Writing Boots

On communication, professional and otherwise.

How a writer ought to prepare for a speech

04.26.2011 by David Murray // 4 Comments

Yesterday we talked about why writers don't necessarily make good speakers. Nevertheless writers, more frequently than florists or fire fighters, are asked to speak in public. And the more successful the writer, generally, the more he or she is invited to speak—and thus, make an ass of him or herself.

We can't have that.

At the risk of offering something for free something useful (and hard-earned), here are a few tips specifically for writers who would like to stand before people and appear to be at least half as wise and a third as witty as their prose promises:

1. You are not Christopher Hitchens or Fran Lebowitz. Get it through your head.

2. Eight is enough. That's my rule of rehearsal. Eight times through is the right number, whether you'll be reading from a text and want to appear semi-sponteneous, or speaking extemporaneously and want to appear somewhat coherent. These eight rehearsals don't just take time; they take energy. During the first sessions all by yourself, your hands will sweat, and you will gasp for breath.

3. If you think you can't practice an improvised speech, you are incorrect. You simply improvise the rehearsal. Over and over again. Sometimes your second rehearsal goes better than the third. But generally, the thing keeps getting better—until it starts getting gradually worse, at which time you know you have rehearsed it enough. Now, it'll actually be much better when you have real eyeballs to look at instead of your microwave oven.

4. It's okay to read it from a script too. But the message should be this close to explosive, the delivery must be animated and the writing had better be good enough to justify your insistence on sticking to the script. Being read something dull by a dullard—that wasn't fun in any century.

5. Above all, you must believe you are the only person to be delivering this particular message. While most of the above advice is applies to anyone trying for success in public speaking, I believe writers in particular need to be connected, on an almost spiritual basis, with their message. When I have spoken on communication technology, strategy and management, I have sucked. Why? Because I knew that 500 or 1,000 other people could give that talk just as well or better. It's when I've been talking about the purpose of communication, about writing, about how people connect with other people—these are the times my eyes have welled up with tears as I've stood with one foot on my mother's shoulder and one foot on my dad's. Uh, yeah. More like that.

All this sounds like a tremendous, time-consuming pain in the ass, doesn't it? It is a tremendous pain. But no more a pain than writing a long feature story would be for a certified electrician. You are a writer! You are not a speaker! You must work hard to convince your audience otherwise!

Do it anyway. Spend the time. It's the difference between communicating a message that's important to you and memorable to an audience, and communicating another, equally important and memorable message: You are a bumbling, arrogant fool who neither knows him- or herself nor values the hundreds of human hours being wasted listening to your jumbled, empty words.

Categories // Uncategorized Tags // public speaking, rehearsal, writers

Fear and loathing at the lectern

09.02.2009 by David Murray // 4 Comments

We knew it all along: The answer to stage fright is drugs.

From the website of an outfit hawking a new drug called Bravina:

"Those who suffer from public speaking anxiety often complain of symptoms such as anxiety…"

Well, yes.

"… nervousness, anxiousness …"

Go on!

"… lack of focus or concentration, short term memory loss, increased heart rate, dizziness and shortness of breath."

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

"However, with adequate writing, preparation and specific natural supplements public speaking anxiety can be overcome."

Yes!

"Individual results with Bravina will vary; as a result, try Bravina for the first time in a controlled environment when you are not in the spotlight. When taking Bravina without public speaking anxiety you may feel a little lethargic, don't worry your stage fright on the day of your public speaking engagement will balance out the calming effects of Bravina."

And only $19.95 for this Hunter S. Thompsonian concoction of "passiflora, motherwort, St. John's wort, ashwagandha, Valerian root, Eleuthero root, panax, ginkgo biloba, and octacosanol."

It's a miracle.

Or at least it would be, were it not for that dirty little bit in the fine print about the need for "adequate writing" and "preparation."

Reminds me of my friend Eddie, who asked my pal Paul if a smoking-cessation aid he was using actually worked.

"Well, Eddie, you do have to want to quit smoking."

"Yeah," Eddie said shaking his head, "I knew it didn't work."

(Thanks to Podium Pundit Vinca LaFleur for the steer.)

Categories // Uncategorized Tags // anxiety, Bravina, public speaking, Vinca LaFleur

Now Available

An Effort to Understand

Order Now

Sign up to receive blog updates

About

David Murray writes on communication issues.
Read More

 

Categories

  • Baby Boots
  • Communication Philosophy
  • Efforts to Understand
  • Happy Men, and Other Eccentrics
  • Human Politicians
  • Mister Boring
  • Murray Cycle Diaries
  • Old Boots
  • Rambling, At Home and Abroad
  • Sports Stories
  • The Quotable Murr
  • Typewriter Truths
  • Uncategorized

Archives

Copyright © 2022 · Log in

  • Preorder An Effort to Understand
  • Sign Up for Blog Updates
  • About David Murray