Speech Preparation

Method 1: Plan your Speech

v  Identify the topic of your speech. Choose a single focused message rather than trying to cover multiple topics.

v  Pinpoint your audience. Are you speaking to children or adults? Are you speaking to people who know nothing about your topic or people who are experts on your topic? Understanding your audience will help you to target your speech appropriately.

v  Consider your motives. A good speech answers a need that the audience has. Are you trying to make your audience laugh? Are you trying to build their morale, or are you communicating a sober and direct message so that you can change their behavior? These questions will set the mood and tone of your speech.

v  Think about the setting. Is this a speech for a small group or a speech to deliver before a large audience? You can be more informal before a small audience, but write a more formal speech for a large audience.

Method 2 : Write the Speech

Write a succinct, single-sentence statement about your subject. Try to write something that will hook your audience so that you immediately grab their attention.

§  Use an anecdote or a quote. Sometimes, someone else has already said it better than you ever will. Just be sure to credit your source.

§  Be cautious about opening with a joke unless you know your audience well. You may think that a joke is funny, but your audience may find it humorless or even offensive.

§  Choose 3 to 5 supporting points for your topic. Make sure that your points are concise and direct.

§  You can start by looking at generic sources like an encyclopedia or Wikipedia, but you need to fact check your ideas with more authoritative sources after you generally understand your subject.

§  Draw on your own experience. If you have a long history with your topic, your experiences and personal stories can be great resources. Just keep these stories succinct so that you don't ramble and lose the audience's attention.

Decide whether you want to write out your speech or to outline the speech on index cards.Consider your comfort level with the topic. If you know the topic well and can improvise easily, then use index cards.

Decide whether you want to use visual aids. You may create a PowerPoint presentation to go along with your speech, or you may choose to use paper-based charts and graphs

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§  Keep the visuals to a minimum. You want them to aid your speech, not to overshadow it.

§  Make sure that the audience can read the content of your visuals. Too big is better than not big enough.

§  Check the facilities of the room in which you will be speaking. If you need Internet or you need a projection screen, be sure that the facility has the equipment.

Prepare handouts if your subject is detailed and technical. That way, you can cover the most important points in your speech while giving the audience a reference for the more detailed points that they can keep for later.

Write out a brief biographical paragraph about yourself. If someone will be introducing you before your speech, then providing the correct information beforehand will be helpful.

Method 3 : Practice the Speech

Set a timer. You should know how long your speech needs to be. If you can't deliver the speech within the given amount of time, then you may need to shorten it or lengthen it. Remember to include time for a Q&A period if appropriate.

Practice your speech in front of a friend or a mirror.Practice looking up at your audience so that your eyes aren't always on your notes.

Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Pause between the sections of your speech so that your audience can digest the information.

Mark up your speech as you go with a pen or pencil. If words sound unnatural to you or a sentence is awkward as you speak it, mark it out and edit it to make it sound natural.

Make a video recording of yourself as you make the speech. Analyze your appearance, your body language and your delivery.

§  Make sure that your gestures are natural and not too frenetic. Alternatively, don't fix your arms at your sides or keep your hands latched to the podium.

§  If you make the speech to a friend and the friend offers constructive criticism, try to be open to what he or she has to say.

Practice more than once. If you've delivered your speech in rehearsal multiple times, then you will feel much more confident on-stage.

Method 4 : on the day of your Speech

Dress appropriately. If you need to appear authoritative, choose formal business attire. Choose a color that flatters you and keep bold accessories to a minimum.

Make sure that you have all of your materials in order. Bring your visuals, your tablet or laptop and your speech copy.

Ask for a sound check. If you're in a small room, ask someone to stand at the back of the room and see if he or she can hear you. In a larger facility, practice using the microphone so that your speech is neither too faint nor distorted.

Set up your equipment and supplementary materials. Make sure that the computer, projection screen and easels are functional and positioned so that they are visible to your audience.

Decide what to do with your handouts. You should either place them on a table for audience members to retrieve or pass them out in an organized fashion.

Ask for a glass of water. If your speech is lengthy, then you will need some water to moisten your throat.

Look in a mirror before you go onstage. Check both the front and the back of your outfit and make sure that your hair is neat and that your makeup, if you're wearing any, is not smudged.

Method 5 : During your Speech

Look around the audience and don't focus on only one focal point.

§  Make eye contact with members of your audience. If eye contact is too intense for you, look just above their heads at a point such as a clock or a painting.

§  Move your eyes around your audience so that everyone feels included in the presentation.

Speak slowly and try to breathe normally. The natural adrenaline rush that you will have in front of your audience may make you want to speak much too quickly.

Laugh at yourself if something goes wrong. Your audience will find you much more easy to relate to, and you won't lose their confidence in your knowledge of your subject.

Count up to 5 in your head before leaving the podium at the end of your speech. Acknowledge your audience with a smile, a brief nod or a slight bow, if appropriate.