Get your message across - clear communications count. That’s something that counts as much in the workplace as it does when you are giving a speech. Anyone who has played Chinese Whispers as a child will know that the message the first child whispers is never what the last one hears. So when you are speaking you should be clear and concise and, if possible, ask the person you are addressing to repeat what you have said. Of course you cannot ask an audience to do that when you are giving a speech. You can be sure, however, that you are getting your message across when they react by looking interested and laughing at the right places. To get that message across you should use short sentences and simple words. You should emphasise the actual message you are trying to impart a few times, perhaps by saying it in different ways. When you finish your speech your closing sentence should summarise the point of what you are trying to say. People often hear what they want to hear not what you want to tell them. Others hear what they expect to hear when you may be trying to surprise them. So whether you are a teacher, a C.E.O. or a public speaker make sure the message you get across is what you actually want to say. Give an order to your workers, inspire your students or enthral your audience by saying it simply, convincingly and well.

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Do you know what Dvschromatopsia is? Most people don’t. They refer to it as colour blindness. Drivers get over it by knowing the position of the traffic lights but it must make life less colourful in other ways. It probably also makes life easier, though, for the menfolk who hate shopping and who are left at home because they cannot be helpful by saying they prefer the blue to the pink. Colour blindness (Dyschromatopsia) is another way to see the world. Public speakers too need to colour their speeches. They should be able to use comparisons such as the blue of the sky, the sand of the desert or the heather on the hills. When giving a speech they should paint word pictures. The audience should see, in their minds’ eye just what the speaker means. That doesn’t mean of course that the speaker has to say anything blue in his or her speech. That is just the sign of a failed speaker who cannot capture the attention of his or her audience in any other way. He or she does, though, have to ensure that the speech includes descriptions and phases that make it less ordinary. The speaker may describe the blood draining from a face and leaving it chalk white. He or she may describe a prison cell as being the colours of a newspaper without pictures. Speeches need colour so even speakers with dyschromatopsia should ensure that the audience sees exactly what the speaker wants to say in Technicolor.

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A good eulogy says au revoir rather than goodbye. The comfort this brings to the bereaved is what makes it worthwhile to work at what you say in such a eulogy. Whatever their religious beliefs those who have lost someone they loved feel bereft. If you can help them feel that their father or mother for instance is still with them, even in a different kind of way, you will be helping them come to terms with their grief. You might speak, for instance, of children who have inherited their parents’ genes. You could speak of the daughter who has inherited her mother’s musical talent or the son who has his father’s wanderlust. Your eulogy should say that their parents will be close to them as they do enjoy these things in the future. In other words your eulogy should be giving good memories to cherish whether it’s a eulogy for a sister or a eulogy for a grandmother you should personalise it thus making them come alive in the minds of those listening to you. You might speak of how the grandmother always taught her grandchild to bake or how a sister directed plays for her siblings but always kept the starring role herself! A little laughter helps lift the occasion because you should never make the deceased sound so wonderful that they weren’t human at all. Obviously if those you are addressing believe in the afterlife then it will be easier to give the comfort of the promise of their meeting again some day. For them there is life after death and the promise of re-union one day can help them come to terms with the sadness they are feeling. Their loneliness will be lifted a little if your eulogy makes them smile a little and remember the good times.

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Isn’t it ironic that Labour Day is a day of rest? In fact it’s probably just as ironic as non-Christians celebrating Christmas. Another irony is that words mean different things depending on how they are spelt. When you are parking your car you put your money in the meter. When you are measuring, depending on where you live, you measure by the metre. If you are going to the January sales you probably intend to buy something but if you put up the sails you sail away in your boat. If you buy something in those January sales you bring it home with you. If you go by the store window you probably save yourself some money. It’s a blessing to have good sight but nowadays selling a building site is probably not so profitable. Of course spelling doesn’t matter when you are giving a speech. It’s the meaning of the words that really matter. Too many speakers, though, think that they will impress an audience by using long, unusual or even foreign words. Whether you are saying Freedom of speech it’s worth fighting for or giving an ice breaker speech the golden rule always is to make it simple.

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Never give up on your dreams. That’s good motivational advice whether to a class of youngsters or to more disillusioned adults. It encourages them to believe in their dreams and to follow them. It convinces them that their dreams are worthwhile. If they have doubts and fears they will undoubtedly feel better if you can convince them that that is normal. We all need those dreams and hopes because without them there is no better future. So any teacher or public speaker who can convey that message is re-awakening perhaps forgotten dreams or reinforcing the message that it pays to have passion There are, of course too those other dreams that are part of the cycle of sleep. Fortunes have been made by those who claim to be able to interpret them and certainly some are so re-occurring that those who have them feel there must be some meaning in them. Whether or not these are a way of reliving something that actually happened or something you read about is open for discussion. Certainly a war film that showed torture scenes might give you nightmares afterwards. It’s definitely possible that you will wake up screaming. Generally, though, dreams slip away from us when we awake especially the ones where something nice was just going to happen.  These seem to vanish in the morning mist. So there are two different kinds of dreams, one important to our daily lives and one that is part of the night.

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Public speaking for private people is very difficult. After all if you are a public figure and well used to speaking in public it won’t frighten you. If, for instance, you are the C.E.O. of a large company and well used to giving retirement speeches it won’t faze you if you are asked to say a few words. If, however, you are the father of the bride and have never spoken in public before you may well be terrified. In fact worrying about your speech may even ruin the big day for you. “Be prepared” is the motto of the boy scouts and it is also one that any nervous would be public speaker should bear in mind. The more preparation you do the better the speech. So make sure you know what you ought to say on an occasion because every occasion demands something different. If you are speaking at your father’s birthday for instance you should end with an appropriate toast. If you are speaking at an award ceremony you should make a reference to hard work and effort. So do your homework about the people involved. Make the speech personal and remember short and snappy is better than long and tedious. Use card for your notes because there is nothing worse than sheets of paper rustling in your shaky hand. Besides it makes it look as though you are going to speak for ever. Remember to get help writing the speech if you need it. Not everyone is able to write a good speech and it is better to call in the professional if you are in doubt. A good speechwriter will be able to put your thoughts into words. Then practise, practise, practise. Make sure the microphone is working beforehand if you are using one. Take some deep breaths before you start to calm your nerves. Then wow them with your wit and eloquence or at the very least impress them with your calm confidence.

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It’s a time for new starts and, of course that means speeches. September is a month when children go back to school and there will undoubtedly be thousands of welcome back to school speeches. Sometimes though it’s a new school and the head teacher will be giving an opening of a new school speech. In it he or she will undoubtedly speak of the role of education and what a difference it makes to society. Naturally too he or she will thank those responsible for helping to get the new school off the ground.  He or she will also mention the wonderful staff and what they hope to do with the pupils in the future with all the great new facilities. There are other fresh starts too. There may be a business launch where the owner will speak of his or her hopes for the future of that particular business. This might, for instance, be at the opening of a new gym or perhaps the opening of a new hotel. Obviously the speaker will speak of the excitement such an opening brings. The speaker will also mention the hard work and planning that preceded the time when the ribbon was cut. These speeches will be optimistic and motivational in tone and speak of what the new venture can offer clients. Speeches for such new starts should really be about someone’s dream coming true.

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The Emmy awards are getting lots of publicity. Other awards don’t ever make the headlines. That is not to say though that they are not equally important and mean as much to their recipients. Schools, for instance, often have a student of the year award and the words of encouragement spoken in a speech at such a ceremony may make a huge difference to that student’s life and career. In golf the captain’s prize-giving is an important event in the club but hardly ever makes the headlines. The speech the Captain gives is not recorded for posterity but if sincere enough and perhaps amusing enough will make the winners feel proud of their wins. Many firms have awards for years of service to a company. Again the speeches given will only make the company’s newsletter rather than the national press. Yet a speech that makes those who have served so long feel that their service was important can mean a lot. They may be very happy to know how much their contribution was actually valued. People who receive awards should be valued because they have usually put great effort into winning them. They are an example to all of us at doing what they do best. Whether it is a child winning a running race or a nurse becoming the nurse of the year whoever presents their prize should remember that what they say on the occasion should be inspirational and memorable.

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You’d never think there could be so many eggs. Yet we know 550million have been recalled because of a salmonella scare. Maybe this scare will make us focus on what we eat and indeed what we shouldn’t eat. It may not be a politically correct way to describe it but obesity is definitely a growing problem. The amount of junk food we eat is proof that we are killing ourselves with kindness and there is no doubt but that there is a huge increase in the number of people suffering from diabetes as a result. On the opposite side of the equation there are those deadly diets causing Anorexia and Bulimia. In many cases these seem to be caused by low self-esteem. Again we must question our whole attitude to food and the effect it has on our bodies.  It seems that we have forgotten what our mothers used to tell us and that is that there should be moderation in all things. That is certainly true of food and drink. What we eat affects our physical and mental health and as any teacher will confirm students who do not eat properly cannot concentrate on their studies. Again mothers must be right when the say that a good breakfast is the best way to kicks-start your life.

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What will make your audience switch off when you are giving a speech? That is something that a good speechwriter will consider when writing it. Obviously the content of the speech must be interesting and suitable for the particular audience. There is no point in giving a technical speech about nuclear warheads to a meeting of the local ladies club. On the other hand a speech about ladies’ fashion will hardly provide riveting listening for most men. Too many statistics are also best avoided because unless you also give written hand-outs to the audience they will become confused and lose track of what you are saying. Your delivery is another matter for consideration. If you race along your audience won’t be able to keep up with you. If you speak too slowly they will become bored or lose interest. Make sure your facts are correct because otherwise your audience will say to themselves that you don’t know your subject so it’s not worth listening to you. Long sentences confuse people and if you say something blue or offensive you will certainly ensure that there will be people in your audience who will not want to hear any more. A good speech, you see, is as much about what you don’t say as what you say.

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