Not so loud! Amplification doesn't necessarily make your speech better.

So, I'm at a training and the 354th speaker is up.  OK, there weren't that many speakers, but it sure felt like it.  When he opened his mouth, this booming, resonant, majestic sound filled the room . . . and he was as loud as an F-16.  I think my ears bled at one point, the guy was so loud.  And he was sans microphone.  Just imagine if he had one.  Eesh.

What irritated me to no end is that the audience did everything but clasp their ears while he was belting out whatever message he was trying to deliver.  At one point, I wanted to get up and say, "DUDE, we can hear you."  In his attempt to be dynamic, he turned everyone in the room completely off.

Yes, we are all taught to project our voices in public speaking.  There is a difference, however, between projection and just being plain loud.  Projection comes from the diaphragm.  Learning to project exposes the richness of a speaker's voice.  When the voice's most irritating qualities take center stage, that's loud.  There is a lot that goes into learning how to properly project.  In fact, some people work on projection for weeks and months.

Loud speakers think that they are fully engaging the audience with volume when they are really just . . . yelling. Proper projection takes training.  I advise any speaker with volume issues to get some sort of formal training, namely from a vocal music coach, to boost his/her projection.  Until a speaker is able to get that kind of assistance, how can he/she be heard without coming across as obnoxious?

1. Open your mouth.  As you speak, make sure that you open your mouth widely enough to let all of the vowels come out.  No, don't do a "Jaws" imitation, but make sure that your lips are separated enough so that people see your teeth when you speak.  Also, smile at parts of your speech that may call for a smile or a positive note.  You will be amazed how much volume you produce with a smile.

2. Make eye contact.  It's amazing what happens when you lock eyes with your audience.  One of the great things that happens is that they pay much more attention to you.  Therefore, they even hear you better.

3. Direct your voice.  OK, now is your chance to start your new career as a ventriloquist!  Not really.  Actually, a helpful trick is to pick a spot in the room, and speak toward the spot as if you want every word to hit that very target. Your volume will naturally increase as you concentrate on where the sound of your voice is falling.

4. Make an audio recording of yourself.  This is the biggest favor you can do for yourself.  Forget about how you look.  People respond more to how you sound.  Remember those folks putting their hands over their ears?  You may look great, but being too loud was the deal-breaker.  Speaking of the audience . . .

5. Pay attention to your audience.  If they start to make faces or pull their heads back like they're dodging a Floyd Mayweather, Jr. jab, they are trying to escape the noise coming out of you.  Without yelling at you that you're too loud, they're showing you.