I was always a chatty child. All my primary school reports read: "Shami needs to learn when to contribute and when not to." I was very bolshy, too. I had a profound sense of injustice. Actually, I think a lot of children have an instinct for justice. The "that's not fair" cry is very common. Most small kids have that instinct - the issue is whether they can find a way to articulate it. If they can't then they lash out in other ways.
As director of the civil liberties charity, Liberty, it's important for me to use my public speaking to win over new audiences - not just preach to the converted. I try to speak to different audiences in a way they feel is accessible without changing or compromising the content of the message I'm delivering. You have to find a language that will resonate with your audience.
Public speaking is like anything else - if you practise enough then you gain confidence. I still remember my first public address as director of Liberty. I was so nervous. It was autumn 2003 and I was giving a speech at the House of Lords on Belmarsh prison. The star of the event was Tony Benn, and when I was introduced to him I explained how nervous I was, especially when I saw that he had hand-written his speech (normally he speaks off-the-cuff). When it was time to deliver the speeches, he did the most amazing thing - he cast his notes aside, looked over at me and said: "I think I'm just going to chat a bit about this terrible subject ..." This made the whole process much less daunting.
I also had experience early on of speaking on the radio. Presenters would try and goad me, so I quickly learned the importance of controlled delivery. There is a big contrast between broadcasting and public speaking. Pre-television, the great political speakers liked to rant. If you listen to recordings of the Labour movement in the early days, they were shouting to be heard in a public hall. Some politicians still do that. The problem is, such energy makes you sound like a caricature on radio or television. Jonathan Dimbleby offered me some great advice. He said: "Remember you are not speaking to millions of people, you are speaking to one person in their living room."
I do enjoy a good Q and A though, because people feel involved. I love Question Time. I've been on it and it's terrifying, but it's a fantastic British tradition - like a televised town hall meeting complete with hecklers. It's also the only time you get the home secretary or the foreign secretary sitting on equal terms with a scruffy campaigner like me.
