The King’s Speech II

The King’s Speech II

After I wrote my first speech in Fall of 1991, my speech coach Marty Tarras, after reading what I wrote — or “trying to read it,” I should say — looked at me, and with the harshest of terminology (see Practical Lessons From “The King’s Speech” I) questioned my mental ability.

Thank you Lord for Marty!

Marty knew that I had enough self esteem to bless me with the words I desperately needed to hear! I did not realize it at the time, but Marty was coaching me in both speech, and life! It was clear to Marty that I had some pretty unique, if not severe challenges — and that I was VERY immature! I was in real need of a wake-up-call! If I was going to be a part of the competitive public speaking team at Los Angeles Valley College, Marty was not going to coddle me with candy-coated-words or enable me to continue writing like a 2nd grader (I was 22 years old)! Marty, without pulling any punches, directed me in the art of public speaking, while at the same time forcing me to acknowledge, confront, and overcome any and all challenges that would otherwise prevent me from properly composing and delivering any and all future presentations to the best of my ability.

In the film The King’s Speech, we meet a very challenged individual (The Duke of York, and soon to be King of England), and his speech coach (Lionel Logue). This sensational movie chronicles a very scared man’s journey as he addresses his worst fear, and his greatest challenges…while the whole world is listening! The film also depicts his ultimate triumph, and the great empowerment realized by: 1) submitting to direction, and 2) committing to direction!

SUBMITTING TO DIRECTION

“The King’s Speech,” offers us a tremendous example of an individual submitting to direction, and in doing so, making the seemingly impossible…possible!

Public Speaking is the number one fear in life!

For most people, “There is no greater challenge in life – than public speaking.” When you add to this fact, that often individuals are cursed with – or blessed with depending on how you look at things – other obstacles in life, public speaking can seem like a totally unworkable task. The film artfully, very realistically, and with great accuracy portrays not just the fears and challenges most people face with speaking publicly; but The Duke of York (Oscar winner, Colin Firth best actor) is also burdened with arguably more challenges than most people could ever conceive of. He is haunted by a tortured childhood and as a result he is oppressed with a very sever stutter in his voice. Furthermore, he is suddenly thrust into the position of King of England during a time of war, as a result of his selfish older brother failing to live up to his duties as the King of England following the death of their father.

King George VI had a speech-specific-handicap, and the highest profile public speaking position in the world.

As the King of England he was called to lead and inspire his nation, and the world, against Hitler! With speeches! Thankfully, King George VI was blessed with a loving and discerning wife, Elizabeth, who sought help for her husband. Elizabeth sought direction for her husband from a very eccentric speech coach named “Lionel Logue” (Geoffrey Rush). Lionel was unapologetic in demanding total submission to the direction he gave his students…regardless of who they were!

Early on in the film Lionel makes it very clear that, he is in charge, stating, “My castle – my rules!”, and later,“my game – my rules!” It did not matter that Lionel was working with the Duke of York, what mattered was that his student (who happened to be the future King of England), had to be willing to submit to direction! I always tell my students and clients:

“Public speaking is 5% direction, and 95% doing!”

Truth be said, public speaking, once you understand how to manage your nerves and properly prepare and structure your thoughts and information, is really simple! Lionel even acknowledges the simplicity of his direction in the film twice saying, “I like to keep things simple.” In reality – once an individual embraces and puts into practice the “simple-direction” regarding their public speaking anxiety, and embraces and puts to practice the “simple-direction” regarding foundational mechanics of how to properly compose and deliver a speech, the rest is about the individual doing! SPEAKING! And taking every opportunity to do so!

If an individual truly desires to improve their public speaking ability, the person MUST put into practice the “simple-direction” they have been given! They must SPEAK, and take advantage of every opportunity to do so!

Sadly however, most people do not like to submit to any direction in life – even when it can greatly improve, and often empower their overall wellbeing and position in life (school, work, hobbies, relationships, anything and everything!). The Duke didn’t even look for or find Lionel, it was his wife Elizabeth. And as witnessed in the film, the Duke had to be dramatically humbled before he would submit to the simple-direction Lionel so passionately wanted to bless him with. Twice in the film Lionel stressed to The Duke, who to his dismay Lionel insisted on addressing by his boyhood name “Bertie,” “Trust and total equality – no exceptions!” At their first meeting, it’s clear that the Duke is reluctant to receive the help his wife has secured for him, and thinks himself far superior to Lionel. While Lionel is evaluating The Duke in his own unique way, The Duke as if his time is being wasted says to Lionel – with a very condescending attitude – “Are you going to start treating me…?” To which Lionel responded, “Only if you are interested in being treated!” Lionel knew that if “Bertie” was not willing to submit to his simple-direction, that he could not help him!

If someone truly wants to overcome a challenge, and improve with anything, they must be willing to submit to direction!

At the end of their first meeting, the Duke tells Lionel that he will not be continuing with his services and walks out; but soon after, desperate and realizing he has no other options Bertie humbly returns, and says to Lionel, “I’m willing to work hard!” Once Bertie stopped acting like he was a King with a peasant, and realized that he had to submit to the direction of his speech coach, his training became very effective and ultimately lead the soon-to-be-King-of-England to discover his voice, to lead his nation, and the world! However, the key to Bertie fully realizing and reaching his full potential was not just about submitting to the direction of his speech coach, but also committing to the direction he was being blessed with.

COMMITTING TO DIRECTION

In the film we see Lionel give Bertie a variety of exercises to help prepare him for his speaking engagements. Once Bertie humbly began submitting to and committing to the direction Lionel was giving him, Bertie begins to — with real confidence — negotiate very effectively his challenges (on all levels). Lionel has Bertie sing silly songs, recite nursery rhymes, do breathing exercises with his wife Elizabeth sitting on him, tongue twisters, humming out of open windows, calisthenics, rolling around on the floor, publicly practice in a grocery store, cursing aloud, head clearing walks in the park, dancing, and perhaps most challenging – Lionel insists that the Bertie bare his sole to him through personal narratives (not unlike the cultural narrative assignment in Speech 101, class). At one point in the film, Bertie protests Lionel’s direction to sing, but Lionel boldly responds that, “Rules are Rules…SING!” And to Bertie’s credit, he submitted to the direction of his coach…and he sang!

I always tell my competitive speakers, and professional clients:

“Stay humble, or you will stumble.”

I frequently give my students seemingly silly direction as well. I know certain exercises can very effectively help people overcome their challenges, sharpen their presentation styles, and ultimately secure success every time they speak, IF they are willing to commit to the direction! Every presentation deserves 100% commitment throughout the entire process, on both a preliminary level, and a performance level; because every audience deserves 100% commitment. I recently had a client (CEO of a Fortune 500 Company) call me because, his words, “I had a speech go really poorly.” I immediately asked him, “How did you prepare?” To which he responded, “I knew you were going to say that.” He continued, “I did not prepare like I did for the last one, that went so well,” i.e. he did not fully commit to the direction he had paid me to give him – even though it had served him well in the past…and he knew it! He did not even need to call me.

AGAIN: PUBLIC SPEAKING IS 5% DIRECTION, AND 95% DOING!

Some people celebrate the direction fully…but most do not. Bertie did! In one scene, he proudly, but humbly tells Lionel, “I’ve been practicing an hour a day.” Later in another scene Bertie is seen practicing in the car while on a trip with his wife. He tells his wife, “I have to keep doing this!” I often tell my students “The more you practice, the more prepared you will be; and, the more confident you will be when you speak.” You can’t get rid of the fear of public speaking, but you can manage it. You can’t get rid of the butterflies in your stomach, but you can get them to fly the direction you want them to fly. Practice, and preparation are foundational to managing anxiety. There are also fear-management-specific exercises, which can seem silly, but if a person will commit to employing the direction, they will discover the ability to herd their butterflies with great success! “You needn’t be governed by fear,” Lionel tells Bertie. This is so true.

I always encourage my students to employ internal positive refrain. IPR is basically internalizing positivity by: employing catch phrases, acknowledging your unique and individual strengths, and imposing your will on the audience. Bertie, as encouraged by Lionel committed to practicing IPR. Bertie, as the King of England, when speaking would repeat in his head, “I have a right to be bloody well heard.” And when pausing between lines, he would repeat, “God save the King.” This was witnessed at the end of the movie, when the now King George VI of England is presenting the most important speech of his royal life.

As a result of 1) submitting to direction, and 2) committing to direction, The King’s most important speech was a great success!

It even appeared as though the King enjoyed the experience. Following the King’s speech, Bertie looked at Lionel, with a small but visible grin, and stated, “I suppose I’ll have to do a great deal more of these.” Public speaking is the greatest fear in life; however, more often than not when a person successfully negotiates a great challenge (skydiving, fire walking, swimming with sharks, or public speaking!) the experience becomes enjoyable because of the exhilarating and empowering high, and great sense of achievement that accompanies the success. I often tell my class that, “Speech is the great equalizer!” This means that when an individual is given the stage, no matter what their position or place in life may be (King, or Walmart greeter), when an individual has been given the stage it is their opportunity to be heard; and the opportunity MUST be fully embraced and celebrated.

Are you fully embracing your opportunities to be heard?

I’m speech coach Duane Smith. I have served groups and individuals in the corporate and academic areas develop and improve their public speaking skills. I'm also a tenured public speaking professor at Los Angeles Valley College.

97 Comments on “The King’s Speech II

  1. I think a very important point you mention from the film is the fact that life makes equal demands of everyone regardless of their social stature, particularly if success is desired. The same recipe applies for success whether you are the Duke of England (in this case) or a “lowly” peasant, the same degree of commitment and discipline is required for success. In terms of public speaking he commitment to performing is crucial, this ties into the nature of “practice makes perfect”, once you have a speech model that works, all that is needed is consistent practice to hone and refine your performance; most specifically by taking every opportunity to speak and using it as a chance to practice. As in the Duke’s case, one has to humble themselves and realize often consistent work and asking for help from others is required to be successful. Another common contemporary saying is to give your 110%, this applies in the perspective of committing to direction. If thought about rationally, when you truly commit to something you are saying you are unwilling to succumb to failure and accept is as an option. This translates to giving your 110% to guarantee your success, furthermore, it pays off to give your 110% earlier than later to minimize the amount of time wasted on everyones behalf. Your saying, “Stay humble, or you will stumble” encapsulates the idea completely, often achieving a skill is not sufficient, one must continually practice to replicate and refine it. Your last remark, “speech is the great equalizer” is an insightful rephrasing of Hamlet’s “death is the great equalizer” and it rings equally as true. Like you mentioned conquering of speech anxiety should be a priority for every member of society because it is when your opinions can be voiced when they are most valuable.

  2. “Do what is asked of you”
    While reading this article, i had to keep in mind that we were talking about a movie. Hollywood has to make everything more dramatic than it seems. Although i do think that the world is split in two when it comes to public speaking(half can do it, other half can’t), i think that for the general public who have a fear of public speaking, that would be it. As oppose to in the movie, where he has a fear of public speaking, plus a huge weight on his shoulders. I wonder if the writer of the movie had a fear of public speaking and this was his way of channeling his fears. Michael bay should have directed this movie, but it would end up being an action movie instead of drama, because we all know michael bay loves to blow stuff up.
    Even though i do agree that public speaking is direction and doing, i think direction is more than just 5%. At Least, when i look at it in perspective of comm 101. I think my biggest fear was public speaking which is tied with slowly dying and not being able to do anything about it. It did take me a while to learn how to control my nerves, and i still don’t think i have full control of it because everytime i stand up to speak, i’m still nervous as hell, i just don’t feel so bad about being nervous. I do agree with Professor Smith that if someone truly wants to overcome a challenge, and improve with anything, they must be willing to submit to direction! The hard part is that this saying is easier said than done. I also think that you have to want to do what is asked of you, if not you will end up doing it half a** or mickey mouse just because you had to do it. For example; police officers, many cops become what they are because they want to be.

  3. 1. How does the movie “The King’s Speech” is relate to yours speech experience?

    I think is relate to my speech because the movie makes me an a real life is that everything as a beginning to start a preparation and be sure what am I going to talk to the audience that also listen and pay attention and they can understand me my speech.
    But also the most important is to be sure in myself that everything will be fine the way it reflects on the movie the king’s speech when felt quite and sure what he has talking to his audience about his speech he had prepared each time was headed all the hearing.
    But also the most important is related to me of the movie is trust of myself that everything will be fine after I finished my speech and I had it prepared for my audience and they can understand me clearly.

    What did I think about the article?
    I think that the film; “The King’s Speech” is based on a true struggle in the life of King George VI before he became King to shortly afterwards. It spans from the closing of the Wembley Empire Exhibition in 1925 to the beginning of WWII in 1939. I feel that “The King’s Speech” was a remarkable movie about a remarkable friendship, between friends. I could relate to the film, in my very own life as, with it was with Nicole who is my best-friend, and it her who came into my mind as I was watching the relationship between the two of them grow. It seems to honors the audience’s intelligence, which makes it more appealing to me.
    The focus is on a personal angle. It has taken some steps to dramatize the sequences which I must say are effective. While I agree the Churchill character in the movie could well be inconsistent with historical facts, I don’t see the production is neither making a political statement at all nor its intention to rewrite history.
    The climatic Speech at the end is a historical fact. By every measure, it is an exploration of one man’s internal conflicts and struggles, and how a trusting friendship between therapist and patient, and the support of a loving wife had helped him overcome insurmountable odds. Towards these ends, I think screenwriter David Seidler has done a marvelous job.

  4. The King’s Commitment

    1) Watching the movie and seeing how difficult it was for the King to speak in front of people was very humbling to me. He was a man of power and everyone was listening and seeking his guidance. He definitely had a lot on his plate. For that reason he did not give up and was able to face his fears and correct his speech. For myself, it has always been very hard to speak in front of others, for fear of embarrassment, rejection and “messing up”. Since I was a child and had been bullied, my self esteem had been shot. As I got older and had children I made it a priority to teach my children to use their voice. To speak up when they did not like something, or needed help understanding homework or what not. I think it is very important to communicate to one another and feel secure about oneself. The professor mentioned that one must submit to direction, and that is very true. If one wants to fully reach their goals, one must be committed to direction.

    2) The professor stated, “The more you practice, the more prepared you will be; and, the more confident you will be when you speak.” Those were the words that helped me during my cultural narrative speech. I was feeling very nervous the week before my speech because of my fear of public speaking. I was dreading that day, but I knew I had to do it. See I had been prolonging this class since I started going to college and now that I am closer to finishing I knew I had to take it. I can say that during my speech I felt very nervous as I was walking up to the front of the class but as I started to talk and remember my speech I felt very confident and the butterflies in my stomach went away. It was the first time I had done a speech without messing up or my face turning colors. Preparation is the key, we need to practice, practice, practice.

  5. Overcoming the Fear and Practice
    3) Movie is relating to my speech the way that while he heard his voice he stopped and he could not continue. It was always hard for me to speak on front of audience, while I am talking I hear myself I feel my heart is in my throat, and everything becomes different and I may not say the things that I practice all that time for the speech. It is very impotent to have that background music, word or phrase, which is not going to let the speaker to hear her or him. Movie helped me to understand how strong and important our voice is and how can that reflect to others. How speech can be strong to make people to cry or feel happy. I also feel that speech should come from heart, while I talk about something even hard phrases become easy. I understood that practice and preparation is very important to be successful.

    4) The article is plays very important role in terms of speech being number one fear in life. It shows how useful the practice can be, I realize that anyone can achieve to that point to give a great speech. It is very important point while they change the tone of the voice, while they are speaking. My inspiration comes from the part when the therapist believe that the king is a great person and he can improve his speech, but at the same time he was trying to stay simple as regular patient and therapist. The key of the public speaking is practice, practice, and practice. The article also emphases how useful is to have direction. Practice and preparation is the key of great speaker, and also to know who are the audience, what are they looking and they have to be given the best highlight of the speech to make it interesting and meaningful.

  6. Direction Leads the Way:

    The movie is about King George who struggles with a stammer in his speech and needs to speak to thousands of people several times as he has an important position to up hold. None of us have such a pressured position but most of us through out life are required in one way or another to speak in front of a crowd. I don’t have a stammer like King George but I definitely have a fear of public speaking like he did. As far back as I can remember, I have always dreaded presenting anything in front of a classroom. My shyness has improved because when I was younger, not only was I afraid to present, but I was afraid to attract even the smallest attention to myself. I would have to go to the bathroom, but I would hold it in just because I didn’t want to walk out of the room as people would look at me. I would not understand something from an assignment but I would rather just push my luck and try to figure it out rather than to go up to a student or my teacher and ask for clarity/help. As I got older, I became aware of the importance of communication in all areas of life. If you don’t communicate, you will miss out on a lot of opportunities and set yourself up for many failures. I had to learn the hard way. In time, I was able to recognize how bad my insecurities were and like King George had his wife to motivate him, I had my mother. My mother encouraged me to seek help from a therapist, and by trusting her directions and putting her teachings to practice, over the years theres been a lot of progress in how I embrace myself. I am not a fan of speech or presenting at all but ultimately I am aware of how important it is to have good communication skills and I know that as much as I do not enjoy speaking in public, the skills I am learning in this class will be of great significance in my life.

    The article made good points for us to make use of. Learning about the challenges that Professor Smith has had to overcome himself through out his life, brings a sense of comfort to what I am facing now. I admire Professor Smith for not allowing Professor Marty’s comment to destroy his will for improvement rather it fueled him to prove his professor wrong which led to his future success. I think professor Marty crossed the line and not everyone would have taken it the same way Professor Smith did yet as harsh as it was sometimes that what we need to motivate us to make necessary changes. Submitting to direction isn’t always easy, I myself can be not so much prideful but stubborn and resistant to facing challenges or even simply receiving help. Being this way, has really held me back from taking many great opportunities for advancement. Through my faults and draw backs, I have become aware of the importance of allowing yourself to be helped in different ways. As an adult recognizing that I am not going to be babysat or treated delicately. I have to be open to constructive criticism and accept that I will make mistakes but that shouldn’t stop me from trying to succeed. If I don’t make the effort and at least give it a try then I’ve already set myself up for failure. Like King George’s example in the movie and Professor Smith, you have to be persistent in enforcing practice, dedication, and effort. Receiving direction and accepting it is the first step but committing to it is the next step and it’s what will lead to the door of successful completion of your ultimate goal. It takes structure, focus, and discipline. I myself have difficulty following directions. My thoughts are usually scattered and though I am very expressive, I have trouble structuring my thoughts in a concise and effective manner. As much as I do not enjoy the though of public speaking, I know that I am learning key lessons through this class that will help me communicate a lot more constructively with confidence.

    • Receiving, accepting and committing to direction is truly what will lead you to your goal. In life we are faced with many fears, and it is completely up to us if we let fear get in the way of reaching our goals. I too was very shy when I was young, and still am for the most part. I used to do the same as you, wait to go to the restroom until after class, not raise my hand in class, never volunteer for anything because of my fear of everyone looking at me. I did not want the attention, I was scared of not being accepted. Primarily because I was bullied as a child. But I learned that I needed to speak and stand up for myself, and once I did that it helped me feel more secure of myself.

  7. Anything is possible!

    I really never have to do speeches in class my whole life or anyone else. I avoided it every time I had to do a presentation in class. I have avoided it in church every time, in open air, and other aspects in life. Groups are formed as usual in classrooms, and I am the one standing next to the lights or the one in the back of the speakers and changing the slides to a powerpoint. I even once cried in freshman year of high school to my principal so I can avoid the presentation, but it was a big part of my grade. Even though I knew all of the students in class I was terrified. It was postponed and I still had to do it. I only spoke for a brief moment and read directly off the powerpoint I failed the class. And for everyone’s information I was a popular girl in school. It was a small scvhool and everyone knew me because I was “cool” with everyone, which means I was friends with everyone. But that was not any help to my speech presentation. Knowing the king has a stutter and he still tried and did accomplish is a big encouragement to all of us who do not even hold a large title next to our names. It is inspiring to know someone who stutters is able to give a better speech than me. So watching this movie has showed me trying to is important and now all I have to do is try. Find direction with guidelines the professor has given and then just do it to see how my income is.

    The article explains how direction is a one of the things in speech needed and the other is actually doing it. The article talks about how important direction is in life regarding all things like career, school, etc. But it is only 5% of what is needed for public speaking the other 95% is actually doing it. The idea just terrifies me the doing part.Direction is important but the king himself had given up so his wife is the one who finds his speech coach and is able to have a direction. This communication class is not something I would ever take if it wasn’t necessary to transfer. But being in it has had found my direction to be able to be a better public speaker. Now the only issue is the doing part. Your speech needs to be said to be done, so doing it is the only thing afterwards. Then once said and done it will be all over with. Every person needs to embrace a chance to public speaking and be heard. I learned the king knew he had a lot more of this speeches to do and it isn’t going to get easier without direction.

  8. Thank you very much for your story about the seventh grade, I am very happy that you had a nice teacher who allowed you to not stand in front of the class, but maybe she was wrong to do so. Public speaking is a very important skill and had you stood up there and said something you would have taken a step to eliminating that fear altogether, and maybe in science class you would not have had such a hard time. I am glad that you did get up there in science class though because you overcame your fear got through it, and am sure realized that it’s as bad as you thought. Today I hope public speaking is not as scary for you and I hope that speech class helps, because to succeed in life you will have to get on stage and talk in front of people. Work hard on your speeches and practice them so that when you get in front of the class you will be confident get a good response and get rid of your fear once and for all.

  9. Commitment and dedication equal a great leader

    If i could remember during my high school, i was the president of my school literary and debate society, well it was not something i voluntarily liked to do, back then it was automatic if you happened to be the head prefect. I represented my school for debate and quiz competition also gave an informative speech three times a week at the school morning assembly . It was a challenged and never an easy task, Anytime i knew i am going to deliver a speech, i was going to be panic with automatic insomnia .

    The articles writer, Jesse Desjardins offer five public tips in which i applied to my performance back then , it wasn’t something i learnt, its naturally part of me due to my persistent and dedication :
    1. Have faith in your self ; honestly i really don’t have faith in myself because it wasn’t my thing, but with dedication and the school i represented have faith in me, i used my Prof. Smith directive 3 ” preparation is the most important thing a public does to ensure a successful presentation. This applies to Prince albert too before he became a great leader of England.
    2. Admits you need help ; Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue was bertie help and made him achieve his difficulty.
    3. Put in hours ; As soon as Prince Albert admitted he needs helps and he was able to achieve his goal because of his dedication and commitment.
    Leverage experience ; he stayed humble, and that made him true version, a great leader and a hero.

  10. The movie relates to my speech experiences by showing how hard somebody has to work to become a good speaker. Public speaking is not just about standing up there and talking people have to listen to you and understand you as well, or else there is no point. The reason most people are afraid of public speaking is because they are afraid of being embarrassed, and they are right to be, because if they are not prepared they will in fact be embarrassed in front of everybody. I generally don’t have a problem with the idea of talking in front of people but I have to really prepare what I will say, and make sure that it is in fact worth saying. This is where I relate to the movie because the same way he had to practice and take time to make himself presentable I have to take time to make my speech worth listening to.

    The article does an excellent job of reminding students that no matter who you are and what position you have in life, when you are a student you listen to and obey the teacher if you want to learn something, and the speech is all about following directions. The interesting thing is having the ability to follow directions is they most important skill one can have in life because life is full of rules and must be obeyed if you want to succeed. For example if I am told to give a 5 min speech my speech cant be 7 min it must be 5, or in accounting if I am told to use a size 12 font that’s what I have to do, or in business if I don’t follow my clients instructions I won’t have any clients. Following directions is key for anything you do, and the article brings that point home.

  11. 1.Title:The relation to the speech and me

    What I can say about my similarities to is movie is the frightnes that the king probably had felt. I can seriously relate to how the king felt with the whole public speech making. Honestly I can say that public speaking is one of my worst nightmares. For some reason it makes my heart beat a thousand times per minute and makes me feel weak and self conscious. My question is how did a king with his issue of stammering was able to make his speeches not only to a group of classmates but to many groups of people. Was it because he knew he had to make an effort to talk to his people? I saw how Leonel the therapist did not give up on him when he always felt like giving up. Sometimes when I do present I too feel like giving up but I saw how sometimes that is not the answer to that at all.

    2.Title: commitment to speaking

    The issue presented in the article is the fear of public speaking. The main example used to portray this issue is the the Duke of York from the film “The King’s Speech”. This example is used to demonstrate that fear of public speaking is suffered by people of all social classes. The article effectively conveys a clear method to over coming one’s fear of public speaking. This method consists of two parts, 1) Submitting to direction and 2) Committing to Direction. Although, it would appear to be a simple method, the complex part of this method would be accepting the fact that an individual needs help. In other words the key to success lies in an individuals ability to humble their selfs and accept they need guidance. But aside from humility, an individual must have commitment, hence the second part f the method, “committing to direction”. Commitment on its own is a frightful thing to do, especially in our society today. Day to day we see examples of fear of commitment at schools, jobs, relationships, diets, etc. The reason for this fear lies in a persons way of seeing a goal. Perhaps the person views the goal as too long, such as obtaining an M.D. Sometimes its too much work and they have neither the time nor energy to go after their goal.

    • I liked how you made a good point about how it doesn’t matter your stature or wealth in cases like this, the movie demonstrates a perfect example of how even a King has his challenges and insecurities to overcome. We idolize people of power but sometimes we fail to understand that ultimately they are also human like us with fears and traumas, etc. King George’s story shows the importance of submitting to direction and committing to direction even if you are in a position of authority and honored by many. In order for him to receive the help that he desperately needed, he had to put his pride and resistance to the side and open his mind to getting help from a common man who not only was unique in his therapeutic approach but did not even have a degree of any kind. King George was wise in using an unconventional approach to overcoming his stammer rather than the typical conventional strategies that were used in those times. He realized that they were ineffective and some of them did not even make sense. I am one to give different things a try at least once because you never know what you may discover. The exercises that Lionel gave King George to do were silly and I would be shy to even attempt some of them, but it goes to show us how effective they were in the long run. Having an open mind goes a long way, as you are willing to learn and explore from the different resources and opportunities that are on offer.

    • Like you, public speaking is one of my worst nightmares too! As far back as I can remember, I have been a very shy, quiet, introverted individual. I don’t understand what led me to become such an unhealthy way but it has taken a lot for me to be where I am at now. I remember having to do presentations in elementary school and finding ways to get out of it, like making myself sick so I wouldn’t have to go to class that day. I would cry the night before out of anxiety and fear. I just don’t like to attract attention to myself and knowing that everyone is looking at me while I’m up there, freaks me out. I admire King George for having so much courage to speak to such a large audience even with his stammer issue. That makes it one hundred times more terrifying because then you know people are really paying attention and some do it just to find fault in what you’re doing. I think King George did what he did because he knew he had a big responsibility to his nation and he couldn’t let his speech disability stop him from his duty. He also had great support from his wife and a speech coach who wouldn’t give up on him even though King George was condescending at times.

    • I too am embarrassed at speaking in front of people. I get so nervous, I can feel my heart pounding and usually me face gets red. Recently what has worked for me, I have tried to imagine that I am talking with friends or family and fortunately that has helped me in my speeches. I can say that watching the movie I felt the anxiety and sadness that King George had faced. Although I don’t have a disability but I do have that fear of being embarrassed or rejected. I believe that with hard work and dedication and the right people supporting you anything is possible.

  12. I can relate to the movie because I often feel stage freight. Often when I speak it is not by choice, but because I have to. Whether it is for a school project or work assignment I am expected to be proficient in the art of speaking. King Charles VI did not have a choice but to speak. He did not have to be good at it but fortunately he chose to seek help. He sought out help because he cared for the people and wanted to do right by them. King Charles VI consulted the best speech teacher in London in order to overcome his fear of speaking and iron out his flaws much like I consulted the best speech teacher in Los Angeles to help me iron out mine. Although my responsibilities aren’t nearly as important as those of England’s ruler it is still important for me to speak for the well-being of myself and my family.
    It sounds farfetched that someone can prefer death over publicly speaking but I agree. I have witnessed people who will quietly live their lives without ever submitting themselves to public display let alone offering a speech. It is not always necessary to speak but it is nice to have the ability because there is nothing nicer than being able to express yourself. I too suffer from anxiety when speaking, however find it easier when receiving direction. Many do not like receiving direction because they feel that they are being corrected, however I enjoy constructive criticism. Professor Smith was able to receive criticism from Marty and turn it into what appears to be a wonderful career. Bertie was also able to take criticism from Lionel in order to create a speech and ultimately lead his country into war. I believe once I learn the foundational mechanics of how to organize and deliver a speech I will become more confident.

  13. Title: If it was possible for the King, It will be possible for me too.

    1.On the first 10 minutes of the movie, when Prince Albert tried to deliver his father’s speech to the people, was one of the most breathtaking sections of the movie for me. I could put myself in his shoes and feel his fear, panic, and frustration. It reminded me my first speech in front of too many audiences when I was 12. As the senior of the class, I was asked to deliver an invitation speech for the central sent inspector of our school. I tried hard to deal with my fear but I couldn’t make it. Therefore in the presentation day, I ruined everything and I left the stage crying. From that day on, I never ever have participated in a public speech until my first culture speech in the class . When you think that the audiences are expecting you to be good and flawless, in your performance, it would be harder to overcome your challenge of fear. I think in these situations, high level of Adrenaline secretion, in the blood, because of fear, gives you a warning for a danger. Therefore, you sweat, start to shake, you can feel your heart beats harshly and fast, and there would be a sign in your mind keep saying: Run, Run. These evidences were obvious in Prince Albert’s speech in Equestrian Stadium, and fully understandable due to my own experiences.
    But inspiration comes from the way he stopped his obedience to his Adrenalin and decided to stay and fight instead of running. I believe public speech, like many other challenges of life, has its own, specific solution. The movie showed one of these solutions, and since it was a true story, it can be referred. Watching this movie, with passion and delicacy, gave me inclusive view about my deficiency in my speech. If I can overcome with my tendency to flee, facing to the public speech, I can stand and handle the rest of it more easily.
    2. The Article was really helpful and in logical relation with the movie. Sometimes, we need a professional to give us an authentic direction, because no matter how clever and perseverance we are, dealing with any challenge needs its own direction and for this we all need its professionals. Furthermore, sometimes we all know about a direction through a challenge, but we are not capable enough to handle our sluggishness or our deterrent force. Therefore, we need a higher authority to look after us. A person who is a professional and also has enough charisma to impose the correct direction to us and force us to submit to the directions, Just like the performance that Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) had through Prince Albert’s public speech challenge. Also, I am agree with this sentence “Stay humble, or you will stumble.” .Being bold and assertive impedes us from accepting a tutor, submitting to the directions he asks, and also committing those directions. Therefore, beside submitting to direction, and committing to it, I think we have to add a knowledgeable coach and a well modesty behavior to the list.,

  14. we all know as Cynthia says to submit to direction and agree. I never liked to be told what to do, but as I grow older and wiser I start to listen to my friend’s advice. just like Cynthia again ended up not taking it. we better avoid costly wrong decisions when we could have listened to a genuine advice from a friend. I agree that sometimes Committing to direction is even harder to do. All these exercises that seem extremely ridiculous can be frustrating for the proud King but that obviously worked for him and helped him overcome what was holding him back.

  15. Speech, Man’s Number One Fear 2

    1.) The movie gave me confidence. After watching the movie, I realized that it is okay to be scared, because it is part of learning. It portrayed a lot of things I faced when I was going to give my cultural speech. My fear was the fact that the audience were going to be focused on me. I believed that was the first obstacle Prince Albert had before mounting the podium which made him nervous. I was lucky to have my speaking on the second day which gave me leverage to observe as an audience on the first day watching other speakers giving their speech. Prince Albert failed in that aspect, because he must have watched the king give speech so many times. The movie prove that there is no shortcut to acquiring a successful public speaking with lots of work and preparation, you won’t stumble. I have never spoken in front of people like that before. I prepared, just as I learnt from the movie and Dr. Smith to be prepared.

    2.) The article has given and stated vividly the road to a successful public speaking. It has shed a better light to the public speaking circle. Based on the crystal clear fact that public speaking is the number one fear of man, it has shown there is always a way to overcome the fears of public speaking. The examples given were uplifting and encouraging. This should be a handbook/key point to a successful platform speaking. It is the easier way to understanding what speech is all about. The following steps shows how effective they are on the development of our communication skills; by submitting to direction, committing to direction, and 5% direction and 95% doing i.e you can’t escape it. It is something that must be done. That is what the article has taught me.

  16. Title: Allow fear to give yourself direction
    As I stood in front of a class of about 25 students I realized how frightening it was to communicate my thoughts. Fifty eyes looking right at me expecting me to say something pleasant or appealing. The first words that I could think of initially was to say hello. The following words just came by the moment I was dumbfounded. With no hesitation I mumbled a couple of phrases and went back to my seat. The opening scene of the film is where I felt I could relate my experience. In the movie the prince approached a tremendous crowd of people and he could not speak a word. His fear got the best of him and it completely threw him of. As he approached the stance he glanced at the people that were desperately waiting for his wise words yet nothing came about. He stepped down of the altar and walked out of his speech. I realized now that because I did not prepare adequately I was unable to express my thoughts and therefore I allowed my fear of public speaking get the best of me.

    The article “Practical Lessons From “The King’s Speech,” Part 2”, showed that in order to be prepared and have the upper hand you need practice. They say practice makes perfect, but then again there is nothing that is perfect. The king made a clear example of this since he had a speaking disorder. Although it conflicted with being able to speak to his people he took initiative and practiced consistently. Now I came to realize that he was only able to achieve greatness because he managed to accept advice from others. Furthermore he had an instructor who believed in him and never lost hope he saw potential within his student. Professor Duane managed to enhance his life by accepting advice from Marty. If he would of took it as a negative aspect who knows what could’ve been his outcome.

  17. Title: If it was possible for the king, it will be possible for me too.

    On the first 10 minutes of the movie, when Prince Albert tried to deliver his father’s speech to the people, was one of the most breathtaking sections of the movie for me. I could put myself in his shoes and feel his fear, panic, and frustration. It reminded me my first speech in front of too many audiences when I was 12. As the senior of the class, I was asked to deliver an invitation speech for the central sent inspector of our school. I tried hard to deal with my fear but I couldn’t make it. Therefore in the presentation day, I ruined everything and I left the stage crying. From that day on, I never ever have participated in a public speech until my first culture speech in the class . When you think that the audiences are expecting you to be good and flawless, in your performance, it would be harder to overcome your challenge of fear. I think in these situations, high level of Adrenaline secretion, in the blood, because of fear, gives you a warning for a danger. Therefore, you sweat, start to shake, you can feel your heart beats harshly and fast, and there would be a sign in your mind keep saying: Run, Run. These evidences were obvious in Prince Albert’s speech in Equestrian Stadium, and fully understandable due to my own experiences.
    But inspiration comes from the way he stopped his obedience to his Adrenalin and decided to stay and fight instead of running. I believe public speech, like many other challenges of life, has its own, specific solution. The movie showed one of these solutions, and since it was a true story, it can be referred. Watching this movie, with passion and delicacy, gave me inclusive view about my deficiency in my speech. If I can overcome with my tendency to flee, facing to the public speech, I can stand and handle the rest of it more easily.

  18. as Zhila mentions in her response, the key to success is keeping an open mind towards alternative solution. When something doesn’t work in a particular situation, change the gears and try to find a detour. Dig deep in your soul and come up with an innovative solution. We all know that when we are struggling we better seek help. The experience can be obtained by consulting the professionals of the field, professionals who spent a life-time perfecting their techniques. the combination of support and excellent mention is the recipe for success. We all need to start from somewhere and step by step conquer our fears.

  19. Every Opportunity is Worth It
    Besides from my previous post: I can relate to the King George 5. The 1st speech I gave was in 9th grade. It was about the Japanese Internment Camps in America. It was a 5 paragraphs speech and while I was saying it I was dropping my note cards on the floor (force of habit) but on the 4th paragraph while performing I lost my train of thought and I said something that I should had not said 3 times in a row because I became more nervous and people started to laugh. That cause my grade to drop from a 97 to an 87 but more importantly my English teacher told me I was required to stay after school and have the talk about language after school with him. It was a very expensive conversation from what I can remember. From that day in high school someone would always bring up that 9th grade moment. I would always be super nervous before I gave speeches because that memory would always be replaying in my head.
    In the article, it talked about the key to success for speeches. Sometimes you have be called various named names in order to reality to motivate you. The key to success is to practice, practice and practice. The speaker has to make time to practice anywhere at anytime. In the movie, the future king was practicing in in the car while going to a party but before he used to practice 1 hour a day. The second key is that you have to be able to fellow given directions. Lionel said” My Castle…. my rules!!” even to a royal. The final key to success is that you have to believe your self and give yourself a catch phrase for encouragement.It also talked about how people are always nervous in speeches and everybody will be nervous in speeches there is no way to stop that. But you can always turn your axeity to an advantage.

    • Had your teacher only realized that you were probably already punishing yourself for your failure, you might not have had to “do the time”. I hope that you were able to overcome not only that bad experience but also the ridicule that continued thereafter. Did you learn and grow from the experience? Having had a similar experience at about the same age, I know the pain. But I was lucky that no one ever threw it back in my face. But practice and persistence are key. The catch phrase and belief in yourself are also good tools. I also find that no matter how good I might feel I did the last time, there is always room for improvement and I put that on myself to help me excel at something.

    • Like the saying goes practice make perfect, but if not perfect it will be close to perfect. Daniel faced that inadequacy to deliver in 9th grade based on lack of preparation. but with the right encouragements and lessons from his teacher he became better. That is because he followed directions, accepted he had a problem. with those simple rules he got better. There is always a way out of our difficulties. Preparation is the key. We have to learn to take instructions, but from a good teacher. Daniel figured a way out to be better at his weakness. I used to be very be nervous sometime ago when speaking to people at class. I remembered a technique that a teacher taught me elementary school back in Nigeria; that I should always try to look above the head of my audience.

    • Reply to Daniel_Rabaso

      Daniel I understand that must have been horrific to stand In front of a classroom with classmates that you mostly interact with all the time. And I can’t Imagine you dropping your note cards on the floor. All I can say that maybe some of us have to go through rough speeches before as a practice to get better in the future. I can most likely relate to what happened in your situation. But my situation was a little different I was in front of the class and I think i had to give a speech on Hispanics but I just froze and ran away. And it’s just something i laugh about.

      Its true the key to public speaking is practice and this is actually something we always have to remember. And that is the key to great public speaking. The professor has actually said that. I think without practice we would never know what to say when we are up there ready to start on a speech. You also talked about how following directions Is also another way to great speaking and i also agree that is very Important. It is important to follow directions because without directions we wouldn’t be able to learn the key to success.

  20. The King Who Acknowledged and Thrived
    1) The fear behind giving a speech like King George VI demonstrated in the movie completely relates to my speech experiences. Any time I know I have to give a speech I feel an uncontrollable anxiety. I always try to avoid situations where I know presentations have to be made because of the fear I have of speaking in front of an audience. In high school I even made my counselor take me out of a drama class because I knew a lot of the class consisted of presenting in front of an audience. On the inside I knew that if I stayed it would have been very beneficial because it would have helped me when speaking in front of an audience but my fear was greater. Unlike King George VI who acknowledged his situation I did not at that time. Now I have acknowledge that I have an extreme fear for public speaking but if I persist like the king did I will be able to defeat this fear for the most part.
    2) The article, “Practical Lessons From “The King’s Speech,” Part 2” is basically an emphasis not just on having directions but doing as directed in order to prosper. The article points out how Lionel through his directions helped the king improve his speaking skills but it was through the king’s commitment to do as he was directed that led him to succeed in his speech. I do agree that by having and following directions is a great way to be successful especially in public speaking. The challenging part is actually doing what is directed and even more difficult when there is an audience. Despite the fact that it is challenging I also agree that the directions can get done by learning how to manage that what stops one from succeeding. Another factor that contributes to getting directions done is by practice and preparation which is mentioned in the article. By preparing himself through practice and exercises, assigned by Lionel, the king was able to give a successful speech.

    • 1)The Fear of Public of Speaking is like riding a roller coaster for the first time. It feels you with anxiety and its up to you to choose whether you want to confront your fear or continue to be afraid of it. I can easily relate to the movie “The King’s Speech” and your feelings because I too am afraid of public speaking like you. I still hide away from voluntary public speaking and only resort to it if its school related. Something I would like to point out though is that King George VI didn’t acknowledge his problem, rather his wife did and she sought out help for him. sometimes we need a little push along the way to conquer my fears.

      2)The articles method on conquering ones fear of public speaking emphasizes the films idea of followings directions. The article proves the point that life is easier when you have a mentor and rules for guidance. The key of success to making the method work lies in commitment and humility. As the article states, King George had to humble himself in order for his teacher, Lionel to be able to work with him. Also I agree with you about having practice. Practice makes perfect.

    • I agree with you Heidy, how you emphasis the importance of the directions, and how important that was for King. He improve his speech by using direction and commitment to do, which gave power and hope to his nation. Challenging everyone after speech, to be someone who can defeat his fear for the most part.It is important how he was even getting direction at the time of his great speech. By preparing him with an exercise and hard work,with help and direction he did his speech successfully.

  21. 1.)“The king’s speech” tells the story of a monarch who faced the unexpected challenges which life throws at us no matter who we are. As a non-native English speaker my first couple of years in the United State was an ongoing stage for me and I was the sole speaker. The movie peaked my interest as I was struggling with communicating with people. It was a huge solace to see people in the highest possible positions like a prince having the same problems that I was suffering from. Fortunately enough,Colin Firth won the the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and that immortalized that movie for me. As I watch the movie for several with, I found in it the boost to work on myself to overcome this language barrier. The support that the king got from his loved ones made me think about finding new native english speaking friends. I was fortunate to be in a community college where I found several friend that played the role of a mentor. Watching the movie in this class made me realize that there is always room for improvement. Being able to articulate clearly is the key to success in present and future.

    2.)This article by Professor Duane Smith is useful resource for those who intend to improve their public speaking skills. The directives for students are clear. First of all, Prof. Smith reminds us the basics, mainly to stay unpretentious. Prof. Smith states that “Public speaking is 5% direction, and 95% doing!”. Doing is achieved by preparation, practice and preparation are the keys to excel. We also learn that giving a speech isn’t as hard as sounds like. You need to prepare, perform and reevaluate. The motto “Stay humble, or you will stumble” reminds us to check our egos in and come out to accomplish more than we already did. I will come back to this article in future as a starting point for any public speaking task I would need to tackle.

  22. The Royal Impediment

    1. Speech isn’t anyones forte and if it is, it sure isn’t mine! I can recall a few presentations during my childhood years. However, I paid not too much attention to it until about four years ago. I obtained a sales position at 24 hour fitness where I was constantly placed in uncomfortable situations speaking one on one, to a family of four or a staff meeting. I can specifically remember the first day my manager was going around the room and picked me to come up in front of the entire staff (about 50+) and role play with him on how to sell fitness. I completely blanked out, my thoughts were fuzzy and as I tried speaking nothing came out. This movie humanizes the King although he’s royalty it exploits the real fear of public speaking which I can most definitely relate too. Consistency and relentlessness is what got me to perfect my presentation and be able to sell on a consistent basis even when I failed, it helped me get better. I committed to role playing everyday & practicing just like the King did. And eventually after many failed attempts, I was successful.

    2. This article for me solidifies the two most important things to deliver a successful speech; Confidence and preparation. Preparation as these two articles have stated means practice..practice..practice! And most importantly allowing yourself to be helped. Nothing is worse than being extremely prideful and ignorant and not allowing yourself to grow and excel. As for most of us just like Professor Duane experienced a harsh comment that was a blessing in disguise. He was able to take the constructive criticism and seek help. Once we are all able to admit/commit to direction I don’t see how any one of us can fail at delivering a successful speech! With these tools/steps provided in both articles it has given me attainable and realistic directions to help me become a better speaker!

    • Stephanie’s article is specially interesting for me because she is telling and combining her own personal life stories and experiences how she had problems dealing with her speech and expression matters and how she was able to learn a lot from the movie “The King’s speech” and actually and practically used it in her business and personal life improving herself and her image in general I personally really liked her point of view here she mentions the two major aspects of a successful speech and the delivery of the impression of the spoken word in her words those are consistency and relentlessness.

    • I am completely agree with you that a good speech needs something more than submitting a direction and committing to it. One of the most important aspects of a good speaker is to be a talented one in speech. Regarding to your story about your first speech performance in 24 hour fitness, I think you already had had enough talent in speech, but you never had tried it before, and sometimes haphazardly we fall in a hardship of a situation that not only challenge our abilities, but also revive our hidden talents, and that was the situation that happened to you. I wish your newborn talent and also your experience about public speech, in this class, and during your work, gives you more exceptional opportunities in the future.

  23. Having a voice to speak

    1. My past speech experiences cannot really compare to the film expect for the fear of speaking itself. My fear of speaking started when I was in middle school when I had to do a small presentation in my history. The way I prepared for the presentation is that I made sure that I had all of facts straight and a poster finished. On the day of the presentation, I was so over come with fear that I could barely get the words out and my voice was small my classmates in the first row could barely hear me. Watching the film gave me confidence in myself to know that if King Geroge VI was able to learn ways to manage his speech difficulties and was able to give speeches, I can find a way to manage as well. I know that one part of doing a speech is preparing for it but I never quite understood how much time is put into it.

    2. Reading the article just enforces what the Professor Smith taught the class last week. With the information that we were taught and watching the film, it shows us that we are able to do it as well. The article emphasizes that simple direction is the key to public speaking. Individuals who are able to put into practice whatever simple direction they are given, then the rest that needs to be done is to speak. Moreover my favorite part of the article is “Be humble or stumble” and it demonstrates to the readers that we must stay humble. We cannot let our ego get in the way for our speech because it will not be as good and we must fully commit to our speech as well. With all speeches our commitment must be there for the preparation and performance.

    • I completely agree with what you said. And I’ve encountered similar situations myself in the past with my speech presentations I was not always if not ever prepared to present. But now watching a film as inspiring as “The Kings Speech” it has given me the confidence to overcome any anxiety or adversity I may face. It’s all about managing your anxiety and committing to your presentation. And of course preparation! Putting in the essential hours, and following the outlines given to us in both articles will help not only you & I, but everyone else deliver a successful presentation from now on!

  24. ) I obviously have never had to give a speech in front of thousands of people, but I did have to talk to a handful of news reporters during my time at the Non-profit Organization called Chirla. I worked at a call center so the news reporters just wanted to know what we, as an organization wanted to achieve and what our community could do to help us with this cause. This is something that we did and talked about everyday but once it came to delivering this message in front of a reported I would just blank out. I would started using words like “umm, like, and also you know” it was so bad because it just made our cause seem unimportant. I had to practice because news reporters would come often, I got less nervous once I know that I was representing the organization and also millions of people who depend on a comprehension immigration reform to happen.

    2)Going with what professor Duane stated, the fact that Lionel made sure that King George knew he was in charge, set up King George’s path to success. Lionel didn’t give the king any special treatment and the king was expected to follow Lionel’s directions. Not only did the king commit to his exercise but he also practice everyday. Like Professor Duane always says, “ Stay humble, or you’ll stumble” King George could have had Lionel arrested or worst because he didn’t have actual credentials but he knew that his advices and teaching methods have been the only ones that have worked for him. The relationship that you experience with those who are trying to teach you something makes the whole experience more enjoyable than dreadful, Lionel and King George developed a great friendship that towards the end of the movie King George refers to him as a friend, And like Professor Duane with his coach Marty Tarras. I believe that once you accept others help you realize that they are just looking out for you and push you because they believe in you.

    • I can relate to your first comment because I grew up speaking with sentence fillers such as “like”, “um”, and “and then” which I never saw a problem with until I began my career. I quickly realized that speaking in such way made me sound as if I was looking for a way to end the conversation and at times sounded uneducated. One time in particular a patient of mine questioned my intelligence because I could not provide an answer without adding these words. He responded by repeating “um, um, um”. Since, I have practiced my delivery and consider myself a better speaker.

      Furthermore I agree that one should be in charge. As Paramedics my peers and I often work long and exhausting shifts in which we sometimes must listen to educational presentations. We easily lose interest and at times forget that the speaker is there. Whenever a speaker has devoted time and is confident with their presentation it becomes very interesting which is easily observable by the attention rendered by the target audience. When someone is in charge we show respect and often admire them. Needles to say this effect not only happens in a room full of tired medics but also in your normal class scenario.

  25. 1. If i could remember during my high school, i was the president of my school literary and debate society, well it was not something i voluntarily liked to do, back then it was automatic if you happened to be the head prefect. I represented my school for debate and quiz competition also gave an informative speech three times a week at the assembly school. It was a challenge and never an easy task, Anytime i knew i am going to delivered a speech, it was challenged and a sleepless night because i will be wondering what am i going to say.
    2. After watching the movie, king’s speech then i believe nothing is impossible and never belittle myself. Prince Albert was known with little charisma. Its is an understatement that his life change drastically after he ascended to the throne as King George VI. He had met with failure in several speech programs but with pertinent, determination and the support gotten from his Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue made him overcome his fear and stuttering. From directive 3 of Prof. Duane Smith ” preparation is the most important things a public speaker does to ensure a success. i did practiced this during my recent speech and the upcoming informative speech in the class, because i believe in my voice. In conclusion becoming the best presenter entails hardworking, preparation and steadiness.

    • Kazeem I’m sure being president of your school literary was a challenge for yourself. Specially if it is not something of your preference. Being out of your comfort zone I’m sure you picked up a few new practices and methods. Seeing your peers while attempting to give a speech can be intimidating, but as you practiced week after week you tend to develop new approaches. If you carry on and continue to practice I know you will excel in any speech or performance you commit yourself to. Besides you have the upper hand you’ve had practice with your public performance.

  26. Title: If it was possible for King Goerge, it is possible for me too.

    1. On the first 10 minutes of the movie, when Prince Albert tried to deliver his father’s speech to the people, was one of the most breathtaking sections of the movie for me. I could put myself in his shoes and feel his fear, panic, and frustration. It reminded me my first speech in front of too many audiences when I was 12. When you think that the audiences are expecting you to be good and flawless, in your performance, it would be harder to overcome your challenge of fear. I think in these situations, high level of Adrenaline secretion, in the blood, because of fear, gives you a warning for a danger. Therefore, you sweat, start to shake, you can feel your heart beats harshly and fast, and there would be a sign in your mind keep saying: Run, Run. These evidences were obvious in Prince Albert’s speech in Equestrian Stadium, and fully understandable due to my own experiences. But inspiration comes from the way he stopped his obedience to his Adrenalin and decided to stay and fight instead of running. I believe public speech, like many other challenges of life, has its own, specific solution. The movie showed one of these solutions, and since it was a true story, it can be referred. Watching this movie, with passion and delicacy, gave me inclusive view about my deficiency in my speech. If I can overcome with my tendency to flee, facing to the public speech, I can stand and handle the rest of it more easily.

    2.2. The Article was really helpful and in logical relation with the movie. Sometimes, we need a professional to give us an authentic direction, because no matter how clever and perseverance we are, dealing with any challenge needs its own direction and for this we all need its professionals. Furthermore, sometimes we all know about a direction through a challenge, but we are not capable enough to handle our sluggishness or our deterrent force. Therefore, we need a higher authority to look after us. A person who is a professional and also has enough charisma to impose the correct direction to us and force us to submit to the directions, Just like the performance that Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) had through Prince Albert’s public speech challenge. Also, I am agree with this sentence “Stay humble, or you will stumble.” .Being bold and assertive impedes us from accepting a tutor, submitting to the directions he asks, and also committing those directions. Therefore, beside submitting to direction, and committing to it, I think we have to add a knowledgeable coach and a well modesty behavior to the list.

  27. 1. Freedom of speech
    Threw out my life I have been always fascinated by talking to others, for I see that everyone has a story to tell, or at least know something that I don’t. My evidence for this being that I would always get in trouble for speaking during times that are not deemed appropriate by some authoritative figures.But as I got older I eventually kicked this habit, but bad habits die hard, so now I try to speak when I can contribute to the relevance of the topic. But threw out my high school days I would speak to anyone, and yes I mean anyone, for if you where to cross me on the streets I would engage you subconsciously first threw body language, and depending on the response I would choose to either say hello, or be on my own way if I saw hostility in general. But sadly as the time changes so do the people, for people are not as friendly or open minded as before, but there is still hope for change, which I hope to be around long enough to see.

    2.Defiance
    Well, I don’t quite frankly understand the concept of submitting and committing to direction although I have been doing so my whole life. I say this because what is direction?, and where is it pointing to?, to begin with. Not only that but what if the direction you are being directed isn’t directing you to the right way? But most importantly what makes certain individuals more Superior to boss the “inferiors” around when under the 14th amendment we are all practically equal, although we come in many shapes and sizes, and some might shine brighter than others. Sometimes this may not be the case, but this article does seem to have some valid points, where it is ” 5% direction, and 95% doing”, since once you have planned your scheme all that is left is to actually set your plan into motion, which is usually the hardest thing to do, but once you engaged your master plan you are practically finished.

  28. An aid and Practical Lesson

    See, the movie is greatly relatable from the different character such as Lionel and Bertie. As stated before in the other post, the cast is great and show the how to move away from fear of public speaking. I feel like I can relate to most of the character. In high school when I transfered in 10th grade , it always emphasized in presentation- in any type of form from videos, group presentation to POL’s speech. At first, I believe I was like Bertie I could not get my word together at all, and it would annoy and frustrate me that everyone around could have done it.Yet, like Bertie’s wife, my sister would help me figure how to sort out my frustration of putting a speech together. Through her help, I met a senior who always helped me through my first major presentation in high school. He was like Lionel , he helped figure how out how to present my word in speech. It gave me confidence , from that day I learned how organize in a better way but I still have alot to from this class.

    Professor Smith’s article has an outstanding theme, which makes an student comprehend the result of success when giving a speech.Professor Smith gives out simple directive for the audience to follow as they can achieves success in the biggest fear in life. Its demonstrated to audience through these “steps”, such as , “Stay humble , or you will stumble “ . Another clear directive is , “Public speaking is 5% direction and 95% doing”, through these steps it assure us that our speeches will be a success. It reminds the reader to remove any ego we have and keep practicing so will be better. These are the primary directive that are taught to the most inexperienced people will highlight their positive results in performing awesome speeches in front of crowds .This can be demonstrated through“internal positive refrain”.Its a way to shape how individuals feel from the emotional butterfly and stress and put thing in perspective.Furthermore, effective speeches will help help our future prospects if done correctly and how speech is perfect in type of occupation that we- as will pursue.

    • Ayesha’s comment about professor Smith’s article is a truly well established confirmation that practicality in life is more important than the efforts as she mention professor’s point saying “public speaking is 5% direction and 95% doing”and this point is great spur for us students to gain strength and confidence no matter how difficult the tasks we have put in front of us she also has mention a very important point of the professor saying stay “Stay humble , or you will stumble “ and this saying is great truth that helps everyone from all walks of life to be humble and meek because it is an establish scientific and psychologically proven fact that proud people can not gather all informations necessary for their success due their pride.

    • I agree with you Ayesha, I have never had class where I learned so much and most importantly about life and fear to speak. I always thought I can not speak on front of the audience.I agree with you that point about Professor Smith’s directives, with his direction and steps, he encourage everyone to speak if there is an opportunity. Gives the key to success, helps to be better speaker,he believes that every one is unique and great speaker. Yes, with our hard work and emotional control we can be a great speakers.

  29. Title: The King that Empower Direction
    1. This movie relates to my puplic speaking experiences not because I have a stutter but because I have an accent. I was born in Peru and I came when I was nine years-old, it was so difficult to learn a new language, but even harder was to overcome the fear of actually speaking to people in English even after I knew the language. I was really self concious about my accent, and still kind of are because I feel like the outcast. Yet, I live in Los Angeles where most people have an accent, I am comfortable talking to people individually but when it comes to speacking in public oh mama it is scary. The king of England had a similar situation as mine, he stutter and had problems with having a dialogue with people but even worst with public speaking. He got through it with great help from a fantastic and dedicated speech coach that taught him more than speech. Every time I have to present somethingis mostly in groups but I still get so nervous and I am the one that gets less points because I do not contribute to the team by speaking. It is funny though that I get the highest grade when it comes to writing it down in a piece of paper, I always say ” I am better in paper than talking in public.” Well only if writing counted for public speaking.

    • 2. This article as well as the other one was very informative. It talks about direction and how imposrtant it is to know it, but most important to follow it. It is hard to realize that you need direction sometimes especially because our temperaments can tell us otherwise. The king was a bit a litle over his head the first time he went to go see the speech coach but realized that he needed this man’s help and direction. In one part of the article it states that it is difficult to submit to direction and I agree, nobody likes to be told what to do. I for example listen to friend’s advice but end up not taking it because I believe that what I think is the best for me. Therefore, sometimes I make the wrong decisions when I could have listened to a genuine advice from a friend. Commiting to direction is even harder to do I love the part when Lionel makes the King do all these exercises that seem extremely ridiculous but that obviously worked for him and helped him excel.

    • I completely agree with everything you’ve said, but one thing that stood out to me is what you said about your accent. Coming to another country is always hard, especially being foreign and speaking/understanding very little English. As it may be discouraging to you and a flaw in your eyes use your accent as a blessing. Like Professor Duane said embrace your “flaws” whether its an accent or a speech impediment it makes you different and can be maneuvered in any way you like! Continue practicing, and commit to taking advantage of any opportunity to speak so you can improve and become better at public speaking than writing! Have some confidence in yourself and everything else will follow.

      • Basically accent is a setback to most people. I don’t think that should be a problem. Coming from Africa is quite challenging. Although, I speak a good English, because my country was colonized by the British yet I still have that mother’s tongue accent when speaking English. I found courage in my accent, I realized I could use it as a weapon. Believe in yourself, those little things you think are your setbacks could make you a better person if you try to develop and improve in them. My accent has helped me in the past to sell products when I was a telemarketer; customers suddenly become interested in what I have to all because of my accent. my accent helped me selling solar energy services. Let your weakness be your drive.

  30. Title: Breaking the Shell

    1) The only relevance I can find between the movie and I would be the fear of being heard. Everything else just dos not relate to me. As a young Elementary age child,I was too shy to answer the question given to me by the teacher out loud. “Whats ten times ten Wendy?” and I would quickly cover my face and ignore her. My fear was being heard, I eventually started responding back to my teacher’s, cause they started giving me red cards. Years went by and I can say in high school I had finally changed, not completely but at least I wouldnt show my fear but I would just feel it. Now I am in college, and during my cultured narrative speech I seemed confident but showed the need of practice. At first I was okay but then I saw everyone paying attention and I just wanted to go sit. I find it funny but it will be okay and with practice I will hopefully learn to do it better.

    2) This article summarizes the movie and parts of what professor Smith has told us in class. What inspires me is how he uses his own experience to motivate others. The article compairs both his experience with the prince’s experience. They both were in need of that extra push it does help when someone tries helping you out with something you have trouble with. When I feel nervous I just say, “Just talk it’s okay, you dont know them” part makes me want to go sit, but I guess I need more practice stage. With that said I agree with everything said in this article, it makes me think what I need to change or think for a better speech performance in class and for this one earning up to at least reach the minimum time limit required.

    • I agree with Gwendy, the fact that professor Duane uses his personal experience with dyslexia to try to explain how the only walls we have in front of our challenges are the ones that we place on ourselves. By coming ourselves to a goal we can achieve it. I also have a hard time with the time requirement, but I guess the only thing we could do to get better at this is to keep practicing with a stopwatch and if we see that we are falling short we have to add new information to our speech. I find it very interesting that the people on the speech team are able to remember everything they do and be able to perform at the amount of time that’s required of them.

      • I think showing fear mostly leads to a defeat itself. Sometimes, concealing a weak point can be the best way to ignore it in hard times. Mostly the reaction of the people against your outward weak point can worsen your fears about your deficiencies, while being strong and showing your straight , even in the situations that you are most afraid of, can prepare the environment and the others for you to deal with your weak point. I’m happy that you have been changed in the passage of time. Because changing to a better and stronger person is a big chance that some people cannot have it. I’m sure that preparation and thinking maturely will lead you to have a stronger personality not only in public speech and academic life, but in the other aspects of your life in the future, and helps you gain better opportunities.

  31. The Stumbling Student

    1) The movie is extremely relatable to me on many levels. As a child one does not have inhibitions and speaks without a care in the world without getting nervous or being ashamed of the form in which words are spoken. I clearly recall the first time I was aware of my lack of speech knowledge. In middle school I had to recite a poem for the class; as a teen I did not know anything about key points of preparation. Of course I did memorize the poem and had index cards on hand, just in case of a hiccup. As I’m reciting the super long poem (or so I thought), I began to stumble on my own words and that was not such a pretty picture. I have a tendency to turn red like a tomato when I get nervous, and that is exactly what happened to me; I stopped and sat down. My teacher gave me direction on how to work on my recitation; I followed his directions and did better on the second poem recitation. Of course I did not keep practicing the pointers given by my teacher, just used them for that class.

    2) Professor Smith has put the movie logic into a perspective that I can understand. He broke down the most important part of the movie into the sections that are quite useful to me as a student and what can be learned from a King George VI. It takes strength for one to accept the help when pride gets in the way. The article points to five super important points to be a successful public speaker. This does not mean that one has to be a public speaker, but being prepared and practicing the given information is outmost important. This article touched on the fact that King George VI had to bring himself to be humble and learn to take direction. We as humans do not want to like to be given direction, even though it is only given to us for our own good. It might take time for a person to learn to take direction, but at the end it is to our benefit. All of us can benefit from the right direction and input given to improve ourselves. I will certainly learn to accept direction and criticism in order to become better in all that I do.

    • Well that was a serious situation because i was once in that situation. I was a President of My high School literary and debate society, I attended debate and quiz competition. Anyway i am proud of your courage and self confidence. It was indeed a great challenge for me back then, i found it really difficult to gain the confident, can’t believe in myself, always pretend among my friend but when i was alone the anxiety begun.
      Thinking of what to say, the crowd and having the school i represented in mind because i didn’t want to let them down. I wish i can bring back those days and utilize it with Prof. Duane Smith Directives.

  32. How I relate to King Bertie

    I have a major superiority complex, I may not think that I am a king and that you are a peasant but you can be certain that I am too confident. Even my poorest displays of brain power have my utmost certainty and confidence behind them. My parents did everything they could to keep me prim and proper. However I am only human, and who doesn’t like being supreme ruler of their domain (comfort zone)? When I have, in the past been confronted with opportunities to speak publicly the idea has aroused a certain abhorred sentiment. I think I’ve handled the occasional wedding and funeral Impromptu speeches with minimal finesse. I do not have a stammer and I feel as though I have been blessed with a rapidly quick mind that allows for instantaneous organization of some intricately complicated details. But being in front of that podium feeling the ball in your throat swell or having someone give you that ‘get on with it’ look at the reception is the stuff my nightmares are made out of. Any interruptions or distractions makes me “Uhhh… um” and instant calculations for how many steps away from the door pop into my head, usually pretty accurate too. How I do not relate is that I do not have an empire to rule nor the vast wealth that is required to hire an achieved Speech Coach like Lionel. Even if I did have the ability to employ a coach, I’m not completely sure I’d have what it takes to submit to his direction. When I imagine myself conforming to all the rules of good public speaking, it seems that I am somehow lost in the transition. Some of the idiosyncrasies that so encompass my personality are lost when I envelope myself in the fold that is considered proper public speaking. I want to give great oration, but I want to sound like me too. I’m not sure if that is possible.

    The article is very politically correct, it’s much more fun to hear Duane tell of how he was asked if he was retarded in class rather than read of his ‘questioned mental ability’. I did find the Committing to direction a bit repetitive because the Submitting to directions part before already covered most of the points re-iterated in that paragraph. I would really like to hear more about the ‘commitment’ that an individual has to make in order to become a better public speaker. I have issues with both submitting to directions and also committing myself to the dedication of carrying what I’ve submitted to out. But I think that you can combine the submit and commit parts as you have them written out currently. Then again, I am only a community college student in a speech class and maybe I really have no clue about the positive criticism I am giving. So if you’re offended, just assume the latter.
    This article makes think a lot about the days we went over the seven directives in Class. It’s just that this article is so watered down that you can barely taste the flavor that an expanded course will provide. I suppose it’s because we spend hours on these topics and we also get the expanded story of Marty and the Fortune 500 CEO’s and can better relate and understand them. If I had not taken the class, I am sure I would have thought this article was very influence by the movie the King’s Speech and would have taken all the points made with much more fluency.

    • I agree with you in the concept of being too confident, for I have suffered from this ailment before. Usually I tell myself that improvising is a way of life, but its not the best kind of life, for if one is overconfident it is inevitable that one will step on the others toes without taking them into consideration. One of my personal experiences would be that, when I was in middle school I would challenge my math teacher’s method of solving a problem with a simpler way (if not shortcut). She then got offended, and went off lecturing me on how it is important to use her way, or the highway, which i chose the highway, leading me to “require” tutoring for her class.

    • Even though you say that you can’t relate, I feel like you do. You show a human effort of pridefulness that can relate back to your first day speech. Stay humble or you’ll stumble. It’s okay to be confident but still be grounded at the same. Even though you are not running an empire and don’t have to give a national broadcast doesn’t mean you can’t learn from the film or class. For example Lionel in film was a mixture of being confident and cocky, but he was still grounded enough to know his faults. Lionel knew he’ll probably won’t achieve a acting career but understood how to be humble towards Birdie.

  33. The King and a Common Challenge
    1. I greatly related to the movie “The King’s Speech” because I can relate to the problems that the King had with public speaking. Ever since I can remember I had a problem with public speaking wether it was a small or big crowd. I always thought that I was the only one with this problem growing up and seeing that not only other people had this problem, even royalty had some issues when it came to it gave me great relief. When I was seeing this movie I was greatly amused by King George VI because not only did he have the courage to try to improve himself, he also had other issues like his stammer to overcome. This movie gave me great inspiration in not only overcoming my fear for public speaking but, it also showed me not to be afraid of self improvement. Overall this movie has brought a little more confidence in myself and I have learned that I’m the only one in my way of becoming a better version of myself.
    2. In this article Professor Duane Smith delivers a great message and makes me understand the key to having a great outcome when delivering a speech. He does this by showing his audience a couple of directives to follow which are “Stay humble, or you will stumble” and “Public speaking is 5% direction, and 95% doing!”. By following these directions he assures us that we can be successful in delivering what we are trying to clearly say when we speak. In this article he also highlights that giving a speech isn’t as hard as we imagine all you need to do is practice direction and practice giving the speech a couple of times. When Professor Duane says “Stay humble, or you will stumble” he is letting the people know that you have to put egos aside to fully understand and accomplish what you are intending to accomplish. Overall I applaud Professor Duane for this article because it has shown me and has given me the tools to help me acknowledge my faults and hopefully help me with my fear of public speaking.

    • It is great to hear how the movie can touch many people’s life. You are one of those people. It is very good the way you accept the fear you have to give speeches, and how you apply the teaching lessons that Professor Duane had gave us on his article as well as in the classroom. While reading your comment, it tells me you have submitted yourself to follow direction and you are committed to do what it takes to reach your goals. And that is what will make you be that short percentage of people that will actually reach success in their life. Good job Ruben_Ortiz, keep it up.

    • You made a great point that actually soothes me quite a bit! You mentioned that even royalty gets nervous! Understandably so, royalty speaks in front of thousands. If I had to speak in front of thousands, I’d probably pass out! It’s great to hear that you know where your flaws are. Further, it’s great you’ve applied the directives we’ve learned in class to help you with public speaking. It’s very comforting to know that Public Speaking is a fear of many including yourself. Lastly “stay humble, or you will stumble”, I believe, is the most important tip to succeed speaking in public. And you explained it very clearly. I agree that the only way to accomplish anything in life is to put your ego aside.

    • I can totally relate to this post because I myself am a very shy person all around, always have been. This movie helped me to see that like this response says even royalty can have problems with public speaking. This does make me feel better about myself because it makes me realize that there is many people that have this fear, I mean for if it is the number one fear in life then it makes sense. By staying humble we give the aundience a true side of ourselves and a side that they will like and cennect with. The audience likes people that are humble and genuine when they talk especially if they are trying to convey a message.

    • I totally agreed with you, looking back at my high school debate performance, it was a great challenged, scared of the crowd, what to say and worried for not making some grammatical blunder because you will be the talk of the day. I have a coach, My English Teacher, he hardly have time for us. Now that i watched the movie, i felt more relieve in myself.
      Looking back at Prof. Smith Directive 1, A public speaker must acknowledge and actively manage his her anxiety, well i wasn’t able to manage mine back then in high school but thank you Prof. Duane who made me realized it.

  34. 1)This movie “The king’s speech” came like a treasure to me because i had always had difficulty facing people to express my self and i was always thinking that I’m the only one with this kind of problem, but when i saw that an educated gentelman like the hero of the movie had the same problem like i had it gave me a great encouragement to work on myself to overcome this huge obstacle that for years had worried me and kept me back in so many ways by taking away my confidence and slowing down my progress in life. The movie is also valuable for his encouraging side where Mr: Albert gets support from his close people and with hard work and consistency he reaches his goal and speaks to the crowd for the first time in his life which was a great succsses for him. Since i watched the movie i have started to have confidence in me and i started speaking freely in front of crowd big or small n i thank the movie makers n writers of the script and our Professor:Duane Smith who suggested us to watch this movie.

    2)By asking us to write about this article by our professor Duane Smith is showing us the way how to conduct a fluent and productive communication skills without being discouraged by our first steps of poor communications and timid approach to the tasks of any kind of public speeches large or small this article is teaching us that a constant and continuous work done even by inexperienced people will lead them to bright a successful to achievements not only in performing beautiful speeches in front of crowds but will also help everyone to communicate with anybody in any kind of in endeavor they pursue in life Article two is also very much inspiring in sense that the spoken word is a gift given to us from God since we, humans are the only creatures on this planet who communicate and express themselves by speaking and language communication i thank our professor for giving us this article to write about since it helped me to overcome my fear of speech for once and for all.

    • It s great to read that like you mentioned that you are glad to know that “you are not the only one” with this impediment. I can certainly count myself in your crowd. It is true that watching the movie and Professor Smith breaking down each key point of this great movie; has given you the power to succeed and put matters into hands and working to achieve a better you. It is the strength that watching and listening to Professor Smith’s wonderful true life stories has inspire many of us in his class to accept our weaknesses and take any given direction to be successful. Professor Smith has a main key point, “preparation, preparation, preparation.” As a student I will take his given direction (s) and put them into practice; it can only really improve my fear of public speaking.

    • Yes, I agree when you say that our professor is trying to teach us to effectively communicate with each other without having to face an audience, when in fact the audience is the internet this time. This is a good approach, but sometimes things cant be expressed the way they are meant to be express threw text, for it lacks human emotion(the individual’s voice). What I think helps is being actively involved in a group conversations, for not all the attention is on you all the time, where you take your turn to express yourself, and after wait for feedback.

  35. The Power of Committed Preparation

    1. While in my military entry training I was assigned to be the platoon leader, that meant I had to be in charge of 59 recruits, also meant to keep the platoon moral up with speeches. Now, before any of that happened, I had always been a person who dislike being the center of attention, mostly because of the accent I have, since English is my second language. So when I was given the news of becoming the platoon leader my entire world shrunk. That same night I couldn’t sleep thinking about how I was supposed to motivate 59 recruits during the entire 3 months duration of training. I was worry, and scared. So I decide to start practicing motivational speeches by first writing them on paper and then saying them out loud in the laundry room while everybody slept. That constant preparation is what gave me the confidence to do the job I was assigned to. Which at the end of training I had gratefully performed. The movie “King Speech” reminded me of how nervous I was on that day, and how preparation and commitment gave direction to the nervousness I felt. Because like Professor Duane says “You can’t get rid of the fear of public speaking, but you can manage it.”

    2. Professor Duane delivers a magnificent article, giving us the key to a great speech. Submitting to direction and committing to direction. He tells us how stubbornness and being to prideful can become the perfect combination to failure. By sharing his story of how prideful he was and the help he found from Marty, compares to the movie on how the Duke of York didn’t want to submit to direction by accepting help. It was until the Duke of York realize he needed to do something it is when with the help of coach Logue he was able to deliver a great speech. I believe the intention of Professor Duane with the article is to let the readers know that it doesn’t matter of how bad someone is doing in life, or because of that it will determinate that person future, but if you are willing to listen to instructions and follow the rules then you can little by little turn your life for good. It all starts by submitting and committing yourself to the direction you want in life.

    • Im glad to hear that you found a way to work through your fear of public speaking. Just to let you know you have gave me a great inspiration in pursuing my dreams of becoming an officer in the military. Because to tell you the truth I have been making up excuses and creating obstacles for myself because I know that an officer is usually asked to give orders and inspirational speeches to many soldiers at a time. I have always doubted that it wasn’t for me but you and Professor Duane have given me a great idea of writing out the speeches and working from there.

    • The fact that you were placed in a position that you could not turn down, gave you a chance to overcome your greatest fear. It is great that you have that self commitment to do what it needs to be done in order to achieve your goal; in your case public speaking. You committed to being a leader, and in doing so showed perseverance and motivation to move forward. I cannot personally relate to you, as I’m not in the service or have ever been. I do indeed admire that you worked hard and prepared yourself to lead those 59 recruits. Per your writing, it seems as though obstacle of public speaking and English being your second language did not stop you from achieving the task at hand.

    • I agree with you Mario. I think that sometimes we fail once and we just give up without realizing that sometimes you need to be really bad at something to learn from it and become better at it. I think this happens when our pride gets in the way and we want everyone around us to believe that we are good at something and I feel that people who are successful don’t really worry themselves about what others might think about them. They just do what needs to be done in order to get the job done. I also agree that sometimes in life we experience something that just makes brings us down but we always have to remember that there is always tomorrow to make things better.

  36. The Former Angry Stuttering Prince Who Became King

    1. The movie relates to my speech experience significantly. i just hate public speaking. i hate being the center of attention. i may not be royalty but i am a football coach, and after every practice we have to say something to the team, most of the time i keep it short and simple, or just wave it off. its ironic that i hate public speaking and i became a coach. like the prince i must inspire people, not a nation, but a team. luckily Ive gotten better and some of my fears have gone as the experience rages in. also like in the prince i have problems getting the words out. I may not have a stutter but my voice gets as if i want to cry, this has to do with my fears and anxiety of having to go up and speak. luckily the last speech we gave went smoothly for me and gives me confidence for the next one.just like in the movie after the former prince and now king gives his first speech and walks out with confidence, that is what the first speech did to me.i saw myself in the movie and related it to my change so far.

    2. First off the article does a great job of simply making me know and visualize what the film is about even if i have never seen it before. i also like how it is put into terms that we are familiar with, like it is showing us what the film has to do with what we are learning in class. The best part i took from the article is submitting and committing to direction. to be great you must admit what is wrong and be willing to fix them. you must also give it your all to be great. putting egos aside is hard putting in the work of excellence is harder. especially overcoming your fears and listening to someone you think doesn’t understand how you are feeling because they never had your problem is tough. the article does a great job of putting all that into perspective; relating this, to us,to class, to the movie, and to life.

    • I greatly relate to your public speaking problems in the way that my fears and anxiety affect the way that my voice sounds when Im giving a speech. When this happens I get even more anxious and I begin to feel uncomfortable and sometimes I get embarrassed. Therefore, I always pass the opportunity when I am asked to say anything in particular. I have always had this problem and know that I have read your particular story it has inspired me to improve myself. Therefore from now on I am going to fully embrace my improvement in public speaking. Thank you for the inspiration that you have given me.

    • I think it is super cool that even though you are shy you are still a coach, it means that you have something special, something to offer the world. Professor Duane claims that we must exploit our gifts and that is what you do when you coach those football players, maybe your catch phrase can come up from being a coach and make you feel confident when you go up there. I love to dance and I will come up with a catch phrase that has to do with dancing to make me feel special. Admitting what you can improve on is hard and I agree with that but the moment we accept our weaknesses we can try to improve them and become better human beings.

  37. 1. My own personal speech experiences are not so much like the movie. My internal struggles may be more of a fit for this category. I am not really fearful of public speaking. Ill admit that I do better if I know a couple people in the room, but I don’t die inside when I have to talk to a room of people. I actually like it. I may not be the best speaker ever, and the thing I definitely struggle with is memorizing things. I am terrible at memorizing anything. Even if I repeat it over and over. I had to do this for an acting class in high school. I had to repeat that part hundreds of time and I still screwed it up when I delivered it on presentation day. my lack of memorizing skills has made me not interested in things like speech team or acting even though I don’t have the fear of being the center of attention. I will still try my best and do work as it is given to me, but I shy away from something I could be really good at.

    2.The article is really good too. My favorite part is the “internal positive refrain” part. I agree with this idea and have used it in many other ways before thinking about it as a way to improve my speech. Its a great way to change your mood, it helps relieve stress, it puts you in the zone. I also believe enough positive thinking can change your outlook on life. This technique has helped me a lot in the past and I look forward to trying it on a different platform. My second favorite part of the article is “are you fully embracing your opportunity to be heard”. I would say I do not. I often shrink back my own ideas because I’m afraid of being judged. Sometimes I feel like no one would agree or maybe what I say is stupid. That’s the wrong attitude to have! The article has given me some things to think about and work on.

    • Amy, i totally have an understanding with you when it comes down to memorization. the only difference is that i have great memory, but when i have to present, mixed with the pressures of being the center of attention, i tend to go blank, thus messing everything up as well.what helps me out is that every time i speak i relate it to myself, because you can never forget about yourself.i relate it mostly to experiences i would never forget. i also agree on when you said that you often shrink back your own ideas because you are afraid of being judged. i relate because it has gotten to a point that i can be the only guy to know the answer and shy away from sharing it because of being judged. it something i must fix and truly embrace every opportunity to speak.

    • Amy, your response was awesome! I love the part where you talked about the favorite part of the article from Professor Smith! It was awesome , and I can say my favorite part of the article , “internal postive refrain” . The way you worded was beautifully eloquent its to aid the person from anxiety and shape their mood into a positive one. I like how you took different part of the article and broke down its explanation into more simpler one , and put your own spin to it. I can totally agree with your first response , I don’t really have fear of public speaking compared to my highschool. But, i do agree I have an internal struggle to it , I ll perform better if there are other people that I know. This was an awesome input of the article and the movie. Great Job!

    • Amy I really could definitely see your commitment to preparation being able to repeat the same thing over and over again can be very overwhelming, but the fact that you took initiative to prepare shows a lot of commitment. Being able to speak in front of people is frightening I could only imagine how you felt performing in front of others. I think being able to memorize a script can be challenging and frustrating, but you still went up there and expressed yourself. Im sure once you finished the performance you felt discouraged, but honestly if you feel that you are passionate for performance or public speaking I would say give it your best shot and practice and prepare for whatever you set your mind to.

  38. Hard work and commitment leads to success
    1. We all talk or speak or communicate, but public speaking is a challenge that many people face. In seventh grade I was elected the head girl (student’s leader). As a student’s leader, I’m expected to speak to the students on regular basis. It was a challenge that I will never forget in my entire life. I had never spoken infront of many people in my life. My first speech on the day I was elected was to introduce myself to the students and probe to them that I will serve them to the best of my knowledge. My speech was terrible I trembled and I was filled with fear. I was encouraged by all the teachers who told me that everything will be alright if I prepare and follow the directions. My parents were behind me and encouraged me as well. They told me the same thing that I can be a great leader if I follow the directions. I took the challenge and followed the direction, at the end of my term I was praised by everybody for represented the students’ very well and being a great leader. I committed to the challenge and worked very hard. I remember practicing every night after dinner with my father how to address the student during the assembly, how to start and end and what to say. This relates to the King’s story in that I was extremely nervous and fearful. “The King’s Speech,” actually shows me a very good example and encouragement that when you commit to follow direction and work hard, there is nothing possible, you can turn what seem to be hard to an easy task.
    2. Article two is very much inspiring to me. It gives me a very good lesson of commitment. Having an obstacle of public speaking seems very tough to overcome. After watching “The King’s Speech,” I notice that the film realistically shows the fear and challenges that the King had with public speaking. Many people go through the same problem. Having heard Professor Smith’s story, his journey from being rejected from different schools because he was unable to get a grade that would enable him continues with his education. He tried to do many things but nothing was working out for him. His dad became tough on him after realizing that he is no longer going to school, nor was he working. After sometimes, Professor got a call one day from one of the Professor at Valley College who asked him if he would come back to the College and take a speech class. Professor Smith took the challenge and followed the direction given to him by his Professor and his life changed. He has become one of the great speech Professors I have ever seen. His story inspires me a lot. It has made me realize that no matter bad are you in anything, if you get the opportunity, take it and practice to commit yourself to the challenge and you will become a better person and overcome all the obstacles that had failed you. Through my own experience and the story from Professor Smith and “The King’s Speech.” I have realized that when you have an obstacle that is preventing you from succeeding and there is somebody willing to help you, better give it a try and you will never regret as long as you practice just like King George and Professor’s Smith. They always say practice makes a perfect.

    • I think most people feel that some or most of their first speeches were entirely horrible. I am glad to hear that you were able to manage your fears and anxiety and comfortably go to represent the rest of your students in your group. It’s nice to commit yourself to a challenge and after completing it receive praise for the hard work that you have done. I haven’t had too many opportunities in where what seems to be hard ends up being really easy. In contrast I’ve had several experiences in where the exact opposite has occurred and not only did my initial estimate prove to be shy of the real difficulty. But the difficulty exceeded my wildest ignorant appraisal. I find Duane’s story to be very inspiring too, I mean who takes Algebra 5 times? But honestly the dude inspires me out of this world.

      • As Steve stated before, I feel like everyone first speeches are horrid and the butterfly are everywhere! I’m also glad you were able share your store of being a leader and being to present in class. Moreover, I’m glad you are able to control your anxiety. Your experience can be relatable to mine- because in my old school we had to present all the time. I remember having anxiety all time presenting front of my peers, but still able do a speech that praised by my peers. I like how you said that the movie was inspiration to you and gave a valuable lesson to you. With that realizing there are people will to push you to your success.

    • Josephine, I like your realization about the article that if, “…you have an obstacle that is preventing you from succeeding and there is somebody willing to help you, better give it a try and you will never regret as long as you practice just like King George and Professor’s Smith.” I do believe that with the right help and will any obstacle can be overcome. Two great examples are King George and Professor Smith who were able to overcome their obstacles and are now role models of what persistence accomplishes. Both worked hard definitely after seeking for help and succeeded.

    • You took direction! It seems that your success fell heavily on the fact that you were willing to take direction and work to improve coupled with encouragement. Good for you. It is always nice to have teachers and parents encouraging you to succeed. Without the belief that others have in you it can be difficult to find the motivation within yourself to persevere. Ones belief in themselves mostly comes from the belief that the people who are closest to them have for them. When I was a kid, my father amended the saying “practice makes perfect”. His saying was, “Practice makes better. Perfect practice makes perfect.” Perfection is hard to live up to, but better is always attainable.

  39. Difficulties are Inevitable, but not Impossible to Overcome

    1. Speech is mainly about communicating. Personally, I believe that singing is a great way to communicate. Singing can also be the only way for someone to express themselves. This movie greatly relates to me, when I was a freshman in high school I was asked by one of my friends if I can sing at their Debut (A Debut is a traditional Filipino coming-of-age celebration on their 18th birthday). I was excited so I accepted the task. I hadn’t listened to the advice given to me by my friends when they said that I should practice.I was stubborn and I foolishly thought that it was simple to sing a song that i’ve been singing for a while. I hadn’t realized until it was too late and I was standing front of an audience that “Oh my goodness, i’m terrified!” I didn’t forget words or anything but my upper lip quivered with fear that I thought it was all that the people were looking at. I didn’t want to ruin my friends birthday let alone the day where she is considered to have reached full maturity but I continued and prayed for it to be over. Like The Duke of York, I had a difficulty when having to communicate in front of an audience. He had a stammer and I had a shaky voice and an uncontrollable upper lip. The Duke of York, later known as King George VI, had to face harsh criticism and I knew I was going to face them as well. It may not have been important at the time but being so young and having the little confidence I had after the performance, I thought it was the end of the world. I could only imagine how the King of England, who is often look to for comfort and leadership had felt like. King George sought help for his problem and he had learned new methods to help him. I also have learned new ways when trying to sing in front of people and they have worked greatly for me. People have difficulties when trying to communicate, some problems may not be as great as a stammer during a speech or as simple as a shaky voice while singing, but they exist, and just like me and King George you can find ways to help you.

    2. The second article is a great summarization of the film and the important lessons that it gave, such as to submit and commit to direction. It’s interesting to realize that these two simple lessons can help you achieve so much. Before we seek help from them, we may need a reality check just like how Professor Smith had received that comment by Mr. Marty Terras and how King George had to realize that he needed to want to be treated for his speech impediment and that he had to be equal to his speech coach. I had to come to the realization that practice makes perfect and that you are definitely going to experience difficult situations, so you take the criticism and learn from them. Once we receive that reality check it opens new doors that help us reach our wanted outcome. From this article I know that you have to take the reality checks, whether they are bad or not, into consideration and allow them to help you find strength from within and you can then grow into a better speaker and a better person.

    • I totally agree with your story about singing! I have been singing since I was a little kid, and there are times I felt arrogant about it. That only led to me not doing very well, being extremely nervous, and then regretting my lack of practice afterward. I mean who wants to give a mediocre performance? It also means everyone who just watched you judged you on something that could have been way better. I personally would rather amaze someone so much they cant believe it just happened, instead of them saying “she said she can sing, but she’s not so great.” Cool reply!

    • Maria, I definitely agree with your comment about the article. We do have to take reality checks and acknowledge our good qualities as well as our faults. Being able to determine our faults, one is able to work on improving these faults. Like you mentioned criticism is a great way to learn. Criticism is great in strengthening and growing skills. If we believe we are never wrong we never give ourselves a chance to improve in the qualities we are not good at. If we don’t ourselves that chance of improving new doors will not open for us and our wanted outcome will not be reached.

  40. 1. Having failed miserably at a speech and knowing the embarrassment that comes from that experience, I could relate completely to King George VI. Nothing is worse than failing in front of people. A persons criticism of themselves is always far worse than the criticism that comes from others. There’s is just a validation of your own criticism. As King George gets up and tries again, because he must, so too did I. Success brings a belief in one’s self that is hard to deny and a joy that you want to share with others. But, as the movie shows, there is always that anxiety that comes when you know you have to give a speech and the fear that overtakes you right before taking the stage. As King George was given rituals to help him through his speeches, I have also found rituals that work for me.
    2. Not wanting to follow directions used to get me into trouble. When I was in junior high school, my father always wanted to read the reports I had to turn in. Unfortunately for me, my father was a writer and wanted to edit my papers. This meant that the length that I had struggled to achieve was being diminished. He was only trying to help me write a better paper but I saw it as hindering my ability to move on to more fun activities. I would usually get a B on the paper. My father was right. Had I been willing to take direction, I probably would have done better in school. I learned that lesson later in life. The lessons of this class I can already see as a blessing. I have done well in my public speaking in the past but what has been missing is a clear outline to follow. The structure of telling a story I learned from Alice in Wonderland when one character asked another where to begin the story. The reply was, “start at the beginning, go until you come to the end, then stop”. That and following a train of thought have worked well. The outline seems simpler though.

    • Oh my goodness! I completely agree that your own personal criticism is the harshest criticism you may ever hear. I feel like people are so hard on themselves because they always think that they can do better even if they have done their absolute best and even if they were amazing at whatever they did. I still have to learn to pick myself up after a harsh criticism and how to stay calm even if fear seems to be a great force going against me. I would love to hear the methods that you use to help you with the anxiety, it could maybe benefit me as well. The Alice in Wonderland quote is an amazing quote that I had never come across. Thank you for adding that! I think that the outline that we’ve learned in this class is going to greatly help me as well.

    • I agree with your statement as well! Everyone is their own worst critic! I see this all the time when I work on clients! They see every flaw that no one else would even notice. I do it to myself. I also hold back on things because I don’t think they will be good enough. I hate letting others judge my unfinished work because then I have to re do everything! I am even nervous about turning in my outline to the professor early because I am afraid he will make me change everything and I have limited time to work on it anymore! I also have issues organizing my thoughts clearly. I guess it boils down to I just want to be amazing without anyone telling me otherwise! HA!

    • I have definitely felt the failure of bombing a speech and I do agree that is hardly anything worse than that. I think we all have that little rebel inside of us that seeks to do things outside of the box and follow it’s own direction. I always saw my Pop tryin to make me re-write papers as his version of torture for me. I think we all have visions of our parents being joyful over us suffering as little kids. It’s pretty cool that your father was an editor. There’s still plenty of opportunity to do very well in school.

      • Even though we all have an urge to be as awesome as we can be without relying on help from anyone else. I think it’s normal pride to have others be in awe of your natural skill.

        (I copy and pasted this comment incorrectly, I’m using an alternate Laptop)

    • It’s actually quite sad we’re our own worse enemy. We’re the harshest on ourselves, we’re always the most dissatisfied with ourselves, etc. However, there’s a fine line between being tough on ourselves and just being purely cruel and harsh. The latter is very dangerous, I would know. We lose our confidence, and self-worth in the process of trying to find our perfections. On the other hand, being tough on ourselves can be the greatest thing ever! We push ourselves to be better because we know that deep down inside, enough is never enough. I don’t think everyone is their own critics though, I believe that only the best people are. Only the people that really care about their lives are criticizers.

    • Christine
      I am my biggest critic. When all of my friends said, I did a good job. I told myself “I can do better.” However, I am afraid to ask for help.At the same time when I messed up while doing a speech I get nervous if I am doing in front of the same people or someone I know. I am very shy when I have to raise my hand or even tell someone I need help. However, your father helped you on your essays even if you did not want it at least that gives you more opportunity to improve.

  41. 1. I remember my first presentation; I didn’t have one. It was in the seventh grade. My elective was cooking class, I had to choose a country and explain to my classmates the types of foods that specific country cooked. In addition, I had to make a dish that was popular in that country, bring it to class and sample it out. I clearly remember wanting to cry from nervousness. The day of my presentation my teacher pulled me to the side and said that if I didn’t want to present I didn’t have to because she already knew, “You’re going to get an A”. But it also helped that I was teachers’ pet. I can relate to the prince in that I was extremely nervous, extremely being an understatement. My first presentation was also in the seventh grade, science class. My topic, Nickle, atomic number 28, I still remember, I carved my presentation in my brain! I remember practicing every night at the dinner table. Every morning brushing my teeth, in the shower with my laminated index cards, on the way to school, in class! Though I did flawlessly recite what I had etched into my brain, I remember standing up in the front of the class for a good 30 seconds and just staring at my classmates, I truly looked like a deer caught in headlights just like the Prince in the first scene.

    2. The second article is truly inspiring. Through being called “retarded” Professor Duane was able to find strength and inspiration. I couldn’t help but wonder how different his life would have been hadn’t Marty called Professor “retarded”. It was very harsh, but we all need a reality check sometimes. Further through this article, and personal life experiences, it’s usually when a third party who cares about you, comes down on you hard like Marty did to Professor Duane, that’s how you know that maybe you should change. All the tips that we have discussed in class already, Professor smith has learned through first hand experiences. It makes him credible to his students because he knows what he’s talking about. No one likes to be told what to do, we’re humans, we’re prideful. But that’s where we find our success, by submitting to direction and forgetting about our pride. I mean think about it, how can you fail if you follow all the directions?

    • I’ve had tons of those kinds of presentations in high school where I had to generally “wing it” and i’ve also experienced being that “deer” it’s not a fun experience. I don’t know about you but in that first scene I felt the anxiety that he was experiencing. I felt like I was the one having to give the speech. It’s impressive that someone can do that. I agree that we need reality checks here and there especially since we as humans don’t enjoy being told what to do. We like to think that we’re always right. I 100% agree with you when you said “…how can you fail if you follow all the directions?” because if it’s certain that you’ll be successful, why not follow them? I really enjoyed reading your post!

    • why is it that in high school we all were never really prepared to speak. i believe that is where my fears of public speaking came from. i was a procrastinator and at times i still am. but for this class i have made it my mission to always be prepared. i feel horrible for your experiences but i can relate because my fear of public speaking came around the same time. i too had plenty of times that i winged it and it just led to words coming out of my mouth with no cohesiveness. i also agree that nobody likes being told what to do and sometimes you have to shrug the ego away to become great and truly follow direction.

    • I like how you talked about you first presentation, I can not even remember what i did back in seventh grade. Nonetheless, the project that you were talking seems like to look like my spansh class back in freshman years. Moreover, this might be an odd connection but if you think this can relate back to the cultural narrative. Thus, relating back to topic , like any any student with their first presentation there is that nervousness, but you went through it . It showed a determination that you can do it . I really like how you simplified article two, describing that we are all human and that we have pride. But despite of that the pride you can move past and created a successful final result

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