Lance Miller, World Champion of Public Speaking recently published a letter on Speaking with Conviction:
The speaking world is filled with clever catch phrases, 6 second
sound bites and speeches written for their political correctness or sensational
impact. But I have found that NOTHING communicates, NOTHING penetrates and
NOTHING motivates more than a speech based on the convictions of the speaker.
"Speaking with conviction" has almost
become a catch phrase of its own.
I have watched people try to speak with
conviction, try to create a little conviction on the spot, like
putting some extra salt on their popcorn.
This is the speaker who is acting like he has
conviction. This all too often ends up with the speaker trying to convince the
audience, that he is convinced, in the rightness or correctness of the subject.
Webster's defines conviction as: "a:
a strong
persuasion or belief",
"b: the state of being convinced."
Webster's also defines conviction as, "the act or
process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law."
So we see that we can have conviction, but we can
also get a conviction. To get a conviction, to prove someone
guilty of a crime, the prosecution must prove their case beyond a reasonable
doubt.
When I ask myself, "Do I have conviction?" I am
really asking, by the definition, "I have handled any reasonable
doubts that I have on this subject?"
Having conviction is not about convincing the audience of your
conviction, it is about convincing yourself.
If I have doubts in the correctness of what I am saying, I will
withhold myself from the audience. I will assume a slightly defensive position,
based on the possibility of someone calling me out on my doubts.
To impact an audience, I have to speak without hesitation or
reservation. I cannot do that if I doubt what I say.
Speaking with conviction is
not something you do, as much as it is something you are.
