Speaking

I enjoy public speaking.

There, I’ve said it. Would you b believe it? There really is somebody who enjoys standing in front of an audience to deliver a speech or presentation. Sure, I do get nervous before I start but it seems I thrive on my nerves; it helps keep me on top of my game. If I didn’t get nervous before giving a speech, I probably would not be giving the best I can to an audience.

I recall the first time I gave a speech to an audience. By audience, I mean adults. I had already been used to standing in front of a class of school pupils to deliver lessons. I was a teacher, after all.

Well structured. Very informative. Loved the ‘hook’ at the end.

Public speaking in front of adults, however, was a different experience. I will be honest with you, Halfway through the speech, I felt the audience was getting bored. They had gone quiet and there did not seem to still be the same level of attention and engagement which had been evident at the beginning. This is a difficult time for any public speaker and, at that time, I was completely inexperienced. So I did the worst possible thing; I rushed through to the end.

I was wrong, though. What I had taken to be a loss of interest was actually amazement. The audience had never before seen what I was demonstrating, they had never before considered it possible and they were utterly amazed by it all.

Excellent speech, very powerful, great use of language. Fantastic use of the stage.

You see, alongside my speech, which was on education technology, I was demonstrating early uses of touchscreens. At that time, few people knew touchscreens existed, let alone what you could do with them. So there I was, showing and telling them something completely new.

I am a member of Toastmasters International and also Professional Speakers Association. I start by mentioning these associations to show that I take my public speaking and presentations seriously.

Pithy and attention-grabbing.