speeches

mwuahahahahahahahahaha! i had fun today in class.
for our first graded assignment in communications, we
were put into groups that each were required to have
a half-hour long combined speech about the qualities
of an effective public speaker. for my characteristic, i
spoke about authenticity/ honesty and it went like this:

among all of the characteristics of a good public speaker, i think that authenticity or honesty is the most important both to the one speaking and the ones listening. because, i could have the perfect posture, i could wow you all with my metaphors and allusions, i could have soul-piercing eye contact, or i could even take off my glasses in a dramatic fashion, (pause) but to be honest, without my glasses i can no longer see your faces clearly. honesty is something that we all care about- that is an undeniable fact. some may not value being honest to others, but all of us value someone being honest to us. imagine this scenario: you are waiting outside the emergency room to hear the results of a surgery of mr. someone-you-care-about. suddenly, the doctor walks outside covered in blood, with a grim look on his face as he reads through his clipboard. when all hope seems lost, however, when he is ten feet away from you, his entire demeanor changes and he's got that unexplainable happiness that only doctors have. he puts his hand on your shoulder, looks you dead in the eye, and says "don't worry, mr. someone-you-care-about is going to be alright." how convinced would you be that he spoke to you with authenticity? now, i'm using this as an example to illustrate the importance of being genuine with an audience. often times, when we prepare for a speech, we worry about how we look, how we sound, and how we can appeal to the audience- and yes, that is all important, but it is secondary to what the speaker truly believes. what good would it be to win over a crowd to a side that goes against what you stand for? in my own life, one of the people that have influenced my values is my dad, who constantly reminds me to be open with him. although we don't talk on a daily basis, i know that whenever we do have a conversation, he is ready to tell me everything that is on his mind. sometimes, when he is giving me advice, it sounds more like he is ranting- but in that ranting i see a great example of authenticity. and even though i don't listen to every detail that he tells me, i appreciate him for being on that level of transparency with me. that sense of trust is vital to an effective speech and can only be obtained when there is mutual honesty. of course, speaking with authenticity is easy when an audience is in agreement with the speaker. what happens when what you say may offend those that are listening or if the people are turned off by your genuineness? for example, if a thief were to say to his fellow thieves, "hey, i think stealing is wrong," do you think they would respond, "you know...you're right! let's start a non-profit organization!" no! instead, they would probably shank him! therefore, authenticity in the face of opposition is made useless without courage. you see, i'm a Christian and so, i believe in the bible, that it is God's word one-hundred percent. but, if i do not have the courage to say (pause) "we all have fallen short and sinned and deserve hell, but God in His mercy sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that we may be forgiven and He rose from the grave defeating death so that whomever believes in Him shall have eternal life and enjoy God forever"- if i don't have the courage to say that in front of a class or even one person, then i won't be able to effectively speak to anyone! we care so much about how we look, how we sound, or how we can appeal to the audience, but no! we must remember that an effective public speaker must first be willing to sacrifice the favor of his audience (pause) for the sake of his message. even if, in
the end, he himself is the only one who believes in it.

to transition to our closer, named casey, i said in my thug voice,
"somebody give me a beat!" as i expected, no one gave me a beat
and i received a bunch of confused expressions. then i said, "nah,
i'm just kidding. i'm not rapping for you today- but casey is going
to be wrapping things up, (looking at casey) so take it away."
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let me be a child again, to be in the midst of uncertainty, but to
know that my Father is in control and to find peace in His goodness.
before giving this speech i was praying that no matter what happened,
even if i mumbled and stuttered during the first half, that God would
sustain in my heart the boldness of Christ to preach the gospel and
He did! of course, my mission still stands, there are still some who
heard my speech today and completely ignored the ending. but for
those that were listening, i could see across the room a mixture of
smiles and frowns. whether or not there are brothers or sisters in my
class, i do not know and i can only trust in God to reveal that to me.
whatever happens, i know that i am blessed beyond i could ever know.