Speaking to an audience is an awesome responsibility. When you speak to a thousand listeners for thirty minutes you have used five hundred hours of human life. Only a few speakers are great but many could be better by recognizing both the science and art of speaking. Like great musicians, there must first be a natural talent, then years and years of coaching and practice to achieve the art. The basics are the science and the nuances the art. In this article I'm attempting to share my personal experience as a former professional speaker and lifelong student of communication. There is so much to say, but I want to talk a little about preparation and hope that it is helpful.
1. Prepare your attitude
Speaking starts with attitude -- attitude colors every word, every gesture and body language. Whenever my wife, Mary Alice, is with me it is her responsibility before I speak to check my attitude. She senses it just as an audience would sense it, without being able to define what they sense. Attitude creates the environment,
My checklist runs something like this: do I feel obligated to speak or privileged? Am I prepared, therefore confident? Do I know what is expected of me? Do I know what I expect to accomplish? Am I sure of my opening so I won't be tentative or negative? Do I like the people I'll be speaking to?
All these affect the attitude. Anyone who feels the audience is fortunate in having them speak is prostituting the opportunity.
2. Prepare your content
Preparation means content, content, content. A speaker's self-respect and sense of responsibility should start with content. If there is no content, there is no reason to speak
Preparation is the price we pay for the privilege of speaking. A young man after hearing Zig Ziglar speak to an audience of many thousands asked him, "Mr. Ziglar , how can I get a big crowd like this to listen to me?" Zig asked him, "What do you want to say?" And the young man said, "I'll think of something." He wanted the spotlight, not the hard work of preparation.
On the other hand, Spurgeon poured from a full cup. The best communication comes out of the overflow. His sermons poured over as did his tabernacle. The audience should always feel that there is so much more in the spring from which this flowed.
It's insulting to hear a speaker who has nothing to say but insists on saying it. He is like the young man of whom E.B. White said, "He has a shirt tail full of type and a yen to yell." Whenever I begin thinking of the honor of having been asked, I immediately shift to the responsibility of being asked, a responsibility that demands preparation. I'm always suspicious of a speaker who covers a weak presentation with "God gave me this message." God's message is gospel - concise - not rambling. It is good to know the message was thought up as well as prayed down. Yelling or repetition can't substitute for serious preparation.
3) Prepare for the occasion
Each occasion should have its own special preparation. Speech notes, like bread, soon get stale. In each preparation there must be the yeast of newly discovered truth; exciting, new and expanded insights; and practiced application.
4) Prepare your stories
Stories are the power in speaking. Whenever Paul was losing his audience he told them about the Damascus experience… the truer the story, the better the illustration. Humility is required to be a good storyteller. A wealthy businessman asked me to help sharpen his speaking and I asked him, "Can you tell a story?" He said, "No, my ego won't let me." Neither could he become a highly effective speaker. Stories last longer than pronouncements. When using personal illustrations, it's good to remember that people can see through you. If you are not willing to be seen, stay away from personal illustrations. Extemporaneous humor is always best and it should never seem contrived. Let it be natural, coming as an illustration or a psychological break but never an interruption or distraction.
5) Prepare your delivery
My friend, Dr. Ramesh Richard, eminent professor, was told by a symphony conductor that he always memorized the score so he could concentrate on the orchestra's performance. Immediately Ramesh stopped using notes, whether preaching in a church or as the closing speaker at the huge Promise Keepers meetings. Not everyone has his superior mind nor more importantly, his superior discipline. Too often, once I have my notes I feel I've completed my preparations. I don't mention this as a threat but, rather, a challenge -- some can, some can't. Proper organization helps tremendously in working without notes it is good to have such command of your material that you can concentrate on the presentation and on the audience's reception.
Finally, never let your preparation show nor expect the audience to appreciate the material simply because it cost you a lot of effort. I have a rule of thumb that it probably takes me one hour of preparation for each minute that "I talk." This allows it to seem natural and the more extemporaneous it seems, the more personal and fresh it will be. A lady asked my friend Jack Modesett, teacher of a large Sunday School class, "When you stand up, do you just open your mouth and it all comes out?" He answered, "Of course." He didn't tell her about the twenty-five to thirty hard hours of study he had put in that week. She wanted to believe that what seemed extemporaneous is effortless. Masters of any art make it seem effortless; preparation makes it so.
