Today's Edition
KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (ABU DHABI)
Dr. Jamal Y. Alsawalhi has never been one for centre stage, admitting that despite speaking to large crowds daily as part of his job as an assistant professor at Khalifa University, the nerves that come with speaking to large crowds never quite go away.
"I would say it's reduced, but it will never disappear. That's a fact. At least for me, I don't think it will ever disappear, and I think that's a good thing," he told Aletihad on the sidelines of the Forbes Under 30 Summit.
"There was this one time which I was supposed to speak at a live TV interview, and for some reason I wasn't nervous. And it turns out I did a horrible job. So having that nervousness is good, it sometimes prepares you."
Dr. Alsawalhi was attending the Forbes summit in Abu Dhabi to speak about his journey to becoming a confident public speaker, a skill that has undeniably transformed his professional and even personal life. Despite his commanding stage presence, he admits that he has always hated the stage but has over time come to embrace it – a process he says was only possible through a thousand hours of practice.
"A confession: I hate public speaking. I think a lot of people do too. I hate it," he admitted.
"But It's all about repetition. It's all about doing it, and the more you do it, the more you get used to it. And this works in everything, almost, including public speaking.
Leading up to his talk at the Forbes Under 30 Summit, Alsawalhi had been engaged in an intensive public speaking programme with Deraya Speakers, a UAE-based public speaking and media literacy academy that is grooming the next generation of Emirati orators.
He said the programme had forced him to spend time outside his comfort zone, which had helped him boost the quality of his university lectures.
His fellow Deraya alumnus, Sahar Alzarei, an Emirati artist and critic who currently manages Talent, Cultural Arts and Community Engagement at the Higher Colleges of Technology, was also present at the Forbes Under 30, where she discussed her journey to becoming a competent orator and the hurdles she had to overcome.
She was among the first graduates from the Deraya programme, and said her experience had forced her to face adversity, criticism and hone her ability to articulate sound ideas with a strong knowledge base that inevitably made her stand out as a public speaker.
"Skill is the most important factor in this matter, but you also need knowledge. Today, as a speaker, I must have a deep understanding of the subject I am discussing so that I can speak about it effectively," she explained.
"Being open to criticism is crucial as well. Not everything I say or publish will necessarily be well received by the audience. Sometimes criticism arises, and I need to be able to accept that."
She added that it was critical that speakers can effectively gauge their audience and adapt their style and content to engage them depending on their age, gender and other demographic attributes.
"It's also important to understand your audience - whether they are young people or an older demographic. Every audience requires a different language and approach to the dialogue," she said.
