Steve Jobs - Commencement Speech at Stanford

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Speak And Grow Rich

Most people would rather go to the dentist to have a root-canal done than to make a speech in front of a live audience . Standing and speaking in front of a group of colleagues or strangers can send the toughest person into cold sweat and tongue-tied . Understandingly so, for public speaking is supposedly to be the number one fear of most people.

Stand Out From The Crowd
Nowadays, presentations are events that occur daily in the corporate world. Whether you are a junior staff member or a managerial executive , there are times you’ll find yourself having to do or sit in at a presentation. If you aspire to be a leader in your profession or to move up the corporate ladder quickly, its time you overcome the fear in public speaking and learn to communicate effectively.

Gone were the days where the most qualified person will get the job.
In the new economy, if everything else remains equal, the candidate who can articulate and present his or her thoughts well, will get the job. Because he or she seems to possess more self-confidence and will most likely be able to perform just as well.

And the best thing is educational qualifications have no direct implication on the way you can give a good speech.
Just keep in mind the following 4 steps (L.A.C.Y.), used by many experienced speakers, you will also be able to deliver a memorable speech as well.

Location
Find out from the organiser where is the place that you are supposed to make your speech.
• Is the location a lecture room type, an auditorium or an open hall? Eg.If there are 20 people in a room meant for 80 , it will make the room looks empty so shifting of chairs may be required.
• Are visual aids – OHP, flip chart, whiteboard, visualiser, power-point , microphone - available ?
• Seating arrangement – Is it clustered, horse-shoe, classroom or theatre _style_?
• Air-condition and lighting – where are the control switches and electrical power outlets located in case you need to use them

Audience
Find out who your target audience is. If possible get hold of an audience profile from the organiser . Important points to note are :
• The size of the audience
• The age group
• The make-up of the genders
• The educational or professional level
• The social background

This will help you in your preparation of your speech correctly in terms of the language and the content. Knowing your audience in advance will also help you to dress appropriately for the occasion. Involve your audience and think of them as friends who want you to succeed and as people you talk to regularly.

Content
Be clear about the purpose of your speech. Write it down as this would form the basis for structuring your main points. Most speeches fall into one of four general purposes.

• To inform: You present a speech to inform when you want your audience to learn about a new subject , develop a new skill or learn more about a subject they already know something about, e.g. Lectures, briefings and demonstrations.

• To persuade: A persuasive speech strives to change the audience’s attitudes and behaviour, or to convince the audience to accept or approve your point of view, e.g. Sales presentations, campaign speeches.

• To inspire: Inspirational speeches motivate people to achieve noble goals or reach their highest potential. They draw on emotions and sentiment e.g. A commencement speech.


• To entertain: An entertaining speech strives to amuse or provide enjoyment for the audience. Most speeches can be entertaining without being laugh-out-loud funny by simply including anecdotes, e.g. Humorous speeches.

Your first step in crafting your speech is to decide what to talk about. The world is full of possible speech topics. Select the best one for you and your audience. The next step in preparing your speech is to logically assemble your ideas into a sequence that will help you to achieve your _object_ive. Your speech should consist of :

1. An introduction - Tell them what you are going to tell them.
2. Body – Tell them.
3. Conclusion – Tell them what you told them.

You
Once you have organised your content, spend time rehearsing your delivery. Practice can really make your speech perfect. It can make a difference between a lackluster presentation and a memorable one.
Instead of thinking that you are a speaker, consider yourself a messenger and you are here to deliver a message. This will shift some attention from you and relieve some tensions. People who focus on their speeches instead of themselves, find that they can warm up to an audience immediately.

Show-time
When you start delivering your speech, look at one person at a time in the audience. He or she may be someone you know or just someone who seems friendly. Make eye contact and smile. Then move on to the next person and continue to build rapport with the audience. Maintain suitable facial _expression_ and stand up straight. Do not slouch and do have a good posture. Be your natural self.

With these tips, you should be able to treat your audience to a much better time. If you are still not confident about your speaking skills or have any unanswered questions on speech presentation, consider going for training to overcome this . Sign up for a Public Speaking workshop or join the Toastmasters Club to brush up your skills.
At the end of the day, you will realise that public speaking is definitely a more enjoyable and rewarding experience than going to the dentist.




Article contributed by Charles Loh, a Toastmaster and a member of the Asia Entrepreneur Association.
Email: enquries@asiaea.org Web : www.asiaea.org

The world had changed. In the past, 70's to 80's, or even 90's, many had the idea of only "Work to Grow Rich". They believed that only through hard works and only hard works could make "them" earn salary and thus make them rich.

As the world and economy "grew", more are focusing on knowledge instead of hard works. However, to get more knowledge, they may read tonnes and tonnes of books that cost a lot of time. Businesss then emerges at this moment as people are finding ways to get shorter time to gain more knowledge and ideas.

Then, seminars began to grow. More people are ready to pay and receive new and latest information, statistics and analysis. In line with this growth, the demand of "good" speakers also rises. While some are still waiting for "businessman" to be discovered, others have already become their own manager, CEO, publisher or even their marketing department.

Moral of the story: MOUTH ARE NOT ONLY FOR EATING PURPOSE!!!!!

Recently after giving a speech at a Toastmasters’ meeting, a fellow member came up to me and told me that despite having done many speeches himself, he still has fear speaking in front of an audience.
He asked me what can he do to overcome this situation and develop more confidence in public speaking.
Here I share with you the secrets used by many professional and experienced speakers to overcome this situation and also to excel in public speaking.
They use this formula called P.A.V.E. :- Preparation, Affirmation, Visualization and Enthusiasm.

1 Preparation
One key to success in public speaking is to be well prepared. The first things you’ll need to find out are:
a. Location – where is the speech supposed to take place? Is it in a classroom type, an auditorium or a function room?
b. Audience – who are the people attending ? Are they students, Executives, women onl ?
c. Content – what is your speech _object_ive? Are you to inform, persuade, motivate or entertain?

The other key to a successful speech is self –confidence. And the best way to achieve this is by doing your home work. Research your material well and write out your speech. After doing that, practice and rehearse your speech several times until it becomes a natural. Remember the phrase “Practices make perfect”, it is true because the more you practice , the better you’ll become. Since you have practiced and have memorized your speech well , you will be more confident and focused. And you will definitely perform better.

2 Affirmation
Affirmation which simply means by telling yourself something repeatedly, you will eventually believe it. This is true of positive as well as negative messages because our sub-conscious mind cannot differentiate between positive or negative messages. In this instance use positive self-talk like:

1. You are a unique and irreplaceable.
2. You are a good speaker.
3. You are an authority on the subject .
4. You can influence others.
5. The audience will like you.

By repeating positive self-talk on yourself, your sub-conscious mind might just believe you and your confidence will soar. And with self-belief not only can you give a good speech, you can also move mountains.

3 Visualization
Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) , a science which has something to do with the programming of the mind. Visualization a powerful tool for self-improvement is one of the subjects from NLP. When you visualize or mental rehearse, you are actually using the skill for real. You are going through the whole motion of what you intended to do except that it is in your mind. Nearly all top athletes, including Tiger Wood and Andre Agassi, acclaimed actors, professional speakers and peak performers in any field visualize themselves going through each step in their routine and successfully achieving their goals.

4 Enthusiasm.
Just remember that when you are asked to speak at an event, it is a privilege. Speak with enthusiasm and passion because the audience can sense that a speaker is half-hearted and unprepared.
Audience perceive an enthusiastic speaker as confident and convincing , and regard him favorably. Most likely they will accept what he said.
On the other hand , an unprepared speaker will mumble through his speech. Not only does he lose credibility , he would have wasted other peoples' time and also bore the audience to death.


If giving great speeches are goals you aspire to achieve, just remember that great speakers are not born and confident speaking skills is not science but an art which can be developed by using the P.A.V.E. formula.
Preparation, Affirmation, Visualization and Enthusiasm , use them to overcome your fear of public speaking and to be a better speaker .


Article contributed by Charles Loh, a Toastmaster and a member of the Asia Entrepreneur Association.

Email: admin@asiaea.org
Web: www.asiaea.org