Speaker’s Responsibility

I just returned from presenting at the national sleep meeting in Seattle in June 2009.  I had the opportunity to observe many different types of speakers and many types of presentations.  Some were good and some were excellent.  What I observed as far as excellence is that the speaker has several responsibilities when it comes to presenting to an audience.  He has the responsibility to make his presentation logical and clear.  He should take the issues involved and clearly define them, and try to present a logical solution to problems or explanations of phenomena that are noted.

 But beyond that, I believe a speaker has to have humility in order to connect with his audience.  The speakers who are pride of the prestige they think they are getting may be interesting on the surface.  However, they fail to really connect with the audience.  It is my belief that it is God who provides opportunities for speaking.  I do not deserve to be speaking in front of any audiences based on my own skills and intellect.  Everything that I have and ability to speak comes from God who has gifted me with certain talents and gifts.  I try to honor Him when I speak by being excellent at what I do.  I understand that a teacher and a speaker is under a greater judgment because many people will either rise or fall based on the information of the subject he is presenting as well as to the character that he is.  When a person is put in the position of authority either in a subject or as a leader in an area, that person is given greater responsibility and is under greater judgment by God or those who are over him.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon this person who was speaking or teaching to do diligence in his subject matter and to present in a clear and thoughtful way.  This is what motivates me when I speak knowing that I need to validate what I say with science and to present in a humble way so as to make it clear that what I am saying is either based on scientific fact or things that I have figured out.  If they are scientific fact, they are fact, but if they are things I figured out I believe that it should be presented in a way for those who are listening to consider as a possibility.  Humility is the key to effective communication and to motivate change.

God bless,

Dr. Ron Prehn