If you want to learn from some of the best public speakers in the world, go to the Tower of London and take a tour with the Yeoman Warders (colloquially known as Beefeaters).
Between 2022 and 2023, I worked at Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that looks after six of the UK’s unoccupied royal palaces, including the Tower of London. The charity’s cause is to stir every spirit to inspire and provoke change. A big attraction of the role to me was the confluence of storytelling (public speaking) and historic buildings (property). Whilst my job was behind-the-scenes, I enjoyed working somewhere where exceptional public speaking was on display every day.
What makes the Yeoman Warders exemplars of great public speaking? All are former members of the armed forces. Guiding tourists around a palace is a somewhat different skill and one they train hard to master during their probationary period. The aspects of their speaking skills that stood out most to me were:
Projection – they often take dozens of members of the public around the Tower. They have to be able to capture and hold their audience’s attention. If they cannot be heard, they cannot do this, so their voice projection is commanding.
Articulation – the audience are a mixed group. From a multitude of countries with many different native languages. The Yeoman Warders need to speak clearly and understandably. When you’re a native English speaker, used to using complex language every day, it takes effort to choose the most appropriate words for an audience who are not.
Humour – the Tower is a tourist attraction. People go there to learn. It is important they enjoy themselves and the Yeoman Warder tour is generally a highlight of the day. Yeoman Warders engage and entertain, with use of humour skilfully woven in.
Storytelling – each Yeoman Warder has to learn the 8,500 word “Story” during their probationary period. It contains the varied history of the Tower and forms the basis of the tours. Once learnt, the Yeoman Warder can choose what to tell, personalise and adapt what they share. I went on a few tours and it was interesting to see different Yeoman Warders putting their own spin on the stories, choosing what was most appropriate to different audiences.
If you want to be a good communicator, people have to be able to hear and understand you. Once you have captured their attention, bringing your own sense of humour and personality to how you deliver your message will make you stand out.
Learning from others to develop your own skills is a great way to become a better public speaker. Whilst you may not be somewhere for the purpose of seeing great speaking skills, you can find it all around. If you’re in London, I’d highly recommend the Tower of London for this (no doubt you’ll enjoy the stunning buildings and fascinating history too).
