Public speaking for beginners

I saw a post in an online forum recently asking how to speak in public, and since I’m a critic with Rostrum (a public speaking organisation that is not actually toastmasters), I thought I’d provide a few pointers.  It’s actually a lot than you initially think, but you will need to practice, practice, practice.  Which is why I joined a speaking club.

Anyway, for a nervous or beginning speaker, these are the points I thought about that would have helped me immensely when I first started out.

  • Firstly, don’t over-prepare.  Structure and knowing what you’re going to say is key, but you’ll freeze if you rote-learn something. 
  • Don’t have too much content or facts and figures – people don’t remember it anyway.  Tops, out of an hour-long speech the audience will remember 5 points within an hour, and 3 within a day.
  • You do still need to prepare.
  • When you plan your speech, answer this question:
    • The purpose of this speech is to persuade/inform/entertain/motivate (pick one) the audience to [fill in the blank].
    • Whatever you say in your speech has to contribute to this purpose.
  • What you do exactly depends on if it’s a long speech at a rostrum or a short speech in front of a small group. If it is a long speech then you’d have the whole thing written out and do a bit of a reading of your words (but still add more than just the words – people can read otherwise)
  • That said, the points below stand for a long speech as much as a short speech, except perhaps for the palm cards:
    • Have a good opening that you learn (1 minute).
    • Throw in a self-deprecating joke next to lighten the mood – if appropriate. At least have a vague idea (e.g. ‘I got dressed up special today but someone puked on this tie’ – maybe you have better material) but don’t learn it.
    • Tell them the things you’re going to tell them. (‘I’m going to talk about these 3 things’).
    • Tell them the things (content – write down three points to remember for each one, learn those, but not a whole thing. Have these to hand on palm cards if needed, or in a powerpoint if possible (but – have mercy)).
    • Tell them what you told them (summarise).
    • Conclusion – tie back to the start and what their next steps need to be (what you want it to be). Learn this.
  • Some pointers to remember:
    • Remember that the audience is not actually your enemy, they love you and want to hear what you have to say.
    • Avoid fillers (ums etc) or cliches (‘you know’). If you can’t think of what to say, just pause and look thoughtful. No sound is not bad. If necessary, you have no more than 2 palm cards or short notes to remind you of what to say next.
    • Look the audience in the eye, don’t talk to the ceiling/wall/window/convenient pot plant.
    • If someone asks a tricky question, say ‘that’s very interesting and I have my own theories on that, but perhaps someone else here would like to comment first?’. Or, ‘That’s very interesting, why do you ask that?’.
    • Be honest though – if you are asked a question and don’t know the answer, note it and get back to the person later.
    • Sit down and shut up when you’ve said what you needed to say.
    • Commit the stuff you need to to memory (the stuff noted above to ‘learn’). 
    • Go pee before the speech if it’s going to be a long one.

These pointers won’t make you into Sarah Palin overnight, but will give you the confidence to give a good speech that is effective.  Not a great speech, not a speech that moves Rome to take on Hannibal, but you’ll do fine.

And practice, practice, practice – have a go and take every opportunity you can to speak in public.  You’ll do well sometimes, flub a few, but rarely do as badly as you thought you would. 

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