Today’s featured article is written by Dr. Richard D. Stafford
A Judgment Call
I have taught public speaking to college students for over twenty-five years. I have discovered that most students are really afraid to stand up and make that first public speech. In fact, the Gallop Poll has surveyed Americans for half-a-century about their greatest fears, and you guessed it, public speaking is always in the top three…fear of death is most often way down the line. And so, why is that?
I believe most people fear public speaking because they know the audience, often their peers, are making instant judgments about their ability. As we all know, if you are at a social party of some kind and in a conversation with someone you do not know, you decide fairly quickly if you wish to carry on a conversation or if you wish to move on to others. We realize that people are making judgments about us and that causes great fear and uncertainty for most of us.
A dear friend of mine, Daniel Keplinger, also known as King Gimp, and Oscar winner for his HBO special, King Gimp, was in Atlanta recently as a guest speaker at Emory University. Dan has cerebral palsy and has some difficulty being understood as he speaks. In addition, he can not walk, so he travels in his wheelchair. (You can view a Super Bowl commercial for Cingular he appeared in by going to YouTube.com and searching for the commercial by its name: Unbelievably Lucky.) What makes Dan so special is that he is an artist who paints using an art brush affixed to head gear, since he has almost no control of his arms. A taxi dropped Dan off at his hotel in Buckhead and I was delayed a few minutes in meeting him there. By the time I arrived police were escorting Dan in his wheelchair along with his suitcases and art portfolios out to their patrol car. They could not immediately understand why this person they were talking to couldn’t relate why he was sitting in the lobby of a five star hotel. They had already made judgments that he was homeless or even worse, a vagrant. Luckily, I was able to convince the police that he was a guest of the University by showing them posters, and further by having the law enforcement officials move to the check-in counter where the front desk staff did indeed find Dan’s reservation. Oddly, Dan’s name was written in eight inch letters in white paint all over his black shipping cases which held about a dozen paintings. My goodness, how quickly we make judgments about others!
As we begin this new year I encourage myself and others to be cautious about judging others, that includes our children, parents, siblings, friends, peers at work and total strangers. Let’s seek God’s help in finding strength to leave unnecessary and unwarranted judgment to others. After all, who among us would wish to be judged incorrectly or unfairly?
Richard D. Stafford, Ph.D.
