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
Part 1 of 3: Preparing the Speech
- 1Pick 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.
- 2Know 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:
- 3Don't ruminate about negative thoughts. Ask yourself, whats 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!
- 4Research 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.
- 5Use 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.
- 6Use 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?
- 7Jump 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.
- 8Write 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
- MORE TOMORROW............
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