Skip to main content

Art of Public Speaking

Well the public is always speaking.  Is it art?  No.

The topic is misleading.  It really refers to one's own self learning to speak effectively.  In public.  Public can be a single person other than oneself or many.  It is an art more than science and hence the 'art of public speaking'.

I myself have often found that when I speak to others I may not be heard.  Rather it is not so much being heard as not everyone is listening.

In order to be effective it is important that your audience whether formal or informal perceive you to have something of value to them.

So content matters.  But it is not just content in and of itself.  There are other traits and characteristics of the human voice that matter.  It is just how we are coded and so learning the code helps to be an effective communicator.

I am planning to attend a speaking class this week and I will share my findings after.  Meantime I listened to some thinkers and speakers online to understand how they approached the question.

There are some interesting ideas.  Some focus on removing negativity in your thoughts about others and not being judgemental while others discuss posture and voice.

A nugget I found quite valuable - Silence.  Nothing wrong with it for the most part.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Costa Rica

 Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry.   Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while.  Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...

Charges attract

It is said that opposites attract meaning people with contrary viewpoint sometimes find chemistry to be together.  But I'm referring to a modern twist where people are merely attracted towards a common place because their uber communication device aka smart phone is about to die.  The charging station. From airports to hotel lobbies or even bathrooms, when in need they are attracted to this power outlet like moths to a flame or a junkie to a needle. A whole new business of supplying these hyper connected folks is now born whose lifesaver product is a backup charge. Asian tourists perpetually carry a phone sized battery pack stuck to their latest Apple phone updating their status to folks in Hong Kong or Shanghai or Bangalore as they pose for selfies with weird facial expressions and fingers pointed out in a letter V. Vain? PS:  I dis'charged' my blogger duties making this insightful observation as my phone is about to breathe it's last and my flight gets call...

Veni Vidi and Videod

Julius Ceasar is credited with a Latin phrase that reads - Veni, Vidi, Vici as in he came, he saw and he conquered. The summer vacation for the child meant we needed to do what we do as an annual event.  Go see a new place.  Italy won the draw this year. So we went for a couple weeks.  To check out the land of fairy tales, of great warriors and amazing inventions; birthplace of Christianity and its current CEO, land of Romeo and Juliet, a land in many ways similar to our home state of California. In terms of its geography and populations and their respective shapes CA resembles Italy a lot.  Both have a grand coastline, they both have multi cultural groups of people residing in its lands and mountains, both have northern edges covered by snow covered high mountain ranges that are formed of volcanic and tectonic activity over millenia. What we do not have in the Golden State is the renaissance, the art, the history.  It was a particular interest of our d...