Don’t Hide from Public Speaking when You Want Success

If you've followed this blog for a while, you'll remember that a spymaster speech was once a very rare occurrence. But now things are quite different because it seems that every year we hear from the head of each of the two spy agencies MI5, MI6 or the director of GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters). They don't hide from public speaking opportunities and undercover public speaking is definitely no longer a thing.

Of course there's no problem with that. But the idea that spies and spy chiefs keep quiet in the shadows appears to be one for history. This week we heard from Ken McCallum, the head of the MI5 intelligence agency, in the United Kingdom.

You Can't Hide From Public Speaking When There's a Narrative to Spin

We've discussed a Ken McCallum speech in the past, when we spotted the metaphors in his speech on that 2022 occasion. Good stuff.

This week his speech is very much a narrative speech.

It's a narrative about Russia, enemies and, of course, the threats that we face in the United Kingdom. Because apparently these devious Russians are stirring up trouble on the streets of the United Kingdom. Well who knows?

The UK’s leading role in supporting Ukraine means we loom large in the fevered imagination of Putin’s regime, and we should expect to see continued acts of aggression here at home. The GRU in particular is on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets: we’ve seen arson, sabotage and more. Dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness. And having precisely the opposite effect to what the Russian state intends, in driving increased operational coordination with partners across Europe and beyond.

This is the narrative, and it's the narrative that we'll find in most speeches by government ministers. Pushing the narrative is a key occupation of most Ministers and senior officials within government and spy chief or no spy chief, they're all at it. There's no hiding place, even for the sleuths.

However, your task as a public speaker is not to go undercover with your own speech. Because you want to be crystal clear about your intentions, objectives and plans. That's your task as a public speaker, so don't go undercover and obfuscate or deviate off-track.

When you need to sleuth out some quick and easy material for your own public speaking, you'll find more than 100 top tips for speakers, podcasts and videos at Time to Market. Plus, when you really do want to come in from the cold and do even more with your speeches, then an online course will always help.