I was once asked to be the guest speaker at the year-end speech day of a small local primary school. It seemed a simple task, but why was I worried about it? Do you remember any of the guest speaker addresses at your school? I don’t. My three children, all in high school at the time, couldn’t tell me who their speech day speaker was the previous year. As to the content of the speech, they were clueless.
My youngest son said, “I think he wished the matrics good luck and told the rest of us we must work harder. That’s what they all say.” The thought of facing an audience who would immediately forget who I was and what I’ve said didn’t fill me with joy. The kids would want me to get it over with as soon as possible so they could head off on holiday. parents, either joyful at the success of their offspring or moping due to their failure, would be in no mood to hear a dull sermon from an old fart.
So it was a challenge. As the fateful day drew closer, I got increasingly more desperate for inspiration. One evening while once again wrestling with possible topics, my wife said, “For goodness sake, why don’t you just tell them to smile, hug and praise each other more often.” At last, here was an idea! But how to deliver the message in a way that would not be instantly forgotten? My youngest son, always keen on anything with a bang said, “Set off some crackers in the hall. The kids will remember that.” W e settled the issue by placing a note with the words “Smile”, “Hug” and “Praise” in balloons and handing one to each child. I then invited them to pop the balloons and read the notes. They couldn’t believe it and were hesitant at first, but once they got going it was a riot.
We then practised smiling, hugging and praising and it was the best fun they’d had in years. They were still walking around grinning from ear to ear and hugging each other when they came back to school the following year. I’m sure they’ve forgotten who gave them the balloons to pop, but I’ll bet many of them still remember that unusual speech day. All managers are called upon from time to time to speak in public and make no mistake, you’ll be remembered for your failures more than your successes. I certainly have no special talent, but my small success at this speech day was due to one thing only – preparation.
This didn’t come naturally to me, so some time prior to this, I’d gone and learnt it. here are many publications that will tell you things like: know your material, use humour, personal stories and conversational language, prepare, relax, don’t apologise for being nervous and so on. also say you need to practise and I can tell you from experience that practising in front of the mirror is a bit of a joke. There’s only one way to practise and that’s in front of an audience that’s able to give you constructive feedback. only one organisation that offers this unique opportunity – Toastmasters International.
If you’re serious about improving your public speaking, then join one of the clubs. It’s a fantastic organisation that’s helped millions of people overcome their fear of public speaking. Go to www.toastmasters.org to find out more. There are close to 50 active clubs in South Africa and if there isn’t one in your region, then form one. I did, and that’s where I learnt about preparation and it paid off with the kids. – Peter Hughes ([email protected] or call (013) 745 7303). |fw
