SIR, IT IS TIME TO END YOUR SPEECH!

The valedictory function of the conference was to start at noon and the chief guest was given a time schedule of 20 minutes to deliver the address. The few hundred participants were waiting for their farewell lunch and to leave the venue for their home after a three-day hectic participation. The speaker overshot his time and it was more than an hour and he was continuing his delivery with least regard for the time or the patience of the audience.  And hence the slip to the speaker on the stage… “Sir, it is time to end your speech!”

Flashing a big smile on his face the speaker continued saying “I have been asked to end my speech as it is getting late; nevertheless, it is time to share my candid views with you” – and he continued. Lunch getting cold, delegates leaving the auditorium to rush to their airports for their early evening flights… “the chaos” as the epilogue of a well-organized conference!!

Well, Public speaking is indeed an art and one should know ‘how and when to end the speech … as much as one knows how to start a speech!”

The context, the time, the venue, the nature of the audience, the psyche and mood of the audience, the subject matter, the choice of language, the modulation, the pitch, the body language and several other things matter when one gets up on a stage to speak to an audience.  Drawing the rapt attention of the audience and sustaining it till one completes the speech is indeed a great skill. The articulation of words to convey the desired meaning, the element of humor that would keep the audience light, joyous and listening must be kept in mind and timed properly to keep the listener guessing and motivated to listen to the next word, sentence and message.

A corporate CEO who delivered an inaugural speech in a National Sales Meet filled his presentation with so much of data – that audience were wondering what message he wanted to convey… Data are only staple display of the raw material. what is important is what flows out of it. what impact it would make to the people who listen or to the company who have gathered the data…!!

In an annual sports festival, the athletes and the sportspersons are already tired of exercising their body and the mind, and are keen to receive their medals, rather than listening a treatise on the historical evolution of the game. the wit and wisdom of the orator has no place on that stage!

An internationally celebrated psychologist on a visit to guess lectures delivered a 90-minute speech based on the power point presentation he had – which had the sub-headings of all the topics in his book and finally he read out each of them. the audience leaving with a total disappointment.

A novelist, an author – with a few best-selling books to his credit, presented pros-cons of an issue – finally the audience leaving ‘confused’ – wondering whether he was supporting or opposing or taking a neutral stand.

A celebrated motivational speaker uses all his theatrical skills in delivery – the audience losing their focus on his style, rather than content.

And delivery a public speech needs a lot of preparation, thinking! Mark Twain says “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech!”

In any reasonably good public delivery of a speech, the audience in the gathering need to relate the essence of the speech to their own context, life style, work station and social existence. As the gap between the needs of the audience and the message of the speaker increases, the charm of the speech gets liquidated and the speaker loses his vote in the audience.

A clap from an audience is indeed encouraging to the speaker, but it is not a stamp of a quality speech. Humorous engagement with audience is a display of the light-hearted speaker, but by the end of his delivery, if there is neither a message nor an indirect hint to what should have been said, the purpose is lost. The speaker may become a populist, but not engaging!

“Brevity is the soul of Wit” said Shakespeare. It is said “If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour. “

In a business environment, delivery of the content must be brief, focused, leading and stimulating.  It is not only time that is money, but the words of the leader to his team are also raw materials for productivity and hence the consequent results. Sometimes it writes the balance sheet for the next budget year in the minds of the employees in a nanosecond.  

As Alexander Gregg puts it “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.”

And all that has to be done in the given schedule of time - much before one gets a note on the podium “Sir! It is time to end your speech.”