Best speaker Magazine Issue 2 - December 2017 | Page 37

they have one minute to consider your
speech against the judging form. David
Brooks, 1990 WCPS, says that that one
minute is the most important minute of
your speech. So don’t waste it.
People often ask me, “What is the
secret of public speaking?” To which
I reply, “First, know your point and
be able to express it to yourself in one
sentence. And second, know your
audience well enough to be able to
express what matters to you (your point)
in ways which will make it matter to
your audience.” Easy, isn’t it? Know
your point and know your audience!
Of course, there is more to it than that,
so let us look at some other elements
which I think are crucial for the success
of your speech.
Not only must your speech have a
point, but it must have VALUE.
I recently heard a speaker speak quite
well on the subject of doughnuts. In her
opinion, doughnuts were everyone’s
favourite food. And that was about it.
Not only is such a sweeping statement
invariably wrong but she made no other
point. It would have bee n fine as an
analogy had she chosen to develop it
but she didn’t. Her speech had as much
value as the hole in the middle of the
doughnut.
Value means that you must say
something of importance. It doesn’t
have to be of global importance but your
speech must offer significant ideas that
the audience can at least think about
and ideally be of a life changing nature.
But let’s not put our hopes too high on
that one. Your audience isn’t required to
agree with you but they must be able to
acknowledge the value of your thoughts.
Your speech must have IMPACT. This
may take the form of some gimmick,
a song, sound or action that grabs
attention. Or it may be a statement that
resonates with your audience. This can
be the hook that pulls people into your
speech. Sometimes a particular word or
phrase rings a bell with your audience or
at least with some of your audience.
You must GIVE EMOTIONALLY
of yourself, which is to say, you must
be emotionally committed to your
message and it must be apparent that
this is the case. This doesn’t mean you
have to burst into tears, but if you lack
sincerity or passion, then how can
you expect your audience to become
emotionally involved as well? In fact, I
would recommend against tears. Your
voice will go and you may well have
to stop and recover at some cost to
your timekeeping. This is difficult for
someone of my retrained and inhibited
Anglo-Saxon heritage but with practice,
you too can learn to wear your heart on
your sleeve and come to the edge of tears
but no further.
All of the above needs to satisfy
both the emotional and intellectual
requirements of your audience. The
next stage is almost entirely intellectual.
I call it REASONING and it relates
to the structure of your speech; its
sequence,
development,
accuracy,
grammar, pronunciation, enunciation,
references, quotes etc. It is in fact, the
physical nuts and bolts of your speech.
Does it flow? Is it complete? Is it
coherent? Is the sequence sound? Can it
be challenged in any factual way?
Finally, we have ATTITUDE. Your
attitude! Why are you there? Is it to
win a contest or is it to share something
with your audience? It had better be the
latter. Are you speaking at us, or to us,
or with us? I try to do the latter. Are you
having a good time without being too
self-indulgent? I don’t take myself very
seriously but I do take my work seriously
and for many years did so without, at the
same time, relaxing and enjoying the
experience. It wasn’t until I learnt to
relax and enjoy that I really started to go
places with my speaking.
The reason you are on stage is to
share your message with your audience.
It’s not about you. You are only the
messenger, the bridge between your
message and your audience. Get that
right and you are well on your way to
achieving the success that your speech
(not you) deserves.
It took me a long time to win the
World Championship and in many ways
I miss the contest stage. I like talking to
people. I enjoy writing and delivering
my speeches. I love my audience. And
now I can no longer compete. But there
are other arenas and places for me to
hone my skills, as there are for you.
I wish you all well with your speaking
and hope to see you up there on the
World Stage one day soon.
“Know your
point and be
able to express
it to yourself in
one
sentence.”
BEST SPEAKER MAGAZINE 2017
37