Whether it’s your first speech or the 25th one, you are bound to be nervous and get goosebumps every time you make your way towards the stage. And when you finally get in to the groove, you realize that the speech is almost over. Evan Esar states that, “Public speaking is an art of diluting a two-minute idea into a two-hour vocabulary”, since speaking in public demands quality and not necessarily quantity. For it is the basic concept that you are ultimately stretching to attract audience towards you and keep them involved. But not all people are talented enough to drag a short subject too long. As a result, most of them end up with a short, boring and non-connecting conversation. Nevertheless, using a few inspirational and motivational quotes on public speaking can help you relate your speech with the public, thereby making it credible. Also, if you are a novice speaker or one who always sweats on the very thought of speaking in public, these quotations can give you a good boost up and enhance your speaking abilities. Go for them!
Public Speaking Quotations & Sayings
- If there's anything a public servant hates to do it's something for the public. - Kin Hubbard
- The trouble with the public is that there is too much of it; what we need in public is less quantity and more quality. - Don Marquis
- Grasp the subject, the words will follow. - Cato The Elder
- That miscellaneous collection of a few wise and many foolish individuals, called the public. - John Stuart Mill
- Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot. - D. H. Lawrence
- Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent. - Dionysius Of Halicarnassus
- Say not always what you know, but always know what you say. - Claudius
- It's better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you're stupid than to open it and remove all doubt. - Rami Belson
- If you can't write your message in a sentence, you can't say it in an hour. - Dianna Booher
- You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart. - John Ford
- The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public. - George Jessel
- Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening. - Dorothy Sarnoff
- Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. - Winston Churchill
- It's not how strongly you feel about your topic, it's how strongly they feel about your topic after you speak. - Tim Salladay
- Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall. - Oliver Wendell Holmes
- Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much. - John Wayne
- It takes one hour of preparation for each minute of presentation time. - Wayne Burgraff
- There are only two types of speakers in the world: The nervous, and Liars. - Mark Twain
- Once you get people laughing, they're listening and you can tell them almost anything. - Herbert Gardner
- Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
- It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. - Mark Twain
- Speak when you are angry - and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret. - Laurence J. Peter
- The will to win is important. But the will to prepare is vital. - Joe Paterno
- Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either. - Gore Vidal
- No man is defeated without, until he is defeated within. - Eleanor Roosevelt
- A man who does not make mistakes does not make anything - William Connor Magee
- Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy. - Norman Vincent Peale
Consider these public speaking quotes before preparing your next speech and you’ll have people glued to their seats and enjoying your talk.