…and why do you care if you speak in public
Anyone who has done a public speaking course with me remembers three things in particular: the rotated square, bulleted lists and that I do not listen to voice messages. The first two points are related to preparation and visual media design respectively, but what do audios have to do with public speaking?
To understand this, we have to put numbers to it.
The reading capacity of a person is about 200/300 words per minute. This is an average value, by developing speed reading it is possible to increase it, although there is a risk of less comprehension.
Listening ability, again an average value, is around 150/160 words per minute, although it can go up to around 200/250, as for example people who listen to podcasts or accelerated voice messages do. Even in this case, however, there is a real risk of a reduced ability to understand what we hear.
Typing capacity is roughly 40/60 words per minute. Here again, being very familiar with the keyboard or taking specific courses can raise this value..
Finally, the ability to speak is approximately 120/150 words per minute (and many Italians of my generation will have been reminded of Claudio Cecchetto…).
What does this mean? If the presenter uses slides with a lot of text, he or she is likely to end up reading them. While the audience reads them at more than 200 words per minute, the speaker will speak at a slower speed, with the result that the audience will be at the back when the speaker is past the halfway point. This annoying lack of synchrony is all the more reason to avoid using too many words in visual media, preferring instead images that complement the spoken words. Our ability to understand an image is greater than our ability to understand text and this allows the audience to quickly turn their attention back to the presenter.
That leaves only the question of voice messages. In reality I am often in contexts where I cannot hear them, I am giving a course, a meeting with many people, etc… However, one can also see the issue from another angle. Whoever chooses to send a voicemail is saving his or her time (we are faster talkers than writers) to the detriment of the receiver (we are faster readers than listeners), in defiance of the principle that the onus of communication, and courtesy, lies with the sender.
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