Regardless of your age, gender or position in life, there are some assumptions I can safely make about your past, present and future. Let us look back before we look forward.

Odds are you had to speak in front of a crowd for professional or social reasons not too long ago. Irrespective of how well or poorly you believe you did, I can guarantee you were left wondering about the many things you wished you had said but didn’t or second-guessing your choice of words for the things you did say. Maybe it was too long ago, in which case the experience probably left a bitter taste in your mouth, causing you to pass at subsequent speaking opportunities due to some level of discomfort. This could range from a nagging anxiety at the thought of the next staff meeting to mounting panic at the sight of anything resembling a microphone.

As for your present, again I will not play the psychic and try to guess your occupation. I will assume, however, that you are not – nor do you aspire to be – a professional speaker. Most likely, you are a man or woman who understands that speaking opportunities will continue to present themselves and that it would behoove you to be better prepared next time they call your name. Being the proactive professional you pride yourself on being, you may have grabbed a couple of how-to books on the subject, perhaps even considered joining a nearby Toastmasters club. Maybe you even went to a couple of their meetings. Yet in spite of all the camaraderie and genuine incentive, my guess is that the many dos and don’ts you heard have made you more – not less – self-conscious about speaking.

I may have been off the mark so far, but do not be deceived. My prescience greatly outweighs my limited hindsight. Mark my words: you will be called to speak again soon! I see a great career opportunity in your life! I see a room packed solid of eager faces. Not sure if it is a church, a boardroom, a theater, but I see you holding the mic. I cannot see through the end of it, yet what happens next will greatly depend on how you cross that threshold.

Regardless of who you are, your professional and personal advancement is inextricably tied to your ability to clearly present facts or to convey ideas that will inspire others to act. Speaking engagements are leadership opportunities in disguise and as such not to be missed. In that regard, your fate is not different from mine. We all have to speak. We all need to get better at it. You are no exception. Can anybody help?

 

The Speaker No-One has Ever Seen

Speakers, it turns out, can only indirectly gauge the impact of their presence. Interpreters, by contrast, are uniquely placed between the stage and the audience. Hidden from view, they are as close to presenters as they are to the public. They hold an important piece to the puzzle.

I am one such invisible speaker. For over 20 years I have shared the stage with presenters of all stripes in every conceivable industry. I continue to lend them my voice, paraphrase their words and scrutinize their mannerisms for the thinnest slices of meaning. I have mediated more dialogues and spoken at more meetings than the most experienced presenter. An attentive listener and co-speaker, I have played an active role as the man in-between, getting personally involved in everything that was ever said and most of what was heard. I have played the accused and the prosecutor, the arrogant beater and the battered wife, the egotistical celebrity and the selfless monk, the virtuous teacher and the slacking pupil, the eloquent reverend, the troubled churchgoer.

I have spent a lifetime in the sidelines, talking through speakers and their interlocutors. The time has come to speak to them; to you. For once, I thought I should use my voice to convey my own views on a subject I have learned so much about, first and secondhand. I am sure you have heard me before. This time I want you to listen.

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