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Notes on Giving a Speech (On Vaccine History)

Created on: 2024-06-06

Modified on: 2024-06-07

I wrote this for a forum on public speaking. I include it here as it relates also to health history.

I just gave a speech on Sunday gone. Here are some reflections that I hope will be useful to you.

The subject was only confirmed when I spoke with the hostess three days beforehand to find out what would be most interesting to her group. We also had a family event over the weekend, so there was even less time to prepare.

Here's how I prepared and how it went . . . .

While I had just three days to plan the speech, obviously I was drawing on prior knowledge. A year earlier I wrote on the subject for a magazine, and had spent three months researching that article. So I was familiar with the subject, but rusty on the details.

My subject was the early history of vaccination, and the first disease for which vaccines were made (i.e. smallpox). The title of my speech was "Did preventative injections ever work?"

Later that day I wrote out a draft speech verbatim, as a stream of consciousness. The following day I reduced it down to bullet points. I had a practice go, and timed it.

The next day I refined it. When we're rusty on a subject, we know the gist, but vaguely. This is no good for convincing others - we need precision.

E.g. first draft: "A major epidemic struck in the 1870s, when the majority had had the prophylaxis, but they still suffered badly." That's no good - too vague.

Second draft: "There was a huge epidemic that swept across Europe in 1871, including highly vaccinated populations. In England, Leicester in particular was just over 90% vaccinated, yet was hit hard, with a death rate of 3,673 per million living. Contrast that with . . . ."

The audience will forget the dates and the numbers, but they will get the gist. Your precision creates more trust and impact. Human stories illustrate these and create an emotional connection.

Direct quotes from supporting sources are useful. I quoted from numerous orthodox doctors from orthodox medical journals, including the BMJ.

This is important - a principle of historical research is that if a witness to a fact has a motive against testifying to it, that carries more weight. The same principle applies to quotes for speeches - and be sure to point out the significance of who is quoted.

After three drafts and practice speeches, I had to face the inevitable - a real live audience!

My speech lasted about 45 minutes. I'm happy to say it was very well received by an informed audience.

It landed well because the story and evidence I gave were both strong and shocking, and because I introduced the speech by saying why the question I addressed - the history of the first vaccine - is still relevant today.

Then there was the Q and A. While I'd prepared for the talk, I still had some jitters, especially around the Q and A, the most unpredictable part of it. The questions broadened out substantially into related topics, mostly closer to modern times. And without bragging, it was during this part of the talk that it struck me, I have accumulated a lot of background knowledge on the broader topic of vaccination. (And this isn't my main professional concern - that's practical cures.) Jitters were replaced by relief.

And my point is, when you are giving a speech on something you're passionate about, the likelihood is you know more about it than you realize. We don't necessarily realize the breadth of our knowledge, as much of our learning happens in isolation. It is heartening to have an intelligent audience draw out broader issues on a subject.

Of course, it's also fine to answer questions with, "I'm not sure," or "I don't know," which I did at some point. Nobody knows everything about a subject, so there's no need to try to hold ourselves to that standard.

I hope this helps.

If you're interested in the history, here's an audiobook I made of one of my sources for this speech: The Case Against Vaccination, 1896

Returning to the 21st century, if you're dealing with health issues and want guidance in radical natural healing, contact me for a Discovery Call.

And finally, if you're a fellow covid-vax-refusenik, and would like to meet others like you for community and dating, head over to Unjibbed.

- Antony

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