Emotions in public speaking

Communicating is an art, writing a speech is not the same as delivering it. When we give a speech, we are performing an interpretation. No matter how natural we want to sound, we will always be riding on a character that must convey emotions and feelings. As in a play, the speaker must be able to generate empathy in his audience. Emotions in public speaking play a key role in communicating a strong and profound message. The people who listen to you, perceive your state of mind and interpret the facts taking this as a reference.

During the development of this session, we will be addressing some of the basic elements that revolve around this topic. In this way, you will deepen your knowledge about the construction and interpretation of an effective speech.

Align emotions with the message: Our speech must be coherent; we cannot communicate a message of overcoming and optimism while maintaining a low or depressing emotional state. Our emotions must be aligned with the message we communicate. If our intention is to awaken reflective thinking, it is likely that our emotional state should be calmer or paused; on the other hand, we cannot pretend to awaken euphoria in our audience with that same emotional state. One of the easiest ways to understand this concept is to visualize politicians' speeches.

When a politician presents his ideas, he varies his emotional state depending on the message he is conveying. In general, this variation in emotional state is part of the politician's communicative and acting skills. This speech has been rehearsed on numerous occasions and the politician knows in advance which are the moments in which he should express one emotion or another. By this we mean aligning emotions with the message: it is to seek coherence between our words and the feelings we wish to convey. More often than not, how we express ourselves is more important than what we say. Few people in your audience will remember your speech in its entirety; on the other hand, most will remember the feelings and emotions that you have managed to convey to them.

The interpretation of the speech: As we said at the beginning of this session, the speaker is an interpreter. In fact, the speaker does not always write his own speech; this is an independent skill that requires his own technique and training. A newspaper editor, who does not have to face the cameras, can write his article without stopping to think about the emotional state that his words reflect. It is the reader who, in his interpretation, recreates the emotions, the language or the intensity of the words. Public speaking is more than having a good speech. The speaker is the one who loads the words with feelings and is in charge of conveying emotions to the listener.

Think of your speech as if it were a play. You must build your character and prepare a script that takes into account the emotional charge, the intensity of the words, the language and the tone of voice. If you can put yourself in your audience's shoes, it will be easier for you to understand how your words will be perceived. This skill is called empathy. Empathy, within communication, is one of the most useful resources when it comes to generating feelings in listeners.

Always focus on achieving an emotional message. It does not matter if they are not strong or intense emotions, the important thing is that the audience identifies with the emotional charge you wish to express and takes away the essence of the message, with the intention you wish to achieve.