The Art of Public Speaking

& The & Art & of & Public & Speaking &

The Art of Public Speaking has been used by persuasive speakers since the beginning of time.

In fact, the course of human history and personal destiny has changed more by the spoken word than by the written word.

Consider this:

Many of the major turning points in your own life happened when someone said something to you that affected you so profoundly that ever afterwards your thinking, your feelings and your actions were different. The same has been so for large crowds – even countries – when they have listened to successful leaders who know how to speak effectively in public.

There is nothing more important for you than to become really, really good at the art and science of expressing yourself in words to other people.

I’m going to share with you some of the most important ideas I’ve learned in the art of public speaking that you can use, starting immediately, to become more effective and more persuasive in your interactions with others.

At my seminars around the country, people often come up to me and say, “I would like to do what you do. How do I get started?”

Whenever someone asks me how they can become a public speaker, I always refer them to the book Eloquence in Public Speaking written by Dr. Kenneth McFarland. McFarland, who passed away in 1985, is also known as the “Dean of American Public Speakers,” and in his book he didn’t talk about methodology or technique at all.

His central message, which influenced me very strongly when I began speaking publicly, was that the key to eloquence is the emotional component that the speaker brings to the subject.

To put it another way, the starting point of being an excellent speaker is for you to really care about your subject. I watched Wally “Famous Amos” give a talk years and years ago. He started with very little and built up an extraordinarily successful chain of chocolate chip cookie stores. He has since devoted much of his time and money to helping people who are less fortunate, especially those having problems with illiteracy.

He is not necessarily an accomplished public speaker, but the talk that he gave was absolutely excellent. And the reason was because he spoke from his heart. He spoke with a deep concern and compassion about the needs of people who couldn’t read. His eloquence came because he really cared about his subject and everyone listening could sense that emotion even though his structure and his style may not have been as polished as someone who had spoken for many years.