It was US comedian Jerry Seinfeld who claimed people are more afraid of speaking in public than they are of death! While public speaking in not for the timid, speeches and everything that goes into creating memorable and persuasive ones are what keeps plenty of people awake at night and are what many of us will have to do during our career.
I would rather stick pins in my eyes than stand on a giant conference stage and spout forth but apparently as long you have something worth saying (have a long, hard, honest think about that) and structure the whole thing in the right way, you need never suffer from 'glossophobia' again.
There are three vital ingredients for a great speech - 'head, heart and guts' in the right proportion.
For speakers it's all about empathy with your audience, making a personal connection with what you are talking about and sharing stories which reinforce the point you are making.
There are also a number of tools of rhetoric to include - from using imagery to asking questions and making contrasts. For the latter, Neil Armstrong said it all with : 'one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.' And it's important to use wit wisely. Making a speech isn't an audition for a stand-up comedy routine - even if your audience end up rolling in the aisles and not for the right reasons. One-liners are better than set piece jokes, and self-effacing humour wins hands down. Here endeth the lesson.
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