A circle of friends connected by gootouch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On April 10, conductor Kenshiro Sakairi introduced Kaori Chiba, CEO of kaeka, a speech training venture company, who began competing in Japanese speechwriting at age 15 and won three national speech contests. She is a speechwriter and speech trainer for executives and politicians, and we asked her about her surprising start in speechwriting and her tips for giving speeches and presentations that can be put into practice immediately.
INDEX
Won a national championship in a speech contest in order to be recommended for admission without having to study, which he was not good at.
Takano (MC): Ms. Chiba, yesterday you mentioned that Mr. Sakairi is a brilliant and talented person.
Chiba: No, no, no, this is me being considerate (haha).
Takano: she was already smiling when she came in. The air is very soft.
Chiba: (haha).
Takano: We are looking forward to learning a lot from you today.
Celeina (MC): Since you are a professional storyteller, we would like to ask for your guidance.
Takano: Ms. Chiba, you started the speech contest “oratory” at the age of 15.
Chiba: That’s right. It is a speech contest in Japanese, and it is a rare competition in which you have to write a manuscript of about 1,600 words based on your own interviews, and then compete in a speech contest to see how well you can deliver your speech.
Takano: What made you start this competition?
Chiba: On the surface, I often say that I thought it would be cool to speak in an interview, but behind the scenes, I hated studying and was terrible at it, but I was told that if I won the national championship in oratory, I could be recommended to a private university in Tokyo. I started thinking that I would go to the university with a recommendation without studying.
Takano: Some students might be inspired to do their best in oratory after hearing this.
Celeina: That’s smart.
Chiba: No, no (haha). When I first started, I was told that oratory is something that shady people do because of its humble image. I was frustrated, and as I tried harder and harder, I was immersed in it.
Celeina: And how did you start kaeka after that?
Chiba: I won three national championships and the Prime Minister’s Prize in oratory. I wasn’t that good at speaking to begin with, but I had a story about how I got good at oratory, so I thought it would be more interesting to do this in society, and as a result, I decided to start my own business.
Takano: What exactly do you teach?
Chiba: I mainly teach businessmen and politicians how to speak. In particular, I teach voice information. I train them on the speed and pitch of their voice, as well as how to pause their speech. I also provide training on how to create a manuscript, such as which order to speak in to make it easier to understand, and how to craft a message.
Takano: It seems to be in great demand among business people, doesn’t it?
Chiba: That’s right. Recently, we have had people in their teens to those in their 60s in our classes. So we have people in leadership positions in management and administration, school teachers, human resources, and even people who are about to be interviewed for college admissions recommendations.
Takano: Certainly, even in our daily lives, we have time for public speaking.
Chiba: That’s right. Many people come to us because they are not good at speaking on their own or because they have trouble speaking well at interviews.
An explanation of “inflection changes” that can immediately change the way you speak and tips for wedding speeches.
Celeina: I saw your Twitter page. I saw your video explaining “inflection change,” and I was wondering if you could explain again what it is?
Chiba: It is a part of our training on how to communicate, and it is easy to understand if you change the speed of your voice. I reproduced the video on Twitter, saying that you should speak at a slower speed only when you want to emphasize something, and people saw it.
Takano: That’s totally different. When you emphasize, you speak at 0.8 times slower.
Chiba: These days, when memorizing speeches, many people use applications on their smartphones, so there are ways to practice, such as listening to a speech at 0.8x speed.
Takano: This is valuable information. I know that you are also a speechwriter, so do you have any tips on, for example, wedding speeches?
Chiba: I get quite a few requests for advice. I often say, “First of all, let’s find out what kind of episodes you have with the person you are speaking about. ” I especially emphasize the importance of describing what I thought was good about the person. Specifically, what did you see together, at what time, and what kind of conversation did you have? If you include a conversational sentence and describe what you thought at the time, it becomes more like a story, and it becomes an interesting episodic talk to listen to.
Takano: It’s a great way to get your feelings on board. I would like to encourage listeners to use this technique.
Chiba: Yes, that’s right. Also, it is possible to memorize the manuscript if you can make it at least a week in advance, so I recommend that you finish making it as soon as possible.
Celeina: Is it possible to memorize it in a week?
Chiba: It’s okay; if you read 2,000 to 3,000 words, even if you read it once a day, it will stick to your memory. We actually do this in our training, and you can do it. Please take this home with you (haha).
Celeina: Now, let me send you a song. Ms. Chiba, what song did you choose?
Chiba: Yes, “Tokyo” by YUI. I was 18 years old when I came to Tokyo for college, and when I left Sapporo in Hokkaido and came to Tokyo, I played this song on repeat.
Billing level! Speech preparation for those who talk too fast due to nervousness
Celeina: I would like to ask you about your personal side here, Ms. Chiba. Since you got married last year, I was wondering if you could tell us where you usually go on dates and such.
Chiba: My husband is also a business owner and the head of a company that mainly conducts election surveys, so we go to election speeches together.
Celeina: Do you go on dates to see speeches?
Chiba: Yes, we do. We would check out the constituency, and since this candidate would be here in the morning, we would go to Akihabara first, have dinner there, and then move on to Tamachi.
Celeina: So you are going in a hodge-podge manner!
Chiba: That’s funny (haha).
Takano: I feel like dating and work are one and the same, but Ms. Chiba, I just received a message from a listener. I get nervous when I have to give a speech or a presentation, and I talk very fast, often lasting less than seven minutes. It would be best if I didn’t get nervous, but I do get nervous, so I would like to know if there is anything I can do about it.
Chiba: Good question. First of all, nervousness itself is not so bad. Everyone gets nervous. So it is important to break it down to the point where we recognize why we get nervous. Are you worried because you can’t see the other person’s point of view, or are you nervous because you haven’t prepared enough in advance? The solution will depend on that. If you are afraid of eye contact, you can try to look at the person who responds best, or you can try to prepare yourself.
Another way to improve your rapid speech is to first open your mouth wide. This alone will make a big difference. In Japanese, you don’t have to open your mouth that wide to speak, so you speak quickly with a small mouth. But when you open your mouth wide, you don’t move as fast, physically. So, there is a way to slow down the speed with movement.
Celeina: That’s great. This is billing-level information (haha).
Takano: It’s true. Please use it as a reference and do your best in your speech!
Celeina: Today’s guest speaker is Ms. Chiba. Thank you very much.
Chiba: Thank you very much.
GRAND MARQUEE
J-WAVE (81.3FM) Mon-Thu 16:00 – 18:50
Navigator: Shinya Takano, Celeina Ann
