How to Get the Gift of the Gab

Important: GDPR Email Preferences

As you may already know, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be coming into effect on 25th May 2018. We take your privacy seriously and we are working hard to ensure we comply with the new data protection laws. You can find out more about how we're doing this in our privacy policy on our website.

We want to make sure you continue to receive the latest newsletters, blogs, special offers and more.

As someone who has opted-in to receive our emails in the past, we’d like to give you this opportunity to confirm what you wish to receive:

Just so you know, if you don’t let us know what kinds of emails you want to receive from us, we’ll stop emailing you on the 24th May 2018 - you'll be missing out!

You are of course free to change your mind at any time – just follow the link at the bottom of any of our emails.

How to Get the Gift of the Gab

Would you like to have the gift of the gab?

The gift of the gab is the ability to talk in such a way that grabs the attention and holds the mind of the listener. People who have developed the gift of the gab, usually have an easier life than those who struggle to find the words to properly express themselves.

People who have the gift of the gab, are using learnable techniques that anyone could use in order to make themselves more fluent, influential and informed.

Here is a list of three tips that will give you the gift.

1. Use Visual Words

Visual words are words that create vivid images in the mind.

Remember that everything you say creates, or at least should create, a vivid mental image in the mind of your listener.

If you want to be a more notable speaker, then think in terms of creating more vivid mental images in the minds of your listeners.

Note that there are many ready-made, current expressions that use this technique. For example:

• A shot in the arm.
• A red letter day.
• A leap in the dark.
• A giant step forward.
• A golden opportunity.

You get the idea? These idioms are ready made and will make your speech more colourful. Note: don't overdo it or you will soon sound trite, and especially don't over-do it when writing.

But if you do use these visual words a little more often, in your daily speech, then they will give your message more verbal impact.

2. Alliteration

Alliteration is the technique of using words that share the same first letters. Examples of alliteration are:

• Busy as a bee.
• Dead as a doornail.
• See you later alligator.
• Ride roughshod.
• Pleased as punch.
• Good as gold.
• Right as rain.
• Method to my madness.

If you use alliteration, then your speech will appear more appealing and sound more seductive.

3. Rule of Three

The rule of three takes account of the fact that most minds like short lists of three elements.

Speech writers make use of this fact by setting out ideas in short lists of three.

Here are some examples:

• "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".
• "Government of the people, by the people, for the people".
• "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics".
• "Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll".
• "I came, I saw, I conquered".
• "Friends, Romans, Countrymen.
• "Blood, sweat and tears".
• "Our priorities are Education, Education, and Education." - Ex Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

You get the idea?

Use short lists of three, alliteration and visual words.

You will amaze, amuse and entertain your friends, with your new found flair and verbal virtuosity: you'll be glad you developed, the gift of the gab.

Picture credit: Brent Danley (Creative Commons: BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Communication Skills Training

Communication Skills Training

Do you ever think to yourself, "I know what I mean, but I can't explain it"? You need to be able communicate facts, feelings, information and ideas, in a clear, professional and confident manner. If you want to learn more about our communication skills training, please click here.

Once you've mastered these, try and master these 70 effective communication skills.

Blogs by Email

Do you want to receive an email whenever we post a new blog? The blogs contain article 5-10 minutes long - ideal for reading during your coffee break!

Your Comments

Further Reading in Communication - Persuasive Communication

• Everything is Negotiable
  In business you have to trade with other people, which involves negotiating. Therefore, it is important that you learn the proper principles of negotiation, in order to get the best possible outcome for your organisation.
  Read Article >
• Communication skills - Your words have an awesome power
  Communication skills: Your words have an awesome power Your words have an awesome power. But your words can create, or destroy, your future. It's all about the words. To a very large degree, your future success will be dependent on how well you communicate. You communicate with your body and you...
  Read Article >
• Influencing skills - Being right is not enough to win
  Influencing skills Being right is not enough to win. You can be right and still lose if you use the wrong tactics. If you are right, but you word your message carelessly then you could easily lose-out to a person with a weaker idea, but who can explain it properly. So...
  Read Article >
• Improving your written communication skills
  Improve written communication skills Writing is part of the communication process, and human communication is a complex issue. If we are going to discuss communication, it is important that we clarify the term. These definitions can be applied to both face to face and written communication. Communication is defined as; the...
  Read Article >
• How to Gain Co-operation
  In order to achieve any goal, you are going to need the co-operation of others and, since you cannot use force, you are going to need to gain their willing co-operation.
  Read Article >

Advert