Transcriber: Bruno Victor Louseiro Romão Reviewer: lisa thompson
So what is speech?
Speech or speaking can seem like a pretty mundane
and straightforward task, considering that we do it all the time.
We do it at home, we do it at school, we do it at work,
we do it in the drive-through. Everywhere.
But I believe speaking is a little bit more than that.
Speech, although is something we cannot physically see or touch,
is something that has a profound effect on each and every one of us.
For example, you can give someone a verbal uppercut without even touching them.
Your words can turn tears into laughter
and sometimes cause the odd look of confusion.
Speaking is so important that we hold events like this one,
where people from far and wide can come and share their ideas
through the power of their authentic voice.
Now, I wish could say that public speaking comes easily to all of us, but it doesn’t.
And I can tell you that for a fact, because for as long as I can remember,
and even right now, I have a strong and palpable fear of public speaking.
I’ll take you back to when I was 11 years old.
I got roped in to do a debating competition,
and I was supposed to be up giving my speech,
but instead, I was just standing there in silence.
My hands, my knees were shaking.
I was trying to keep the tears in.
I don’t know how I didn’t stop myself from crying or running out of the room,
but I somehow managed to do it.
And I wish I could say I never had to do that again
and that I never had to get up and speak, but look where we are today.
Public speaking has really taught me a thing or two throughout my lifetime.
I've only been alive for 18 years,
but throughout all my English orals
and my role as a captain in my final year of school,
public speaking has become somewhat unavoidable.
But by facing my fear and by trying to get out there and do it,
I have learned that it’s really important
to recognize these two things about public speaking:
one, that what you say really does matter,
and two, your voice has an unfathomable power;
you just have to use it,
and that can be both in the ordinary and the extraordinary.
I’ll give you example. You know when someone asks you how you’re doing?
And they’re like, So how are you?
And you’re like, Oh, I just really don’t like work.
I hate this assignment at school. I'm so tired. I'm fed up.
I just want to go home.
And that seems to be your stock standard response to anyone who asked.
But then again, it’s everyone else’s stock standard response to that question.
And I think what’s happening here is you’re hearing it all the time
and you’re saying it all the time,
and the more you do that, the more you believe it,
even if it’s not a reflection of the actual reality.
And I think that is a really pivotal example
of what speaking in your everyday life can do.
In that example, you can see that people’s voice
and what they have said have shared an idea,
and it's set a universal tone.
But on the other hand of that, I have seen this happen,
and it’s pretty remarkable.
When you’re in a situation in a room full of people
where that is kind of like the mood,
one word of optimism or one word against the status quo,
just saying something a little different can cut through all of that.
And so what you say, even in your everyday life, really does matter.
I know, like, not everything you’re going to say is groundbreaking.
“What’s for dinner” is not going to change the world.
But I think when it really does matter,
it’s important that we consider what we say.
And we also have moments of extraordinary.
For example, look at how we’ve recorded the great speeches of history,
from Aristotle to all the way up to Winston Churchill
in “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”
or Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream.”
These are the words of leaders that have inspired nations.
And so, bringing it back down to Earth,
like, we’re not all going to be speaking to the entire globe.
But we all have something that has been said to us
that we simply haven’t forgotten.
An example for me is the most memorable thing
someone has said to me was my best friend back when we were in Year Eight
and we were just talking at lunch time
and she raised this scenario with me, and she said, Mattie,
if you met someone and you actually really liked them
but you later found out that their father was a murderer,
would you still want to be friends with them?
And at the time, I said, No, and she asked me why, and I said,
Because their father is a murderer, OK?
And what she said was, But why do you judge him as if he is his father?
Why has his father's actions that he has had no control over now become his own?
Why do you judge him so?
To be completely honest,
I don’t know why 13-year-olds were talking about this at lunchtime,
but it really took me aback.
It really made me step back and consider.
It made me think about what I believed in.
And that’s what your speech can do:
It can make people step back and consider what they believe in.
So, in saying that what you say really does matter,
we should think about this quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
So, I think if we are going to say something,
we should say something that we believe in, something that’s important,
something that is true, something that you want to share with the world.
And it’s not something that social media has told you to say,
like, you’re repeating that
or you’re repeating what your friend said the other day.
It’s not something you’re compelled to say;
it's something that comes from you.
And in saying that, it can be an incredibly scary experience.
Why? Because it makes you vulnerable.
Because it makes you stick out a little bit.
But I’ll tell you one thing: Sometimes the most important thing
that you will ever say is the hardest thing you will ever say.
But in saying that, just step out there.
Share those ideas, your thoughts, your feelings with other people.
That can be just one other person or an entire room.
It is something that is tremendously valuable.
And yes, you run the risk of being wrong or embarrassing yourself
or doing a multitude of things that you never want to do in public.
But you do it in public speaking,
but you just sometimes got to step out there
because we've never learned anything without making a mistake.
And as a speech pathology student,
it has become even more apparent to me the absolute gift that your voice is
because once it’s gone, it can leave a gaping hole
in an individual’s connection to other people,
the wider world and even themselves.
It is my hope that one day
I might be able to help people find their voice once again.
So, after talking about what all speaking can do,
it's important that we use it properly to engage
and converse with people around us
because now more than ever,
I find people are just willing to shout over the top of you,
they’re willing to just cancel you or whatever else we’re doing these days.
But it’s important,
I think it really is, that we just stop and listen and we engage with people,
whether we agree with them or not, with the hope to understand, not intimidate,
talk to them as if they’re a person, not an idea.
And so, whatever you’re doing,
whether you’re giving a speech or telling someone you love them,
speak with thoughtfulness and purpose.
It can push us to our limits,
but it can also forge us into the people we were made to be.
I would not be the person I am today
if I, at 11 years old, didn’t get out on that stage, guaranteed.
Definitely a character-building moment in my life.
I would not be the person I am today
if I didn’t push myself into opportunities to use my voice,
so I encourage you to use yours.
And I know it can be hard to think that you have a voice amongst the masses,
amongst the platforms that connect billions of people around the globe
all the time,
but by trying to do something differently and with purpose,
by using your voice and speaking about your ideas,
you might have a larger impact than you might ever know
because you influence a lot more people than you might think.
A lot more people are watching you than you might ever realize.
So, by doing something differently,
they might notice a change, and they might change,
and so will the next and the next and the next.
My mom once said to me, “You can’t change the world,
but you can change how you are,
and that can make a bigger impact than you might ever know.”
So I encourage you now to find your voice,
develop your voice and talk about the things that really matter.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)