This article was originally written in Turkish and has been translated into English with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The translation may contain errors; the original Turkish version is the authoritative text.
Scientists point out that people are born different from others in certain respects. Today the easiest way to see that no two people are structurally alike is the difference in their fingerprints. This physical distinctiveness also shows itself in various characteristics such as behaviour and talent. I touched on these subjects in earlier articles. In this article I will talk about talent in speaking.
Just as some people are born with a greater aptitude for mathematics, sport or music, there are people who can speak clearly and fluently better than others. With very little preparation, or through a natural aptitude, they immediately influence those in front of them; in other words, they start one step ahead in effective speaking. The shape of the body, an imposing appearance, a friendly face, the timbre and strength of the voice and balanced posture are all advantages in the art of speaking. But this does not mean that other people should withdraw into a corner and say, “I can’t do this.” If that happens, the person becomes afraid of speaking, and then their timidity and inertia increase enormously. If speakers know their weak points, they can turn them into strengths through work. A true speaker should keep the following three basic conditions in mind:
A. Not to sit in silence as if they had swallowed their tongue, and not to hold back for fear of saying something wrong.
B. To have a sound judgement that inspires confidence, distinguishing the events around them according to their good and bad sides.
C. To speak Turkish correctly, clearly and meaningfully. After these basic conditions comes a good period of preparation, and then the meeting with the audience…
THE SPEAKER’S PREPARATION
1. It is useful for speakers to list their memories, impressions and the ideas related to them in a notebook. They can use them whenever they wish. However, if they use them too often in speeches to the same audience, the audience may become bored.
2. Speakers should not appear before an audience without preparing and without knowing what they will say. After preparing thoroughly, delivering the speech as if you were improvising gives the audience confidence. The speech becomes more varied.
3. Speakers should inspire belief and confidence in people and use everyday language. We should read the text we have prepared several times in a low voice to work through the wording; then read it aloud, giving meaning to the words and movement to the sentences, letting the words flow without hesitation and paying attention to punctuation.
4. You must master the topic you have prepared and believe in it.
5. Work out the logical structure of your speech. If necessary, memorise the passages you find striking, or write them on small cards and keep the cards with you.
6. Before appearing before the audience, rehearse aloud in an empty room exactly as if you were speaking to an audience, in the way you imagine the speech.
7. Record this rehearsal on a recording device and listen to it. If there are parts you do not like or want to add to, correct them and repeat the process. This is a good way of bringing you to your best.
8. Do not hesitate to look at the notes you have made while giving your speech.
9. Intonation is very important when speaking. If you speak in a flat tone, after a while interest fades and people in the hall start talking and dozing. So bring your speech to life by adding nuances to your words.
10. Do not be afraid of appearing before an audience. Some speakers turn to alcohol to overcome their fear and relax. When they drink, they think they are more relaxed. This is an extremely dangerous path and should not be chosen.
11. Do not drink coffee or smoke before starting to speak. The grounds of Turkish coffee in particular remain on the vocal cords and cause coughing. Smoking also harms the vocal cords, so great care should be taken.
12. Before starting the speech, to dispel your fear, say a few sentences and check your state of mind, then begin speaking.
13. If your religious faith is strong, saying a prayer before the speech will relax you and reduce your fear.
14. When speaking, be open-hearted, avoid conceited attitudes and words, and make sure that what you say is consistent.
15. We should not appear before an audience to speak on a subject that is completely unfamiliar to us without preparing thoroughly.
PREPARING THE TOPIC
Now let us look at what to pay attention to when preparing a speech to be given in front of an audience.
Once you have chosen your topic, research it in written and visual sources; if necessary, first underline the information and then transfer it onto cards. Then arrange your cards according to your speech and your ideas.
Making use of the technology of our age, arrange what you obtain from the computer or other technological devices in the same orderly way, just as I described above.
Turn to living sources. Make appointments with them and meet them in person. Benefit from the ideas of people who know your topic well, and from their sources. Obtain audio recordings, video recordings and pictures. Take photographs.
After preparing all your sources, write your speech in the form of an essay. Read what you have written. Remove what is superfluous and add the information you think should be included.
Once you are sure the text is ready, either try to memorise it or note it down on small cards. Remember that if you appear before the audience with large sheets of paper, you will make a negative impression on them before you even begin.
DELIVERING THE SPEECH
1. Clothing is very important in a speech. Since you will be speaking in front of an audience, it is important for both men and women to choose neat clothes without going to extremes, and for women to appear before the audience without heavy make-up. Clothes suited to the season, generally in dark colours, are recommended. The audience should be interested in the information you give rather than in your clothes. Unironed, faded or dirty clothes should be avoided.
2. Then we appear before the audience confidently and greet them calmly.
3. If we are speaking standing up, we must not forget our hands: we should neither use them excessively nor not use them at all. If we are seated, we should avoid crossing our legs or stretching our feet out. We should sit upright so as not to compress our diaphragm.
4. If on that day we feel some fatigue, a little discomfort or shortness of breath, we should lean back against our chair and take a deep breath. Then we should begin speaking.
5. We should convince ourselves that all the listeners are our friends and build a bridge of friendship with them. While speaking, we should continue by looking in various directions.
6. If we occasionally make a slip of the tongue while speaking, we should move on at once without dwelling on it. If we try to correct it, the audience will notice our mistake. In a lecture a single word is not of great importance; the listeners fill in the whole themselves.
7. We should not read our speech constantly from paper or from our notes. A speaker who never takes their eyes off the paper gives the impression of a student who has not studied well and is revising the lesson. For this reason we need to memorise at least part, if not all, of the speech we have prepared.
8. Before starting to speak, obtain silence in the hall and look at the audience so that they listen to you — in every direction of the hall. If there is a section where people are still talking, look at that section with openness, warmth and sincerity.
9. Do not make too many hand and arm gestures. Give up nervous habits: for example, do not scratch the top of your head, your ear or anywhere else. Do not put your fingers to your nose or bite your nails. Some speakers, finding their words insufficient, add an artificial smile at the end of each sentence. In their view this smile completes what they have said, but this is very wrong. Generally these people have not mastered either the subject or the language they are speaking. So it is worth repeating once again: never speak in front of an audience on a subject you have not mastered.
10. If the speaker is using a microphone, they should stand one metre from it and should not turn more than 25–30 centimetres to the side while speaking into it. If the microphone is on the table, the speaker should not lean on the table or move the microphone.
11. They should not breathe noisily, should not abandon diaphragmatic breathing, and should not let their breathing or the rustling of paper reach the microphone.
12. When speaking, we should deliver words and sentences with intonation suited to our thoughts and feelings, lowering or raising the pitch of the voice. This is called inflection. If you speak in a monotone as if reading from a book, after a while the listeners become bored and stop listening to you. Inflection is divided into two kinds: natural and artificial. The first is the inflection inherent in speech, which comes naturally; the second is done deliberately by the speaker, usually by raising or lowering the voice, so that the key points of the speech are remembered.
13. The beginnings and endings of sentences should be clear and understandable. The ends of sentences should not fade away, so that the listener can fully understand them and connect them with the sentence that follows. Shouting at the top of one’s voice or speaking in a very weak voice disturbs the audience. In particular, a listener who gives their full attention to a speaker with a soft voice becomes mentally tired after a while and stops listening.
14. Within sentences there are words that carry more meaning than the others. These are called key words. In diction (speech) these words should be set apart and emphasised, either with a slight pause or with a change of voice (artificial inflection).
15. The pace of the words spoken should be adjusted. This means saying the feelings and thoughts a topic wants to convey slowly or quickly. A change of pace generally means moving from one thought or feeling to another. But when doing this, the unity of the topic must not be broken.
16. If the speaker dwells too much on the details of a topic they have prepared for their audience, this prevents the pace from developing. It is therefore necessary to highlight the most important details of the topic and leave the others in the shadows. We should not confuse pace with speed. Pace plays an important role in expressing our emotions. Tiredness, weakness, sorrow, patience, calm, ease, pessimism, listlessness, daydreaming and indecision slow the pace. War, conflict, impatience, harshness, rage, exuberance, anger, fear, horror, joy, cheerfulness and enthusiasm quicken the pace of emotions.