How People React to You

“All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

We’ve all experienced it. Someone gets up to speak, and before he or she says the first word, we’ve already decided, “He’s going to be boring.” Or, “She’s an expert.” Or, “He’s not going to tell us the truth.” You can’t separate the message from the messenger; it’s a package. If you want your message to have an impact, then you have to think about the way people are going to react to you—the messenger—not just about the way they are going to react to your message. In this chapter, you’ll learn how people react to you and how to improve your impact and delivery.