Hey all. I got in yesterday evening from the debate in Springfield. It went well. I think I won, but so does every debater, right? Anyway, the Baptist Student Union told me they’d upload it to youtube and as soon as they do I’ll post it here.
So I woke up this morning and started rehearsing my talk for the Humanist Community of Central Ohio that I’m giving today (all this speaking is why content has been light the last couple of days) and I just had a thought. When practicing to become a magician it’s a common understanding that you are supposed to practice in the mirror until it looks like magic to you. With writing and public speaking, it has always been my goal to re-write and practice in the mirror until I am moved by my own words. When it appears as magic to me, I think, it will look like magic to others.
It’s often noted that I’m a pretty emotional public speaker. It’s because I care, and because when I manage to put how much I care (and why) into the right words I find it not only moves others to care with me, but reminds me why I do the work that I do. I want to be just as invested in a talk as I want the audience to be. The goal is not to rehearse it so that it looks sincere, but to write genuinely so that instead of trying to force sincerity into the phrases I need only vocalize them with no pretension.
That’s when it’s magic.
About JT Eberhard
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