In college, I read Dale Carnegie's books. He is right on the money about almost everything, even after almost a hundred years. At Brigham Young, we modeled a game after the principles from one of his books, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Public Speaking. It was called "The Impromptu Speech Contest," and it involved four principles:
1. Open with an attention-grabbing story
2. Give one or two supporting points
3. Summarize
4. End with a challenge or a witty remark.
With no apriori preparation, the contestant had to speak for one minute about a topic of the choice of the defendants. Things to avoid:
1. "Um, I'm not really prepared."
2. "Um, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Danny."
3. "Um."
After you have given your speech, stop. Don't continue to talk if you feel like you have to fill time. You're only rambling. Sit down! No one ever complained about a meeting that ended early.
We practiced and rehearsed during the years 2000-2002 and yesterday, in church, they called me up to talk with zero notice. I stood up, marched to the stand, gripped both sides of the podium, and said, "Good morning, my name is Danny." I gave my talk and sat down. Heidi told me it was good. Afterward, the people talked to me about it and I said, "It's just like the impromptu speech contest!"
I wonder if Ryan Seacrest would be good at that. He seems adroit on the stage of American Idol. I could use some speaking lessons, but I already have a good foundation from Dale Carnegie.
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1 comments:
I'll always remember our entertaining speeches. Few in particular stick out to me, but I do remember how uncomfortable most people were with it when we would introduce them to the idea. It was pretty fun, even though I don't think I was particularly good at it. I'm glad it paid off in your ward yesterday! Good old Dale.
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