Sophie's Success Shortcuts

Introducing A Course in Public Speaking

Communication is a vital key in this new century. Maybe it has always been a vital skill, but I doubt it. When I grew up, there wasn’t even a good word for it, you talked, you spoke, you discussed, but you didn’t say: you communicated.

Today it is so vital, that in relationships, whether at work or at home, the number one cause of failure is failing to communicate. Now, if you think that telling someone something is communication, then you are sorely mistaken.

I have seen people talk hundreds of times, but communication is a rare magical “event” that one experiences. There is the inaudible sound of “click” when real communication takes place. No wonder there are so many communication courses… we all know that the access to love and success, and power, is communication.

Public speaking is supposed to be communication, but is rarely that. Most of the time it is one person talking to many, which means most people don’t feel included. Imagine someone, standing in front of a large audience, say: “I love you.” You listen to it, and you laugh to yourself: “you idiot, you don’t even know me, do you expect me to believe you?”

They do you expect each and every person to experience the heartwarming feeling of being loved… alas, it is not that easy. Some people naturally are able to do it, most of us, including myself, will need to learn it.

This series of articles will attempt to do just that… Tall order? Yes. Worth attempting it? yes!

I will first attempt to distinguish what I mean by public speaking, what are the elements. Then we’ll explore, together, how to master each and every particle, element, so that you can be a master of communication, a master of influence.
But why, you say, you would want to?

The need to — effectively — speak in public has increased, I would say. People need to voice out their views to function well in society. For some four thousand years, public speaking has been the key in building and keeping a democratic society and way of life. Its influences are vast and affect almost all aspects of life, such as the way we think or act. It is also used in court proceedings, in congress, and even in the plain setting of a classroom.

Some people specialized for that kind of speaking, and we, out of laziness, have agreed that they will speak for us. Politicians, lawyers, bosses… which unfortunately has resulted in an experience of being inconsequential, just look at the statistics of people showing up at the polls on election day.

When I go to classes, which is all the time, the number of “contributors”, people who raise their hands and say something useful, hovers around 5-10 percent of the audience, and it is always the same 5-10 percent, no matter what’s the topic.

Is it that the rest of the people have nothing to say? Or is it that they are afraid to speak what they have to say, because they have had no experience of being heard, being able to move a room, being able to make a difference by what they say?

Both, I think. These articles are for those of us, that think we have something relevant to say, we know it could make a difference, and we would appreciate a litte (or a lot of) instruction on how to do it, effectively, so that when we speak, the room hushes (remember the scene from the movie Gandhi?) or people are moved to give from their heart (remember John Kennedy’s famous inaugural speech from 1989 “it is not what this country can do for you, it is what you can do for this country”), and I can give you example after example.

We’ll look at the mindset, the structure and logistics, and the tools, and the image, and the voice, and the movements, and the words themselves, how to tell stories, and how to cry, lough, be yourself, to move, inspire, entertain, instruct, influence your audience… Magical life, the life of a public speaker. Do you want it?

We’ll look at how to make money with this new found skill, how to fill your room, how to pick what to speak on, how to set up a program, how to set up the room, how to create products that make money for you even when you don’t speak. Interested? Good. You have come to the right place.