How to deliver an awesome speech : 9 lessons from Aung San Suu Kyi

The world has seen a few truly amazing women throughout its history. They include Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, many others and of course, Aung San Suu Kyi (we affectionately call her Aunty Suu) from Burma (Myanmar). She is a mother, a wife, a survivor, a leader, an icon and the voice and hope for democracy in Burma. She also happens to be one of the best speakers I have ever seen. She can deliver amazing speeches both in English and Burmese.

In this post, I am not going to talk about her political career where she was put under house arrest for 15 years by military dictators in Burma. I am not going to talk about the awards she has received throughout her life such as Nobel Peace Prize or the Honorary Degree from the University of Oxford. I will do those in other posts.

In this post, I am only going to talk about why she is such a great speaker and what we can learn from her.

Below is her acceptance speech she made in 2012 at the University of Oxford (UK) for the Honorary Degree bestowed upon her.

Considering that it was an acceptance speech, it was awesome, wasn’t it? Here are the lessons.

(1) She did not start talking immediately…

Many speakers tend to start immediately once they are in their speaking positions. This is usually due to the adrenaline running through their veins. Did you notice how Aunty Suu started? She smiled and looked around, acknowledging everyone in the audience. When you do this as a speaker, you immediately gain the attention and respect of your audience. First impression is very important in communication, especially for a speaker. So don’t waste it.

Remember, you are not supposed to start running immediately once you are at the starting line of a 100m race. You have to wait for the starting gun to go off. As a speaker, that starting gun is in your head. Count to 3, acknowledge the audience, take a sip of water or take a deep breath. Do whatever you have to. Just don’t start speaking immediately.

(2) Eye contact, eye contact & eye contact

Did you notice how much eye contact she had with her audience? You can see that her head was constantly turning and her eyes were making connections with the audience. She made the deliberate effort to make sure her audience felt included in her speech with her eye contact. So, make sure you pay attention to your eye contact with your audience in your future speeches.

(3) She kept it real

A speech is a conversation with many people at the same time. You and I, we both know that it is much easier said than done. But if you want to deliver awesome speeches, this is one area you must work on. Did you notice how conversational Aunty Suu was? You can almost feel as if she was having a conversation with you.

Did you also notice how she wore her smile on her face most of them time? Smiles shorten the distance between you and your audience. So remember to smile often.

(4) She made it fun

Even in the most serious speeches, there is room for making it fun and enjoyable with laughter and humour. However, it is important that the humour is organic to your content and subject, not a lame joke you pick up from a joke book or internet. In order to find organic humour in your content, you have to put in considerable amount of effort.

It is also important for you not to take yourself too seriously. It doesn’t matter who you are. You can always be humble and laugh at yourself.

(5) She used ‘Pauses’ well

We have heard this often but few have used it to its full effect. Aunty Suu used “Pauses” well. Pauses allow the listeners to subconsciously organise what they have heard and wait with anticipation for what is coming next. It gives minor breaks or rests for the audience. So, remember to use this powerful tool in your speeches.

(6) She knew her content well

If you know your content well by internalizing it, you won’t need to use notes or confidence monitors. Again, this is not easy unless you have a photographic memory or you really really know your content well.

Some speakers recycle the same generic speech again and again. Therefore, they become natural in delivering that same generic speech. You can tell from her content that this speech was not a generic speech. This was a special speech meant for Oxford and due to her busy schedule, I am sure she did not have time to practice. But she delivered it flawlessly because she spoke what she meant and she knew what she wanted to say.

So, as speakers, we need to make sure we know our content well in order to focus on the connection with the audience when we deliver our speeches. My advice to you is to prepare, practise and perfect your content and delivery in advance.

(7) She had good body language

She stood straight up, tall, proud and confident. Although she had to use a lectern, she kept open posture throughout her speech. She used her hands to great effect whenever she wanted to add impact to her point. She didn’t clench the lectern like some speakers do. Due to her open body posture as a result of movement of her upper body, although she was behind a lectern, it did not feel like there was barrier between her and the audience.

Remember to open up your body and pay attention to your hands when you deliver a speech. If those are restricted due to any situation, remember to smile often as I mentioned before to connect with your audience.

(8) She used beautiful language

She avoided “pause fillers” like “uhs”, “ums” or “you know” in her speech. Pause fillers are sounds you make to avoid silence between words or sentences. Speakers use pause fillers because they feel uncomfortable with silences. As speakers, we need to learn to be comfortable with those silences. I feel that silence is better than pause fillers.

She spoke with excellence pronunciation.

She used various rhetorical devices. Here are a few examples of beautiful descriptions she used.

(a) a road that we have to build as we go along

(b) too many people are expecting too much

(c) a road that is not smooth, not well maintained and not even there

(d) the world belongs to them and they belong to the world

So start investing your time to learn and pick up beautiful usage of words, phrases and sentences.

(9) She had clear messages

 She kept her messages simple, consistence and easy to follow. She had 2 key messages in her speech.

The first was to describe how Oxford’s values, cultures and traditions have shaped, influenced and made her who she was. It was an appropriate message because after all, it was an acceptance speech for the Honorary Degree by the university. She made it simple and smooth with examples of her experiences and personal stories.

Her second message was about the road ahead for Burma. She reminded everyone that Burma still has a long way to go and it needed help and guidance along the way.

Her call for action to everyone was to help and invest in Burma with a sense of responsibility and fairness.

It is extremely important for us as speakers to have clear messages and call for action in our speeches. A speech without the clarity of its purpose is a waste of everyone’s time. So, we need to make sure we start with the purpose of our speech and it must be the absolute foundation on which the speech is built upon such as what examples and stories to add to.

Identify your purpose, stay true to it and make it simple with stories and examples.

Last words

I hope I have given you the essential elements to make your next speech awesome. Apply these 9 tips and be on your way to become a great speaker.

Signing off…

AP.Tun

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AP Tun helps individuals and organizations to achieve their goals and aspirations. He is an avid learner and loves to share his experiences and insights. You can find more information about him here. Contact him @ [email protected].

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