Posted by Rob Carey under TravelResponses (0)

Anyone who takes the NYC subway regularly knows that you will occasionally encounter a loud but harmless wack job, preaching for or against some cause. Many times the person's message is way, way out of the mainstream, or makes no sense at all--or is alternately shouted and whispered, reminding you that there are not enough treatment options in NYC for mentally ill people. But every once in a while..... 

...you wind up in a train car with someone who is well, captivating. After a few years of drought in this area, I finally was treated to an entertaining preacher yesterday morning.

The moment the doors closed on the #4 express train heading south out of Grand Central Station, he sprung to his feet from the subway bench, cleared his throat, and started. It made no difference to him that the car was full enough such that he was standing in the middle of a crowd--though I'm sure the people standing next to him were not too happy. But I was near the other end of the car, so his volume was loud enough to hear, but not overwhelming. I could see his head bobbing up and down between the sea of people, his head tilted upward so that he was not yelling in people's ears, and also so his voice would travel along the ceiling of the car and into the far corners.

He was dressed just okay--not disheveled, but pretty casual. He did not have a deep, commanding voice, but his Caribbean accent made him sound more distinguished than the usual underground preacher. He was talking about giving oneself to Jesus in order to be saved, and what the Bible says about busying oneself with the gathering of material goods at the expense of the spiritual side of life, etc.--not unusual material for subway speakers.

But it was his cadence, his varied tone, and his perfect recall of his script that made him stand out from all the other exhibitionists whom New Yorkers tune out. Rather than reading the newspaper, I found myself actually listening, to see if the point he was making at the moment made sense in light of what he had just said, and to speculate as to where he would go next with his thoughts. Also, he did not come across as a fire-breather regarding his topic--he came across more as a friendly stranger who wanted to share something interesting. He was, in a word, pleasant.

And I wasn't the only one in the subway car who noticed this guy was different. Right before the train got to the Union Square station, the lady next to me said, "He sounds like he's been practicing." And then I thought: Heck, if you gave him any business presentation, he'd do pretty well at keeping people's attention and probably come across as an expert in the topic he was discussing.

In fact, he made me want to practice my public speaking a bit more. Because if a kooky dude on the #4 train can get cynical New Yorkers to listen to him solely because of his style, imagine what a well-practiced businessperson could achieve in front of an audience that comes into the room ready to listen.