GREATING By Randy! Longmire Past Ia GLOWDS “The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Speakers” ‘At some time in all of our lives we have been or will be required to speak publicly, Public speak- ing can be an extremely frightening experience, and rightfully so. Fear is a natural defense against being exposed as unintelligent, unsure, or gen- erally ineffective in expressing our message or point-of-view to others. The spotlight on a speaker is a beam of collective judgments being broadcast from the audience. An effective public speaker can win over the listening of their audience, while an ineffective speaker may become the target of a riotous attack of laughter and crushing disapprov- al. Achieving the latter is what we will focus on in this installment of Creating the Clouds: The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Speakers. Remember, even if we don't currently live in a world full of effective communicators and powerful speakers, as a result of the last 3 decades of new age and self-help propaganda, we soon will. And when we do, we will all be eagerly searching for something to help us regress back to the state of irresponsibility and ignorant blis we once knew. Ineffective speaking is one of the most powerful means of establishing a lack of relatedness and separation between people. For this reason, we will want to study and mimic the habits of the high- ly ineffective speakers we see and hear every day. Whether it be an instructor at school, a preacher, or the president; we must seek out role models who are monotonous, uncertain, and ambiguous in their speaking so that we too can attain that high level of ineffectiveness. learned by observing a speech by George W. Bush that one of the key tactics used by ineffec- tive speakers is that of maintaining a defensive, accusatory tone. Any time a question is answered, it should be answered as though the person ask- ing the question is ignorant and must be force fed your perspective, although you already know they will never fully understand. Answer as though their incompetence is so overwhelming that they are too ignorant to realize they are ignorant, and you don't ‘even know why you are bothering to get them to understand your point to begin with. This leads to frustration, anger, upset, and a reckless, reaction- ary way of being that | like to call passion. One dictionary defines passion as: ‘An irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action.” When you speak recklessly as a result of passion, be aware that your mind's “looking good” defenses may attempt to question the words it hears com- ing out of your mouth. So when you speak as a result of passion, you must speak loudly. Drown out that objective personal filter. Don't let it ques- tion whether or not you are right for reacting and lashing out the way you are. You know you're right, because you can feel it. | could probably write an entire column on each of the seven habits of highly ineffective speakers, but in the personal application of my own teachings | have to believe you are not intelligent enough to comprehend most of it anyway. Either that or | am not a good enough communicator to get the mes- sage across effectively. And, for the sake of space and time, | will simply provide you with the list | have compiled over the minutes and seconds that | have been passionately researching the topic. The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Speakers 01. Speak in a defensive tone, as if your audience doesn't believe you. 02. Speak passionately about topics you know noth- ing about. 03. Be fickle in your core vajues. You cannot stand for anything or agree with aliyone for an extended period of time if your belief system is ever-chang- ing. On the other hand, flexibility and the courage to adapt to constant change is what has led or will lead to your successes throughout the years, and we are working to interrupt that trend. Do not confuse com- promise or open-mindedness with being fickle. 04. Set yourself up for failure. The more you fail, the more confidence you will have in your inability to be effective. Get yourself into debates you know you could never win, 05. Be overly aware of your body language. Your mannerisms may eventually become completely incongruent with your speaking if you are exces- sively conscious of every gesture, stance, and facial expression you make. If not, the mental distraction alone that you inflict on yourself will work to effec- tively confuse your audience. 06. Deliver below expectations. Always set expecta- tions high, then fall short in delivering on them. The next time you are faced with the task of speaking publicly, or communicating in any form; refer to this list and apply these concepts to your methods of expression. You will soon be well on = your way down the road of self-empoorment. As always, if you have any feedback or personal stories of self-empoormentte share, feel free to contact me at RANDYL7&@yahoo.com. Randyl Longmire is not a doctor. He is not a thera- pist. He has won no awards, and he has no stand- jing in the academic world. He is generally unquali- fied for most professions, pursuits, hobbies, and athletic activities. The Word and its editorial staff are not responsible for any loss of life, self-esteem, or livelihood as a result of Mr. Longmire’s teachings, and we feel they are in poor taste.