As an avid consumer of talk radio and podcasts, I am constantly being influenced by speakers. I’ve also had the opportunity to see many speakers in person at the Lesher Center for the Arts, which I have season tickets to.
The most influential speaker I’ve ever heard in person is Maya Angelou. Her communication was memorable because her speech was fascinating, poignant, and humorous. Ms. Angelou’s speech was organized, had a consistence cadence, and made the time in the auditorium fly by. She left her audience hungry for more. Her stories and advice would wrap around in different directions, but she never left anything loose. In the end all the things she said tied together. And even though I was not sitting in the audience with a tape recorder or a notepad, I can recall, verbatim, advice Ms. Angelou dispensed.
The least influential speakers that I have encountered tend to be fellow students. Exceptionally bad speeches always have the same thing in common; the speaker is unprepared, and clearly has not rehearsed. The only things I remember about these kinds of speeches are the feeling of annoyance and dread, not anything about the message.
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Maya Angelou? Oh my goodness that is amazing. Did she talk about her books or poems or plays she has written? I love reading as well, especially classic novels that are going to continue to be taught in middle schools and high schools. It must have been so interesting to hear personal stories from someone that is known by a majority of the American public.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about student speeches. If only people would know the material of their speech, it would actually be bearable. I do not feel sorry for these people especially since most times we are given more than enough time to prepare.
I would love to state that i would probably be one of those bad speakers. I realized presenting and especially debating comes with a lot of nerves. I prepare well but once i get up there I draw the hugest blank. I recently took a debating class, and I was shaking due to nerves...its more than just being unprepared. Give us some slack guys!
ReplyDeleteBut Maya Angelou holy cow that is a wonderful privilege. She is a beautiful writer, and i could not even imagine how beautiful and influential her speaking in person was. What a great experience.
THELITTLETOMATO-
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading what you had to say about your experience with seeing Maya Angelou. Your description of the speech was so eloquently written. It sounds like her speech was very well structured with a strong conclusion. I always find that in a long speech, frequent recaps can be helpful. Some speakers make summaries sound forced, but stronger speakers like Maya Angelou can probably make everything sound natural and seamless. You are so lucky to have seen such a memorable speech in person. I looked up her website to see if she was still doing speeches but I couldn’t find any recent news. I am going to check out some YouTube videos of her speaking, because I’ve only read her writing. Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
Hi THELITTLETOMATO:
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say I was @ Maya's engagement and LOVED it too! The last time I saw her speak was when I was working @ MSU (MI) (2005) and she was the graduation speaker. She's a treasure to both life and literature, I believe, and she's not going to be around forever (or touring). I'm glad you got to experience her!
(:gunnerisfunner