Finding One's Voice to Say What One Wishes to Say

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In recent days I had the pleasure of taking part in an informal impromptu speech/ table-topics session.

I had run into a fair bit of traffic on my way to the Microsoft-hosted meeting, just a stones-throw away from the airport, and I had turned up a few minutes late.

The room was packed with a good thirty persons in attendance - and Madame president had already begun her address. I sat myself down at the back, trying to pose as little of a nuisance until beckoned to take my arranged position as time-keeper for the first part of the session.

The first session of speeches passed by in the blink of an eye - and I regret to note that a fair portion of my attention was taken up with ensuring that I keep precise timing for the rapid speeches. Should the speaker take the full allotted time of 30 seconds then I'd tap my little hammer to indicate that s/he is now on the clock, should the first minute of allotted time pass then I'd turn on the green light on the box placed in front of me. Should a further 30 or 60 seconds pass then I would turn the light to amber and red respectively. And should a further 30 seconds elapse then my hammer would drop again - signifying disqualification.

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After the first set of impromptu speeches were done, the time keeper and both evaluators were replaced for others.

There were three rounds in all.

The first set were given a statement.

The second set were to draw an item out of a bag.

The third set were to draw an image out of a bag.

All three groups were expected to deliver a speech spanning between one minute and two and a half minutes.

When all was said and done only a single person got disqualified - having had a really strong showing but stopping ten seconds short of the minimum time allotted.

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No, it wasn't me. I had a pretty good time with a thermometer that I found myself staring at as topic-inspiration during the second set. I have to admit that it certainly wasn't the sort of topic that I thought I'd be crafting an impromptu talk about - but it wasn't long before I had the audience's attention reasonably captivated within a vice of bemusement.

Two minutes can sometimes seem like a stretch when you haven't set foot upon the stage with any idea of what you'll be talking about... but in equal measure it can seem to pass by all too quickly - and this latter problem is far more common for me as green became amber and amber became red. Drawing things to a subtly hasty close can deduct points from the grace factor of any given talk - but at least people enjoyed the rest of it.

Not everybody was as lucky. This new guy got stuck and waffled on for a good minute. I felt sorry to see him in the process of crashing and burning as I tend to do that with "prepared" speeches (no more - I'm sticking to impromptu as it works better for my poor memory).

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Well he did finally find his voice but I still felt the need to have a friendly chat afterwards.

He told me that he had blanked and could figure out what he needed to say.

This is normal and fine and I told him that - and followed up with three pieces of advice.

Focus less on what needs to be said and more upon what you want to be said

When one needs something one is more likely to grow defensive over it. When one wants something one is more likely to be aggressive over it. Relatively, anyway.

The latter notion is more conducive to a flowing speech as it is in attack that initiative comes into its own.

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Focus more on the 'what' than the 'how'

When you step up to deliver a speech to a number of people, it can be tempting to fret over delivering things 'just' right. This can however lead to freezing up as one seeks the right words of what to say next.

Instead focus more upon the 'message' that one wishes to convey. If you can deliver it in a structured manner then great but if you walk off the stage delivering nothing more than the core of your message then you will have already done a lot more than had you waffled on with a nice sounding speech about nothing.

Its also a lot easier. Speak from your mind and even from your heart.

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There is no crowd

Let me share a little secret here.

As I move around the stage area, looking towards the left, and the right, to the front and back, the people in the crowd fade and blend into a nondescript mass. I do not make eye contact, not because I don't wish to - but because I do not dedicate enough brain power to facial cognition. At the same time it 'seems' like I am because I am looking at peoples' vicinity.

This also allows me to better focus on the message that I want to deliver and that bit of disconnect is also good for the nerves.

Something to remember next time 'you' need to talk to a small crowd.

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Fear of public speaking is not uncommon (and you may be surprised as to which televised personalities were afflicted by such) but these tricks should help ease that anxiety.

Do you have any comments that you would like to share? I look forward to getting into a discussion with you in the comments below below! :c)

Also, if you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers and friends then a resteem is always appreciated.

Sincerely,

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