Afraid of Public Speaking?
Richard Kummins, a former president of the Daybreakers Toastmasters Club in Houston and a member for 8 years, won 2nd place in 1998 in the Toastmasters District 56 Evaluation Speech Contest. In 1999 and 2000, he led educational sessions at the Houston area conventions.
Mr. Kummins is a veteran of 12 Dale Carnegie classes, the last 11 as a graduate assistant, and was invited to become an instructor.
He also teaches Junior Achievement at Spring Oaks Middle School in Houston.
Mr. Kummins has conducted seminars on public speaking at the Texas Medical Association's annual retreat, Mary Kay Associates, Interfaith Ministries, Compaq Computer, and other organizations. He offers some of his insights and suggestions on public speaking in the following interview.
Personal Development (PD): What makes a successful speech or presentation?
Richard Kummins (RK): A successful speech is determined strictly by the audience. Most people judge a speech as successful when the speaker is successful. Good material is important, but the speaker is the 90% factor.
A good speaker is animated, is an effective salesperson, and answers the pre-eminent audience concern, "What's in it for me?" He motivates the audience to action, changes its way of thinking about a subject, or offers some other benefit, such as providing comedy or a fascinating story. She is an interesting person, NEVER boring; is time-accountable; and involves the audience with eye contact, pitch variation, questions, or light challenges. Finally, a good speaker seems to speak to each person.
PD: Does public speaking come naturally only to a lucky few?
RK: Some people are naturally charismatic and gregarious, seem comfortable in front of others, and may be good storytellers. But for the vast majority, public speaking is a contact sport that it is learned in the arena, after absorbing essential guidelines and practices.
PD: What makes public speaking so difficult for so many people? What are the obstacles?
RK: Public speaking ranges from difficult to deadly terror for much of the population. I see a combination of factors . . . childhood criticism from parents and teachers, the message that one's never quite good enough, the compulsive need to be perfect and so not attempting difficult things. People can be afraid of all sorts of things, from the real possibility of memory failure to the unreal possibility of death. Then there is the fear of impromptu events that can't be controlled, like hostile crowds, or a question you can't answer immediately, or not being "clever" enough.
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