“The most important part of this post is realizing that all of these things apply to you, not just other people.” – Morgan Housel
Day: May 5, 2019
Public speaking
Great public speaking is just great gossiping.
To improve your public speaking, study gossiping.
You do not have to be an unrepentant gossip to be a great public speaker, but you need to understand the attributes of gossiping and apply them, to be a great public speaker.
I know gossiping has metamorphosed into having a negative connotation, however it remains one of the most powerful social tools of mankind.
To improve your public speaking, imagine that you’re gossiping to the crowd about the topic.
There will be facts and anecdotes.
There will be tone modulation dependent on what is being said – a secret or defeat will be in a hushed tone and a victory will be in a boisterous tone.
There will be feedback from the group and you will connect that feedback to the theme of the gossip. Basically, everyone in the group will either be part of the gossip or isolated. Humans don’t like being isolated.
There will be banter – popular and refreshing. There is no good gossip without laughter and claps.
There will be focus of the speaker on the least threatening people. The least threatening people give priceless cues on pacing, because they are less sophisticated in masking emotions.
There will be no end to the conversation – everyone will leave with a feeling of there is more to explore on this topic.
– Osasu Oviawe
Long-suffering
Acts 5:27-32, 40-41
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
Homily:
Long-suffering (patience in spite of troubles) is an attribute of any human with a clarity of vision and a purposeful mission.
When the apostles rejoiced at being beaten for speaking in the name of Jesus, they raised the ante from long-suffering to worthy-suffering.
They had a clear understanding of the beauty and permanence of God’s Love and the conflict it generates in the world. They embraced short-term discomfort for long-term peace. They saw short-term discomfort as validation that they were on the right path. Validation that they were unsettling present norms for a higher stake.