Use punctuation when you speak - just like when you read. Make your questions sound like questions and your emphatic statements really sound emphatic. Here's how:
- Pause and stop talking when you end your sentences.
- Vary your voice's tone. If you have a question, be sure it sounds like a question.
- Use energy to emphasize important points.
If you don't stop talking, your audience may indeed start to hear you as "white noise". This again is another way you give them permission to disconnect and start playing with their Blackberry. So, practice ending your sentences and stop talking once in a while. The sound of silence often causes people to listen and focus.
