A few years ago I joined a Toastmaster club at the recommendation of a coworker friend and I remained active for several years.
Preparing for a speech was work at first but it gradually became fun. It was like solving a puzzle where the right pieces needed to be in the right places. Some speeches took days to write and I find that those were the ones when the subject was either too ambitious or not quite ambitious enough.
One speech that I thought was perfect was about my first visit to Las Vegas. The city that never sleeps and is renowned world wide for the adult playground it provides. That is what people usually think about Vegas. But the perspective I spoke about was different: the city as a transportation hub and as a man-made wonder surrounded by nature-made wonders.
I took the stage and I began my story when I landed at the empty airport, one hour after midnight. I was nervous about spending hours to figure out how to get to the hotel and not being able to rest for the next day. There was no need for my worry though because the app I used to call an Uber showed me the exact path I was to follow to meet my driver. Yes, it was an intricate and long walk but I had no trouble finding my way. That option was never before available on my Uber app. The driver dropped me off in front of the main doors of my three-tower hotel, at the designated taxi spot. I learned during my stay that the hotel had designated spots for each mode of transportation and those were marked on the hotel map and directional signs were ubiquitous. Despite the size of the hotel, the traffic flow was flawless.
The Strip, where the sidewalks seemed to be twenty feet wide, gave ample room to everyone. At well selected spots there were overpasses crossing the street that branched out for multiple accesses. It was the first time in a large city that I did not worry about crossing the street, or about running into people on the sidewalk. It was clear that those pedestrian facilities were not an afterthought but carefully planned, designed and built.
Then I spoke about the man-made wonders that extended as much underground as they did above ground and their display in the most favorable light throughout the day and night. Sure, the Eiffel tower and the canals of Venice look very artificial, but for a playground I thought they were well made.
I concluded my speech by describing the natural wonders that I visited outside the city with their grandeur and splendor. Thinking about Death Valley with hundreds of square miles of dry salt sea below the sea level still makes me hold my breath. I don’t know if the architects of Las Vegas wanted to compete with nature or enhance it by creating their own wonder, but I do know that it would have been a mistake to miss one or the other.
I spoke for 7 minutes about three aspects of the city that never sleeps: the welcoming transportation system, the playful architecture of the city and the complement of the grand natural wonders just outside its skirt. When I was done speaking I received the biggest applause (there were nine people in the room but it felt like one hundred) and sincere kudos for a very good speech.
The feedback I received pointed out that the speech was rich in simple descriptions that were delivered skillfully (if I may say so). I used three different spots on the stage area for each segment of my speech. I used arm gestures to express the grandeur of the city and of the natural wonders and I modulated my voice differently for each of the three parts. My face helped me too by expressing how passionate I was about my story.
Each time I rehearsed the speech I was not completely happy, often stopped in the middle and started over, but on the stage I presented it without a flaw. I loved the subject and I relived my visit as I was presenting it.
I am no longer a member of the Toastmaster club but I took with me the lessons I learned.
Being a good speaker starts with listening skills. By paying close attention to what is being said, asking clarifying questions and paraphrasing, you empower yourself to be a better speaker.
Non-verbal communication skills come into play next. Albert Mehrabian, a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was originally trained as an engineer, is best known for his publications on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages and developed the 7%, 38%, 55% equation: Total Liking = (7% Verbal Liking )+ (38% Vocal Liking) + (55% Facial Liking). His theory provides important support for the fact that appearance matters in communications. His work Silent Messages was published in 1971 and has been interpreted and misinterpreted often. But his equation remains valid and cultivating voice skills and paying attention to what “face” we put forward make 93% of the tools needed to deliver a good speech.
And lastly, clarity and concision means saying enough to convey the message without saying too much. This is much harder these days since technology allows us to deliver our messages instantaneously. Centuries ago, people developed their messages during long periods of time and they were close to perfection. Now I remind myself to take a little extra time before sending a written message.
Being a good communicator and public speaker takes knowing the rules and practicing until you love what you are saying; it takes time, patience and determination, but it is well worth it. The Death Valley and the mini Eiffel tower are my witnesses!
The Full Person 