My tryst with public speaking
by Vincent Van Ross
I have always maintained a low profilewith the result that I have never been a frontrunner in anything! So, I never thought I would ever have to face an audience or deliver a speech. Then, one fine morning, the chief guest did not arrive at a gathering. And, one of my friends found it convenient to grab me and put me on the dais. My woes knew no end. A steady flow of perspiration wrote the story of my nervousness on my face.
As if that was not enough, this friend made an announcement that I would make a speech. I was never given to public speaking. I couldnt do that even with practice. And here, I was standing before an audience which had been promised a speech from me without my consent (legal or otherwise). Such are the strange ways of life.
I had to deliver a speech. And, I didnt know where to begin. I didnt know what to sayor, how to say it. That was the first time. I did not have enough confidence. It was all right for me to sit in a group of four or five, or, for that matter, even 10 or 12 and discuss matters. But the thought of delivering a speech from a podiumthe thought of facing a large audienceand the thought of speaking into a microphone standing on my feetthat made me nervous.
I had read Dale Carnegies renowned do-it-yourself book on Public Speaking and Influencing People in Business. I was trying recollect what I had read in the book. The trick seemed simple. Carnegie says: it is natural for first-time speakers to be afflicted by stage frightit is called microphone fever. It is all right to become nervousit is natural. The trick is to look into the eyes of the audience and imagine that they are debtors who have come to beg for an extension of the repayment date of their loans, and then speak. That would instill a lot of confidence in you.
I did just that and I got even more nervous! Because, when I looked into their eyes, they stared back. Instantaneously, I knew that they were not debtors, but an audience with whom I cut no ice. My nervousness grew fourfold. And, I couldnt utter a single word! Even looking at the microphone was a frightening experience. Strange thoughts flooded into my mind. I began to feel as if the microphone might move away if I tried to speak into it. I just felt like running away from the stage.
I realized that these things dont work. You have to have confidence. You have to develop it somehow or the other. But, confidence does not come from how-to-do books. Confidence comes from knowledge. Confidence comes from intelligence. Confidence comes from wisdom. Confidence comes from conviction. Confidence comes from courage.
Unless you feel that you know more than the audience on the topic you are going to speak on, you cannot be confident. You cannot muster enough courage to say something that you do not believe in. If you do, your words become hollow. Your feet give way under you as if they were made of clay. Therefore, it is important to develop these traits before trying to become a public speaker.
It is import to grab the attention of your audience and hold it there. If you can do that, they will listen to you. They will lend their ears to you. Once you have done that, you can say whatever you want and they will listen to you. You can even tell them what they already know and they will still listen to you. You have to establish a comfort level with the audience. You have to win their confidence. Once you do that, everything will work. Everything will work fine.
A speech is no different from a conversation. The only difference is that in a conversation you are addressing one or two or three people. When you are delivering a speech, you are addressing a larger groupa larger audience. Even so, if you keep up the conversational style, you will communicate better.
How I wish I had the confidence to speak before an audience and say what I have written here!
The writer is a cultural commentator and editor based in New Delhi
