… is that we desperately need to get our ministers a crash course on public speaking!
All right, not just the ministers; we ALL need at least some knowledge on public speaking. But I’m referring to them specifically because the opening ceremony of the ICC World Cup 2011 is still fresh in our minds. How many of you wanted to pull your hair out in frustration? How many of you, like my mom, simply walked out? Had the speakers at the World Cup opening kept their speeches short, simple and understandable, it really would have been a perfect event. A little humour wouldn’t have been bad, either!
Yes, public speaking is an important aspect of our lives. No, you don’t need to be a minister to consider it so. Everyone should have a minimal knowledge of how to talk to people, especially in front of crowds. Don’t think so? Imagine you’ve been assigned a project at school, and need to present it in front of your class – or God forbid, the entire school! Instead of fumbling, stuttering or droning, you could give the presentation of a lifetime. Or just one that would get you an A. Either way, public speaking comes in handy at even the smallest occasions. If not at school, it could be at work, with friends, or even in front of complete strangers you’ve just met.
Besides personal gain, public speaking has other perks, too. Just like 1dI, it can help you inform, inspire, and instil. Take Martin Luther King Jr.’s legendary speech, for example – it did all 3! It informed the world about the past & present, inspired them about the future, and instilled in them the dire need for change. Your goal does not have to be so great – not that anyone’s stopping you from having one – but all cases that involve people, you need to know how to communicate with them, to inspire them and basically move forward with the work at hand as smoothly as possible.
I learnt a LOT about how to speak in general from public speaking lessons – especially how to grab and hold on to people’s attention. That’s an important point, and you know it! So you see, had the speakers at the World Cup opening not rambled on about the funding, we would have paid attention and heard the finer points they mentioned. Some of my favourites were improving the conditions for women’s cricket in Bangladesh and being a good sport in all the matches. How many of you actually heard and remember these points?
Public speaking is important, especially in a country where communication gap threatens to bring about chaos all the time. On that note, I’ll end this very long (ironic, no?) entry.
P.S. Think before you speak: who are you boring today? 😉
By Amiya Atahar
The 1° Initiative Blog 