Public Speaking
Podcast | Advanced Resource
Posted April 2021
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Context
It’s very normal for young people to have a vested interest in politics and want to say things about our political system and how it works and doesn't work particularly.
We get cynical about their performance because they don't solve those problems, partly because they're not brilliant at their job, and partly because public policy problems are difficult to solve.
Often speakers fall into traps of taking paths that the audience generally knows a lot about already, and also has strong feelings about.
The Consensus Approach— It's very easy to critique the system and not give enough evidence for that. Look at humanising politicians in order to critique them, don’t just vilanising them.
— Voting rights need to be approached with a unique take. Your audience is unlikely to be freshly engaged with a historical speech about voting rights.
— Analysis of minor parties, Clive Palmer or One Nation, can become a little bit stale. Look at parties that might be less well known.
Takeaways— Speak about what’s important to you and find ways to reinvent them for an audience.
— You're probably not the first person to have your idea, but you may be one of the first people to speak about that idea to that particular audience.