Right before we got caught up in the Coronavirus scare, the CU Information & Multimedia Ministry
celebrated its tenth anniversary with a workshop on public speaking. There were two speakers, myself and the professional Master of Ceremony Nathaniel Attoh, who shared views and personal experiences with a group of about sixty eager-to-learn students. It feels already a long time ago, but in case you could not make it or you want to fresh up your memory; here are four take-aways from the workshop.
Confidence
Many people have the wrong assumption that their confidence will come when they have accomplished something in life. That could for instance be a degree, a job or even somebody’s marital status. For sure, all of these things are great goals to achieve, but they do not give you confidence. The road towards your goal does. Confidence is something you built up, day by day, year by year. With every new task you have been set out to do, you are working on your self-esteem. Every task, whether it is coming from your parents, your teachers, class mates or even yourself, is for you an opportunity to top-up your confidence. And when you are invited to come on stage, always say yes. It is an opportunity for you to gain faith in yourself. My fellow speaker Attoh rightfully said that the first thing you can do is to stand out with your appearance, your voice and your message. Dress up nicely, speak up firmly and make sure you have something to say. In other words, do not wait for ‘enough’ confidence to stand out, but already make the effort and the confidence will start to come bit by bit with every step you put on stage.
Remove blockages
That Friday, Attoh’s speech boosted up our feelings of empowerment, but it is equally important to have worked on our fears and doubts. Especially fears that keep on coming back. During the first part of the workshop we did a short writing exercise to remove some of our personal blockages that prevent us from standing out in the crowd or taking the stage. After I shared my own story about growing up with anxiety and stage fright, I let others write down their scariest moment in life. That pivotal moment in our lives that shook us and took away our voice. We became very shy or scared of attention. We started to doubt ourselves, having thoughts running through our minds that were holding us back. When we were put on the spot, we would stammer, stutter or simply speak with a voice so soft that nobody could hear us. Writing about it, is a way of making it known to ourselves that these bad memories are something from the past. We express it on paper and then throw it away, so that we do not have to repeat these negative thoughts any longer. It is an exercise we can also do at home, if the need arises.
Breath
Now that we are able to overcome some of these blockages, we are getting ready for our assignment in public speaking. Preparing our speech is a good starting point. But once we are on stage, what do we do with the anxiety in our body and the negative thoughts in our minds? That was a question coming from the audience. I spoke about the one instrument we all possess and that is always ready to come to our rescue: our breath. It is by breathing deep within and out that we can control our body, voice and even the mind. Our breath is therefore a valuable tool in public speaking. When we breathe consciously before and during our speech it enables us to focus and calm down our nerves. When we lose track of what we are saying our breath can bring us back. Moreover, the breath opens up our senses and connects with God’s spirit inside of us. Remember the verse Genesis 2:7 ‘The Lord formed a man from dust and breathed life into his nostrils’? So instead of holding in our breath (especially when we deal with anxiety) we should breathe deeply, continuously and invite the Holy Spirit into our midst.
Be unique
The Information & Multimedia Ministry picked an interesting theme for their tenth celebration: ‘Captcha’. It refers to these short tests before accessing an online account or website that distinguishes human beings from robots. For the ministry, it is another way of saying that no matter the advancement of technology, human beings can never be replaced. Indeed, it is something to highlight. There is only one you, born during a particular time with a particular purpose. God has made each and every one of us unique individuals. Therefore, when you climb that stage be your unique self. Be the voice not the echo. It is the most beautiful you can be. The message is simple and difficult at the same time. It can take a lifetime to become our authentic self. My fellow speaker Attoh had a nice way to put it: ‘Take a bit from everybody you admire and built with that your own personality’. The first thing we need to do for that is accepting the way we are, with all our strength and weaknesses. That is how we were born and every day of our lives is an opportunity to become a little bit greater and better than we are.
Listen here to the complete workshop in audio with slides. The exercises can still safely be done at home.
Comments
Post a Comment