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1-Page Summary of The Art Of Public Speaking

Overview

We all have fears. Spiders, heights and public speaking are some of the most common ones. But if you’d rather walk across a tightrope than give a speech to an audience, it’s not something to fear. As these key points explain, overcoming that fear is just about practice; there’s no other way around it but through it.

Once you’ve prepared your speech, it’s relatively easy to deliver. However, there is a lot of hard work that goes into preparing for a speech. It takes practice and dedication to become an effective speaker. In the end, though, it all comes down to sincerity and belief in what you’re saying. These two elements will help you overcome stage fright and arrange your audience so they listen closely.

Along the way, you’ll learn about how to build a campfire and why one tree’s branches can’t be nailed onto another tree’s trunk.

Big Idea #1: Becoming a skilled speech-giver is a matter of practice, and stage fright can be conquered.

Do you remember the first time you learned to swim? Did you go to a library and read books about swimming, then put on your bathing suit and jump into the water with confidence that you could swim?

Probably not. However, you learned to swim by practicing in the water. The first time you went swimming probably wasn’t easy and involved a lot of awkward movements with your arms and legs while trying to breathe through your nose.

Why focus on the beginning of swimming? Well, learning to speak in public is much like learning how to swim. You can only learn how to be a good speaker by giving speeches. And that means jumping into the pool headfirst.

When you first get up in front of an audience, it can be very nerve-wracking. Many great speakers have had this same problem, including the British statesman William Gladstone and the American clergyman Henry Ward Beecher.

But giving a speech isn’t about not being afraid; it’s about overcoming your fear. Here are three ways to do that:

The first thing you should do to be a better public speaker is to get rid of all the feelings of self-consciousness that come with it. If you focus on the content and message of your speech, then there will be less room for worrying about how you look or if people are judging you.

It’s also important to have something to say. Many speakers fail because they’re unprepared and don’t know what they want to talk about. To avoid this, the author recommends memorizing at least the first few sentences of your speech so you can focus on presenting it well instead of worrying about remembering what you want to say. The author also advises maintaining humility by being open-minded and willing to learn from others’ ideas.

Your first few speeches may feel like a drowning, but keep practicing and you’ll be able to speak well.

Big Idea #2: Use emphasis to vanquish monotony.

Imagine you’re a pianist. There are many ways to interpret music, so there isn’t one correct way to play it. You could choose to interpret the piece using wild flourishes or with rigid uniformity; slowly or quickly; softly or loudly.

Public speaking can be learned. However, it’s important to master the basics before adding any new techniques. It would be impossible to play a Bach concerto on a one-keyed piano because you wouldn’t have enough notes available. In public speaking, monotony is also an enemy of good speeches. You must make sure that your speech has variety so that people don’t get bored listening to it.

The first key to a dynamic speech is emphasis. Emphasis can be achieved by stressing important words in your speech and comparing and contrasting the main ideas of it.