What Makes A Versatile Guest Speaker
An ideal guest speaker should aim to keep his audience just interested in whatever he says. He need not make them think or involve or evoke, because a guest speaker is invited to an unconventional gathering like a birthday party, a marriage reception or a christening ceremony. It should be only a passing of a few hours without letting the audience get bored. The speaker should consider three key issues here, the host, the type of gathering and the purpose of the party or gathering for which he is invited. For example, he should not make funny comments on how silly marriages are, in a party given by a newly wed couple - "Marriage is like buying the whole shop for drinking a cup of wine." Imagine how asinine this remark would sound in the context of a speech given at a wedding reception. Though some comments may bring about laughter, they are not always taken in good mirth. They may prove irksome to the emotions of the host, sometimes even offensive. The foremost point is that the speech shouldn't hurt anyone's feelings. An ideal guest speaker must keep in mind the three golden rules of oratorical success. First, stand up to be heard. The speaker must assume a stance that is appreciated by the audience. It wouldn't do to cower before an eager audience. It would only dampen their enthusiasm towards the speaker and the speech. Second, speak up to be heard. The voice and tone of the speech make up half the speech. The speech must be made in a clear and at the same time, jovial. Third, finish before you're wanted to. The intention of a guest speech is to fill in the interim between two other important programs, so it shouldn't take up a lot of time. A good guest speaker makes sure he finishes before the audience start to get flustered. He always leaves the audience with the feeling that it would have been interesting had he continued. An important aspect of a guest speaker is the topic he chooses for the speech. Since the audience would be composed of a medley of interests and passions, it wouldn't do to delve deep into a particular field. It would be more prudent to choose a general topic that would keep the audience engrossed during the speech. For example, a guest speaker speaking about the pitfalls of RSA algorithm in Network Security and Cryptography is more likely to put his audience to sleep than one speaking about the impact of the IT world on morality. Also, the seriousness of the topic matters a lot. This, a guest speaker must decide based on the audience that he addresses. If it is a group of middle aged scientists and businessmen, he can't talk about American football. On the other hand, the above speech may fit in perfectly with a teenaged crowd. Another important aspect is the tone of the speech. This factor too, depends upon the audience. A guest speaker using an informal slang would be looked down at by a group of old men, on the other hand, he would be admired and pass off as 'cool' if he uses the same language with a gathering of youths. In this regard, the subtleties of guest speaking and the versatility of a guest speaker are often overlooked, but when taken up with interest, proves to be an interesting area of research. |
