Why bother with public speaking?
Isn’t the power and pervasiveness of instant communication on social media via text, audio, picture and video simply overwhelming?
Perhaps.
And yet, speaking still lies at the heart of society.
Public speaking has a magic and a mystery; a way for the speaker to tap into the imagination of his or her listeners, with no more than the sound of his or her own voice. No technology required; it works anywhere and across all cultures: from a village hall to a parliament assembly. And it is always, ultimately, about people.
In our pandemic-chastened world it seems to me that, often, we need to turn from “What’s in it for me?” to “What’s in it for us?”. In fact, I think public speaking answers both these questions.
