Yes, there's those words again "public speaking". You might be like me when I used to hear those words and think: "what on earth is public speaking?" You see, my background is as an actor and a comedian; so technically I do public speaking already.
So I decided to do a little bit of investigation, don't ya just love the web?
Basically public speaking is not necessarily talking to the general public. It covers delivering speeches or presentations in business meetings, speeches at weddings or funerals as well as inspirational and motivational speeches.
Ah, so now we're getting somewhere.
In my mind public speaking can sit nicely alongside stand-up comedy. Now, I say that not wanting to put anybody off public speaking because they think they have to be funny. Because they don't. What I mean is that fundamentally stand-up involves you standing before an audience as yourself and speaking. The difference with public speaking is that you're not required to be funny. If you are then that's an added bonus. But you don't have to get the same amount of laughs as a comedian does.
A good place to start your public speaking career, or to get practise for your job, is to go along to a Toastmasters public speaking club. Toastmasters was established in the U.S. and has been around since 1924. It's now an international organisation.
There are two things that you can do. The first is to find as many Toastmasters clubs near you go along and participate in the Table Topics part of the evening. This entails a more experienced member coming up with a topic which fellow members and guests can be called upon to talk off-the-cuff for up to a minute-and-a-half.
Unlike a comedy club, you will get constructive and supportive feedback as well as suggestions for improvement from fellow members. This is very useful if you have a one off speech or a couple of speeches that you know that you have to give. By doing this you gain valuable stage time in front of a friendly crowd, which allows you to develop your confidence and delivery.
The second thing you could do is if you find that you enjoy is to become a member. They have a manual that assigns ten speeches which you can usually complete over the course of a year or so, because obviously there are other members wanting to do speeches and you should probably leave about a month or so between each speech you write.
Each assignment focuses on different skills such as structure, vocal variety and use of gestures. Once you complete your first 10 speeches you gain a “Competent Communicator” (CC) award which is an internationally recognised achievement. You also have the option to become a “Competent Leader” (CL) at the same time by undertaking a different series of assignments.
It is worth noting that you can only take part in speeches and earn your CC award if you become a member. Not only that but they also have various competitions which you can participate in such as a Humorous Speech contest (useful for our needs), a Table Topics Contest and an International Contest.
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