Some of the best sources of information and lessons in public speaking come from watching and listening to others. As a public speaking trainer and coach I attend as many seminars and presentations as I can, mostly so I can observe and learn from other presenters.
In my public speaking workshops, I get each person to do mini speeches and I get the other participants to analyse and critique the mini speech. I also analyse the speech and give feedback and comments and I coach for speaking improvement. This way everyone adds to the learning environment, and the student speakers become the teachers, at the same time receiving valuable feedback from myself and the other participants.
I have just conducted a half day workshop in Bunbury and over the 3 mini speeches each person did, people saw amazing growth and learning take place, just by being open to analyzing and watching other students speak.
You have probably watched Anna Bligh speak over the past weeks in relation to the Queensland Floods and cyclone. You would have noticed her honesty, authenticity and emotion that she put into her regulate updates to the people of Queensland and Australia. She was really able to connect and build rapport and trust with the audience. By watching Anna Blight you can learn so much about effective communication and public speaking.
You have probably watched Barrack Obamma speak on TV and noticed how he speaks very fast, but has great use of pause and pacing, which makes him very easy to listen too. By watching Barrack Obama you can learn the power of using pause and pacing to create interest and impact. If you do speak fast, take a lesson from Barrack Obama.
So take the opportunity whenever you can to observe other speakers, either in person or on TV and look for the lessons. There are plenty to be learned.