A Public Speaking Passion

Extract from one of my Master of Ceremonies notes, April 2009:

“April is a month that has a very distinguishing feature… and I am not talking about my birthday!

I am talking about Easter.

Easter is about the Passion of Christ.

I am not going to preach to you about anything religious; it is not my kind of subject!

I am not going to talk to you about righteousness, right or wrong; the least I judged, the least I get judged and the least I get tangled up in other people’s realities.

But I do want to talk to you about Passion. So I decided to choose this word as the theme of my Course in Public Speaking, if you allow me.

And the reason why I think you will allow me is because the kind of passion that I want to talk about is… the passion of a public speaker, of someone standing in front of an audience to inspire, motivate, express and even speak on behalf of that audience.

The passion I will be talking to you about is a passion for self-expression, a passion for creativity, a passion for making your mark or becoming influential and a passion for being heard. I think you will share these concepts with me.

The first characteristic of my passion is to GIVE VALUE.

I am against people rumbling on, trying to be nice, listening to the sound of their own voice (although every speaker does this to an extent) without offering something that people can take home, something they can use to grow, to learn, to move forward in their lives, to change their mind. I think the position of a speaker is one of great responsibility and opportunity, and we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Extract from my 2009-2010 Area Governor Campaign Speech: "Adding Value"
“If you can get there by yourself, the goal is not big enough”

“Once in a while we come across a person, a book, a thought, a city, a home, a view, a portrait… which reaches far deep inside us and resonates with our soul, provoking a change in our mind-set or in our perspective of life and inspiring us to take action. The result can be a permanent change in our life, one that can’t be undone, one that pushes us to become more than we were before. And we are propelled to a new level of growth, a new cycle or a new life stage and we may refer to it as a turning point later on in our life.

One of these books was “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles and the notion of “The Advancing Personality”.

A first idea in the book is:

“Desire is a manifestation of power: where there is strong desire to do a thing, it is certain proof that the power to do it is strong and only requires to be developed and applied in the right way”.
Everyone has the potential to give the world his or her specific talent, but it has to be developed and the belief in oneself must be so strong that we also gather the power to actually share our gift.

A second idea in the book is:

“The key thought of all your efforts must be to convey to their minds the impression of increase”.

“The desire for increase is inherent in all human nature; it is the fundamental impulse of the Universe. All human activities are based on the desire for increase. People are seeking more food, more clothes, better shelter, more luxury, more beauty, more knowledge, more pleasure – increase in something, more life because every living thing is under this necessity for continuous advancement; where increase of life ceases, dissolution and death set in at once”.

“The normal desire for increased wealth is not an evil or a reprehensible thing. It is simply the desire for more abundant life […] and because it is the deepest instinct of their natures, all men and women are attracted to those who can give them more of the means of life”

“No matter how small a transaction, even I fit be only the selling of a stick of candy to a little child, put into it the thought of increase […] convey the impression of advancement in everything you do so that all people shall receive the impression that you are an advancing personality and that you advance all who deal with you”.

To our friends, boss, colleagues, partner, children, neighbours; to the beggar in the street and the children in the park; to our mother in law who does our head in every time she calls or our mum who keeps treating us like a child (even though we are decades old!).

To the person who stole our handbag and to the person behind the counter who clearly doesn’t want to do his or her job… to all of these people, these are lots of situations where we have an opportunity to imprint the thought of advancement and increase.

Why?

“You must so impress others that they will feel that in associating with you they will get increase for themselves. See that you give them a use value greater than the cash value you are taking from them because people will go where they are given increase and the supreme, which desires increase in all and which knows all, will move toward you men and women who have never heard of you. Your business will increase rapidly and you will be surprised at the unexpected benefits which will come to you”.

Because it is all about energy, and equal attracts equal!

The second characteristic of my passion is to TOUCH THE EMOTIONS.

I believe that when we talk from the head, we miss the most important aspect of a person: the heart, but that only by touching peoples’ emotions we can help to create important change.

And the best way I know to touch others’ emotions is by being the example of what I am trying to convey and using my personal experience to do so.

The third characteristic of my passion is to INSPIRE.

Or, as they say, draw spirit-in.

Because unless we can help lift others from their existing viewpoint or mindset, then change will not take place. And it is only when we feel inspired that we feel lighter, that we can fly higher, and do and think the things that we would not normally do.

The fourth characteristic of my passion is to PUT HUMOR IN MY SPEECH.

We really can laugh at serious matters, didn’t you know? I don’t mean laughing at it, I mean laughing at the ridiculous conundrum in which we get ourselves when we take things so seriously that we box ourselves in a corner and can’t see the wood for the trees. I am sure you all know what I am talking about… I am sure that at some point in our lives, we had to in the end, laugh at the very same issue that we were depressed or angry about. Because it is only when we can take it light that we can shift it!

My favourite subjects are spirituality and personal growth, but it can be a bit dry and intense at times. I knew that I had to add humour within the body of my speeches and I didn’t want to try to tell jokes, as it is not my style. Besides, I always forget the punch line so my jokes can be very painful indeed!

I have a Billy Connelly video at home and I decided to have a look as I find him so funny. Only looking at his face makes me laugh! He has a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile… and I knew that this is what I had to bring into my speeches. Finding humorous speeches and keeping people laughing all the time is not easy… but what I found in Billy Connelly is that he uses everyday subjects and personal anecdotes, explained with his very personal with. So I thought: “I can do that!” This was a huge shift. And that part of me has been slowly but steadily coming into life and I feel so much more confident to be able to add humour to my speeches but still be myself.

The fifth and last characteristic of my passion is to STAY FOCUSED.

Because there are going to be times when the going gets really tough: when you don’t feel well before a speech (I never feel well before an speech!); when you want to stay at home watching TV instead of forcing yourself to do your best… once again!

When it is cold outside, when you don’t know your audience because you are talking in a new place… It is only when I go through all these perceived barriers that I actually make any progress!

I hope you have related to my passion. I hope that I have told you something that may help you with your public speaking, so that you can give value, inspire, touch other people’s emotions to instigate meaningful change, put humour in your speech so that others can remember your words and stay focused to achieve your goals”.