The other day on the ICE from Munich to Cologne. Every seat in the wagon is occupied. Passengers read, make phone calls, chat or work. Everyone is fully concentrated. The door of the open-plan car opens. The conductor appears. He stands quietly at the door. He looks over the whole wagon with a fixed gaze. With a firm footing and straight posture. He remains like this for a good minute and a half. Then he speaks. The voice is like his position, like his attitude. Firm and clear. "Good morning, the tickets please" it sounds loudly and safely through the wagon.
I swear , a jolt went through the whole wagon. Conversations stopped, glances broke away from the various laptops and newspapers and got stuck on the figure at the door. Everyone, everyone immediately began to look for their tickets and presented them as one man.
Fascinated, I looked at this scenario. As a voice and performance coach, it was immediately clear to me what was going on here. The man had automatically and very effectively generated authority and respect through his appearance – because it was nothing else. The message had reached the passengers one-to-one. Everyone immediately looked for their tickets, even those who were as far away as I was, and who would have had enough time while the conductor made his way through the car. He easily brings in the short moments that this train conductor "loses" at the door, because he doesn't have to talk to every single passenger and shake them up to let go of their cell phone, newspaper or work. An ingenious tactic, I took my hat off to this man in my mind.
Either he is a natural talent or he has had a speaker training or something similar. Because that's what we professional speakers do if we want to keep the attention of our audience. We come on stage. Take a firm footing, root us. And look at our audience. Without saying anything else. This is also the most effective way to silence the audience and get total attention. Only when everyone looks at us do we speak. Just like the conductor, who immediately got the attention of the entire wagon!
This example demonstrates once again that it's never just about voice or performance, but about the harmonious combination of all these elements.
Have you Have you ever wondered how you can develop natural authority in your profession through the way you present yourself, your effect? No? Then may this blog inspire you. I look forward to your ideas in the comment or by email to arno.fischbacher@stimme.at
You
Arno Fischbacher
A wonderful everyday story that shows exactly what sovereignty means. Well told.
Hello Arno,
beautiful story that I can relate to very well. It becomes so beautifully clear how behavior and rules for the process work together. His behavior in connection with the process of ticket inspection makes it in the end. One is not possible without the other in order to provide a good service, in the spirit of my thoughts on the Qnigge principle, when service follows clear rules and the conductor has observed important rules of conduct and at the same time supported his process very efficiently. Your observation is an inspiration for me to take up my perceptions and write them down.
Thank you and greetings
Markus
I often notice that in everyday life I also take the sloppy forms of communication of my fellow human beings as a given, as if I had to bow to this "norm". This makes positive examples like that conductor all the more important to me. That gives me an inner jolt – I then say to myself at that moment: "You see, that's how it works, never settle for less again! And do your best to spread this message."
Thank you, Gaby and Markus, for your two appreciative comments!