[Spoiler Alert] The King's Speech
I caught the film one day because of the Oscar hype surrounding it (12 nominations!) plus I saw the trailer on the FaceBook page and it really intrigued me. This movie is a historical drama recounting the story of King George VI when he was still the Duke of York and how his stammer was causing him great distress. So in comes Lionel Logue,a speech therapist who helps the Duke overcome his lifelong stammer with his unorthodox methods. The film follows how Logue and the Duke developed a firm friendship in the Duke's struggle for a voice as he ascended the throne to be the King.
I was very overwhelmed by the struggle the Duke of York went through as he searched for ways to overcome his stammer. His stance was clearly uncomfortable when it came to public speaking, stemmed from his past and lack of confidence. Thus,it was very inspiring when he delivered the final speech to his people without stammering at the end of the film. I think the underlying factor for his stammer was his lack of confidence. The taunting of his elder brother and his father did a lot of damage to his self-esteem and that led to the Duke developing a fear of public speaking.
This movie made me realise the power of speech and what people go through in order to communicate with others. I would really recommend this film to you because it shows how effective communication can be achieved as long as we learn how to overcome our fears of public speaking. So do let me know about your thoughts about this film if you have watched it because I would really love to hear your views about it :)
posted by Paula @ 08:38
4 Comments
4 Comments:
Bravo, you made a good point!
However Paula you also said this:
"...shows how effective communication can be achieved as long as we learn how to overcome our fears of public speaking."
I'm not sure you knew that public speaking was but one small part of effective communication. That is because the majority of effective professional communication is interpersonally based, rather than all about public speaking. In a public speech, it is very different from an oral presentation you would do in front of your classmates or your future boss in a firm; because in a public speech, you dont nearly do as much in the way of empathy, neither do you role-play significant verbal and non-verbal content. A public speech is more controlled and predefined, just like how Lee Hsien Loong gives his national day rally speech at UCC every year. In fact, he is reading from a script!!!! And that is not really called effective communication!! Because the requirements on your interpersonal and presentational repertoire are very limited.
You should be so relieved to do public speaking over an oral presentation of any sort, because the former is so much easier than the latter. Always remember though: Speeches are not a form of professional communication because it is not challenging enough! In speeches, all you need to do is read the script and vary your voice tones and look interested by smiling, gasping, sighing, evoking or whatever. How difficult can that be? The real type of professional communication, Paula, is AN IMPROMPTU PRESENTATION!!!!!!
With no preparation, nor any types of ready-to-go aids, make a speech or come up with a masterpiece of an oral presentation; that is the real deal, Paula, not the King's speech or the like!
CHeers
There was an article in today's Sunday Times about stammering too. The article mentioned that it is easier to correct stammering when you're a child than when you're an adult. While one who stammers tries to communicate effectively, the more he/she tries, the more he/she struggles with stammering. I believe it is a real challenge to try to change that, but not impossible.
I have not watched it, but my brother had. And he said he didn't like it. Don't worry. I probably will still watch it because I don't really trust in my brother's taste of movies. He said that Inception was senseless. Hmmm....
Anyways,I think public speaking can be done naturally with a correct mindset. When we speak to our friends, most of us would not face the problem of stuttering. But when we step up into the limelight, we tend to stumble over our words very easily. Why? This is (through experience) because we do not see giving a speech as a normal conversation to our friends. The one who sees a speech as a prepared set of words for conveyance to friends would more likely not be afraid to speak in public. Instead of viewing a speech as instruction, viewing it as a sharing would help! Of course, it is easy to say but superbly difficult to achieve. But well, who said good things are easy to achieve? =)
@Mark: I disagree with you when you say that public speaking is a small part in effective communication. Yes,you might think that giving speeches are just a mean of conveying information. It is no different from sending out a mass email other than it is done in front of a live audience simultaneously as the information is being shared. But if we do not maintain eye-contact,be observant of our audience's body language and other non-verbal actions,how do we expect the audience to comprehend our intended message fully? A speech and oral presentation in my opinion does not differ much. If we do not apply the same methods that we use during an oral presentation during a speech, the speech would really be meaningless because the audience does not fully comprehend your message. Just my 2 cents worth.
@Michelle: I haven't personally met someone who has a stammer but I'm glad that it is not something that is incurable.
@Edwin: Haha I thought Inception was rubbish! Maybe I just didn't understand the movie as I should have. Anyway, I really like how you mentioned that we should learn to view speeches "as a prepared set of words for conveyance to friends". It makes sense to do so too haha! I'll keep that in mind the next time I have to do a speech or speak publicly :)
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