The Art of Elocution #Aagaaz #Day28

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I’ll be brutally honest, public speaking is extremely stressful. Once in the limelight, it can remind you of all the mistakes you’ve ever made, relive all those embarrassing high school moments and recall all those unpleasant memories. But guess what? You’re not alone. Almost everybody feels this way at least once. But the good news is, the fear disappears. Charlie Chaplin once said, 
‘Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles.’ 
This quote is absolutely true as change is the only constant in this world. Thus, believe in yourself and take that leap of faith. 
"Take that Leap of Faith"
Public speaking can’t be learnt through studying books, reading articles or hearing someone explain it to you. Even if you try to practice by yourself, chances are it won’t help you as your real talent only comes out in real situations and not make-belief simulations. That’s why, sometimes it’s better to take that leap of faith as I mentioned before. Go crazy! Best case scenario: you’ll not make a fool out of yourself and win over the audience. Worst case scenario: you’ll have a really funny story to narrate to your friends and family. So you see, it’s a WIN-WIN situation really. Confidence can win things you never imagined possible. 

Be Confident
Everything is secondary, trust me on this. The people may or may not pay attention to what you’re speaking, but they for sure will notice your confidence, either willingly or unwillingly. Our subconscious is super powerful. It picks up on things our eyes don’t notice and our ears fail to hear. Your confidence will be felt in the entire room. The body language, the fluency of your words, your gestures, the way your body moves while delivering the speech, everything matters. So make sure this tops your list. Remember, ‘Fake it till you make it.’ Fake your confidence and you won’t even realize how easily you’ll gain it along the way. 


Engage your audience
The second most important thing is engaging your audience. If the audience isn’t enthusiastic or responsive after you’ve set your foot on the stage, then they will probably doze off during your speech. To keep your audience awake and happy, make sure you take proper pauses during your speech. Voice modulation is crucial here. Raise your voice to highlight the important parts of your speech so that the judges and the audience pay extra attention to it. Also, do this every once in a while to wake up that guy falling asleep in the last row. But, don’t overdo it. Or else you’ll be that yelling idiot who made everyone’s eardrums bleed. Just make sure your speech doesn’t sound as if you memorized it and then blurted out. Add a little personal touch to it. Execute it in your very own unique manner and everyone will surely appreciate it. 


Read Books!
Now, I have to let you guys in on a little secret. Read books. LOADS and LOADS of books. Just imagine, unlimited stories where you make friends with the characters, accompany them on their adventures and altogether, get lost in a world of your own. Who wouldn’t like that? The crux of what I’m trying to say here is, books help build your vocabulary. Not just words and their synonyms, but proper phrases you can’t learn anywhere else. For example I just said that I have to let you guys in on a little secret. Letting someone ‘in’ and ‘on’ a secret? What the bloody hell could this possibly mean? That’s what you thought, right? This is what I’m trying to explain. You don’t necessarily learn things while being mindful, you just grasp their meanings along the way. That is precisely what happens when you read a book. You’ll find yourself using words and phrases you don’t even properly know the meaning of. 8 out of 10 times, you’ll use it correctly. Other times, just enlighten yourselves. See, again a win-win situation. 



You’ll pass or you’ll learn, there is nothing in between. So go grab a book, take an insanely amount of leaps of faith and don’t hold back. Ever.

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