Man is endowed with power to make intelligible speech unlike lower animals that were not imbued with such ability. But ironically, only few men develop this gift to an enviable height. While most people merely engage in subsistence communication. It is not a hyperbole to say that most people cannot open their mouths outside there comfort zone. That means except in their family circle where they do not feel threatened they cannot talk. Even when they have ideas they want to pass across.
There are two questions to be asked:
1. Why are the majority unable to make effective communication?
2. Why are few people able to develop this gift?
Answers to these questions would be gleaned before the end of this article.
Speech communication is very important in social dynamics. A person who can communicate effectively, definitely; has an edge over a person that is lacking in same.
In ancient Greek nation, speech was of great importance that men like: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle; and the sophists had schools where they taught rhetorics. Hence, the Greeks develop rhetorics though Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. However, they cautioned against its negative effect. The sophists were notorious for negative use of their communication skill to incite and manipulate their followers.
As important as rhetorics was in ancient Greek nation; if ones father died intestate, the heir was required to address the general Assembly and if he failed to communicate effectively he would lose the inheritance. A man named Themistocle lost his inheritance to the state because he could not address the Assembly as required and that took his inheritance. He was a stutterer.
But that singular event devastated him and he swore to rid himself of that malaise. And he did! He remoulded himself and became the greatest orator in Greek that only Cicero Roman could be compared with him. Hence, people said when Cicero finished talking, people clapped but when Themistocle finished, people would say let's march.
In contemporary society, oratory is still an invaluable and an appreciable skill. Dale Carnegie in his book entiled "How to Win Friends And Influence People," said "a man who can speak acceptably is usually given credit for an ability out of all proportion to what he really possessed." And opined that the only way to learn to speak effectively is to begin. So he encouraged his students to speak whenever an opportunity is provided for them.
Nigeria has produced many renowned orators like: Dr. Zik, Sir Belewa, Chief Emeka Ojukwu, Babagana Kingibe, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Dr. John Nnia Nwodo, Major Hamza Mustapha, Prof, Soludo and many others too numerous to mention here.
Undisputably, no person is born a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, a chemist and a pharmacist etc. Everything man becomes on earth, he learned. Therefore, these great Nigerian orators learned to use their mouths and voices effectively. And there are/were many people who could even out do them But they never took the bold step to nurture themselves. They were stymied by stage fright. Honestly, every great communicator had experienced stage fright in one way or the other before. But he was able to overcome it and became an effective speaker.
What is stage fright?
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary 7th Edition defined it thus:
Nervous feelings felt by performers, before they appear in front of an audience.
In other words it is a feeling of fear that attacks performers, speakers or speech makers when they address an audience, listeners, spectators or public.
How to control and eliminate stage fright: