So what’s yours? Did your teacher give you a specific topic to cover? If so, what’s your stance? Or is it more personal? Two or three personal stories with a connecting theme can be quite the vivid speech.
Who are they? Age? Gender? Beliefs? How much do they know about your topic? This will determine the amount of complicated language you can use (hint: if they don’t know much, don’t use it!). Why are they there? To be taught something? Because they have to be? Because they’re genuinely interested? If your audience has to be there, try to create an opening that’s sympathetic, supportive, and fun to get them engaged. How long have they been there? If you’re 17th of 18th speeches, take that into account!
Have at least three points to support your message (that one succinct sentence you’re working with). Address the counterargument, but don’t focus on it. Only complicate it as much as your audience can tolerate. Stay away from jargon and technical terms if it’s gonna leave your listeners scratching their heads and feeling out of place.
Self-deprecating humor (making fun of yourself) has its place. Again, this comes down to knowing your audience and the format of your speech. A best man speech? Totally appropriate. Addressing the president of your company about budget locations? Maybe not. Antithesis is about using opposites. Clinton said, “I want to nominate a man who’s cool on the outside but who burns for America on the inside” in his speech about Barack Obama. [3] X Research source Pretty vivid stuff.
Opt for strong, descriptive verbs instead of adverbs. Think active, too. “When we have the manpower, we can force change,” is much more powerful when it’s turned around – “We can force change when we have the manpower. " Make ’em sit up in their seats, you know?
So no hemming and “hawwing”, no apologizing, no “I wondered. . . ,” no “Thank yous,” just brass tacks. Get right in there. Don’t talk about painting – get right in there and start creating an image for them. They’re there for your speech, not how you felt about it or how you feel now. Hook ’em from the get-go by starting strong outta the gate.
Take notes on paper or using an app as ideas come to you. You should have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction and conclusion should both be brief and to the point, the conclusion being a reiteration of the intro. And the body? Well, that’s everything else.
Get to the point where you’re comfortable delivering it just with the notecard. The more comfortable you are with the speech, the more it’ll show when you’re delivering it.
Be sure to memorize the most important aspects, such as a funny story, quote, or memorable turn of phrase so you can deliver them exactly as you imagined. This doesn’t mean that you have to go out there unarmed. No, you’ll be taking your notecard with you! If your mind blanks, you can take a look-see at it and go right where you need to. You ran over it with the notecard 10 times for this reason.
Delivering it to someone helps you get used to someone looking at you while you’re talking. Public speaking can be pretty terrifying, so having a practice audience will help calm your nerves. Have them actually pay attention. At the end of your speech, ask them what questions popped up in their mind. Were there any holes in your argument? Or did anything confuse them?
Practice in front of the mirror so you can see your body language. What gestures work where? How do you feel about the pauses and what do you do during them? Practice in the shower because it’s probably one of the few times during the day where you can mindlessly go over it. Does your mind blank on any part? If so, review it. Practice while you’re doing other things as well, like driving, walking your dog, or mowing the lawn.
Your speech conveys a certain amount of emotion, right? (Correct answer: Yes. ) Take those moments and move with them. You use your hands every day to express emotion – this speech is no different. You’re still communicating to people, just on a bigger scale. Though the scale is different, the gestures remain the same. For a great example of how to move on stage and use your hands while speaking, check out Bryan Stevenson’s Ted Talk on Equal Justice.
This should be used carefully, though. Don’t whip out a different prop every sentence. Stick to one really effective prop, like the brain. Telling a story about your dad’s last burning building he ran into? Take out his burned firefighter helmet. Talking about the time you ran into Will Ferrell at your local Starbucks? Whip out your autographed grande, coffee-stained cup when you get to the part about how you fainted after asking. Use them sparingly, but effectively.
Use graphs to illustrate your points, especially if they’re hard to understand. Pictures can be more memorable than just being told factoid, regardless of how pivotal it may be. Don’t face the pictures when you’re talking! You know what’s on there – keep delivering the speech to your audience, not the screen.
Show emotion in your tone, too. Don’t be afraid to chuckle a bit or show a bit of grief or frustration. You’re human. Your audience is looking for a human connection, not a robot spitting words at them.
Take your speech and literally write in the pauses if it’ll help you. Draw a big ol’ slash through the text to indicate a break. Once you have it down, you’ll be able to feel where the pauses will go.
Take a deep breath. You did it. Next time you’ll be giving a speech on how to give speeches. What were you so nervous about in the first place?
