Public Speaking is a skill useful in school [1.1] at work.[1.2] and if we want to convince a group of people. [1.3] Investor Warren Buffett called it the most important skill we can learn to advance in a career. [2] Here a short sprouts guide to master the most powerful weapon if we want to bring change to the world. [3]

The Issue [1.1] Take an issue you really care about. [1.2] When you study it, you are intrinsically motivated to learn it deeper and put in the extra effort. [2]. Later it gives you the passion you need to inspire your audience. [3.1] When we speak in public, passion is probably our most powerful force. [4.1] It shines through our eyes and straight into the hearts of the audience. [4.2]

One Simple Message [1.1] Every issue has many angles to which we can highlight.[1.2] But the audience has a limited attention span and many others issues in life, so if we say too much, they will lose interest. [2] To make a message stick, Chris Anderson recommends to boil it down [3.1] to one idea that is worth spreading. [3.2] A speech is good if it plants one creative seed in the heads of the audience. [4] A seed can then grow into a sprout, which can change lives [5.1] and be shared with others. [5.2]

Structure [1] Over 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle established 3 simple rules to any good speech: [2] - Establish credibility: [3.1] Ethos [3.2f] - Give good arguments: [4.1] Logos [4.2f] - Conveying emotions: [5.1] Pathos [5.2f] But you can also tell a personal story or present a problem and then offer a solution. [6]

Get Help [1.1] A good method is using note cards. You can use one card per argument [1.2] and keep the deck in your hands, alternating them as you speak. [1.3] Politicians often read their speech from a teleprompter. [2] Professionals often sell their ideas with the help of slides [3]. When you have a product to show, demonstrate it. [4] If you try to memorize your speech and you have one hour, [5.1] spend 20 minutes studying [5.3] and 40 minutes practicing to recite it. [5.5] That’s usually the best ratio. [P]

Speak Their Language [1.1] It doesn’t matter what we say, it matters what they hear. [1.2] According to Nerdwriter, Donald Trump speaks in a way that any fourth-grader can understand him. [2] Guy Kawasaki recommends to use what he calls salient points. [3.1] People don’t want to know how large a battery is. [3.2] They want to know how long they can use it. [3.3] When you prepare, [4.1] ask yourself, how does my issue matter to this particular audience? [4.2]

Practice [1.1] Before you present, practice your delivery. [1.2] It’s important that we stand upright, arms open, palms out. [2.1] We should speak loud and clear, [2.2] and make eye contact with our audience. [2.3] One way to practice. Try to speak in front of friends who don’t know the topic. [3] Then you will see if they get your point [4] But you can also record and watch yourself on video. [5]

Check Your Stage [1.1] How big is the room, how many people will listen, will you need a microphone? [2] Professionals will want to walk onto the stage diagonal from the left back, apparently it's the most dynamic way make an entrance. [3] Also, always have a glass of water next to you, so you can take a sip whenever you’re losing it. [4]

Don't be Afraid [1.1] Everybody can experience speech anxiety, also known as Glossophobia. [1.2] It's natural and sometimes actually helps us to reach excellence. [2] Mahatma Gandhi called it “the awful strain of public speaking”. It prevented him for years from speaking up even at friendly dinner parties. [3] But in 1942, Gandhi convinced 60,000 people with his Quit India Speech to join a peaceful revolt against British colonialism. [4] He spoke up, the people followed his words and the British left [5].

Open For Sympathy [1.1] When you enter the limelight, wait until you have everyone's full attention [1.4] Then open to win sympathy, [2.1] also called captatio benevolentiae. [2.2] One way to do that is to excuse yourself. [3.1] You can say: “you are a smart audience, so I don’t really know what I can still tell you...” [3.2] Obama, opened his 2008 speech in Berlin with the words: [4.1] “I have to admit that I have developed a special place in my heart [4.2] for the German people”. And they loved it.[4.3]

Build Curiosity [1.1] Once they like you, grab their attention by building curiosity. [1.2] Present a fact, statistics or a study. [2] Or start in the middle of a story: “On my 5 birthday, my father started crying. It was the day he lost his job.” [3] Dananjaya Hettiarachchi, a champion of public speaking, asked [4.1] “raise your hand if you have an emotional mother?” and everyone did (4.2]. But you can also do something funny or open with a crazy stunt. [5]

Deliver Your Message [1.1] Now make your arguments, [1.2] share those personal stories [1.3] and deliver metaphors which create images in the minds of your audience. [1.4] If you forget what you wanted to say, don’t worry. Nobody knows what you meant to say. [2] In 1963 Martin Luther King gave a speech in Washington. [3] In the middle of it he stopped reading from script and started to improvise.[4] He delivered one of the greatest speech of the twentieth-century - “I have a dream”. [5]

Close [1.1] After you are done, summarise your arguments or repeat the core message. [1.2] But you can also leave them with a quote, [2.1] share your dream of a new future, [2.2] or close your speech like we close our videos, with a specific call for action. [2.3] Here it comes! [P]

Write a speech about an important issue, such as education. [1.2] Open with sympathy, [2.1] build curiosity, [2.2] and then bring in your convincing argument [2.3]. In the end, close it cleverly. [2.4] Limit your speech to 200 words and post it in the comments below. [3] If you want to learn public speaking, you should also practice your speech. [4.1] For example, the next 5 days, 15 minutes each. [4.2] Ideally, record yourself on your phone, so you can track your progress and learn from your mistakes. [5] Upload the last try of each day onto Youtube [7] and share the link in the comments. [8] Then we can see how you progressed and applaud you for trying, failing and doing. [9]

[Sprouts Confetti Ending]