It's time to tackle what people are afraid of more than death: Public
speaking. Luckily, this article will help you get through this
nerve-wracking event.
Part 1 of 3: Preparing the Speech
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1
Pick your message. Your speech should be able to
summed up in a sentence, maybe two. This is what your speech really
boils down to: it's what you'll start off with and what you'll return to
at the end. It's simple and people can stick to it. And it's easier for
you, too!
- 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.
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2
Know your audience. This will determine the entirety
of your speech. You wouldn't deliver the same speech to four year-olds
as you would to CEOs! So know your audience. Here are a few things to
consider:
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Don't ruminate about negative thoughts. Ask yourself,
what's the worst that can happen? People will give you weird looks for
not giving a speech according to their "expectations". Not more than
that. Think of what you will gain, overcoming the fear of public
speaking.
- 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?
- How long have they been there? If you're 17th of 18th speeches, take that into account!
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4
Research your subject. If your subject is you,
congratulations! You probably already know you like the back of your
hand (or arm or leg, but probably not head). But if it's not, get to
researching. The pros
and the cons! If people can poke holes in your argument, that's not a very effective speech.
- 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.
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5
Use stories, humor and metaphors. A speech that's
full of dull, meaningless statistics and facts probably won't get you
anywhere with any audience. The human mind will tune out in seconds if
that's all it hears. Instead, opt for stories -- it's easier to follow
the structure-- and make them vivid with things like metaphors and
antithesis. The more vivid a picture you can paint, the better.
- 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.[1] Pretty vivid stuff.
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Use striking adjectives, verbs and adverbs.[2]
More about being vivid! Take the sentence "The fishing industry is bad"
and change it to "The fishing industry's practices are egregious." Even
something as simple as "We can solve the problem," to "We can speedily
solve the problem" is more memorable. Your audience might not remember
exactly what you said, but they'll remember the emotion you invoked
within them.
- 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?
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Jump right in. When a speech goes viral on YouTube,
you know it's good -- and Steve Jobs' 2005 address to Stanford grads did
just that. He started with, "Today I want to tell you three stories
from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories."
[3] Boom. Hooked.
- 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.
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8
Write it out. Because forming a speech in your head
is a lot of work. Write it out, see how it transitions from point to
point, if it covers all your bases, and if it really says what you set
out to say. If it doesn't, revamp till it does!
- 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.
Part 2 of 3: Practicing the Speech
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1
Write down your main points. Now that you have
everything you want to say figured out (and hopefully on paper), write
down your main points. Take this notecard and see if you can cover
everything just from looking at it. How does it flow? What parts are you
less convinced by yourself on?
- 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.
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2
Memorize it. Alright, so this isn't
super
necessary, but it's definitely a good idea. If you have it memorized,
you can make eye contact with your audience and worry about the icing on
the cake, like gestures and inflection. Don't stress if you don't have
enough time -- but if you do, take advantage of it.
- 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.
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3
Deliver it to someone. This is a grand idea for a couple of reasons:
- 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?
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4
Practice in front of the mirror and in the shower. Really, you should be practicing wherever you can. But these two spots will be particularly useful:
- 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.
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5
Time it. You probably have some idea of how long your
speech should be -- either you were given a specific time slot or you
were given a length requirement for the speech. Try to get it
comfortably above the minimum and comfortably below the maximum -- that
way if you accidentally speed up or slow down, you're still golden.
Part 3 of 3: Delivering the Speech
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1
Think about your posture and body language. Standing
like you have a fig leaf over your crotch is not the way to give a
captivating speech. Nor should you go the opposite way and lean over the
podium. It's best to stand straight, feet shoulder width apart, and use
your hands as naturally as possible.
- 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.
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2
Use props. Have you heard about that TED talk where
the woman is talking about schizophrenia and her own brain hemorrhage?
No? Well, have you heard about that TED talk where the woman is talking
about schizophrenia and her own brain hemorrhage and then she whips out a
real human brain, spinal cord and all? You can hear the audiences jaws
dropping in the video.
[4] Talk about painting a vivid picture.
- 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.
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3
Know when and how to use pictures. A powerpoint can
be a great addition to a speech (for certain topics, at least). Just
make sure you use them to your advantage! You want them to listening to
you, not awe-struck by the pretty pictures.
- 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.
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4
Select people in your audience, don't scan. A lot of
people are under the impression scanning the audience is ideal -- and if
that makes you nervous, just sort of scan the back wall. No! Resist!
Instead, think of it as a one-on-one conversation. Make eye contact with
a person over here, a person over there, etc. Draw them in one at a
time instead of making them all feel glossed over.
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5
Vary your tone. In general, sure, you should talk at a
calm, understandable rate and speak with clarity. This should be your
go-to. But to keep your audience awake and to keep your speech dynamic,
vary it up. The parts you feel passionate about should be clearly
emphasized! Speak loudly and with vigor! Pound your fist if you need to!
And then there are parts that will feel more like a lullaby. And even
parts that require pauses to let the emotion set in...AND THEN RAMPED
BACK UP. It's a lot more effective verbally than over text. You get it.
- 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.
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Don't forget about pauses! There's just as much power
in the pauses as there is in the words. Think about the sentence,
"Dihydrogen monoxide killed 50 million people last year. 50 million. Let
that sink in." Now think about the sentence with pauses after each
period. Gets a little more serious, doesn't it?
- 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.
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Conclude by restating your message and saying a simple, "Thank you."
You've gone through the speech, no one's died, and now it's time for
your conclusion. Keep it to the point, lock eyes with the audience,
thank them, smile, and get off the stage.
- 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?
Sample Speeches
Tips
- Don't blaspheme or swear. Just because you do it, doesn't mean
everyone approves of it. There are plenty of words in the English
language for you to be imaginative enough without offending your
audience.
- Take a deep breath, look confident, smile and walk onto the stage.
- Practice on tape and listen to yourself until you are used to your voice and delivery.
- Remember that just about everyone there would not trade places with
the speech giver for anything. Keep your cool by pretending that each
person there is just the family dog, cat or couch.
- Be prepared for questions. If you do not know the answer, there is
no need to panic. Be honest and tell them upfront that you don't know
but will find out. Do not invent answers.
Things You'll Need
