The Presentation:

Where we misunderstood public speaking?

Do you feel bore, when anyone speaks around, be it on videos or a person in front? How long would you love to listen to him/her? or would you feel like leaving the hall/class within 5 seconds of a presentation, I am sure you have had that experience at any given point in your academic and career life.

With the likes of Robin Sharma, Deepak Malhotra, and Mr. Barack Obama, take the stage, expectation from the audience goes high. How would one forget the great orator, Jr. Martin Luther King, or perhaps the 35^th American president JF Kennedy, I am certain there would be a “Pin drop silence”, doesn’t matter if there were two or two billion people in front of them, once they began their say.

 

Mr. Vedant, at 24, had a decent dexterity to communicate, and present anything to the audience, at a very young age, he had numerous accolades and awards for his presentation admiration.

He even had co-founded a “The best speaker club” at his the university where he along with some of his friend train his juniors and few seniors.

This is how you instill to present your ideas, the Co-Curricular Director of the university for ‘Leadership Development Program’, Mr. Bikram, showing his dissatisfaction at Vedant during the training process at the club.

Mr. Bikram had bagged 10 national best speaker awards, international speaker award. A keynote speaker for various imminent events and activities, he runs three schools and five different colleges, a big guy Mr. Bikram.

It is only Vedant who doesn’t like Mr. Bikram's style of training, and the mediocre parameter set to evaluate “Public Speaking”, there was numerous incident where Vedant has left Bikram training session at the middle of the classroom. For that Vedant was detained from the university and many actions were taken against him.

The club had a mission to spawn 50 solid speakers to compete with other school presentator at the ‘best speaker award’ which is going to happen after 2 months. And Vedant was preparing 50 solid speakers for the competition.

We have an inter-collegiate best speaker award is going to be held after four days of time, Mr. Bikram announced the information to all the students of the school. He then particularly asked to Vedant to report him as to how many speakers have been developed so far at what extent.

After the classes get over, Vedant along with his few friends checked inside the Director room, Mr. Bikram made them sit.

You all know that only four days left for the competition, and I need one good candidate from the whole school, and Vedant it is your responsibility to selected the one. Let me know who will be the one. Mr. Bikram wanted an urgent reply from Vedant.

Sir, I have just started my club, and I have given them a training schedule today, from tomorrow my training session is going to be commenced. I am not in a position to help you find the right one at this point. But if you give me permission, I can take this as a challenge.

For that, you also need some additional training, and we have only four days left, said Mr. Bikram, Vedant in reply, sir I can knob without any training, making presentation sometime goes beyond training.

I am sorry, Vedant, I don’t want to take menace by sending you untrained. Said Bikram.

I request a trust from your end, sir, Vedant with a soft voice trying to plead his Director.

I will ask you one question if you could satisfy me, I will be happy to send you, if not- then, I am going to train someone else.

The director posed an intimidating question in front of Vedant.

Vedant was not petrified to take any experiments that his Director going to throw at him. he said he was ok with whatever Bikram had to say.

What’s your philosophy behind the presentation? Bikram asked, he was surefire that, this must be out of the box question to Vedant, but in return. Vedant asks a simple question to Bikram that made him go Pindrop silence for a moment.

Vedant then replied, “A Pin drop Silence” is what a great speaker must aspire for, what mediocre speaker does is they just try to show their reward and accolades, great speakers aspire only for “Pindrop silence” It doesn’t matter if there are 2 or 2 billion people snooping to them.

And I believe in “chasing Pindrop silence” than anything else. One day, I dream, when I speak, there would be a ‘Pin drop Silence’. Vedant replied.

His philosophy behind the presentation was greatly criticized by Mr. Bikram.

A millennial like Vedant, teaching someone already a star, Mr. Bikram, a well-known presenter for decades, Bikram did not accept the fact that just grown up tried to show up in front of him.

Mr. Bikram did not select Vedant for the competition, he perhaps doesn’t understand the Vedant philosophy behind the presentation.

A Pindrop silence was a real challenge for Mr. Vedant.

Mr. Bikram prepared someone he knew who he thought had great presentation skills. But in fact, the presentator was failed to make it. He was out from the first audition round. Mr. Bikram never made a sound for any sort of presentation since then.

Mr. Vedant really worked hard for his team members at the club to develop the great speakers. But really never had that chance to demonstrate, Mr. Bikram on the other hand never appreciate to proffer a platform for Vedant.

25^th anniversary of the school, Mr. Bikram at the stage – this was the worst speech ever by the president.

The next day, Vedant wanted to speak with Mr. Bikram.

I am sure you did not like the way you speak, did you?  Vedant said to Mr. Bikram, at the office after the class the next day. The ego can be felt all across the room from Mr. Bikram.

You know sir, a speaker needs to see how much the crowd is listening to them with great interest, if anyone doesn’t like the way one speak, they won’t listen, they would rather chat with the one side by them and that creates a noise, which is not a quality of a speaker.

How much you know about speaking? Mr. Bikram showed his annoyance to Vedant.

They don’t care how one speaks, but I will always value speaker when they have something more than the speech.

It is when the crowd expects something great to listen from the speaker, then the speaker achieves a ‘Pindrop silence’. Maybe you know better than I do. Vedant ended.

Mr. Bikram is not going to value what anyone has to say about his weakness.

Mr. Vedant keeps himself busy until something came up as a big event. Time to prove.

The scheduled inter-university ‘Best Speaker Award’ is round the corner, almost 50 affiliated colleges are going to participate, it is imperative that we need a magnificent team of presentator to fight the competition.

I am supposed to lead the team and participate as well. Said Vedant to his self-centered director.

The Director, in return decline Vedant interest to participate, Mr. Bikram had someone in his mind to get prepared for the leading competition ever.

After long verbal combat with his Director, Vedant finally lost the hope for his participation at the upcoming event.

For two months, Mr. Bikram trained one of his students, which he sensed can do a prodigious job and perhaps bag the title for the university.

It was more like a competition against Vedant than with any other participants at the event.

50 different colleges, 50 selected participants from each college, out of which Mr. Bikram selected student weigh better because Bikram training has never gone into vain so far.

Each college has put extra determination to outperform the Bikram student.

More than 1200 audience, guests, chief guest, participants, dignitaries from all walks of life, and gamut were presented at the event.

The elegant host begins the session; participants were made seated at the waiting hall. After the formal session ends, the host announced the technical session.

Out of 50 different vibrant participants representing their respective colleges and institutions, Bikram college got 23^rd turn to present on their topic.

Audience vote and judges scoring was taken as an evaluation.

The first five presentators performance was found to be an excellent one, and huge applause from the audience as well.

20 presentations gone by, Bikram's heartbeat was pounding every second since then. Finally, the turn was for a much-awaited host college participant, Mr. Bikram 25 years of recognition in the field of public speaking and his student now going to take the stage.

Each audience with excitement.

It was Mr. Vedant on the stage finally, everyone from the host was quite surprised to see him.

Mr. Bikram could not believe his eyes.

Twelve minutes long, a thought-provoking speech delivered. It was more than just a speech. Mr. Vedant at the stage. “A Pin drop Silence” even after Vedant finish his presentation.

The newspaper reporter tracked down Mr. Bikram, after the end of the event.

Vedant was your student, he indeed did an inordinate job, outperformed 50 other great speakers across prestigious universities. You must have trained him, what is your take on this? The reporter asked Mr. Bikram.

Nobody could have judged his speech, ‘A Pindrop Silence’ from the crowd testified his knack to give novel profile and extent as to how we have misunderstood the “Public Speaking” so far at large. Bikram responded.

Writer: Mr. Rajesh Prasad Bhandari

President: PVP Nepal, Province no. 7

BBA Program Director, Brixton College  

Phone: 9805422784           

Email: tfabodoc@gmail.com