"Speaking" of which....

[AJunx]

This is strictly my personal opinion:

I think that being good at giving speeches is about how much you believe in what you are saying. Sure, sure, there are plenty of people who give good speeches who don't believe a lick of what they are spewing out [motions towards television]. But they believe in something underlying what they are saying (money, power, etc.)

I would be willing to bet that Dean and Woody both get at least a little bit nervous before they go up to speak in front of 10,000 people at nationals. Heck, for all I know, Dean might be more nervous about public speaking than you or I. What shows through, however, is that he really believes in what he is saying.


My advice to anyone who is doing public speaking for FIRST:

Don't worry about it. If you have a thorough knowledge of what you are speaking about and you believe in it, you will do just fine.


My advice to anyone who is taking a public speaking class and has to choose a topic to give a speech on:

If you pick a topic that doesn't fit you, your speech will be lifeless and void of emotion. Pick a topic that you really care about, whether it be the downfall of civilization due to television or why they should replace all stop signs with yield signs. Whatever the topic, if you really care about it, your speech will be great.

Being nervous about public speaking is healthy. But you should never be so nervous so as to prevent yourself from speaking about something that you believe in.

-Andrew