1. Public Speaking
When I was a young, young child, I attended the same school where my father taught.
Like many children, I wanted to be just like my father, and I could already see that, for
my father, the ability to speak in front of a group was second nature – a talent that
flowed out of him with the ease of water purling up from a clear spring. It is not
surprising that, when our school announced that it was looking for volunteers to read set
passages during morning assemblies, I chose to volunteer: There could have been no
better way, in my mind, of impressing my father and making him proud of me.
As I said, I was quite young – no more than six or seven. I received a mimeographed
purple copy of the passage I was supposed to read, and I practiced it carefully, going
over the words in my memory as I pumped along on the swing in our back yard. On the
night before I was to read, I polished my navy-blue and white saddle Oxfords, checked
my school uniform, arranged the tie that went with it, and went to bed knowing I was
ready.
Of course I was not ready. I was entirely unprepared for the one final element that
changed everything: What I would experience standing at the head of the auditorium, on
the low stage, looking out at over five hundred faces. So, that morning I walked
confidently up the steps of the stage, went on to stand directly at stage center, and I
turned and looked.
Five hundred faces looked expectantly back.
I froze; froze solid. I am sure I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I gaped like a
hooked fish hauled out onto a pier.
I suppose it could have been worse. Given my extreme youth, it is probably pure luck I
was able to be walked off the stage with dry pants and dry eyes. Nonetheless, I would
have sworn that day there could be no worse humiliation than going dry in front of an
entire waiting audience. Worse, I felt almost as though I had proven myself not really
my father's child. After all, my father never froze, or went dry, or ran cold in front of his
students – or of anyone else! Neither did my grandfather, an army officer who could
stand before any crowd. My grandmother, too, and my great-aunts – all active in their
churches, and all with active public lives. My grandmother was a voice teacher and a
public speaker on the Chautauqua circuit. One great-aunt was an ambassador's wife, the
other a high ranking administrator in the Red Cross. How could I possibly have sprung
from this line of heroic public speakers? How could I have frozen? And how could I
ever possibly redeem myself?
Many people face public speaking challenges every day, in all walks of life. There is

2. almost no business that does not require the occasional ability to speak before groups.
Students, businessmen, professionals of all walks of life find themselves required to give
presentations of all types; and if polls are to be believed, many of them are terrified
every time the issue comes up.
There are many ways of dealing with a fear of public speaking. Among the best options
are to take classes, or to join groups such as Toastmasters, to get both practice and
supportive help as you learn the skills and confidence needed to present yourself and
your thoughts to a public forum. For those with extreme phobias, further help from
therapists can provide powerful tools for change. It would be criminal not to recognize
the value and merit of these approaches.
However, there are centuries of experience, knowledge and wisdom you can draw from,
and a large body of support can be gained from self-education on the subject of public
speaking. By combining old and new wisdom, practicing in company and in the privacy
of your own mind, you can develop a strong set of integrated skills and understanding to
allow you to speak comfortably in public.
Understanding
The first, and most painfully obvious element of public speaking, is to know your topic
inside and out. Whether you are presenting a free-form, unscripted performance, reading
from a set speech, or presenting a memorized work, the more you both know it and
understand the material the more hope and opportunity you have for excellence. This
simple rule underlies all the others. People commonly tell writers to “write what you
know.” They should as commonly suggest that public speakers should “know what they
say.” Indeed, it should be the first law of public speaking.
That knowledge should exist on many levels. By all means, memorize the words; but
before you memorize the words, understand the material.
If there is one speech in all American history to be held up as the standard for
excellence, it is the Gettysburg Address. This one short speech, written to provide
comfort and courage to a battered nation – to both sides of a nation – after one of the
most brutal battles of the Civil War, accomplishes in the space of only a few minutes
what others were unable to accomplish in hours. To write it, and then to present it,
Abraham Lincoln drew from a deep, deep well of knowledge and understanding.
In the Address, there are allusions to Biblical scripture, Greek literature, and echoes of
great American church preaching traditions. There are comments on the nature of
government, and particularly the government of the United States, that could not have

3. been written by anyone not versed in both law and politics. There are currents of
emotional understanding only possible coming from a person of maturity, who had faced
both great burdens and great losses. Lincoln knew of what he spoke, and spoke of what
he knew: The terrible tragedy of war, the need for a vision beyond war, and the profound
respect owed to the silent dead.
To give a speech with power, you must draw power from understanding. Not all
speeches can or should be bone-rattling masterpieces like the Gettysburg Address.
Indeed, that level of intensity and concise perfection would be both exhausting and
inappropriate for most of the public speaking events any of us will ever give. However,
the principle of knowledge that provided a sound and solid foundation for the Address is
the same principle that underlies excellence in less exalted performances.
Even a minor speech should grow out of knowledge. Even if you are not the writer, you
should study the material and learn exactly what it is about. Knowledge allows a reader
to offer the clearest, most easily understood version of a speech possible.
Do you doubt the importance of that understanding? Think, then, of a class of junior
high students reading aloud from an assigned novel. It quickly becomes apparent to the
entire class who understands the story, and who does not. Those who understand show
greater expression, and far more appropriate expression. Their timing, the rise and fall of
their voices, even the pacing all support the meaning of the writing, and add to the
clarity of the experience for those who listen.
Those who do not understand the novel, though, falter. Even when their reading skills
are sufficient to provide a clear, smooth performance with good diction and verbal
clarity, the meaning is as lacking. Just as a clockwork music box can only provide a
precise but soulless version of a musical classic, so a reader without understanding fails
to support the “music” of a speech, draining it of color and cadence. The power of
understanding cannot be underestimated.
There have been many speakers through history who lacked formal knowledge of public
speaking – but who knew exactly what they were saying, and said it with such power
that their words shook the world around them. If you know what you are saying, if you
speak from clear experience, if you understand the subject, then you have the best
possible chance of being able to use every other skill you have to present a good speech.
Technical Skills
When you have taken the time to understand your material and master the underlying
ideas and feelings, it is then time to consider the techniques of public speaking. These

4. one often learns through classes or groups, and these places remain among the best ways
to practice; however, it is to your advantage to consider and practice on your own, too.
The first principle of public speaking if you are writing your own presentation is to
provide a clear, direct structure to your speech. In material meant to be read at leisure,
there is sometimes – rarely – a place for rambling or complicated structure. In public
speaking there is none. A speech should move simply from point to point, starting with
an introduction that clearly lets the audience know what will be discussed and what the
main thesis will be. After that the speech should follow through the logical progression
of the argument made, or the story being told, and should end with a summation of what
has been said, what it was intended to mean, and why it was worth saying. The listener
should never need to wonder why the speaker is saying what is said: The reason for the
words should be fairly obvious.
An amazing number of speakers fail in that first, simple expectation, committing the
rude crime of forcing the audience to do the speaker ’s work. Like a lazy waiter forcing
you to fetch your own dinner from a restaurant kitchen, the writer makes the listener
fetch his own idea of the meaning from the speech. Not only is this hard on the listener,
it is often damaging to the meaning of the speech, for the more muddled the speech the
easier it is for the listener to take a wrong turn and reach a false conclusion about the
meaning and intent of a speech.
Another basic technical skill for anyone writing a speech or presentation is a classic,
well known as a mnemonic acronym for public speakers: K.I.S.S. What does K.I.S.S.
mean? “Keep it simple, stupid.”
Why such a terse and unforgiving rule? Because while public speaking is among the
most moving ways of conveying a message, it is one of the least effective for carrying
long and complicated messages. A written work that is read silently can be re-read,
marked with notes, and underlined. A reader can move back and forth, returning to a
particular point time and time again as he or she makes connections within the work.
There is time for breaking down long arguments, and considering each detail.
Material is processed differently when it is received through the eyes and through the
ears: That is part of the difference between read material and speeches. However, there
is a greater difference – the difference of time. When you read material from a book or
paper time is your friend; you can tarry awhile in some portions, race forward in others,
even “turn back” time by moving backward to prior points. In speeches, time goes one
way, at one pace, and once it is done, it is done for good.
Therefore, it is hard to convey complicated material. The audience has to understand it
as it is being said, not a week later after he or she has moved around in the narrative and

5. jotted notes and compared points and discussed it with a friend. Even if the listener
understands, but disagrees, he or she must understand, and understand almost instantly.
Therefore, K.I.S.S.: keep it simple, stupid. When you prepare writing for a public
speech, do your listeners the courtesy of making it clear, simple, and reasonably easy to
understand.
Once you are sure the writing is well structured and simple enough for a public speaking
presentation, it is time to consider other skills a public speaker must have: projection and
diction.
Projection is the term used to describe a strong, clear voice. Even in modern times, with
microphones, a speaker with good projection is easier to follow than one without.
Projection involves learning to “carry” the voice and send it out into the audience boldly.
The skills that make a voice audible in a large auditorium without microphones are only
made more obvious with microphones. A speaker who projects well produces a strong,
firm “note,” that is not swallowed by the speaker, and it rings out pleasantly to be picked
up by the microphone. Like the difference between the tone made by a taught, firm drum
and that made by a limp and sagging drumhead, a well-projected voice simply snaps
more clearly on the listener ’s ear.
Diction refers to the ability to pronounce clearly. It can involve issues including accent
and dialect, as well as intonation and vocal stress. It always involves the ability to
pronounce words correctly and completely, without slurring and standard “short cut”
distortions.
These two skills are, for many, the make-it-or-break-it points that determine whether a
speaker will succeed or fail. With good projection and good diction, a speaker can make
a winning public speaking presentation. Without them, even if the end of the
presentation is reached, the effort can only be considered a dud.
Again, if you doubt, think back to the junior high school class I suggested, and consider
the voices of the young readers. Some are crisp and clear, their words carrying around
the class room, each note sounding to the back of the room, rising above the rustle and
hum, the sound of shuffling feet and scribbling pencils. Each word is said completely
and fully; there is no mumbling, no sloppy short cuts. Even if the novel being read is
dull, and the reader grumpy, at least the listeners can tell what is being said.
Other students mumble and drawl. Their voices seem never to really leave their mouths,
leaving the listeners wondering whether they are even talking. Even if they can be heard
the note is blurry and soft, blending in muddy tones with the shuffle and shush of a
classroom. Their words are as mushy as melted marshmallow. Nothing is crisp, nothing
is sharp, and nothing has focus. Just as a badly blurred picture can’t be understood, an

6. out of focus speaking voice is of little use.
Skilled public speakers have prepared their “instrument,” as those in theater often say.
The ability to use the voice clearly and well is the core skill in public speaking. If you
face challenges in this respect, it is well worth your time to consider getting professional
help developing a strong, clear public speaking voice. Trained voice coaches and speech
trainers can help you learn to carry a speaking note, sustain it over long phrases, vary the
tone and timbre, and make subtle shifts in volume. Speech coaches can help you reduce
or even eliminate interfering traces of regional accents, and can improve your diction
enormously. By getting rid of lazy, sloppy speech habits you can bring your speech into
the crisp focus you need for regular public speaking tasks.
Breathe
While considering practical matters, it is important to take a few minutes to deal with
some basic body-control issues.
Stress is fear combined with lack of control. When stressed, one of the common
reactions is to reduce breath levels. Reduced oxygen, however, increases the body’s
stress response. Soon you are in a closed loop – a tightening closed loop, like a noose
around your neck, choking you and choking your ability to function.
Learning to let go of stress in your body is not easy, and requires regular practice.
However, it is one of the most useful techniques you can learn, not only in regard to
public presentations, but to your life in general. There is a reason breathing exercises
and relaxation techniques are at the bottom of so many religious and philosophical
disciplines: the ability to control stress and fear is the beginning of true choice and
resolve. This all has bearing on how you are able to perform – on a stage, behind a
podium, or in the arena of life.
If, as a child, I froze, and learned that I could fail as a public speaker, it was not until
years later that I began to learn the trick of succeeding. In high school I wanted to try out
for a play in my school drama troupe. Like others, I crept uneasily into the auditorium,
took an audition form to fill out, and found a plush seat to settle into for the majority of
the rest of the afternoon. There is very little as educational in regards to public speaking
and public performance as an “open” audition, in which anyone can try out.
As the afternoon progressed I was able to watch dozens of hopefuls climb up onto the
stage, do a reading, perform a scene, and creep away. One thing was quickly evident: It
took mere seconds to know who would give a reasonably good performance, and who
would be a complete failure. Trying to figure out what signs made it that clear, however,

7. required almost the whole audition…and I might never have figured out the difference if
I had not stayed well beyond my drab audition.
As the afternoon was drawing to an end, there were only a few auditions left to be done.
One young woman, a friend of mine, was trying out for the lead – a difficult, high-
intensity role. It was well beyond anything I would have dreamed of doing myself. That
late in the process I had heard dozens of girls read the same lines, play out the same
scenes, and sing the same songs. By then, the entire thing was beginning to seem pretty
dull.
Then my friend stepped onto the stage.
No, that is far too bland a picture, I promise you. Mary took the stage, striding on as
though just going out there was like a cup of strong black coffee to her soul. While not a
drab person at any time, her arrival on that stage was pure, centered, and relaxed energy.
It is possible she was afraid; if so, she was in the sort of fear that is almost like
fearlessness, the kind of fear where times slows, choices are simple and clear, and panic
seems a million light-years away. Mary was relaxed but filled with energy, like a fighter
poised for action. She was alert, calm, and she was clearly physically centered. I had
never seen her balance so fine. Her motions were controlled and graceful, and she
breathed, deeply and calmly. In my opinion, she had won the role before she said a word
or danced a step; and the heart of her victory had to do with being at ease, without being
asleep.
Let us face it: Far too many of us use the word “relaxed” to mean “limp.” We forget the
good, alert feeling of relaxation some people feel after a fast swim, or a brisk walk. We
think of slouching, and drooping, and forget the easy, swinging pace of a trained dancer
walking easily down a sidewalk toward a rehearsal – all elements in harmony and all the
body in balance.
Mary owned the stage with the same sort of easy grace and pride. She was centered,
breathing well, eyes alight, and happy to be there. There are many aspects of the ability
to function like this in a performance situation. For some it comes naturally, like running
comes naturally to some of the finest race-horses. For others, though, it is a learned skill.
Mary, I think, was a natural. But she taught me what I needed to become the next best
thing: A skilled learner.
What did I learn?
First, to breathe. Too many of the other auditioners had come on so tense they could not
breathe to say their names, much less actually read and perform. Learning to breathe
deeply, in a steady, flowing pace would be the first step of change for me.

8. Second, to stand at ease and move at ease, from a centered core. Where others might
hunch and droop and curl around themselves, I would learn to walk like a bride to her
wedding: Head up, arms relaxed, with a spring in my stride.
These are physical lessons: With practice and skill you can learn to ease muscles,
deepen your breathing, and relax in body and mind, preparing yourself for performance.
The final lesson, though, was more complex, and opens the door to deeper consideration
of the nature of public speaking.
A Gracious Host
The third, and most important thing I learned watching my friend, Mary, was never to
“apologize” for being on stage, or hold back from my audience. I had watched actor
after actor creep onto the stage oozing apology, as though their bodies were shouting,
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be here, please, if I’m bad, forgive me.” Mary’s body instead
said, “Thank you for having me here, I hope we all have fun!”
Imagine, if you can, going to a party. You are excited and looking forward to it; or
perhaps you’re not! Perhaps you’ve dragged yourself out unwillingly, wishing you could
stay home. All you can do is hope it will at least be some fun. Either way, you come to
the party with your fingers crossed, feeling a little unsure, wondering what is going to
happen.
Now imagine you arrive, and the host does not appear until after you have rung the bell,
waited, and given up. When the door does open he is dressed in old, dirty blue-jeans, a
worn out sweatshirt, and a pair of bunny slippers. As he lets you in he sighs, “I’m sorry,
I’m not much of a host. You’re not going to have a good time. I’m no good, you know.”
He looks at you sadly, waiting for you to reassure him.
The house is messy, with no lights. The only food is frozen pizza. The beer is cheap.
The host hides in a corner and tries not to cry. And the whole time he keeps saying, “I’m
sorry, please, love me anyway, oh, I am so sorry I’m bad at this, I should never have let
you in the door.”
As a guest you would be less and less likely to want to forgive him, though. At some
point you stop feeling sorry for your host, and start feeling sorry for yourself and all the
other guests at the party who are having a horrible time, while their host begs for
attention and nurture like a spoiled child. This party has turned into work, and the main
work is trying to boost the stupid host’s self-esteem!
The afternoon I watched Mary audition, I realized that the actor was a host – and he or
she could choose to be a good host or a bad one. A bad host puts the burden on the

9. audience: if they are going to have any fun it is going to be in spite of the host, not
because of him. A good host, however, has set aside his own selfish fears and concerns,
and made this time for giving his guests the best possible experience. It is only a couple
hours, after all, and the host chose to be there, and chose to entertain this group. A good
host is accountable, responsible, and generous.
Public speaking of any sort is exactly like that. You are the host – for five minutes, an
hour, an entire evening. Whatever: You have chosen to be responsible for the experience
of a group of people for that time, and it is your job to make sure you carry that load, not
them. During that time you owe it to your guests not to make them pay for your fears,
your insecurity, your failures to prepare or plan. Just as you would if you threw a party
and things went wrong, you have an obligation to carry your own load.
That is not as hard as you would think. Few people would dream of behaving to another
with the sort of overblown “stage nerve” behavior that is commonly inflicted on
audiences. Most of us actually have all the social control and discipline we need to
behave splendidly. The trick is in reminding ourselves to behave like adults, rather than
like children when we are on stage.
All the skills and techniques discussed so far can help enormously. If you have prepared
for your presentation or your performance, understand the material, are familiar with the
writing, you are already in control of much of the evening. If you have learned to
support your voice, and read with clear diction, you will know you are ready for
anything. But let us say you are not prepared – let us say this will be one of your first
attempts to even learn how to speak in public. What can you do?
The trick, as Mary demonstrated, is to put yourself so deeply into the “giving” host
mode, that way you never have a chance to slip into the “taking” child mode. You may
not give a perfect performance; you may forget things, freeze, get confused, have to stop
and go back. Everything that could possibly go wrong may – but if you are in the heart
of “giving,” it will not rattle you; or not much.
Many people are unaware that the more deeply you are in a giving/providing mode, the
more difficult it is to slip into a dependent, needy role. It is not that a person cannot be
both; it is that a person is unlikely to be both at exactly the same time, with the same
people. The more completely you can see yourself as a host, in charge of giving an
audience a wonderful evening, the harder it will be to sabotage yourself.
The trick Mary used was the same trick you would use to function if you were throwing
a party, coping with an emergency, or otherwise in charge of a situation. In her mind,
she was the adult on deck, and she gave it her all.

10. Before you go onstage, take responsibility for yourself, your performance, and your
audience. Accept it as a job and an obligation, and then work at it with the same
diligence and lack of apology. No reasonable adult would expect to cringe, sulk, and
whine his or her way through a work day and be taken seriously. In the same sense, you
must refuse to behave pitifully on a stage or behind a podium.
When Things Go Wrong
What most people fear most, when they think of public speaking, is what it will be like
if (when!) something goes wrong in front of all those people. They worry about
forgetting their lines, losing track of their logical presentation. They worry about the
PowerPoint jamming up, or their voices giving out. In dreams, they worry about
standing up to speak and finding their pants have fallen down. People are, not entirely
unreasonably, terrified about what it will be like to have things fail with so many
witnesses watching.
For the most part, we cover our mistakes in real life: What is not seen, we treat as not
happening. That is not possible with five, ten, twenty, maybe even a few hundred
people watching. The trip, the slip, the fumble: They are all there, big as life and glaring
brightly. How can you cope when things go wrong?
Begin by working through strategies before you perform. The more confident you are
that you know what to do in likely situations, the better.
One of the bravest and most delightful moments I have ever seen in theater involved a
senior actor forgetting his lines. He was a polished, accomplished man, with great humor
and confidence, and usually he was flawlessly focused and on top of his role. On one
night, though, he lost his focus, and as a result he immediately also lost his place in the
play.
He could not recall what his lines were – you could have bribed him with a case of
imported Napoleon brandy and it would not have changed a thing. He had forgotten,
entirely and totally.
He tried to say a line, hoping that the action would jar his memory. That is a good
strategy, by the way, and one that often works – by acting as though we know what we
are doing, we often find we do know. That night, however, the method was of no use.
He tried again. No help at all. There was no prompter near enough to consult. The play
was running, and the silence building up.
What did the actor do?

11. He did the simplest and boldest thing I can imagine. He simply turned, and said, calmly
to the audience, “I’m sorry, but I’ve forgotten my lines. I think I’m going to have to
jump back a few paragraphs to find my place again.” And saying that, he gathered
himself began the scene over – and did brilliantly.
At the end of the scene, the audience brought the play to a complete standstill to give the
valiant actor an ovation.
You may be wondering why, when I suggested not apologizing previously, that I am
suggesting it as a brilliant choice here. Part of it lies in pure attitude. The “apologetic
public speaker” is dependent, small and emotionally needy. His or her actions demand
special attention and special forgiveness from the audience. While they may claim to be
“sorry,” they want even more to be told “it is all right.” They are evading responsibility
for their own errors, and begging the audience to act as though that is all right.
The gentleman actor, though, was truly sorry. As a good host, he was placing his
audience’s pleasure at risk, and failing in his obligations. However, he took
responsibility for his error, and for finding a cure.
Thus, when you are trying to prepare for catastrophe, work through in your mind what
errors could reasonably be expected to happen, and what responsible, mature way you
could deal with it without asking for special favors from the audience. Do you admit
what happened? Skip ahead and work back?
Often, the best choice in any true disaster in public speaking is to “Keep Calm and Carry
On.” By all means, if it is necessary, do as the actor did and admit you’re lost. But often,
even that is not needed. Wait a beat, use that time to work out what you need to begin
wit from there, and keep on.
What you cannot do – what you must not do ever – is allow yourself to become the child
when things go wrong. No whining. No blaming other actors, or the noise in the house,
or anything. Just do not. It is as undignified and unappealing as a golf-player who
blames his clubs or a card player who considers everyone else a cheat.
After making the commitment to being an adult, and a good host, remember you can
rely on your body to help you deal with catastrophe, if you ask properly. Your body can
remain calm and at ease, or it can become tense and panic stricken. You have the choice
to use your skills to control that reaction.
Why does it matter? Because what your body does, your mind believes, and what your
mind believes can keep you sorted out and sane. The same deep breathing and relaxation
exercises you use to prepare to go on stage are wonderful allies when you are

12. performing or reading a speech and everything goes wrong at once. By dropping into a
calm mode, managing your breathing and muscle tension, you can free your mind to
concoct a good solution for a bad problem.
Finally, be ready to give up. Yes, I did suggest that: In public speaking, if you are the
adult, you have to be the one who can throw in the towel.
There is a point in any catastrophic event at which someone has to say, “Enough.” That
person should always be the performer, acting with dignity, rather than the audience,
acting out of desperation. When a performer clings, bitterly, to a planned event that fails
to come off, it will in time force the audience to self-defense. It is always better to admit
the truth and release the viewers with a good will than to try to hold them just so you can
feel you have finished properly.
Trust
Remember the story I told about freezing on stage as a young child? One thing I still
remember from that time is the looks on the faces of the audience. At the time, they
seemed horrifying to me. Over the years they have come to be a comfort.
The faces of the audience were not cold, or angry, or resentful. A little pitying, which
was not nice – but all in all the audience was filled with people who were sad and
nervous for me. They wished I had been able to do better. They were not disappointed in
me, they were disappointed for me.
That may seem like no comfort at all, and yet it tells you one of the least recognized
truths of public speaking: The audience years for you to succeed. They want that so
much they will give you leeway, if they can. They will forgive dozens of small mistakes,
and smile on unexpectedly strange events. If you blank your lines, like the actor I
discussed above, they will give you a standing ovation simply for admitting it and
dealing with it. And audience is friendly, at heart.
There are exceptions. There are times, places, circumstances and cultures where
audiences are brutally hostile, though seldom if they feel they are being dealt with in
good faith. A young and overwrought audience in a rowdy mood can be poisonously
unforgiving if they fail to get the concert they had their heart set on. Various world
events can create a hostile audience. And there are speeches that fly in the face of the
beliefs and most cherished ideals of a community.
However, for the most part there is nothing – and I do mean nothing – as safe as
performing before an audience. In most cases, you will be met with support, kindness,
forgiveness, good humor, admiration, excitement and attention, regardless of mistakes

13. and bad work. Audiences want you to succeed, and if the only way to ensure that
happens is to pretend hard enough, then an audience will buckle down and pretend you
into perfection.
For years I have acted as a director or stage manager for various theater groups. That
always ends up involving me in teaching new performers about what they can and
cannot count on in a performance. The great rule, I tell them, over and over, as many
ways as I can, is that in a life full of anger, judgment, violence, manipulation, rejection,
cruelty – in an often horrible world there is no better or kindlier place to be than in front
of all but the most poisonous of audiences.
What does that mean in regard to your performance? That you can relax and set aside
fear. It means you can offer yourself in courage and good will, knowing that your
audience is rooting for you as hard as your Mom and Dad ever rooted for you in Little
League, or cheered you on when you were in a spelling bee. Public speakers of all sorts
can count on their audiences to work to struggle to carry them through.
Many people have observed that shy, awkward, clumsy, socially ill-prepared people are
often drawn to theater or to public speaking positions. Teachers, librarians, an even,
oddly, politicians are often drawn from the shy, quiet, insecure kids. It seldom seems to
occur to people to think how odd this is, though: That the least confident, most socially
unsettled kids so often choose to get involved in activities that should, logically, be
terrifying to them.
There have been many theories about this over the years. People suggest that the shy and
uncertain migrate to speech or acting for the fantasy retreat it may offer. Or for the
sympathetic communities that often form, giving young and old a comforting home and
family. Few, however, suggest the most obvious: That these shy, uncertain, hesitant
individuals learned the secret; that audiences want to love public speakers and
performers.
Why do audiences give so much faith and kindness to performers who may be complete
strangers? There are several reasons. First, there is the simple fact that they want to be
pleased. An audience of people comes together in the hopes of good company,
interesting presentations, and enjoyment. Few if any are hoping to have a rotten time. As
a result, audiences are willing to be pleased, rather than in a mood to resist.
Smart performers depend on this. Great performers take that good will, and augment it
with their clear desire to please. Like my friend Mary, they radiate their excitement,
confidence, and willingness to perform to the best of their abilities. As good hosts, they
give, rather than asking for gifts – and as a result they receive more than they would
have been given if they had asked.

14. Ideally, everyone at a performance wins: The speaker, the audience, and the organizers.
Because everyone wants that sort of collective win, you can count on most audiences to
receive you in good faith.
Another reason you can count on audience support is that most people empathize with
both success and failure – but empathizing with failure is painful.
A writer once told me of an event he attended for a music school. A small child was to
perform, and the truth was, she did dreadfully. As happens with many new performers,
she hit many wrong notes, lost her place in the music, got scared, and froze. She began
again. She got more frightened. In the end, she broke into tears and had to be carried off
the stage.
My friend commented on one thing: While this was happening, he watched the faces of
the audience. They were, he said, in pain – not the pain of disgust, but of sympathy. The
little girl muffing her first piano concert was not the only one in agony; so, too, where
approximately sixty people, most of whom did not know the child, and many of whom
could have happily gloated over the child’s failure, as it would make their own children
look better. My friend said there was no gloating; everyone, instead, ached for the little
girl.
Audiences project their affection onto us. When we go out as public speakers, we
become the symbol of everyone we speak to. When we succeed, they feel pleasure and
pride. When we fail, they hurt for us. Just as people at a sports game may break into
tears over a loss, people at a public speaking event will hurt if things go badly for you.
So the audience does what it can to make sure things go well. Audiences egg each other
one; studies have shown that audiences work as a single social unit, in a team effort.
Audiences will clap just a bit harder than a joke may rate, and in doing so push the entire
group further into taking satisfaction from a speaker, rather than being disappointed.
They will clap just a bit harder, smile more, and work to try to push a speaker over the
top.
Almost all that an audience asks for to give this support and good will is that you offer
confidence, and collected good will in return. Again, the public speaker who hangs his
head, shuffles his feet, mumbles his lines, and stares out with stricken puppy-dog eyes,
begging forgiveness will never have the true support of the audience. Such a performer
announces going in that the task of holding him up will be higher than an audience
wants to bear. But with good will and honest generosity, a public speaker can count on
getting a great audience in almost all instances.
Audiences want to love you. Make it easy for them, and your job is complete.

15. Bringing It All Together
We have discussed many of the elements of developing good public speaking skills.
From basic understanding of the material to the development of sound technique, to the
development of a giving and generous mind set ready to take responsibility for a
performance or recital, we have been dealing with elements a public speaker can work
on and develop on his or her own.
In truth, though, public speaking is a skill that must be honed and sharpened with groups
– ideally with groups designed and aimed at promoting good skills, good philosophy,
and good understanding. Public speaking is one of the least amenable skills to pure,
solitary self-help methods. In the end, for all you can learn, and practice alone, you must
work with groups to become proficient. There is simply no other option than to present
yourself, regularly, to an audience.
As mentioned at the start, there are many reliable ways of proceeding with the challenge.
The best place to start, however, is to determine what your own goals are, as these will
affect your choice of speaking group.
The vast majority of adult speech students will have one or two clear areas in which they
want to learn and excel. For example, they may want to learn how to give a business
summary, or present financial data for a club or a small home business. In many cases,
the very best group to help you meet these needs will be a public speaking class – often
offered to the community for a minimum price at local colleges. These courses focus on
basic skills and presentation, and push to help students accomplish the necessary ability
required of midlevel management and administration through much of the nation in.
The group will be short-term, and many of your fellow students will want nothing more
than to learn their skills and get back to their own lives.
However, other people will want a more rich and enduring cultural involvement when
they learn to provide public speaking skills. For these people, the small, community
college based group is at best a mere entry way to more complex and rewarding things.
More likely to ensure high levels of kill and at the same time plenty of community
support and enthusiasm, is to look into local theater clubs, debate clubs and public
speaking clubs.
As stated, the best known of these groups is Toastmasters. This group has been
providing a warm, supportive and vigorous group in which people may gain public
speaking skill for almost one year now. Rostrum, Speaking Circles, and others similarly
provide great group experiences, allowing a learner a great community experience
combined with a teaching and learning situation. The power of this type of learning
cannot be overstated. There is an excitement and sense of mutual dedication that comes

16. with such clubs which remains missing in those who are just taking a course to prepare
them for a business slot. In such groups as Toastmasters, International there is a depth of
conviction about the use and meaning of public speaking that is just not matched
elsewhere.
Summing Up
Whatever your reasons for pursuing public speaking abilities, remember that it is a
complex challenge that will not be learned instantly or without some consideration of
your goals and your available options. Be sure to do the research, and make the effort to
find the club or class best suited to you, and proceed to practice both publically and
privately.
When you feel you have the skills, and find yourself performing regularly, you will
begin to realize how much power public speaking wields in the world. Few choices are
made without the primary moving factor being public speech. Many private connections
begin in bonds formed at public events, in response to public speeches.
The vital necessity of public speech is so engrained into American history and
government that we have structured it into all aspects of our lives. Whether we watch
old movies like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, or read wonderingly about the struggles
of Revolutionary patriots to establish and maintain the rights of free speech in our
nation, we are taking part in an ongoing heritage of public speaking. As much as
protection of the press, protection of the right of speech is a hallmark and foundation
stone of our methods of government, and we cannot imagine living in a place that denies
those rights.
Yet, comparatively few Americans bother to learn the skills of good public speech and,
as a result, the experience is becoming rare. That is unfortunate. There are few projects
better suited to integrating you with the history of our people, the future of our
communities, and the emotional network of our present like public speaking.
It is tragic that so many resist learning as a result of fear. In the end, the loss is to the
entire world and the nation.