What you need to know as a novice public speaker

What you need to know as a novice public speaker

Plateaux in the curve of learning:

We never learn anything - be it playing a keyboard, golf, speaking a new language say french, or public speaking by means of gradual improvement. Friends often we advance by sudden jerks and abrupt starts. Then we may remain stationary for a few weeks, or even lose some of the proficiency we have gained. Psychologist call these periods of stagnation "Plateaux in the curve of learning". We may strive hard for a long time and not be able to get off one of the "Plateaux" and on to an upward ascent again. Some people, not realizing this curious fact about  the way we progress, get discouraged on these plateaux and abandon all effort. That is extremely regrettable, for if they were to persist, if they were to keep on practicing, they would suddenly find that they had lifted like an aeroplane and made tremendous progress again overnight.

It's also necessary we come to the understanding that you may never be able to speak without some nervous anxiety just before you begin. But, if you will preserve, you will soon eradicate everything but this initial fear; and, after you have spoken for a few seconds, that, too, will disappear.

Professor James has pointed out that one need have no anxiety about the upshot of his education, that if he keeps faithfully busy, "he can, with perfect certainty, count on waking up some fine morning to find himself one of the competent ones of his generation, in whatever pursuit he may have singled out". This psychological truth that the famous sage of Harvard has enunciated applies to you and your efforts in learning to speak. There can be no question about that. The men who have succeeded in this have not been, as general rule, men of extraordinary ability. But they were endowed with persistence and dogged determination. Now you see them as hero's, someday you too can become a hero if you keep practicing and learning.

Never under estimate the power of positive thinking, fill your mind with positive thoughts about how success you are at public speaking. Soon enough your fantasy will become theory. Never let fear and anxiety fill your mind with discouraging thoughts.

I sincerely desire that you become confident about giving an address anywhere and anytime. 

The science of remembering

The science of remembering 

Now you would never forget  your prepared speech.
So much for the First Law and Second Law of remembering. The third one; Association. This is coming last but vital important you note that, it is the indispensable element in recalling. In fact, it is the explanation of memory itself.

The only way anything can possibly be remembered at all is by associating it with some other facts. Learning always progresses from the known to the unknown. Like Professor James illustrated; "whatever appears in the mind, must be introduced, it is an associate of something already there..."
The one who thinks over his experiences most, and weaves them into a systematic relation with the other, will be the one with the best memory.
When you wish to associate one fact with others already in the mind, think over the new fact from all angles. Ask about it such questions as these: "Why is this so? How is it so? Where is it so? Who said it so?

To remember a stranger's name, ask questions about it- how it is spelled, and so on? Observe his looks sharply, Try to connect the name with the face. Find out his business and try to invent some random phase that will connect his name with his business. For example if you meet Mr. Frank Gold in Lumber business, you can make a sentence within yourself such as "There is Gold in the Lumber business" that way you associate the name and it would be difficult to forget.

Similarly to remember dates, associate them with prominent dates already in the mind. For example, the three hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare's birth occurred during the American civil war.

To remember points of your address, arrange them in such logical order that one leads naturally to the next. In addition, one can make a nonsense sentence out of the main point for example: if the subjects you are to discuss about are: Cow, Cigar, Hook, Napoleon, House, Burn, Religion. As random as this sentences could be, you can invent a sentence like: "The cow smoked a cigar and hooked Napoleon, and the house burned down with religion."

Friends lastly there is a lifeline here, if, in spite of all precautions, you suddenly forget what you intended to say, you may be able to save yourself from complete defeat by using the last words of your last statement as the first words in a new one, let's site an instance, Let's imagine a speaker talking on business success, finds himself blank after having said: "Tge average employee does not get ahead because he takes so little interest in his work, displays so little initiative."  At this point he can then buy time by starting a sentence with "initiative". So he continues on this manner "Initiative means originality, doing a thing on your own, without eternally waiting to be told". This can be committed until you are able to think of your next point.

Folks we are getting better every time we practice. Keep practicing, see you at the top

How to remember what you read

How to remember your notes better. 

Repetition; the second "natural law of remembering"

One of the largest universities in the world is the Al-Azhar at Cairo. It has thousands of students. The entrance examination requires every applicant to repeat the Koran from memory. The Koran has some many words, so much that it would require three days to recite it.
How is it that these Arabs students can perform these apparently prodigious feat of Memory?

The foregoing article will attempt to give in depth insight into the preceding  question and expose us to the remarkable potential that can be wielded by an understanding of the law of repetition.

You can memorize an almost endless amount of material if you will repeat it enough.
Thousand of the Islamic students memories the Koran, they do it largely through the power of repetition. I would re-echo this concept again; "We all can memorize anything within reason if we repeat it often enough".


But there are two facts that is vitally important we bear in mind as you repeat:

1. Do not sit down and repeat a thing over and over until you have it engraved on your memory. Go over it once or twice, then drop it; come back later and go over it again.  Repeating at intervals, in that manner, will enable you to memorize a thing in about 50% the time required to do it in one sitting.

2. After we memories a thing we forget add much during the first eight hours at we do during the next thirty days, so go over your notes just few minutes before you rise to make your talk.

Keep practicing, keep studying and soon you would realize that among your circle, you are the best in making a public address. See you folks.  

How To Improve Your Memory Power

How to improve your memory 

"The average man does not use above 10% of his actual inherited capacity for memory." retorted noted psychologist, professor Carl Seashore.

In our previous post ( how famous speakers prepared their Address ) we insisted that reading your speech would get the young man in the group thinking about the next football match, yeah, reading your speech destroys about 50% of the interest in your talk. The next question you would ask is; "How can I memorize my speech"? I would tell the best way to memorize anything.

Do you know that the average man does not use above 10% of his actual inherited capacity for memory.
Today we would be enlightened on the three most powerful natural laws of remembering: Impression, Repetition, Association.

IMPRESSION
By impression we mean really get a feel of what you want to remember, a deep vivid image, a wholesome picture of the idea you wish to recall. To do that you must
a)  Concentrate: Focus all your attention and cut off all the other distractions.
b)  Observe closely: Get an accurate picture. A camera won't good pictures in the fog, neither will your mind retain foggy impressions.
c) Get your impressions through an many of your senses and possible. Lincoln read aloud whatever he wised to remember so that he would get both the auditory impression.
d) Above all else, be sure to get eye impressions. They stick like super glue. The nerves leading from the eye to the brain are 25 times as large as the nerves leading from the ear to the brain.

Am really feeling dizzy now, I need to get some rest. We would talk about the other two magical laws of remembering in the next post. Bye friends.

How Famous Speakers Prepared their Address.

How Famous Speakers Prepared their Address. 

"The art of war," said Napoleon, "is a science in which nothing succeeds which has not been calculated and thought out." That is as true of speaking as of war. A talk is like a ship. It must be charted. The speaker who starts nowhere, usually gets nowhere.

On our previous post, we spoke on how proper preparation aids our confidence, click the link below if you didn't see the previous post. ( how to prepare confidently for a speech ). Today we would be outlining the methods some of the greatest and famous speakers used in preparing their addresses.
It's wise that we establish that no infallible iron-clad rules can be given for the arrangement of ideas and the construction of all talks. Each address presents it's own particular problems.

A few tips coined from the famous speakers. 

1. The speaker should cover a point thoroughly while he is on it, and then not to refer to it again. As an illustration, see the price winning address on Philadelphia. There should be no darting from one point to another and then back again as aimlessly as a bat in the twilight.

2. The late Dr. Conwell built many of his talks on this plan.

• State your facts.
• Argue from them.
• Appeal for action.

3. This another similar plan that you will probably find this plan very helpful:

• Show something that is wrong.
• Show how to remedy it.
• Appeal for action.

4. Here is an excellent speech plan:

• Secure interested attention.
• Win confidence.
• State your facts.
• Appeal for the motives that make men act. 

5. "All the facts on both sides of your subject", advised former senator Albert Beveridge, " must be collected, arranged, studied, digested. Prove them; be sure they are facts; then think out for yourself the solution those facts compel. 

6. If possible record your speech and listen to it.

7. Do not read your talk. Notes destroy about 50% of the interest in your talk. An audience can hardly be brought to endure listening to a read speech.

8. After you have thought out and arranged your talk, then practise it silently as you walk along the street. Also get off somewhere by yourself and go over it from beginning to the end, using gestures, letting yourself go. Imagine that you are addressing a real audience. The more of this you do, the more comfortable you will feel when the time comes for you to make your talk.

I perceive that you are on your way to becoming an excellent speaker. See at top. Bye bye. 

How To prepare confidently for a speech

Hello and welcome friends, congratulations on your progress in becoming an eloquent public speaker.
Am going to advance on our lesson today on the premise that you followed through on the previous lessons (http://growingpersonaldevelopment.blogspot.com/2018/06/so-you-want-to-be-outstanding-orator.html?m=1) up to this point.

 self confidence through preparation. 

Our lesson today would be centered on attaining self confidence through preparation.
Now this are the points to note:

1. Have a real message you want to deliver: When a speaker has a real message in his head and heart, then there is an inner urge to speak, he is sure to do himself credit. A well prepared speech is already 90% delivered.

2. What really is preparation? The setting down if some mechanical sentences in paper? The memorising of phrases? Not at all.
Real proper preparation consist in digging something out of yourself, in assembling and arranging your own thoughts, in cherishing and nurturing your own convictions. Mr Jackson of New York failed when he attempted merely to reiterate another man's thoughts he had culled from an article in Forbes' magazine. But he succeeded in delivering that same speech another day when he used that article merely as a starting point for his own speech, when really thought out his own ideas, developed his very own illustrations.

3. Do not sit down and try to manufacture a speech in thirty minutes: In this generation of fast food, fast lanes, fast cars, fast internet connection we tend to think we can cook a speech in thirty minutes,  no way friends you would only deliver a half baked speech.

A speech must grow. Select your topic early in the week, think over it during odd moments, brood over it, sleep over it, dream over it. Discuss it with friends. Make it a topic of conversation. Ask yourself all possible questions concerning it. Put down on pieces of paper or your electronic notepad thoughts and illustrations that dart across your mind, and consciously reaching out for more ideas, suggestions and illustrations that will come drifting to you are sundry times - when you are bathing, driving our waiting for dinner to be served. That's has been the method of almost all successful speakers.

4. After you have done a bit of independent thinking go to the internet or the library and do some reading on your topic.

5. Collect far more material than you intend to use. Assemble a hundred thoughts; and discard ninety. The way to develop a reserve power is to know far more than you can use. Have a full reservoir of information.

That my friends, is how to develop self confidence through adequate preparations. See you next time friends, keep growing. 

Before you make that talk, read this

So you want to be an outstanding orator right? Then you are in the right place. If you still haven't read part one Art of public speaking ( http://growingpersonaldevelopment.blogspot.com/2018/06/art-of-public-speaking.html?m=1 ) you should read it up before you come back and ingest this second part.

4 Things You Need To Do Before Commencing You Education As An Orator

1. Start with a strong passion and persistent desire:

Persistence is fueled by passion and desire, persistence is what carbon is to steel. You need to feed your passion; list out the benefits this effort to train yourself in public speaking will bring to you, Arouse your enthusiasm for it. Really think what it can mean to you financially, socially, and in terms of increased influence and leadership.
Now this is every important take note the speed of your progress is directly dependent on your desire.

2. Prepare:

You definitely can't feel confident speaking in public unless you know what you are going to say. Don't just wait till the night before the presentation to begin your preparation, preparations can never be too early. It's better three months too early than a minute too late.

3. Act confident:

"To feel brave" advises professor William James, "act as if we were already brave",  use all your will and mind power and at once courage fit will automatically replace the fit of fear. Pretend to be brave and you will very likely become brave. You can conquer your fear of audiences by taking advantage of this tremendous psychological fact.

4. Practice:

Now this is often the most important point of all.
Fear is the result of a lack of confidence; and a lack of confidence is the result of not knowing what you can do; and that is caused by a lack of experience. So get a record of successful experience behind you and your fears will vanish into thin air.

OMG it's raining already, I gotta get going, so that's that for now friends, watch out for the next post. 👋

Art of public speaking

The average person ranks the fear of public speaking above death. Is this you? Follow these steps to crush your fears.
A few thousand students have written stating they wanted training in public speaking. The prime reason that almost all of them gave was this:
1. They wanted to conquer their nervousness.
2. To be able to think on their feet, and
3. To speak with self confidence and ease before a group of any size.
This were requests written to famous author and speaker; Dale Carnegie.

The series we would be attempting are all excepts and summary of his famous teachings on public speaking.
As it's our culture we give you the nuggets and straight to the point information.

A few points to note. 
First we need establish that, public speaking is an ability that any of us can learn, I mean everyone of us. Any man or woman can develop his own latent capacity if he has sufficient desire to do so.

Many experienced speakers think better and talk better when facing a group than they are in conversation with an individual. The large seem to be a stimulus, an inspiration.  If you faithful read through this series and follow our suggestions, the time may come when that will be your experience too.

Do not imagine that your case is different. Many of the great speakers in history started poor and unable to hold the attention of audience literally paralyzed with audience fright. This was the experience of famous US politician we set the stage for campaign even till this day, Bryan, Jean James and a host of others.

No matter how often you speak,  you may always experience this self consciousness Just before you begin; but in a few seconds, after you have got on your feet,  it will vanish completely.

We gotta catch a bus now. See you next post. Bye 👋