Does taking sides Matter in Public Speaking?

A mentor of public speaking once suggested, “Since it is impossible to eliminate speech unfairness from the society, permitting verbal expression of various forms of intolerance should be promoted.” In other words “free Speech”. Free speech refers to speeches that are demeaning and offensive to one group; the speech of fear as so called. As usual, the mentor’s suggestion met the “critics” opposition who strongly asserted that such attempts” as free speech” were merely empty abstraction and could never be promoted.
It is always one side or the other; but does taking sides in public speaking matter? As many of you may know, public speeches are rooted from the Idea of wanting to voice and support one’s beliefs and convictions. You may ask, “But we have laws to protect our rights and have religious beliefs to guide our actions, why then do we need to consider other people’s convictions?” Common examples,
• A business owner arrives at her store in the morning and finds it has been burglarized; she reports to the detectives and they begin their investigations.
• A car speeds through a red light and police begins chasing; red flashes and sirens sounding behind the car.
Such and many other events are common these days, and it is not unusual how the authority responds to them. In addition, we live in an age where many statistics confront us at every turn. In the news, Magazines and every corner, authoritative voices bombard us with percentages. “80 percent of American Public support the President’s health care”, “sixty percent of the Doctors recommend AARP insurance”,” my weight loss plan is 90 Percent results guaranteed,” and the list goes on, leaving many of us wondering how we could respond to our society’s challenges.
Some of the basic events we face each day, based on the perspectives that underlies them, may be considered wrong or unsatisfying to human nature. Our conscience will impale us to respond to the changing society. We will have different opinions on how to respond to different events and are always set to search for the right path to overcome different challenges. Public speakers do the most for us. They take careful analysis of events and consider different views before endorsing some. Their voice or response concerning events can be more than just a speech. One question we might ask concerning public speaking is whether or not it is more an expression of personal opinion or extremely defensive attitudes.
Although some speeches reflect personal conclusion on what is right or wrong, many speeches are rich with significant details that are based on facts. A good speaker reads or listens and examines the view of the people, sorts out the irrelevancies, and weighs all possible interpretations of facts. By doing so, a good public speaker gains authority over his beliefs and convictions or authority over his voice. He gains the major elements that make him succeed in public speaking; great verbal authority, great practical intelligence and a very good social connection. The liveliness of public speaking is that many opinions are not fixed and immutable, but alive and growing; changing as our culture is changing, responding to its challenges. These opinions provide us with a perspective from which to evaluate and classify actions, improving some and disapproving others.
But public speaking is not spared of challenges. There are high chances of finding wide differences in quality of judgment of issues from public view. Some people would take ultimate shortcut and forgone all inquiry on the assumption that their intuition or perception is infallible. Others would be ruled by emotions and untempered reason and their judgments will be little more than a conditioned reflex. The best way to deal with these challenges is by understanding that a good speech is more that a majority opinion. While the public opinions may play a big role in speech success, the integrity and honesty of the beliefs therein is what matters most.
If as a Professional speaker you did not judge issues on the basis of preconception and bias, but rather on careful analysis of facts, there lies your integrity. Let’s figure. If the majority of the citizens decide that a particular action is right, would that very decision make the action right? What is right is right regardless of the minority. My point, be honesty. As they say “respect for people does not demand the endorsement of their views, but requires the acknowledgement of their integrity.” Instead of worrying about the majority taking your side, find some integrity in the contents of your convictions. Enrich the contents of your speech with facts. Read, listen and examine the public view. Sort out the irrelevancies, and weigh all possible interpretations of facts before endorsing them.
Lastly, if you are a public speaker, always remember that you are a voice of many. Energize the many with the voice by speaking clearly and articulately, being knowledgeable of your beliefs, being confident and sensible to other people’s thoughts, needs or desires; accepting all for what they are. And who said this was easy? You must prepare relentlessly to avoid slippery slope reasoning and weak or false convictions and must simply connect with people. Public speaking is a very powerful tool for sharing ones beliefs if well used. It is a tool that would help our society to respond well to the daily changing challenges. Taking sides is not a matter; integrity of your speech is the matter.