The Art of Public speaking

 THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Here are a few, very simple tips, for parents, colleagues, pupils, and would-be speakers – especially my former pupils, of which there are a few thousand. (This is for you and so also for your wards.)

Now, this is not rocket science, and neither is it a cut-paste job from Google.

You can definitely download and read innumerable scholarly articles on this topic, from world-renowned speakers, but I feel inclined to add a few nuggets of my own, garnered over umpteen years of personal experience. 

Please encourage your children to SPEAK. By that, I mean, as often as possible.

If ever you have used, or are inclined to repeat the sentence ‘Stop it – you talk too much’- then think again.

Children who speak well, grow up to be confident adults, who get a head start in life. It’s up to parents and teachers to play their part.

I often reminisce over my formative years when growing up in Allahabad. There were my two cousins and me & we lived in the same house. Whenever guests visited, we were expected to either sing or say a poem for them (remember there was no TV back then) – if it was a bad day, we were asked and expected to do both. Sometimes my cousins had to do a duet & dance as well!

I pitied them while making fun. I was a naughty boy, I guess!

In those pre-historic, juggernaut days, we probably rued our bad luck, but today I am immensely thankful to my mother and my aunt, as those rather tortuous evenings have been a blessing in disguise in more ways than I can ever imagine.

They boosted my confidence, got me into singing and playing instruments, but above all, encouraged me to thoroughly enjoy all forms of public speaking.

Elocution and debating were my strong points in school and college, and I have been fortunate to enter a profession where one has to talk a great deal. People do say that teachers talk too much, and its true!

Even after I stopped teaching, and that’s something I enjoyed immensely, I have had the wonderful opportunity to often be requested to speak to large audiences, comprising pupils, parents, teachers, and others and I have and am still enjoying this aspect of my job. In fact, I enjoy the stage.

This brings me to why I am keying in this article at 4. 45 am on a balmy Tuesday morning.

Have you heard the word ‘Glossophobia’?  I hadn’t, till I read an absorbing article some years ago. 

Glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking, is remarkably common. In fact, some experts estimate that as much as 77% of the population has some level of anxiety regarding public speaking. However, it’s something that everyone should attempt to tackle and overcome. 

Hence - please encourage your children to take up any form of public speaking at an early age. You and they will never regret it.  It’s never too early to begin.

 Reading aloud, Elocution competitions, Debates, Model United Nations, Ted talks, Talks at assembly. drama etc. are all opportunities that pupils must grab with both hands, and cling on to, for dear life.

Classes in many schools are large, and the competition is fierce, but encourage your wards to participate and practice hard - success will come.

Whenever I have had the opportunity to speak, people have come up to tell me how much they enjoyed my talk, and what they learned from it. One sentence which is often repeated is ‘you do it so effortlessly’

Let me tell you – THAT IS NOT TRUE.

I wish it was as effortless as it appears. That is not the case.

Irrespective of the talk or speech I am giving – I do prepare and I prepare well, and yes it does take time, energy, commitment, and effort.

One must remember not to take an audience for granted and talk gibberish. Hence in order to respect one’s audience, it is important to talk sense.

One’s talk must inspire, motivate, make sense, and be appreciated, and that can only be achieved by means of thorough preparation and sufficient practice. The more- the better

A few tips

Know your audience

Do thorough research on the topic, so you know what you are talking about

Search engines and reference books do help. 

Look out for apt quotes, sayings, appropriate lines, research papers, etc., and read as much as possible

Make rough notes to use

Once you have plenty of matter, key in a draft. If you have researched well enough, the draft will be double or triple the length actually required.

Then sit and start pruning.  This often happens over multiple sittings. I find that often new trends of thought pop into my brain every time I sit to work on my speech.

Delete ideas that seem repetitive or do not have sufficient impact or punch. 

You will need to replace items – i.e.- something may need to go earlier or later in your talk – adjust accordingly

Once you have your speech/talk ready, it then requires you to master it

Rote learning is never recommended, if not you will come across as flat and dull and the audience will be waiting for you to end.

 Read the script over and over again – as many times as possible until you have the sequence in your head.

Important that there is a sequential flow of ideas, as that makes it easier to remember.

Here is something I then do- I practice – mostly during walks, while driving, while sitting and relaxing, and when I wake in the morning. This may sound funny to you, but there is no other way to perfect a speech or a talk than by having it well memorized.

Say it out loud – it’s very different when you hear yourself speak.

You can record it if you like. 

Once you know that you are unlikely to forget, you are able to relax, and once you are able to relax, you can be sure the speech will go well.

Lastly- No one has a clue as to what you are going to say or what the exact sequence is, so don’t stress. And yes – I do forget stuff I had planned to say or mix the sequence up at times, but no one is a bit the wiser - It’s my speech and I own it.

Ensure that you start strong – you must get the audience’s attention within the first three sentences or the first minute, if not, you will face an uphill task from the very beginning.

The tone of your voice, your pronunciation, the intonation, and your body language should all exude confidence even if you are quivering within and your knees are shaking. Being slightly nervous is actually good, as it gets your blood pumping.  

Engaging the audience with a question, a thought-provoking remark, asking them to answer you with a show of hands, etc. are good tactics to attempt at the very start. They get the audience to participate and that too is good.

Make a concerted effort to relax after the first minute or so and go with the flow – if you are tense, you are likely to get confused.

 On some occasions, you may have notes on the podium and this helps but is a distraction according to me.

If you are not naturally humorous (and you should know this about yourself) don’t force the jokes as they will fall flat.

Keep it simple – this is key.

Avoid talking down to the audience – let the tone be warm and conversational.

If you have a personal story- tell it – everyone loves a story if it’s interesting.

Important to end strong too – the last sentence or two must be as memorable as possible – something that your audience is likely to remember.

Don’t overstay your welcome. Irrespective of how good you are – adhere to the time allocated.

One last thing – I listen to a lot of TED Talks – I find many of them inspirational.

Hope that you find some of this useful!