Guidance for speakers
People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say. - ~Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Cat's Cradle
The first thing speakers usually ask is what should they talk about in their prepared speeches. The answer: just about anything as long as it's not crude, rude, sexist, or racist. The next question is whether or not they're expected to be funny. The answer: not funny, but entertaining. Whether you choose to inform, inspire, motivate, narrate, or amuse (or a combination thereof), you should remember that the Gift of the Gab is not stand-up comedy. People come to see what you can do on stage - with a prepared topic (public speaking) and with an impromptu topic (speaking in public).
Some might think that this is rather too subtle a difference to worth noting, but I don't agree. Public speaking has form, style, preparation. You have time to craft your words, your sentences, your meaning. You can rehearse your delivery, concentrate on your gestures, practice your timing. You can choose analogies, metaphors, and anecdotes that will resonate with what you expect the audience to be. Speaking in public, on the other hand, is simply getting up on a stage with a mic and talking - on the fly, off the cuff. By now, you will have a handle on the audience. You will be able to judge what works and what doesn't work. You will have experienced the judges. You'll know perhaps that Irish references (or football references, or whatever) are lost on the majority of those present, or that digs at, say, Hungarians (or indeed any other nationality) without the balancing dig at your own country, don't go down well. You'll see that some of your witticisms went over everyone's head. So now you adapt.
The gift of the gab is variously defined as (i) to talk idly or incessantly, as about trivial matters, (ii) the ability to talk readily, glibly, and convincingly, and (iii) the ability to speak easily and confidently in a way that makes people want to listen to you and believe you. It doesn't much matter whether you're grammatically correct with perfect pronunciation - what matters is that people want to listen to what you have to say. It's not public speaking - it's speaking in public.
The key to it all though, is to enjoy it, to respect your audience, and to entertain. And remember, even if you don't walk away with the trophy, you got up there, you took part, you did your bit so you've already won!
The first thing speakers usually ask is what should they talk about in their prepared speeches. The answer: just about anything as long as it's not crude, rude, sexist, or racist. The next question is whether or not they're expected to be funny. The answer: not funny, but entertaining. Whether you choose to inform, inspire, motivate, narrate, or amuse (or a combination thereof), you should remember that the Gift of the Gab is not stand-up comedy. People come to see what you can do on stage - with a prepared topic (public speaking) and with an impromptu topic (speaking in public).
Some might think that this is rather too subtle a difference to worth noting, but I don't agree. Public speaking has form, style, preparation. You have time to craft your words, your sentences, your meaning. You can rehearse your delivery, concentrate on your gestures, practice your timing. You can choose analogies, metaphors, and anecdotes that will resonate with what you expect the audience to be. Speaking in public, on the other hand, is simply getting up on a stage with a mic and talking - on the fly, off the cuff. By now, you will have a handle on the audience. You will be able to judge what works and what doesn't work. You will have experienced the judges. You'll know perhaps that Irish references (or football references, or whatever) are lost on the majority of those present, or that digs at, say, Hungarians (or indeed any other nationality) without the balancing dig at your own country, don't go down well. You'll see that some of your witticisms went over everyone's head. So now you adapt.
The gift of the gab is variously defined as (i) to talk idly or incessantly, as about trivial matters, (ii) the ability to talk readily, glibly, and convincingly, and (iii) the ability to speak easily and confidently in a way that makes people want to listen to you and believe you. It doesn't much matter whether you're grammatically correct with perfect pronunciation - what matters is that people want to listen to what you have to say. It's not public speaking - it's speaking in public.
The key to it all though, is to enjoy it, to respect your audience, and to entertain. And remember, even if you don't walk away with the trophy, you got up there, you took part, you did your bit so you've already won!