Public Speaking

"Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is clearly waaaaay over her head. She can barely answer the simplest question. For instance, she was asked Aug. 9 by CNN’s Chris Cuomo if she recognized Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the leader of the Democrats.

“I think absolutely right now … she is, she is the leader of, of … no, no, she, I mean, um, um, speaker or rather leader Pelosi hopefully, y’know, we’ll see … she’s uh … she’s the current leader of the party and I think that the party absolutely does have its leadership in the House and Senate, we have our leadership in the Senate as well,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said."

In HS and in college I was on the speech and debate team and competed in extemporaneous speaking and debating. Like most things in life, for some speaking extemporaneously just comes naturally and for others, it is a skill that must be developed and practiced. Bill Clinton was natural.....Trump is not. Obama spoke with discipline and seldom said "uh" as a filler. He spoke very slowly and very thoughtfully/carefully. This is skill that he has learned and practiced.

The problem is people need to engage their head before they engage their mouths. But most people, like O-C, feel they need to immediately start talking to answer a question. It is sometimes ackward to sit in silence and not answer a question while you formulate your answer in your head but it is better to be slow to respond than to blather on like an idiot. Old saying, "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear ignorant than to open it and remove all doubt."

I remember at my HS graduation my granddaddy telling me to continue on with speech class and public speaking when I went off to college. He said out of all the things you learn in college, public speaking would be the most beneficial in life. I was 18 and knew it all and thought the old man was out of his gord. But I did continue developing my public speaking and had awesome experiences competing in college at various universities. After college I just Toastmasters and continued to practice and compete.

Looking back over my life, my granddaddy was right! Public Speaking skills have helped me more than any other class or training I ever took in my 18 years of education.

This has been a public serviced announcement - especially for young people. I know most people would rather shave their head with a cheese grater than have to give a speech in front of a group of people but that fear is mitigated with practice.




Edited by Rogillio 2018-10-04 1:46 PM