- If you are panicking about this project, this is a normal reaction. Now do something abnormal and come speak with Mr. Durnell sooner than later to get some help. I would also suggest visiting the Pep Talk page on this website.
- Practice your speech four or five times and then walk away from it for a while. This is not something you can cram. Run through it in the morning and again a couple times in the afternoon.
- Everyone will forget portions of their speeches. It just happens, it is natural. If you know this is going to happen, and I just told you it is going to happen, then do not dread or worry about it. Instead actively prepare yourself to deal with the situation. Three steps: Stop, Think, Move On. Stop for a moment, think about it, and if it does not come to you, move on to the next point. Chances are real good you will remember the point and be able to come back to it later in the speech. In this instance, the audience, who does not have access to your speech outline, will not know it things were out of order. This step (Stop, Think, Move On) must be present when you practice or it will not come natural when you get up in front of class.
- Find a captive audience. Stepping in front of a friend or parent is not easy, but can be a huge benefit. Before you get there, I would suggest giving your speech to the family dog of cat several times.
- When you practice find three focal points in the room to get in the habit of scanning the room. Direct your attention to one side for 30 seconds and shift to another. This helps prepare you to work the room and engage more people.
- If you are uncomfortable with eye contact just give your speech while looking at everyone's hair. It gives the impression of eye contact and dodges the issue. Plus it is kind of amusing for yourself.
- If you are giving a speech that will have you standing in front of a podium, practice with the back of a chair in front of you so you have a place to rest your hands in between using them. You are strongly encouraged to use your hands to make points, but it is important that you are not distracting the audience by fidgeting, picking on something, or fixing hair in between using your hands. It is good to practice with a "home base" to rest hands.
- Include some passion in the speech, put yourself in their shoes.Too often students mistake my calls for emotion to mean they should shed a tear. When I say add emotion, I am referring to anger, disgust, outrage, sympathy, caution, etc.
- Vary your tone and volume to include emotion and avoid a monotone speech. Most people do not interact with bland, one tone voices. They are animated, using their hands, and using pitch to emphasize certain points.
- Utilize a pause between your major points. This allows the audience to process what they are hearing. It also slows the speakers down. Often times when people get nervous they speak faster. Finally, this habit build a safety net in for students who forget something. In the speakers head they are going through the three steps: Stop, Think, and Move on. From the audience's perspective the speaker is just pausing in between points.
- Engage the crowd with some eye contact. People are engaged when you look them in the eyes. Consider a rhetorical question directed towards some audience members. Use your hands and arms to emphasize your points. Pointing at people immediately locks audience members in as well.
- The intro and conclusion are often overlooked, plan for a strong start and finish.
- Do not say “Today I am going to tell you about…” and forget “My name is…”.
- Practice, Practice, Practice. Start practicing while looking at your outline. Then go to putting it down and just referring to it when you get stuck. Then set it down on the other side of the room and walk away. Finally, go through the speech without the outline, no safety net.
- If you have to give a 5 minute speech, prepare and plan for a 6 minute speech. This gives you a safety cushion if you talk fast or forget something. Both of these things happen, so again, do not dread or worry about it happening. Instead, actively plan and prepare to overcome the problem.
- Many students make an announcement to the audience when they get stuck, "oh my god I just forget everything", "Where was I? This is inner dialogue that comes out when people are panicking. The issue is that the audience would probably not know the speaker was lost if he or she did not make the declaration. Stop, Think (silently), and Move On
- Do not place your focus on the clock. Some students get so focused on "surviving" for 5 minutes that their speech struggles because of it. Focus on preparing and delivering a good speech, the timing will work itself out. Once you get your speech down and are practicing several times, the time on it will only vary by 10-15 seconds. If you feel that you are too close to the required amount of time, then add material in the speech early in the process. Again, prepare 6 minutes of material for a 5 minute speech.
- Everyone uses filler phrases (um, ah, like), some more than others. This is basically a verbal noise you make when you are thinking or looking for the right words during a conversation. Too much verbal clutter can be distracting. The best course of action is to be conscious of it, whatever your word may be, and focus on slowing down. You will not get rid of using the word, the point is to use it less. Also, more practice limits the amount of times you have to think for the right phrase/ use your verbal clutter.
- Focus on preparing a strong finish. This is the last thing the audience remembers, so put some extra practice into it. Some students are so eager to wrap up the speech and get it over with that they essentially run off stage, bailing on the speech. See the commitment through.
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