Recently I was reminded of an essential truth about speaking. We want to be speaking from the heart.
The important reminder about speaking from the heart happened during a meeting where participants were practicing their “core idea” speeches with the goal of one day being on a TEDx stage.
A speaker got up and read through her talk. She looked up often to connect with us. But she was still working her talk out. In this particular venue, this is acceptable. However, during the feedback from the audience, someone mentioned it would be much more potent if she moved away from her notes. To this, she replied something like:
Until I figure this out and know exactly what I want to say, it won’t come from my heart. It has to come from my heart. Which means I have to be comfortable with the content before I deliver it without notes.
Her comment resonates with what professional performers of all genres would say. You gotta know the material to perform from the heart.
Playing an Instrument
Long ago, I used to play the piano. Until I knew a piece well and could play it from memory, I could not perform it with much emotion – passion – feeling. But once I no longer needed to rely on reading the music, playing it was a feeling and pleasure that is hard to describe. It was no longer an exercise. It was an experience.
Watch the Pros
Watch professional musicians – especially the great pianists, violinists, or cellists performing without reading any music. Their performances move us because the music they play is in their blood. They know it well enough to express it through their heart – bringing to the music feeling, passion, and heart.
From the Heart
In conclusion, delivering a talk from the heart requires intimacy with the material. KNOWING it. This usually means you have had personal experiences or witnessed others’ own experiences with what you share. You don’t HAVE to memorize your talk word for word. I recommend memorizing the opening and closing. But for the stuff in-between, be intimately familiar with it so you can speak from the heart.
Ideally, for talks, you should be able to say, in one sentence, the core idea of your talk. When that is down, you are well on your way to preparing and delivering a talk that speaks from the heart.
