I’ve always been impressed by someone who can step up to the
podium at a sacrament meeting and successfully walk the line between reading
straight off their prepared talk and rambling about random tangents that are in
no way related to the subject.
I am one of those people who is constantly correcting people’s
grammar in my mind. There are days when I realized that I spent the entire
fifteen minutes someone was talking, simply editing their work and not reaping
any benefits from what they were saying. It is for this reason in particular that I value form and
organization in public speaking.
When someone has a really well phrased speech, and then they
have stories to keep me interested, and then
they bring things to my attention that I had never really thought of, that is
when I get the most out of a talk.
My last bishop in my home singles ward was the perfect
example. He spoke recently about a variety of struggles that he has observed
during his time of being the bishop of a YSA ward. His points were solid, but
there wasn’t much that I hadn’t already heard time and time again.
Why then was I still riveted? What made his delivery of the
topic so relieving compared to others?
Style. Tone. Form.
First off, he was confident in what he was saying. There was
no “umm”-ing or hesitancy.
Secondly, he didn’t lecture us, but he wasn’t giving us a
feel good talk either. He was being real.
Third, his form was impeccable. He gave stories and
metaphors that we could relate to on a personal level. He had order in his talk,
but it was not rigid structure.
That is the fine line that I believe we must
follow. We must do our best and bring what we have prepared and then we must be
willing to let the Holy Ghost direct us and influence those in attendance.
I like that you emphasized those three particular concepts. If a speaker han an unappealing style or tone, or if their form is lacking, it makes it so much easier to sink back into our own minds and not reap those benefits of their speech. Your bishop must be a great orator.
ReplyDeleteSpeakers have a lot to compete with. Especially now days with smart phones and other such things. I know that I get get distracted very easily as an audience member. However when I speaker has that attributes that you described and that speaks with confidence so that you know they actually care, its hard not to listen to them, despite a burning desire to check the score of the game. I also agree that the spirit can't draw from an empty well, so we will get the most out of a speech for ourselves if we prepare before hand to recieve it.
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