Public Speaking: Smile & Enthusiasm

Oleh Erwin Parengkuan

Our nation is known as a friendly nation.One thing I often hear is that when foreigners visit our country, they are very amazed by the friendly and sincere smiles they encounter when they meet Indonesian people.I myself always feel it, especially when traveling to remote areas.

In fact, now, some of those smiles are fading, especially for those who live in big cities.Various post-covid pressures, increases in basic commodities, business challenges and competition, not to mention the wars that continue to rage today in many parts of the world have unconsciously changed human behavior.Fading the smile that was once born so sincere, is now slowly starting to disappear.I myself don't know whether there is reliable data from research centers to measure how much the number of genuine smiles has decreased, past and present in our country.However, smiling remains the main essence when someone interacts or even communicates with anyone.As we shared in class, starting from the elementary class program about the big benefits and meaning of a sincere smile that will have a big influence on a relationship.

Sejumlah penelitian di luar negeri tentang manfaat senyum telah membuktikan dampak hidup seseorang akan lebih ringan sejalan dengan berkurangnya stress. Hanya sayang, hal tersebut masih menjadi tantangan terbesar para peserta kami di dalam kelas. Siapapun mereka, baik seseorang dengan jabatan tinggi atau tidak serta generasi manapun tanpa terkecuali semakin sulit untuk tersenyum ketika pertama kali mereka berbicara. Beban berat pekerjaan yang dipikul, kurangnya perhatian dan menurunnya tingkat percaya diri, belum berhasil menumbuhkan kesadaran diri tentang manfaat andal sebuah senyuman.

Last month, a friend who rarely smiled tried to prove this statement.He started smiling when he met anyone.I myself was very happy to hear the story and when we met he asked me ”Why is it, when I smile, how come the person looks at me intently?”That's what he said, confused.I then asked “is your heart smiling too?

This small example is a daily practice that we can all benefit from.Of course, at first it's impossible for us to smile sincerely.However, if we keep doing it, we will become accustomed to it, as with everything we learn in this world.A smile that is born from sincerity will have a positive impact on life and image, and will also make people interested in our existence.

Likewise, enthusiasm also has a greater meaning.The person we are talking to is not only happy with our presence, they also get new energy from us.Apart from that, enthusiasm will produce various variations in sound pressure which will create a big influence when we communicate.

So from now on, don't hesitate to give your sincere smile and enthusiasm when you speak.These 2 qualities already exist within everyone and are easy to display, bring it on!