Keynote Address #1

I am Chris Bertaut and I want to thank each of you for attending our Patriotic for Public Speaking Awards Dinner. Each of you has helped me to become a better public speaker through your constructive criticism, so now I feel that I must repay the favor in my own way.

As a class, out journey together has been both difficult and memorable, set as it was against the backdrop of terrible events in this country and the world.

I hope to convince you that your newfound public speaking skills will help you make our world a better place.

I took freshman English back in the early 90's (When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth) my teacher told us that no thought is ever complete or truly coherent until it has been committed to writing. It took the events of September 11th, together with principles of speech communication learned here to make me re-evaluate that old English Prof's truism.

Three months ago, I stood atop a building in White Plains, New York amid the spendor of a beautiful day and felt the first ashes settle on my skin from the fires raging across the East River at the World Trade Center. I KNEW that simply writing about my experiences would not ever bring closure for me. I had to TELL others about that day so that I as a citizen of the United States and a member of the body of humanity could help to prevent a repeat of those events.

So, let us remember that the principles we have learned can be expressed with one simple word: SPEAK!

Use Sincerity to convey your beliefs and knowledge to others.

Prepare for your opportunities to make the world better by considering what you have to say and who you will say it to.

Show the Enthusiasm you feel for your chosen subject.

Be Adaptable to the needs of your audience. You can touch their hearts and minds better if you know them and change your delivery to fit their mood and the moment.

And lastly, know whereof you speak. If you know your subject well, you will be able to communicate it to others.

Now, running like a flash of lightning through these principles is the theme of personal credibility.

The essence of speaking to others is credibility and one of the most effective ways to gain credibility is to LISTEN to those around us. We cannot take the position -even in jest - as author and critic Harlan Ellison did when he said that "The only good critic is a dead critic." Learn from your audiences, whether they be your closest friends and family or the larger group of strangers we have yet to come to know.

Many noteworthy changes to our world have been spurred along by the well-chosen words of public speakers. History records revolutions of mind, spirit and political structure that have been spurred along by public speakers. Today, and for the rest of your days, you have the means to convince others to help you make a difference.

As I leave the podium today, Remember, SPEAK well of and toward your fellow human beings. Your ability to communicate using speech with others is like Archimedes' Lever, which could move the world if made long enough and placed against a fulcrum If you make your speech span enough minds and use your credibility to lean against, you too, can move the world.

Thank you.