My Secret For Better Public Speaking
Did you know what you were going to do when you were 7 years old? Do you remember what your passions were, what you remember pretending and playing? According to an old proverb attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola, you can predict a lot about what people will become by studying their childhoods:
Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man.
At 7, I was well into my career in public speaking, using my grandpa’s standing pipe ashtray as a podium. Previous years had seen me preaching fire and brimstone to our pug. This became a full-time preaching job in the summer.
After watching the pastor at my small Texas Baptist church, I figured that even though I was a girl, I could still do what he did. So I started leading altar calls for neighborhood kids. After taking saltine and Kool-Aid communion from me, I gave them a handwritten card that said: You have been saved by Shanna Foust. Just in case there were any doubt.
All these years later, I’m still a public speaker but without the Baptist frame. What I’ve learned over the decades is one big secret to giving a successful speech, no matter the genre: Give your audience a gift.
Focusing on what you can give the audience takes the focus away from you, which lowers a lot of anxiety. What you can give them is information or validation or motivation. You can give them hope or vision or a goal. But make sure you’re giving them something. That your speech is about them, not about you.
Every time I plan a speech, I do it with two questions: What will I be giving my audience? What can I offer them that will benefit them immediately? As I speak, remembering that I’m there to give helps me create a warmer tone, open my gestures, be more natural in my pacing.
Try it and see if it helps you calm your nerves and focus. If you’re looking for a more structured public speaking course, watch Dr. Matt McGarrity’s YouTube lectures from his University of Washington public speaking course for free (hat tip: Open Culture).
