How to Become a Great Orator

Look here, whether you are going to deny this glaring fact or embrace it, it will always affect your life: This world is run by those who have mastered the art of captivating the hearts of men and stirring people’s hearts with the great and potent force of word, Orators!

History is a gallery of men whose words still remain thundering and echoing into eternity while their mortal bodies have long decayed. The truth is that all humans are ready to yield to those who say they words they want to hear in the way they want to hear it. Learn to use that human quality to your advantage.

What makes a great orator, one may ask? That is a question that most have already answered, though most answers are awfully wrong and off the mark. Most people think that all great orators were born with the quality inherently and they think that the extroverts are the ones who make great and powerful orators.

Well let’s look at a few pointers that can help you speaking your way into the hearts of men that gives you incredible power that few can resist.

1.      Talk sense

You cannot expect anyone to give you an ear, let alone take you seriously when you do not talk sense. You need to remember the simple but age old adage always and use it; “think before you talk.” You need to be able to clearly arrange and plan your words before you speak. Do not be reckless with words; once they are out of your mouth you cannot reclaim them.

2.      Know and Study Your Audience

Remember that while most people will claim that they are open minded the truth is that most people are only looking for people who say what they want to hear. While you are busy saying a whole lot of things they are listening to you in an idle manner. You only get their peak attention and concentration when you touch on the topics and issues they want to hear. In order to increase your oratory power you need to study the audience you will address beforehand so that you know what to say and how to say it. You cannot be a generic speaker and be powerful. You have to speak in a way that is specifically aimed and targeted at your audience.

3.      Evoke powerful emotions in your audience

Remember after some time, people will no longer remember what you say, but they will remember how you make them feel. Any great speaker is able to move the hearts of the audience, by evoking powerful emotions in the very audience. Your words should be able to cause great feelings to spring forth inside your audience. When you are able to make people feel, what few others can make them feel, and then you wield a power that can make those people act in a certain manner that you intend. Evoking the emotions of your audience usually involves speaking about the issues that either once affected those people or currently involve them. Questions can be used while speaking to summon the audience to carry out personal reflections, or even the use of poetry and music can drive the message home.

4.      Speak to be heard and Understood not to confuse

Most people especially those who speak public, on public forums, televisions and radios think that it makes them seem important to use very huge words while speaking. That is an untruth that comes mainly from our history of colonisation where some people felt like impressing their audience by being more English than the English themselves. Desist from using words that would make your audience look for a dictionary in order to get the message of your speech. In fact all powerful speakers know that their intention is to pass a message that result in conviction and then action.

5.      Listen Well

You cannot speak well, if you are not able to listen well. Listen usually comes first. Those people who rush to speak before they hear often commit serious mistakes that they cannot redeem themselves from. It is wise to listen twice and speak once, and they say that is why we have two ears and one mouth. If you cannot listen to others you will not be able to speak in a way that touches them. Sadly some people are not even able to listen to themselves when they speak, and you wonder why they have a hope of being speakers of great renown.

Remember that in order for one to achieve great and lasting success, there is need to use oratory abilities to position and market yourself well. You have to be able to lure people to cooperate with you.

Till next week, God bless you all.

Ciao…

The writer is a Motivational Teacher and can be contacted on glendhliwayo@gmail.com

This article is also published in Zimbabwe's Biggest Weekend Paper on this link: http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80819:how-to-become-a-great-orator&catid=83:coo-llife-style#.Ua2IprU_vIU