The Art of Public Speaking
Today, I took a deep dive into the art of public speaking, and I gained unexpected insights. My goal was to analyze various speeches and understand what makes communication effective. Amidst this exploration, I encountered all kinds of speakers with different personalities, speaking styles, and levels of effectiveness. Some were hilarious, some seemed very knowledgeable but were somewhat boring. What unfolded was a learning experience that reshaped my understanding of what it takes to captivate an audience. It made me think about the kind of speaker I wanted to be.
As I navigated through speeches of varying quality, what I observed was something interesting. I saw that a pattern of contradiction emerged among some speakers. This occurred often among many speakers, in fact. They would confidently present a point, only to contradict it moments later. At first I just laughed it off, but, then in seeing it occur repeatedly, I started to realize that it was sending the audience on a confusing rollercoaster of mixed messages. Observing this, I realized the paramount importance of consistency in speech, to deliver a message that’s clearly understood by the audience.
One particularly funny moment was hearing a really experienced speaker give a fairly long talk on the importance of avoiding the use of absolutes—to avoid using words like "never" and "always," arguing that such statements can easily be disproved with a single counterexample. Ironically, they concluded with, “So, it is never good to use absolutes, make sure to always avoid them when speaking. When I heard this, I wondered if the speaker was aware that they just did what they said to never do. They basically said, “Never say never.”
This experience was like uncovering a hidden rule of public speaking: never contradict yourself. To do so is to invite doubt and confusion, not just among the audience but within yourself. It's about more than just avoiding mixed messages; it's about embracing the confidence that comes from knowing your material inside and out. This realization hit me like a lightning bolt, illuminating the importance of preparation and deep understanding of my content. Through today’s experiences, I've learned the significance of consistent, clear, and concise communication.
