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Public Speaking 1
Public Speaking 2
Public Speaking 3
Public Speaking 2
Speaking to Groups
Whether you chose to speak to a group of ten or to a group of a
thousand, remember . . . the more you speak the more people will hear
you.. And once you can be heard, people will start listening.
The following notes will help you prepare
for your first speaking engagement. Included are some speaker tips and
stage fright ?busters?.
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Order of Preparation for a Speech
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1. Decide on the purpose of your speech.
2. Gather your material.
3. Organise or
outline your material.
4. Think about how you will ?word? things.
5. Say your speech aloud. Practice in front of your family or your
bathroom mirror. |
| Components of a Speech |
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The Intro |
Start with a bang - designed
to gain attention.
- Pay a compliment to the group.
- Tell a story.
- Use a quote.
- Use a statistic.
- Refer to a recent incident the audience would be aware of from the
media. (Pension Increase!)
- Ask a question. (How many of you are aware that UK
pensions are one of the lowest in Europe?)
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The Main Purpose Statement
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Now that you have the attention of the audience, tell them what you are
going to talk about. (?I am here today to tell you about the UK
pensions fiasco, to explain how it came about and answer
your questions if I can.?) |
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The Major Points
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The rest of your speech can now
be organised into a number of (2 or 3) main sections. Speak about
each one before moving to the next. Remember that in a 10 minute
talk you can only get over 3 main points. |
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Fielding Questions
and
Drawing the Speech to an End
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Rather than a formal conclusion, you could field questions.
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There is nothing wrong with saying ?I don?t know? or ?that?s a
question of beliefs and we each have our own opinions? or
whatever comes to mind if you can?t specifically and factually
answer a question. Never "waffle"!!
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When you need to end your speech or the question session, be sure
to thank the audience for their attention and to those
that made it possible for you to ?have a chance to share
information".
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End with a bang
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| Speaker Tips |
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Speaker Tips |
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Make sure you have
enough material. Most organisations have material they
will gladly give to help you prepare for your speech. Your local
library and the web will also provide ample information.
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Make it interesting.
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Tell a personal story.
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Remain positive in your
message. Be enthusiastic
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Beware of Jargon
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Use eye contact to involve your audience
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Make sure you are adaptable when speaking to different
kinds of groups. There is a vast difference between speaking in a
community senior citizen centre and a gymnasium full of teens
thrilled to be out of the classroom. The key to adaptability is
anticipation. If you deliver a speech the same way twice, you are
not communicating but rather, reciting. You may have heard of the
saying ?Don?t talk at me. Talk to me.? Communication is the goal
in effective speaking. Just be open to making adjustments as
need``*
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There are times when the volume level of the audience doesn?t
allow clear communication. Sometimes it happens at the beginning
of the speaking time after you have been introduced. Just WAIT
until the audience ?settles in? before you begin to talk.
Stand, smile, look around the room and DON?T talk until you can
be heard.
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Never ?thump? a microphone to see if it is on. If necessary to check
it, click your fingers near it. Your audience will quickly tell you if
the microphone has been left off if you don?t realise it within your
first few words. Don?t let microphone trauma throw you.
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If you are using a hand held microphone and you experience
, be sure you have not walked in front of the
speakers.
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Never memorise your speech. Never read your speech. Speak
from an outline if you need some kind of reinforcement. An
outline can consist of a few key words for each major point you
wish to cover. Many inexperienced speakers feel that they may
have a better result if they read their speech from a manuscript.
I can guarantee you that if you choose this path, your audience
will ?turn off? the minute they see you carry your papers to the
podium.
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Audio
Visual aides can help but they can also hinder your results. If
you choose to use overhead transparencies or a computer display, be sure to check out
visibility before your audience arrives. Keep in mind for those
to be seen, sometimes it is necessary to turn off the lights and then
the audience can?t see you as you speak nor can you see them.
Additionally, low lights encourage sleepiness for some audiences. If
you must use overhead transparencies, use them quickly and only when
necessary rather than leaving the projector on throughout your speech.
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Stage fright
Some people get stage
fright due to a lack of self- confidence. They
tell themselves ?I am not an expert.? If you feel a lack of self
confidence plays into your stage fright, tell yourself ?I am qualified
to speak about this topic. I can speak with authority because I am
living this and I have researched what I am going to say.? If you focus
on WHAT you are speaking about . . . WHAT you are trying to communicate
. . . you will succeed. Don?t worry or think about your hair or clothes
or trivial things. If you act like you have something of interest to
share, your audience will be your partner in combating stage fright
because you will be subliminally encouraging them to be interested.
Think of this speaking engagement as a chance to eagerly share your
views about organ donation and transplantation. Never say. ?I know I
can?t do this.? Instead, tell yourself ?I can?t wait to tell them about
this.? Act self-confident and you will be self-confident".
Stage fright feels worse than it looks.
It is much more noticeable to
the speaker. Never admit it or say, ?I am so nervous . . .I?m sure I am
not making much sense.? Your audience won?t be aware of your
nervousness unless YOU tell them. So don?t. Take a breath if you have
to in order to regroup your thoughts. Pauses are acceptable. Apologies
aren?t.
Since you know that there are physical reactions to stage fright, you
are also capable of realising that your mental approach to them can do
a lot to help you overcome them. In other words, you should expect to
be nervous and have a physical reaction of some kind to that
nervousness. Rather than saying ?Oh, I can?t do this. My knees are
shaking!? tell yourself, ?Oh, my knees are shaking so that means I need
to shift my weight.? Maybe your knees will shake all the way through
your speech. If you ignore it, your audience will too. They probably
won?t even see your knees shake. Be honest. You have seen lots of
speakers in your life. Can you remember seeing anyone?s knees shake?
Doubt it. But you do know that at least some of them did have shaky
knees. You also know that they ?survived? their speech as well. Some of
those speakers had the right attitude and knew the tension causing the
knees to shake could also spring them into a more energetic delivery.
This is called ?channeling? your energy and it will serve you to try
it. Remember, your focus should be on what you are saying . . .
communicating . . . to your audience. If you focus on your sweaty palms
or faltering voice, you will have lost your chance to communicate
effectively. Remember, stage fright feels worse than it looks and there
are tricks to get past the symptoms.
Don?t be afraid of eye contact. Look at the faces of your audience and
make a connection as you speak. You will be able to determine which
people have a positive reaction to your speech and draw them in even
further by maintaining the personal connection of eye contact. ?Sweep the room? and then pick a few people occasionally to
speak directly to on major points. Do not attempt to ?pick on? those
who seem disinterested in order to engage them. They are better left
alone and energy is better spent with those who display positive
. If looking directly at audience members seems a bit scary at
first, then look at the audience as a whole. Do make it your goal to
eventually develop one-on-one eye contact as you do more speaking
engagements.
If your voice wavers due to stage fright? Just speak louder. It
forces you to expel the oxygen to avoid sounding too nervous. Take
three deep breaths before you speak too. Speaking more slowly will also
help reduce breathing problems. These tricks also help if you become
?tongue tied? or rattled. Just slow down and speak a bit louder.
?Practiced? gestures are from the old school of thought. Don?t worry
about gestures. Worry more about extraneous movements due to nerves
such as constantly shifting your weight or waving your hands without
meaning. Your gestures will occur naturally as you speak. Body language
you display will also affect your outcome. Don?t pace. Don?t play with
your hair, or glasses, or jewellery. (In fact, don?t wear jewellery if it
draws attention . . .such as dangling earrings or bracelets - and that
is just the men!! ) Never
chew gum, but breath mints are good if you finish them before you
speak.
Expect nervousness and stage fright during your first
few speeches. Stage fright will disappear but nervousness is good
because it brings energy and enthusiasm when channelled correctly. You
will gain more self-confidence as you deliver more speeches.
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Speaking to Groups 
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