So Valentine’s Day 2021 may be a little different - what do you have planned? A virtual theatre-date? An essential run with cocktails? Maybe you’re going all out with a three-course candlelit takeaway in your utility room?
Either way, with no darkened cinemas to hide in, your romantic conversational skills may really be put to the test this year. So to give you some inspiration, we’ve asked our team to tell us some of their favourite examples of on-screen love.
We adore an impassioned speech but equally where matters of the heart are concerned, sometimes it is all about the body language!
Watch these lusty love-filled moments and let your heart swell ❤️❤️.
Well we may as well start with the greatest love story of them all. This film is where many of us fell in love with both the English language and Leonardo DiCaprio simultaneously. When it comes to words, Shakespeare really is the master. At LSW we say "vowels are a space to put your feelings in" and Romeo and Juliet's first conversation is full of all those lovely first-love emotions.
Did you know that 93% of communication is non-verbal? If you’re just at the beginning stages of a relationship, this stuff is vital. In the current age of Zoom dating, it’s so easy to miscommunicate and come across as uninterested or worse... uninteresting! So if you like someone, take a moment to check your posture, give eye contact and a warm smile. It will signal to them that you’re engaged and want to get to know them.
Unfortunately for Guido here, the signals are not picked up by who he intended!
Love can do crazy things to our brains. In a bid to win his wife back, Tom Cruise’s character spills almost the entire contents of his onto the floor! Sure- it’s cute, but it’s Zellweger’s line, “You had me at hello,” that will be appearing in pub quizzes for years to come. If you’re prone to bouts of inarticulate speech or love has got you tongue-tied, take note of how just a few select words can have the power to articulate such strong emotions.
We often say that vulnerability and authenticity are key bedfellows and that authenticity is the first step to good communication. So how does the famous, fiery Hollywood superstar convince the lowly London bookshop owner that she’s genuine? She lets her guard down and allows herself to be vulnerable. The result is a very moving, honest confession of love which ultimately (spoiler alert) turns into a happy ending. Hurrah!
Another vote for the non-verbal gestures! The silence between these two characters speaks a thousand words. The body language and facial expressions here give us all we need to know about what they’re feeling and the emotions are so strong that it is beyond the spoken language. Observe that Timothy Chalet’s character (Elio) tries to hold Oliver’s eye contact - he wants him to stay. But Oliver breaks it and hugs Elio goodbye - he’s moving on. As much as we’d all absolutely love to be at a train station in the glorious Italian countryside right now, we hope your Valentine’s Day doesn’t end like this!
“You’re the love of my life” - honest, simple communication, straight from the heart. The only way to say something like this is with complete and utter commitment. Not advised for a first date.
❤️
So we hope that these moments of brilliance and beauty have inspired. Remember it’s very easy to get caught up with cards, gifts and slushy social media posts on Feb the 14th but hopefully a lockdown Valentine’s can remind us all that it’s just a lovely excuse to take a moment to connect to someone on a human level.
After all, it’s great communication that builds relationships and keeps them strong - not the steak and wine!
Happy Valentine’s from all of the team here at LSW!
xxx
At London Speech Workshop we are passionate about empowering people across the world to communicate more kindly, more authentically and more effectively. We work with people to improve their connections with people and achieve their personal and professional goals.
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