Two years ago, I competed, to no great distinction, in the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking in Palm Desert, California. I gave the most polished performance of my life, but among the top Toastmasters speakers in the world, I was average, at best.
I simply didn’t know how powerful a speaker could be.
I told a story about an experience that had forever changed me; one that taught me I was stronger and more capable than I had ever thought and that fear was just a feeling. It wasn’t real.
At the time, I was still laboring under the illusion that a good speech was simply a great story with a logically compelling message, as if my words could simply transfer my own revelation to the audience for their benefit.
But that’s not how it works. Second hand revelations just don’t have much impact. The top speakers in the competition were doing something altogether different than I was.
They weren’t telling me about an event. They were recreating the event for me, so I could experience it for myself.
They weren‘t telling me how the event had affected them. They were triggering the same emotions, the same revelations, the same effects in me.
They weren’t telling me what I should or shouldn’t do. They were taking me on a journey into their own life experience, a journey that taught me, or reminded me of, important universal life lessons.
It wasn’t the words of the speech that mattered, so much as the effect those words had on me.
For the first time, I saw that a speech could do more than communicate an idea. It could reach out and touch the audience, touch me, so deeply that it became unforgettable.
For the past two years, I have been struggling to apply the lessons of that incredible experience. It’s so easy to fall back on my old ways of speaking, but I know I can do better than that. I know I need to be better than that.
Because once again, this summer, I will travel to the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, this time in Orlando, Florida. I will go with the best two speeches I have ever written, but this time, I know how good I have to be. I know how powerful a speech can be; how powerful it has to be to compete with the best. I know what I need to do to compete at that level.
Now comes the hard part.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Good Luck, Rus ! Your experience & deep insights into great speech are always a new mind opener to me . I am a regular reader of your blog. I feel like you have grown up with every speeches. What really inspires me is your efforts, dedications in preparing every speeches and sharing your introspection with us. Best wishes for you…
Thank you, Dipesh. I feel like I keep learning and growing, but every time I figure something out, it just opens up a dozen new questions for me. I hope that never stops.
Great speeches are like great movies. They stay forever within us. See you in Orlando!
I’m looking forward to it, Bob.