We all get nervous when we get on stage. As Mark Twain put it:
There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.
—Mark Twain (attributed)
But some folks — okay, most folks — get it in their head that they have to provide a pitch perfect performance. This expectation causes even deeper anxiety and in turn, the butterflies take on monstrous proportions. It doesn't need to be that way.
I meet people every week who seem intent on keeping their vocabulary as small and simple as possible. As a public speaking guide, I understand the need for the right word at the right time. Sometimes, the simplest of words can have the greatest impact.
"I'm sorry for your loss," holds far more empathy in its pure simplicity compared to "I'm sympathetic to the passing of your loved one." Succinctness during times of pain is often the most compassionate thing we can offer.
Yet, we're holding ourselves back if we keep to using only the most simple of words and grammatical tools.
Over my numerous years of studying English and other languages and of teaching people to be better public speakers, I'm concerned that to many people are limiting themselves to echoing words rather than using the tools of vocabulary.
Speech is silver, silence is gold.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Cognition is, per Google: "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses."
When we are speaking to an audience, it is worth keeping in mind that despite the amazing power of the human brain, it does have limitations when it comes to cognition. Here are some of the "cogs" you should keep in mind both when you are preparing a speech and when you are on the stage.
Trust me, too many options makes a tyrants of us all. So get rid of the excess, the wasted time, decrease your options… and you will have accidentally, almost innocently, put in front of you, what is important to you by process of elimination.
Matthew McConaughey
Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
Unknown; often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt