At my grandmother's funeral, a family friend from South Africa (who I hadn't seen since I was ~5) gave a speech -- I'd forgotten that he was a retired university lecturer. It was one of the most powerful, beautiful pieces of oratory I have ever heard: he told the story of her life in South Africa (where she was born) in a way that was new to me, my mother, and utterly captivated a spellbound church.

This point -- that, by comparison at least, most people are uncompelling speakers -- is something that bears repeating.