A letter in last Monday’s Gulf Daily News got me thinking. It was from Keyem Thomez and asked an interesting question about public speaking: is a truly great speech the result of hours of preparation, or is it something that happens spontaneously?
I have been speaking at events, dinners, seminars and conferences since my first major speech at a political conference when I was 18 years old. In my humble opinion, the best speeches are a combination of both preparation and the ability, confidence and wit to ad-lib when the occasion demands it.
Not every speech can be prepared in advance. If, for instance, you are at a public meeting and someone says something with which you strongly agree or disagree, you may have the opportunity to contribute to the debate with a statement made entirely off the cuff. If you make your point well, you might even persuade others to see things from your point of view.
Some speeches, of course, can be planned months in advance. Take the father of the bride, the groom or the best man at a wedding. Having been all three at one time or another, I can tell you that even the most experienced public speaker can find preparing a wedding speech a daunting experience.
There are months of planning, rehearsing and wondering whether the jokes are funny enough. Then, on the big day, the mother of the bride gets up with absolutely no preparation and hilariously puts all of us in our place.
I know there are many people out there for whom having to make a speech is their worst nightmare. It can be extremely daunting. The key, of course, is preparation. No matter how quick-witted you are, you need to start with some sort of structure.
If you watch the best stand-up comedians, you will notice that they all have a structure or running order. They may start with a quick gag to grab the audience’s attention, followed by a carefully prepared story. But the really good ones will then wander off topic, telling an apparently spontaneous tale that has the audience rolling in the aisles, before somehow returning to the point from which they wandered 15 minutes earlier.
I used to be arrogant enough to think I could stand up and speak about almost any subject without preparation. After making an embarrassing fool of myself for the umpteenth time, however, I finally learned my lesson.
I started writing things down, building a structure and even rehearsing. I discovered that I could be both erudite and entertaining while still having the freedom to veer off script when the occasion presented itself. The difference was that I now had the security blanket of a prepared speech to fall back on.
Ask any performer what they love most about their job and they will probably tell you it is the cheers and applause from the audience at the end of a good show. The same applies to making a good speech. That wonderful feeling of achievement when the audience applauds more than makes up for the nervousness and dread you felt beforehand.
So, don’t be afraid to speak in public. It is something we should all do at some point in our lives. Just remember two things: prepare properly and try not to be too controversial!
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