Lets be honest. Not everyone has the talent, skill, or charisma of men like Martin Luther King, Jr. or John F. Kennedy. The rhetorical skills they possessed make most public figures pale in comparison. While I do not claim to be even comparable and worthy of mention in the same sentence as either of these men, I was taught an effective technique to prepare and present when speaking publicly. In honor of these two men, who this week both have been honored (MLK's birthday 1/15 and the 50th Anniversary of the JFK Inaugural Address 1/20), watch, listen or read some of their speeches, then come back here and finish reading my few tidbits of advice on how I have learned to speak effectively!
Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream (For those of you who want to read or take a closer look, here you go! http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm)
John F. Kennedy - Inaugural Address (Again for those who want to read or take a closer look, which I encourage, here it is. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural2.htm )
The Green Sheet:
To preface why you should take any of my advice, some background. At dear ol' Penn State students are required to take a speech class (CAS100). The various professors, as expected, teach the class differently. I was lucky enough to take this class with a professor who I considered outstanding and who made public speaking a simple concept. After successfully passing the class, I later returned to serve as the teacher's assistant for the class. So in honor of Dr. Mary Mino, I present to you, what I determine to be the main points to public speaking... What I learned from The Green Sheet.
1. Structure speeches don't write them. - This, in it's entirety, is The Green Sheet. The Green Sheet is just that, a green sheet of paper with the most important information you need to remember when speaking publicly. It outlines how to structure a speech. I know speech writers make a lot of money (Jan. 2011- starting around $41,000), however if you are going to speak on a topic, KNOW the topic. If you know the topic you can actually discuss it with your audience and not be stiff, nervous, and imagining them all in their underwear. By all means, have note cards with key points and facts to remember and sources, but don't write word for word what you want to say. People can tell when you're reading.
2. Have a residual message. - A residual message is what you want your audience to know when you are done. It's one phrase, one sentence. Think back to MLK's I have a dream speech, what do people remember from that? "I have a dream!" Heck it's the title of the speech! When you're done listening/reading you recall that MLK had a dream today that the world would become a better place. Of course he had specifics to his dream, but at the end those are the words you remember. Why? Because he tell's you over and over again. Dr. Mino always told us, when you're giving a speech you tell them what you're going to tell them, you tell them, and then you tell them what you told them. That's how you get your RM through to your audience.
There is plenty more on the topic of speeches and public speaking. This Green Sheet I speak of, I used it the rest of my way through college when writing papers. It's a system that's easy to buy into and follow. And what makes it easier is, it's effective.
*Sidenote/disclaimer... I didn't come up with The Green Sheet. Honestly I'm not sure who did, if it was Dr. Mino or someone else. For that sheer fact I didn't upload and post the sheet. BUT I'm not about keeping something good to myself. So if anyone actually wants to see it, review it, tear it apart and tell me it is wrong, let me know, I'll pass it your way!
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