Speaking Essentials

“All speaking is public speaking whether it is to one person or a thousand”

                                                -Roger Love

An integral part of communication is public speaking. Effective public speaking basically means articulating your thoughts to people or an individual so that your target audience gets a good grasp you what you said. The higher you move up the corporate ladder, the more you will need this skill. It’s an art, and the sole way of mastering any art is practice. Unlike written communication such as emails, essays and articles, where what matters is just the words and content, effective public speaking requires you to focus equally on language, precision, humor, engagement, assertiveness, tone, body language, etc. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in the joint meeting of the U.S. Congress exemplifies the above mentioned things. Some of the oratory skills that can be learnt from his speech are-

1 - Connect and engage with the audience.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”

Anonymous

PM Modi embarked on his speech by describing his visit to the Arlington National Cemetery. He applauded the great sacrifices of men & women in the service of mankind. Highlighting similarities and common connections between you and your audience is a great way to keep your audience engaged. During the course of his speech he emphasized this parallelism many times, some of instances are:

•  He said,” Our nations may have been shaped by differing histories, cultures, and faiths. Yet, our belief in democracy for our nations and liberty for our countrymen is common. The idea that all citizens are created equal is a central pillar of the American constitution. Our founding fathers too shared the same belief and sought individual liberty for every citizen of India.”
• He also described instances where the thinkers of the two nations impacted one another, such as how Thoreau’s idea of civil disobedience influenced India’s political thoughts, how Gandhi’s non-violence inspired the heroism of Martin Luther King, the impact of U.S. Constitution on the Indian Constitution and how American Universities are nurturing institutes of technology and management in India.

2 – Express your gratitude towards the audience.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others”

                                      Marcus Tulleius Cicero

You are expected to be grateful to your audience, just for the fact that they took some of their precious time out from their schedule to listen to you. PM Modi thanked the U.S. Congress for passing the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, for standing by India in times of sorrow and for the solidarity shown by the U.S. Congress during terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

3 – Humor

“Humor is a rubber sword- it allows you to make a point without drawing blood”

                                                         Mary Hirsch

Humor in your speech relaxes the audience and helps the audience to better remember your point. PM Modi effectively used humor when he said, “I am informed that the working of the U.S. Congress is harmonious. I am also told that you are well-known for your bipartisanship. Well, you are not alone. Time and again, I have also witnessed a similar spirit in the Indian Parliament, especially in our Upper House. So, as you can see, we have many shared practices.”

He also made a reference to Siri (An intelligent voice assistant part of Apple Inc’s iOS), when he said,” Siri tells us that India’s ancient heritage of Yoga has over 30 million practitioners in the U.S. It is estimated that more Americans bend for yoga than to throw a curve ball”. Further, he sarcastically said India has not yet claimed Intellectual Property Right (IPR) on yoga, taking a dig at America’s obsession with IPRs.

4- Explain how the audience will benefit from their ideas.

If your thoughts and ideas only cater to your purpose without accruing any benefit for the audience, nobody is going to pay heed to such ideas. So it is very important to create a win-win situation. PM Modi did this when he said that India could an ideal partner for U.S. businesses searching for new areas of economic growth, market for goods and skilled resources, thus, accentuating the fact that both nations stand to gain in great measure. He also said how India and U.S. could combine their strengths in science, technology and innovation to combat illiteracy, poverty, hunger and diseases.

Thus by incorporating the above elements in your public speaking, you can also drastically change how enthusiastically other people listen to you and get your ideas conveyed in an effective manner.