Point Of Power

I read a powerful statement this week that speaks volumes about how to communicate effectively, both on and off the air. It applies whether you are a personality talking to your audience, or a manager communicating to your staff. The statement reads, "Communication is a transfer of emotion."

That simple thought can be the difference between connecting and not connecting with your listeners.

We can learn from speakers who use visual aids to present their ideas in front of a live audience. Presentation coach, Seth Godin, points out that many presenters fail miserably when giving a PowerPoint presentation because as he puts it, "PowerPoint itself is a dismal failure. The reason can open your eyes to how to fine tune your on-air communication."

"Microsoft has built wizards and templates right into PowerPoint. And those helpful” tools are the main reason that we’ve got to live with page after page of

bullets, with big headlines and awful backgrounds."

Our brains have two sides. The right side is emotional, musical and moody. The left side is focused on dexterity, facts and hard data. When you show up to give a presentation, people want to use both parts of

their brain. So they use the right side to judge the way you talk, the way you dress and your body language. Often, people come to a conclusion about your

presentation by the time you’re on the second slide. After that, it’s often too late for your bullet points to do you much good.

The same goes for delivering your thoughts on the air. Your words paint the picture that you give the right side of your listener's brain. Lists and facts are just that without your description and, more importantly, your emotion. And, just as a live audience would size you up by appearance and manner, radio listeners do the same by the words you choose and how you say them.

More powerful than a list of bullet points on a screen is a picture that conjures up an emotion. When you're behind the microphone, that screen is your listener's mind and your picture is the story you tell.

Ever had a listener come up to you and relate a story you told on the air years ago? That's the power of your word pictures and emotion.

That's the power of radio.