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Speak Easy !. A guide to giving the perfect speech. Step One : Know Your Audience. What do you want your audience to know? What does your audience already know? How can you gain your audience’s attention?. Step Two: Get Organized. Introduction.
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Speak Easy! A guide to giving the perfect speech.
What do you want your audience to know? • What does your audience already know? • How can you gain your audience’s attention?
Introduction • most important part of your speech, because you want to grab your audience's attention from the start • come up with something clever, shocking, or interesting right at the very beginning
Introduction • Be dramatic. • Example: Say something like, "I'm about to reveal a plan that will drastically alter the face of humanity as we know it!" when your presentation is really about a new brand of facial soap. • Tell a joke • Getting people to laugh will loosen them up and make them feel inclined to like you and hear what you have to say.
Introduction • Tell a story. • This will make the audience see you as an individual instead of another boring speaker. • Keep your story short and keep it relevant to your point! (It can be a personal story.) • Pose a hypothetical question. • Asking the audience for their input will make them feel involved, even if you're going to answer your own question.
Body • The body is the “meat” of your speech. • Use a formal outline. • Outline your major points • Most good speeches have two or three main points, each of which has a couple of sub-points or examples. • Outlining your speech will make sure that your logical flow makes sense and that your audience doesn't get lost. ** The key point is that you are ORGANIZED. The audience must be able to follow your thoughts.
Conclusion • The way you end a speech is almost more important than the way you begin it. • Find a way to tie everything together. • Sum everything up for your audience in a few concise sentences and leave them with a witty line.
Writing Tips • Vary your word choice. • Your speech will get very boring very quickly if you repeatedly use the same words, so use interesting and different words and phrases and keep things fresh. • Use a thesaurus. • Make sure you use words that people understand AND that you can pronounce!
Writing Tips • Keep your tone personal. • You should sound more like you are having a conversation than like you are reading to your audience. • Humor almost always helps. • Test your humor out on your friends prior to the actual presentation. • Leave out any humor that is even remotely offensive. • Self-deprecating humor (that doesn't completely destroy your credibility as a speaker) works well.
Writing it Out • REWRITE your speech. • Change things as many times as you need to! • Even the most brilliant writer never gets it perfect on the first try, so you have to continually rewrite and tighten your speech. • Get rid of superfluous information (no matter how funny it is), and make sure that each line has a point. • Use 3 x 5 index cards. • They are easier to carry around and shuffle through • Index cards will make you feel more inclined to glance up at your audience when you flip through them • Number your index cards in case they get mixed up • DON’T completely rely on your index cards
Practice Makes Perfect! • Stand in front of a full-length mirror • Keep your posture straight, your hands in sight, and look into your own eyes • Make sure that you're not being stiff, but also don’t slouch • Look into your eyes whenever you look up from your notes, and look up from your notes often • Tape record or (even better) videotape yourself • When you replay the tape, listen to determine if everything sounds coherent and logical • Watch the way you look while speaking (look for eye contact, gestures, and facial tics)
Practicing • Gather together family and friends • Have them give you constructive feedback • What did I do well? What do I need to work on? • What did you not understand? • Rehearse small sections of your speech throughout the day • Anytime you have some free time, practice parts of your speech • Practice memorizing sections without relying on the notes at all. • Memorized sections give you time to connect with the audience. • Don't be afraid to ad-lib some parts • This is your speech and you can say whatever you want; as long as you're sure you can get back on track, try speaking off the cuff. It'll help you sound conversational instead of like a robot.
Practicing • Incorporate gestures • It is not fun to watch a stiff person. • Occasionally use a gesture or two during your speech • Less is more. The more gestures you make, the more it takes away from the power of each gesture. So, only use gestures to emphasize important points. • Use gestures when using active words. • Practice your gestures in front of the mirror as you rehearse. • And don't forget the most important gesture: to SMILE. It makes you look more comfortable and less like a victim in front of a firing squad.
Practicing Project your voice • Be loud, but don’t shout at your audience. • You must always project while giving a speech, even if you are presenting in a small room to a small amount of people
Just Remember… • It's just a speech. • Your life does not depend on it. • "I look better than I feel." • Everyone feels like a wreck when they first get up there, but most don't look like one. • We can’t feel your heart racing or your palms sweating!
Stage Fright Is Good! • Nervousness doesn't show one-tenth as much as it feels. • Nobody ever died from stage fright or speaking in public. • When you are nervous about speaking, you are more conscious of your posture and breathing. http://www.public-speaking.org/public-speaking-stagefright-article.htm
Stage Fright Symptoms of Stage fright • Dry mouth • Tight throat • Sweaty hands • Cold hands • Shaky hands • Nausea • Fast pulse • Shaky knees • Trembling lips http://www.public-speaking.org/public-speaking-stagefright-article.htm
Strategies to Combat Stage Fright • Be overly prepared • Organize your speaking notes • Absolutely memorize your opening statement so you can recite it on command • Practice, practice, practice. Especially practice bits so you can spit out a few minutes of your program no matter how nervous you are http://www.public-speaking.org/public-speaking-stagefright-article.htm
Strategies to Combat Stage Fright • Anticipate hard and easy questions • Yawn to relax your throat. • Doodle. • Breathe deeply, evenly, and slowly for several minutes. • Don't drink caffeinated drinks. • Go somewhere private and warm up your voice, muscles, etc.
Strategies to Combat Stage Fright • Use your notes if you need to. • If your legs are trembling, lean on a table, sit down, or shift your legs. • Listen to music if that relaxes you. • Take quick drinks of water. • Pretend you are just chatting with a group of friends http://www.public-speaking.org/public-speaking-stagefright-article.htm
Strategies to Combat Stage Fright • Don't hold notes on notebook paper (the audience can see them shake). Hold your three-by-five notecards instead. • Use eye contact. It will make you feel less isolated. • Look at the friendliest faces in the audience. http://www.public-speaking.org/public-speaking-stagefright-article.htm
Know How to Handle Your Nervousness • "The audience wants me to succeed!" • Your audience is not made up of bloodthirsty animals. • They will not throw things at you. • They want you to do well. • "A mistake will not matter much." • People won’t notice your nervousness or your mistakes unless you draw attention to them by panicking. • Completely ignore your stumbles and your pauses and they will too! • "The single best way to have a successful presentation is to prepare properly.” • PRACTICE • Don’t get up there and completely wing it
Tips for a great speech… Speak Up! Make sure to speak a little louder than normal conversation when you are giving your speech. Slow Down! Don’t rush through your words. Make sure to enunciate! Be Confident! You can do this! Believe in yourself!
Assignment • Your assignment is to write a 4-5 minute persuasive speech on the topic of your choice. • You are not allowed to “wing it” (you should have notecards) • You will be presenting your speeches next Friday, September 13.
Persuasive Topics • https://sites.google.com/a/pgcps.org/mrs-carson/dashboard/1a/2nd-quarter-project--persuasive-research-paper/list-of-persuasive-topics
