Thought for Thursday
“Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all. ”
— Sir Winston Churchill
Well, that’s William Churchill’s thought.
My thoughts …?
Broadly speaking of course.
Keeping it simple always works in any endeavour including in public speaking, but short varied with long will have more power.
Old words – ah that appeals. There is so much less chance of misunderstanding, and people feel comfortable with the familiar.
And here is Churchill using the rule of three for great power, not to mention repetition and building to a climax.
Love it!!
Thanks for sharing. I agree, we’ve all been there, situations like going in front of the stage and making a speech to a faceless crowd! But what I just kept in my mind are these things:
Speaking in public is not inherently stressful.
Don’t fear the fear. Don’t fight it.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to succeed:
– It’s not about you.
– You don’t have to be perfect or brilliant to succeed.
– You are not the only one with this problem.
Be yourself.
Don’t over-prepare or prepare in too much detail, but do rehearse if possible.
Make sure you have a message to share. Focus on your audience and on the message itself during your presentation.
Don’t believe something bad will happen.
Don’t think your audience does not want you to succeed.
Get practice to see firsthand that all the points above are true.
Recently, I made an effort to put up a comprehensive diagram for this, please take a look!
http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/2010/01/analysis-of-public-speaking-anxiety-and-proposals/
Thanks, Nick