communication burden

You must have something to say or else the need to communicate will be non-existent. As simple as the statement sounds, it is the foundation for every public speaking assignment. If there is no message to be conveyed, public speaking should not be attempted. This seems to be the underlying theme in the words of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ‘Let your word be better than silence, or be silent’. So the first burden in communication is that there must be a message that must compel the messenger to want to address an audience.

The second burden would be to understand the subject thoroughly or at least to an extent that would help you to be able to speak intelligently about it. This seems to be the moral of the words of Cato the Elder, who said: “Get the point, the words will follow.” The topic must be thoroughly understood first, as that is the first step you need to take in your offer to communicate with your audience. When you understand the topic, you will be able to express your thoughts on the topic in many ways and there will be no need to memorize any material unduly.

After taking the previous step, the next step would be to find a purpose for your presentation and work towards it. This is when you need to identify what kind of speech you want to make, be it informative, motivational, transformational, entertaining, etc. William Hazzlit’s words readily come to mind here: ‘In public speaking, we must either appeal to the prejudices of others or to the love of truth and justice. If we think merely of showing our own ability, we will ruin all the causes we undertake.’

It’s not about what you say, but how you say it, it’s just as important. The salient point to note here is that your delivery and presentation skills should play a major role in the overall success of your public speaking assignment. Tim Salladay captures it aptly in these words: “It’s not how strongly you feel about your subject, but how strongly they feel about your subject after you speak.” Another perspective on this is in the way Carl W. Buechner puts it: ‘They may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.’ This is a clear call for the pathos component of the discourse to complement the logos and ethos components.

You can never go wrong with a certain measure of eloquence, which is why Oliver Wendell Holmes seems to say in the following words: ‘Speak plainly, if you speak at all; Carve each word before you drop it.’ The ability to be able to pronounce words clearly and accurately will always be to your advantage as a public speaker. Finally, in the words of Dorothy Sarnoff, ‘Make sure you’re done talking before your audience is done listening.’