Positive Attributes Of The Public Speaker

There are certain attributes of the public speaker that determine whether that individual will be a good public speaker or a great one. When it comes to public speaking mediocrity isn’t an option; mediocre speeches are quickly forgotten, swept aside like the leaves in the Fall to land in the gutter and rot. These leaves aren’t pulled back out and shown to others to make a point, nor are they looked upon reminiscently by passers-by. Neither is the mediocre speech!

To avoid falling into the trap of mediocrity students of public speaking should attempt to learn and practice the positive attributes of the public speaker. The great public speaker is able to use the following characteristics to turn their words from simple combinations of letters and punctuation into powerful messages:

Sincerity-From the moment they’re born listeners are able to tell when a speaker doesn’t mean what they’re saying. Small children can tell when their mother is scolding them while trying not to laugh. Teenagers quickly recognize when someone is pretending to identify with them while secretly looking down their nose. Adults identify from the speaker’s facial expression and tone of voice when they are speaking from the heart and when they are reading off of an “idiot card” or a teleprompter. In order to be great at public speaking the speaker must be able to speak with absolute sincerity.

Simplicity - A good speech will relate a thought or an idea clearly and efficiently in a manner that inspires the listener to see things from the speaker’s point of view. A great speech will do the same thing for the bum on the street that didn’t have a clue what the speaker was talking about five minutes before.

 A doctor with some small experience in public speaking can give a great and moving speech on the need to provide money for research into the spread of AIDS in underdeveloped nations, but if he gives the speech in “medspeak” and doesn’t provide enough information about the living conditions in these countries to make the average listener understand why this is important he won’t be understood by anyone without an MD-and how many MDs can afford to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to a cause?

Self-control-Men who speak are considered great orators, men who rage, lunatics. Public speaking on controversial topics (and really, what other kind of public speaking is there?) requires a certain amount of self-control and the ability to relay facts in a passionate yet composed manner.

Respect for this particular attribute is reflected clearly in the following description of a speech given by John Bright, a member of British Parliament in the 19^th century noted for his criticism of British foreign policy and often lauded as the greatest orator of his generation. 

“His style of speaking was exactly what a conventional demagogue's ought not to be. It was pure to austerity; it was stripped of all superfluous ornament. It never gushed or foamed. It never allowed itself to be mastered by passion. The first peculiarity that struck the listener was its superb self-restraint. The orator at his most powerful passages appeared as if he were rather keeping in his strength than taxing it with effort.”

Justin McCarthy: History of Our Own Time

Empathy/Sympathy-Although listeners remember public speakers who speak with passion, it is speeches given with empathy and a sympathy for the human condition that bring about change. Good speakers, students of public speaking who have listened and learned, are able to give speeches full of verve and supporting arguments. Great speakers use this verve and supporting arguments to break the hearts of their listeners.

Sense of humor-Who are you more likely to hear quoted in the middle of a coffee shop on a Saturday morning-Benjamin Franklin or Jerry Seinfeld? Listeners remember the speaker who makes them laugh!

To see these attributes of the public speaker put into play one only has to look at President Abraham Lincoln, the farmer’s son that was able to turn public opinion against a way of life that was considered both normal and right to win one of the greatest wars in American history. A reporter with the New York Tribune, present at what many consider to be Lincoln’s most powerful speech against the slave power in Cooper Union, NY in 1860 said,

 

“Mr. Lincoln is one of nature's orators, using his rare powers solely to elucidate and convince, though their inevitable effect is to delight and electrify as well. We present herewith a very full and accurate report of this speech; yet the tones, the gestures, the kindling eye, and the mirth-provoking look defy the reporter's skill. The vast assemblage frequently rang with cheers and shouts of applause, which were prolonged and intensified at the close. No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience.”

In order to become great at public speaking a speaker must first cultivate and develop the positive attributes of the public speaker. The use of sincerity, simplicity, control, humor and an understanding of the human condition combine together to distinguish between the speech that will be forgotten five minutes after the speaker has finished speaking and the speech that will ring in the ears of listeners long after they’ve left the room.  

 

My Name Is Christopher Carlin And I Want To Give You Twenty Free Public Speaking Tips

 

Name:
E-Mail: