Executive Summary:
- Julian Treasure emphasized the power of the spoken word and how it can start wars, and discussed the importance of speaking powerfully and enacting change.
- Julian Treasure outlined 7 "deadly sins" of speaking, including gossip, judging, negativity, complaining, blaming, exaggeration, and conflating facts and opinions.
- Julian Treasure described 4 "cornerstones" for powerful speech: honesty, authenticity, integrity, and listening, while noting that absolute honesty may not always be ideal.
- Julian Treasure provided techniques and tools to improve the power and impact of one's speaking voice, such as using chest voice, developing a warm, resonant voice, and varying volume and pitch.
- Julian Treasure proposed the idea of "creating an environment of understanding through conscious sound creation," suggesting that intentionality about the sounds we create could lead to a world where understanding would be the norm.
Meeting Notes:
The Power of Speaking
- Julian Treasure emphasizes that the spoken word is "probably the most powerful sound in the world" as it has the ability to start wars.
- Julian Treasure notes that many people experience not being listened to when speaking, and questions how we can speak powerfully and enact change.
Seven Deadly Sins of Speaking
- Julian Treasure outlines 7 habits or "deadly sins" that people can fall into when speaking:
- 1. Gossip - Speaking ill of someone who is not present
- 2. Judging - Constantly judging and sounding critical
- 3. Negativity - Being overly negative and pessimistic
- Julian Treasure provides an example of how his mother became very negative in her later years, making it hard to listen to her.
- 4. Complaining - Constant complaining, described as "vile" and not spreading "sunshine and lightness"
- 5. Blaming - Constantly blaming and passing responsibility to others
- 6. Exaggeration - Embellishing and exaggerating the truth
- Julian Treasure provides an example to illustrate exaggeration as one of the sins.
- 7. Conflating facts and opinions - Presenting opinions as facts
Foundations for Powerful Speech
- Julian Treasure describes 4 "cornerstones" or foundations for powerful, impactful speech represented by the acronym "HAIL":
- 1. H - Being honest and true in what you say
- 2. A - Being authentic and just being yourself
- 3. I - Having integrity and being trustworthy
- 4. L - Listening well to others
- Julian Treasure notes that absolute honesty may not always be ideal, and that listening well is crucial.
Tools for Improving Your Voice
- Julian Treasure outlines several techniques and tools to improve the power and impact of one's speaking voice:
- 1. Register - Using your chest voice rather than just throat for more authority and power
- 2. Timbre - Developing a warm, resonant voice quality through vocal training and exercises
- 3. Prosody - Using the "sing-song" rhythm and melody of speech to convey meaning
- Avoiding repetitive prosody where every sentence ends with the same inflection or "quirk"
- 4. Volume and modulation - Varying volume and pitch to add dynamism
Vocal Warm-Up Exercises
- Julian Treasure demonstrates 6 specific vocal warm-up exercises that can be done before speaking, such as arm wrestling and lip trills.
Importance of Conscious Sound Creation
- Julian Treasure proposes the idea of "creating an environment of understanding through conscious sound creation".
- Julian Treasure suggests that if we were more intentional about the sounds we create, it would lead to a world where "understanding would be the norm".