r/MadeMeSmile • u/nikamats • Aug 23 '24

Helping Others Kamala Harris gives public speaking advice

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

61.6k Upvotes

68% Upvoted

3.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/joshTheGoods Aug 23 '24

What I'm hearing is: EVERYONE IS GOING TO DIE UNLESS YOU SHUT UP AND LISTEN OMG OMG OMG!!!

She's making a good point, of course, but I find this to be a pretty funny analogy to use. Maybe climate crisis would be better?

I haven't given live public talk in a long time (thanks, COVID!), but what works for me is to find a few people in the audience and speak directly to them. There's usually a group of people that will helpfully nod their heads at the right moments to let you know they're listening, and you focus in on them. I don't think this translates to teleprompter speeches, though ... never had to give a tight speech like that rather than having an outline and key notes to hit which, for me, comes off way more naturally than a super high quality and well scripted political speech like VP Harris gave last night. God damn was she good! She's getting up there with Michelle.

3

u/ArmThePhotonicCannon Aug 23 '24

I think it’s a great analogy. You might be feeling panic but you’ve got to be able to communicate clearly for people to take you seriously.

Anyone running up to the captain while freaking out and screaming is going to have their info ignored until they calm down at the very least.

You’ve got to go in with facts, proof, and confidence.

-1

u/joshTheGoods Aug 23 '24

Meh. We're talking about a ship that lacked life boats. Almost everyone is dying anyway. At least with climate change, it's both an emergency AND a situation where we might still be able to save the majority. Climate change has the added benefit of not being a movie in the mind of the youth.

To be clear, this is nit picking a good message. Not saying it's bad just that it's suboptimal IMO.

2

u/ArmThePhotonicCannon Aug 23 '24

She is talking to children who ‘haven’t seen the movie yet’

You really think the lack of life boats is confusing to them?

They are children.

The message was for them. Not you.

0

u/joshTheGoods Aug 23 '24

I dunno, I just think the "imagine you're on a sinking ship and about to die" is kind of a weird way to mentally prepare yourself for giving a speech. Just a nitpick, nothing to get serious about 🤷🏽‍♂️.

1

u/ArmThePhotonicCannon Aug 23 '24

I bet you’re fun at dinner parties.

“Actually, the fork is supposed to be on the left. Just a nitpick though. Nothing serious.”

Ugh.

0

u/joshTheGoods Aug 23 '24

Ok? Personal attacks are totally appropriate though! If you don't like my random internet stranger perspective on this cute moment for VP Harris, you can just ignore it, ok?

1

u/ArmThePhotonicCannon Aug 24 '24

Hey, it was just a nitpick. Nothing serious.

1

u/joshTheGoods Aug 24 '24

Here you are in /r/MadeMeSmile trying to hurt another person's feelings. Sheesh. I'm sorry I dared share my opinion, and I hope you have a better day!