Does Public Speaking Actually Exist?; The Vice of Our Public Speaking; Care About It

Does Public Speaking Actually Exist?

Only in our minds. "Public speaking" is a term of convenience. We use it to denote speaking to a group of people in a formal setting. Aside from the formal setting part, however, we use "public speaking" techniques all the time. We share stories with our friends, tell them stories, and sometimes even teach them new things, all without the nervousness and butterflies that can accompany what we normally think of as "public speaking."

So how can we make public speaking less intense and more enjoyable? Don't think of it as public speaking! Instead, you're just talking to a group of friends (and chances are, like your friends, they won't judge you too harshly - they want you to do well). Relax, tell stories, keep them interested. We do the same thing around the lunch table all the time!

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"It is the vice of our public speaking that it has not abandonment. Somewhere, not only every orator but every man should let out all the length of all the reins; should find or make a frank and hearty expression of what force and meaning is in him." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Spiritual Laws,” Essays, First Series (1841, repr. 1847).

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"... make a frank and hearty expression of what force and meaning is in him." Hard to do if you don't care about your topic. And some topics can be very hard to care about. Finding a reason to care is an essential component of speaking well, more important than content itself. After all, who wants to listen to a speaker who doesn't care about what he or she is saying?

Until next time,

Devin

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