So, I heard the story once about Charles Chaplin
supposedly calling Mexican actor Cantinflas,
one of the best comedians alive.
Even though he couldn't understand what he was saying
in his movies.
Whether this is rooted in reality or just
popular myth, I've always like the story and
what it implies.
Having seen Cantinflas' movies myself, I can
tell you there's no way the British actor could have
possibly understood the tangled Mexican slang Cantinflas
used in the movies.
But I can also tell you it's perfectly possible
that Chaplin did laugh at the comedian's performance,
which is brought to life by his body
as much as by his mouth. I also recall the scene
from the movie the King's Speech when
King George VI and his daughter are watching a clip
of Hitler speaking.
Papa,
What's he saying?
I don't know, but...
he seems to be saying it rather well.
That's an amazing example, even though it's Hitler.
Both examples disclose the
amazing power of public speaking. It transcends
language and therefore the literal meaning of
words put together. A great public Speaker has a
way of connecting with the audience that goes
beyond good grammar and logical train of thought.
The intonation of voice, the rhythm and
pauses, the body language
are as much a vehicle to convey beliefs or ideas as the
words themselves.
It is a rare talent to be born with; in fact, it's
actually quite the opposite: as many
great skills, it mostly depends on time,
opportunity, and practice
to attain them.
Here's my personal selection of amazing
speakers I admire. Some of them have passed away now;
some of them are alive and young; some of them are
not even real people, but fictional characters who
have taught me something about an incredible
performance.
I hope they will inspire you as much as they have
inspired me.
Hans Rosling is a Swedish medical doctor
academic, statistician and public speaker.
Few people have the ability Roslin has to explain
complex sets of data in the simplest way.
What amazes me about Hans, other than the fact
that he's absolutely brilliant, is that he's so
genuinely amazed by what he has to share with
his audience. As if every chance he gets to speak in
front of somebody is a unique opportunity to change
something in them.
Most of his conferences are in English,
which is actually not his native language. He has a
strong accent that makes every syllable sound
like a drum
but that doesn't diminish by an inch his ability to
explain himself.
He's also one of the best examples of the
importance of sharing valuable content in order
to engage with your audience. "In most countries, girls
today go to school as long as boys, more or less.
That doesn't mean that gender equity is achieved.
Not at all!
They are still confronted to terrible
terrible limitations. But schooling is there in
the world today.
We miss the majority.
When you answer, you answer according to the worst
places; and there you're right, but you miss the
majority."
The British actress who is now a UN women's goodwill
ambassador and gave a powerful speech last year
and gender inequality.
She speaks unapologetically about the stigma
of the word "Feminism".
She speaks intelligently and humbly at the same
time.
I think the reason why her speech is so good is
she talks from her own perspective, therefore
making it a more personal cause.
It's easy to relate to her because she's not
making any elaborate abstract rhetoric.
She's talking about a problem that affects
her and what she thinks can be done to deal with it.
She acknowledges that she is nervous,
(once again, empathy)
and at some point close to the end she makes a
good joke about herself with a stroke of genius,
in my opinion.
"You might be thinking
'Who is this Harry Potter girl
and
what is she doing speaking at the UN?'
And it's a really good question. I've been asking
myself the same thing.
All I know,
is that I care about this problem
and I want to make it better".
One of the most beloved American presidents of
all time, JFK, is also known to have been one of
the best public speakers to ever govern the country.
As part of his political career Kennedy gave a
significant amount of public speeches, thus
becoming a prominent orator. Here's one in
particular that is most appealing to me.
"We chose to go to the moon". Regardless of any
political views and despite the fact that the
premise of reaching the Moon was inspiring enough
by itself, the speech is exciting, inviting and
incredibly well constructed.
At one point Kennedy uses a brilliant resource to
explain how accelerated humankind has progressed
over the last decades by condensing 50,000 years
of man's recorded history in a time span of 50
years.
"...but condense if you will
the 50,000 years
of man's recorded history
in a time span of
but a half-century.
Only last week
did we develop penicillin
and television
and nuclear power,
and now if America's new spacecraft,
succeeds in reaching Venus,
we will have literally reached the stars
before midnight tonight."
How beautiful of a metaphor is that!
Not only is it used to embellish his speech but actually serves the purpose of making
something hard to grasp, accessible.
Maya Angelou was an American author, poet
actress, singer and, basically one of the most epic
women ever. Her acting training and her ease of
writing gave her a significant advantage when she
spoke, of course.
She had a slow serene pace, a deep voice that
lingered in your head. She talks slowly, pausing
after each phrase.
"You can shoot me with your words, you can cut me
with your lies, you can kill me with your hatefulness
but just like life
I rise!" As if to let people digest every word
she has to say.
You can't talk about great public speakers without
mentioning Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The humanitarian leader in the African-American
civil rights movement, was one of the best orators
of our time. His memorable speeches had an
unparalleled might in both content and delivery and
they made him one of America's greatest
intellectual leaders.
While many of his public appearances went down in
history, "I have a Dream" is without a question his
pièce de résistance.
I think there were key elements that made it so:
the repeated use of the phrase "I have a Dream" was
crucial in order for people to remember the idea.
His preaching style taken from the practice as
a Baptist minister,
and suitable for this audience that day;
the iconic scenario provided by the LincolnMemorial;
and, of course, the overwhelming promise
of the speech that rises to the end of like a
flag of victory:
"When this happens
and when we allow freedom ring
when we let it ring from every village and every
hamlet
from every state and every city,
we will be able to speed up that day when
all of God's children: black men and white men, Jews and
Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,
will be able to join hands and sing in the words
of the old negro spiritual
Free at last!
Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last!"
In 2014, American actress Ellen Page
publicly recognized being gay during her
speech at the Time of Thrive conference.
But her speech was moving not just because of
the fact that of coming out, but because of the way
she built up to acknowledging it during the
first half of the speech and the way she talked
about her own struggle afterwards. Her voice is
shaky and her body as well, and that makes you
think, "Damn! not even a beautiful talented
celebrity has it easy coming out!" But at the same
time she looks empowered by the overwhelming
support she gets the minute she says the words
"I am gay", "Because loving other people starts with
loving ourselves and accepting ourselves
and I know many of you have struggled with this
and I drop on your strength
and your support in ways that you will never know.
And I'm here today because I am gay
and because..."
Her speech is very personal and honest and her
vulnerability is the ultimate strength.
"You're an orphan, right?
Do you think I'd know the first thing about how hard your life
has been?
How you feel, who you are?
Because I read Oliver Twist?
Does that encapsulate you?
Personally,
I don't give a shit about all that because, you know what?
I can't learn anything from you, I can't
read in some fucking book
Unless you wanna talk about you.
Who you are.
And I'm fascinated.
I'm in.
But you don't wanna do that. Do you, sport?
You are terrified of what you might say."
I chose to scene for selfish reasons: The first
is I love the movie, the second is that the scene
is a turning point in the relationship of the two
characters thanks to the profound speech
Robin Williams delivers so authentically.
The third reason is this is not the ordinary easy
word pep talk that you see in the thousands,
this message is tailored to the listener and
that's why it's so touching.
A great speech doesn't require a huge auditorium,
or a massive social cause behind it. Two people
sitting on a park bench will do. Summarizing, here
are few of the simple takeaways you can take
from this prodigious speakers next time you need
to speak in public.
Know your audience and tailor your message to
that specific audience.
The use of pauses is critical. They let your
message sink in.
Use them.
An anaphora can be a powerful resource to be remembered.
Avoid posing and try not to sound
like something other than yourself. Being legit
works best every single time. I once read something
that went like this:
If someone enters a room at the end of your
speech and asks: "what is this about?" someone else
should be able to answer in one single sentence.
Even when it sounds obvious a speech or
presentation has to be about something and that
something should be clear.
Alright, thanks for watching.
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