Tabuada Soma.pdf

7/24/2019 Tabuada Soma.pdf

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8

HOW TO

REMEMBERSPEECHESThis chapter is for public speakers. You might be a barrister, lawyer, politician,comedian, priest, lecturer, actor, or perhaps you've been asked to make aspeech at a wedding or after dinner. We all have to address others in public atsome time in our lives, and for many of us it can be a nerve-wracking occasion.A trained memory can help you to deliver a good speech, effortlessly andwithout any worry.

BAD SPEECHES

A badly prepared speech or talk is not only embarrassing for the speaker, it canalso be acutely painful for the audience as well. For those who try to speak

without notes, jokes can often fall apart in public, even though they went wellin private beforehand. Ideas tend to peter out rapidly when you are ad-libbing,and remembering a punchline is so much more difficult when the pressure is onto perform.There is also nothing worse than someone reading out an anecdote verbatimfrom a piece of paper. Their speeches are often punctuated with pregnant pauses as they desperately try to decipher their own handwriting.

KEY POINTS

Anyone who has tried to avoid these pitfalls and attended a public speaking

course will have probably been told to condense speeches into a series of key points. Listed on a cue card, they are designed to trigger off particular anecdotes,subjects or aspects of a story. They are written out in sequence, thus preserving the natural order of the speech.

This technique usually results in a big improvement, but relying on an externalmemory aid such as a cue card can still interrupt the flow of a speech. (I am

sure you have seen someone nervously shuffling their cards.) The mostsuccessful public speakers, however, are able to store their key points in their

heads.Enter the mental speech file. Much like the mental diary, a speech file canhelp you to remember a talk in its entirety without any notes. Key points aretranslated into key images, and placed along a simple journey.The following is a slightly edited version of one of Rowan Atkinson's infamouswedding speech sketches, taken from his Live in Belfast recording. If youhaven't heard this masterful performance before, imagine him delivering it in a

begrudging, acrimonious tone.Pray silence for the Father of the Bride

Ladies and Gentleman and friends of my daughter. There comes a timein every wedding reception when the man who paid for the damn thingis allowed to speak a word or two of his own. And I should like to takethis opportunity, sloshed as I may be, to say a word or two aboutMartin. As far as I'm concerned, my daughter could not have chosen amore delightful, charming, witty, responsible, wealthy — let's not deny

it — well placed, good-looking and fertile young man than Martin asher husband. And I therefore ask the question: Why the hell did she

marry Gerald instead?...If I may use a gardening simile here: if his entire family may belikened to a compost heap - and I think they can - then Gerald is the biggest weed growing out of it. I think he is the sort of man peopleemigrate to avoid.

I remember the first time I met Gerald, I said to my wife - she's thelovely woman propping up that horrendous old lush of a mother of his



- either this man is suffering from severe brain damage, or the newvacuum cleaner has arrived. As for his family, they are quite simply themost intolerable herd of steaming social animals I've ever had themisfortune of turning my nose up to. I spurn you as I would spurn arabid dog. I would like to propose a toast... to the caterers. And to the

pigeon who crapped on the groom's family limousine at the church. As

for the rest of you around this table not directly related to me, you cansod off. I wouldn't trust any of you to sit the right way on a lavatory.(written by Richard Curds and Rowan Atkinson) Not many fathers are likely to stand up and deliver a tirade like this, althoughmany would like to, but it is a very good example of what can be achievedusing your memory. Timing, emphasis, and rhythm can make all the difference

between a faintly amusing speech and a hilarious one. If you have a mental listof key points in your head, you can pace yourself better, knowing what's comeup and what you've already said.

8

HOW TO

REMEMBER

SPEECHESThis chapter is for public speakers. You might be a barrister, lawyer, politician,comedian, priest, lecturer, actor, or perhaps you've been asked to make aspeech at a wedding or after dinner. We all have to address others in public atsome time in our lives, and for many of us it can be a nerve-wracking occasion.A trained memory can help you to deliver a good speech, effortlessly andwithout any worry.

BAD SPEECHES

A badly prepared speech or talk is not only embarrassing for the speaker, it canalso be acutely painful for the audience as well. For those who try to speakwithout notes, jokes can often fall apart in public, even though they went wellin private beforehand. Ideas tend to peter out rapidly when you are ad-libbing,and remembering a punchline is so much more difficult when the pressure is onto perform.There is also nothing worse than someone reading out an anecdote verbatimfrom a piece of paper. Their speeches are often punctuated with pregnant

pauses as they desperately try to decipher their own handwriting.

KEY POINTS

Anyone who has tried to avoid these pitfalls and attended a public speakingcourse will have probably been told to condense speeches into a series of key points. Listed on a cue card, they are designed to trigger off particular anecdotes,

subjects or aspects of a story. They are written out in sequence, thus preserving the natural order of the speech.This technique usually results in a big improvement, but relying on an external

memory aid such as a cue card can still interrupt the flow of a speech. (I amsure you have seen someone nervously shuffling their cards.) The most

successful public speakers, however, are able to store their key points in theirheads.Enter the mental speech file. Much like the mental diary, a speech file canhelp you to remember a talk in its entirety without any notes. Key points aretranslated into key images, and placed along a simple journey.The following is a slightly edited version of one of Rowan Atkinson's infamouswedding speech sketches, taken from his Live in Belfast recording. If you

haven't heard this masterful performance before, imagine him delivering it in a

begrudging, acrimonious tone.Pray silence for the Father of the BrideLadies and Gentleman and friends of my daughter. There comes a time



in every wedding reception when the man who paid for the damn thingis allowed to speak a word or two of his own. And I should like to takethis opportunity, sloshed as I may be, to say a word or two aboutMartin. As far as I'm concerned, my daughter could not have chosen amore delightful, charming, witty, responsible, wealthy — let's not deny

it — well placed, good-looking and fertile young man than Martin as

her husband. And I therefore ask the question: Why the hell did shemarry Gerald instead?...If I may use a gardening simile here: if his entire family may belikened to a compost heap - and I think they can - then Gerald is the biggest weed growing out of it. I think he is the sort of man peopleemigrate to avoid.

I remember the first time I met Gerald, I said to my wife - she's thelovely woman propping up that horrendous old lush of a mother of his- either this man is suffering from severe brain damage, or the newvacuum cleaner has arrived. As for his family, they are quite simply themost intolerable herd of steaming social animals I've ever had themisfortune of turning my nose up to. I spurn you as I would spurn arabid dog. I would like to propose a toast... to the caterers. And to the

pigeon who crapped on the groom's family limousine at the church. Asfor the rest of you around this table not directly related to me, you cansod off. I wouldn't trust any of you to sit the right way on a lavatory.

(written by Richard Curds and Rowan Atkinson) Not many fathers are likely to stand up and deliver a tirade like this, althoughmany would like to, but it is a very good example of what can be achievedusing your memory. Timing, emphasis, and rhythm can make all the difference between a faintly amusing speech and a hilarious one. If you have a mental listof key points in your head, you can pace yourself better, knowing what's come

up and what you've already said.

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Tabuada Soma.pdf