Speaker’s Corner: Inclusive sympathy

Life Magazine Issue November 28, 2012

What you are speaking about is not nearly as important as how you share the talk with your audience. The same can be said for synchronizing how you learn with how your instructor teaches. Knowing what your instructor is all about can help you communicate with him or her and ensure your own success.

In their book Living Biographies of Religious Leaders, authors Henry and Dana Lee Thomas coined the phrase “inclusive sympathy,” referring to the greatest soundbite messenger of all time, Confucius.

Do you know what it is that gets your instructor to the front of the room every day? To risk doing a standup routine in front of what amounts to a pretty tough crowd? Believe me when I say that they are not there for the money.

Here are some Carnegie tips, from The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking, that will help. Simply substitute the word “instructor” for “audience”: Talk in terms of your audience’s interests. Give honest, sincere appreciation. Make your audience a partner in your talk.

Practicing some Confucian “inclusive sympathy” is, as Carnegie tells us, the key that unlocks your audience’s or instructor’s heart.