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On Public Speaking
    Good morning. Today I’d like to discuss with you about the secrets of good conversation: that is how to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere.
    When someone tells you that you have to give a speech, your response may be "I’ve got to do what?! " But it’s important to remember that speeches are like anything else in life — there’s always a first time. People even those who are wonderful talkers in a conversational setting — are often terrified over the prospect of giving their first speech. Some are scared about it no matter how many speeches they have given before. I suspect you may have the same experience or have seen others in similar situations.
    I give speeches many times a year to groups of every possible description. My secret is simply that I think of public speaking as no different from any other form of talk. It’s a way of sharing my thoughts with other people. You know, in one sense, it’s actually easier than social conversation because you are in complete control of where the talk is going. At the same time, you have to have something to say, of course.
    This leads us to the first key of being a successful public speaker talk about something you know about. The second key to being a good speaker is to follow the motto of the Boy Scouts: be well prepared. Never go to a speech without some prior work on it. If you are talking about a subject you know well, as I’ve just advised, prepared, preparing the speech itself should not be too difficult.
    If you let the audience know where you are going at the beginning, they will follow you more easily through the body of your speech. At the end of your speech, try to summarize your most important points in slightly different words from the ones you used in your opening.
    Here are some other key tips based on my own speaking experience and what I’ve noticed in other good speakers.
    Look at your audience. I’ve already said how important it is to make eye contact. First, be sure to look up from your text or notes. Second, don’t talk to the wall in the back or to the window or to the side. They’re not the audience. Each time you look up from your text, look at a different part of the audience, so the whole group feels they’re being addressed.
    Know the pacing and inflection you want to use in speech. Some speakers, if they’re reading from a complete text, underline the words they want to emphasize. If you are using an outline or notes, highlight ideas  or phrases you should stress in your speech with a different coloured pen or something. This accomplishes two things: it guarantees that your emphasis will be where you intend it to be, and it assures your audience that you won’t be speaking in a dull monotone that will put them to sleep, especially if you’re talking after a heavy meal.
    Stand up straight. I don’t mean that you have to assume a parade-ground posture, but stand in a comfortable, natural way, rather than hunching over the lectern. Hunching constricts your breathing, and it makes you look bad as well.
    If there’s a microphone in front of you, adjust it to the right height, rather than forcing yourself to stoop during the speech. If you can, check this out before it’s your turn to speak. Talk normally into the microphone. If you speak at a high volume into it, you will actually be harder to hear. And be careful to keep your mouth in range of the mike; don’t weave around or turn away to answer a question from the side.
    Last but not least, a speaker has to keep in mind the value of brevity. It’s not easy to be brief, especially on a topic you know a lot about. But in any kind of communication, it’s always worth taking the time to boil your message down to its essentials.
    That emphasis on brevity applies even more when you are delivering a speech. The show business expression "know when to get off" comes into play again. And the best public speakers always know when. Some of the longest speeches ever inflicted on the American public have been the inaugural addresses of our presidents. However, one of the shortest inaugural addresses is also one of the best remembered and most often quoted. It was delivered on January 20th, 1960, by John P. Kennedy, Kennedy spoke for less than fifteen minutes.
    We can learn from these speakers, whose ability to talk effectively was central to their success, as is the case with so many successful people in every profession. Brevity is the first thing we can learn from them. If people like Kennedy are willing to keep it short to maximize their effectiveness as speakers, we should be smart enough to do the same thing.
    To sum up, I’ve mentioned several key points in becoming a successful public speaker, such’ as good preparation, audience awareness, brevity, etc. I hope you’ll find them very useful in making your speeches effective. Thank you.