changes and shifts how others feel.