Chapter 51 Don't let the guests be on the podium

I was there when the Prime Minister of Canada spoke in London and Ontario.A short while after the speech began, a staff member came to ventilate the hall with a long pole.He opened the windows one by one with a rod, which immediately turned the attention of all the audience in the hall from the speaker to the staff member. In speeches, moving objects and the like can distract the audience.Only when the speaker keeps this in mind can he avoid unnecessary influence. First of all, speakers should avoid fiddling with fingers, clothing or making small movements, because this will detract from the effectiveness of their speech.I have a vivid memory of an audience member in New York staring at the speaker's hands for half an hour as the speaker was fiddling with a lectern cloth.

Secondly, if conditions permit, the speaker should arrange for the audience to sit down, so as to avoid the distraction of the late audience. Again, the speaker should not leave the guest at the podium.A few years ago, Raymond Robbins gave a series of lectures in Brooklyn.At that time, I was invited to sit on the podium as a guest with some people, and I declined the invitation because I felt that it was not good for the speaker.During the first talk, I noticed that the guests on stage were constantly changing positions or crossing their legs, which inevitably distracted the audience, so on the second day, I told Robbins to pay attention to this. Condition.Therefore, in the following speeches, he cleverly let the guests sit down.

David Bilasker refused to use red flowers as a podium decoration during his speech because it would distract the audience.In the same way, then, a wise speaker should not allow those who have nothing to do to sit on the platform.