Q. Why can I not use notes?
A. The simple answer is because you do not need them. The reality is that often times notes are used as a crutch and with a little more practice, they are not needed. This has been proven by hundreds of students, many of which were fearful of speaking in front of class. Believe in yourself. Believe that your teacher is not going to send you out to give a speech without the tools to prepare you (especially since he is inviting his bosses to come be speech judges). Believe in the process, which has worked for so many before you. If you are struggle with the "Belief" part of this answer, please come talk with me and/or visit the Pep talk page.
Q. What if I freeze up there?
A. Let's just eliminate the mystery and declare that you will freeze or forget something at some point. Now that we have set that aside, lets prepare and practice for what to do when you freeze. Stop, Think, and Move On! Stop, Think, and Move On! Take moment to think and see if you can find your place. Do not linger too long, just a couple seconds. Then just move on to your next point. Stop, Think and Move On.
This is a process that needs to be present while you are practicing your speech. Practice like it is the real deal. If you forget something, do not pick up your notes, Stop, Think and Move On. If you do not actively practice and prepare for this situation before the speech, you will struggle during the speech.
If you cannot remember the next point to Move On, then I want you to hear me scream "Just tell the story!". I have seen students freeze in the first minute of their speech on the Race Riots and lose track of where they are at in the speech. "Just tell the story!". What happened during the riots, why, when, where, etc. Once students get talking again they find the path.
Q. How can I memorize all of this material?
A. I do not want you to memorize the speech. Memorizing the speech would be a huge mistake. Memorizing the speech is setting yourself up for failure. The problem is that a person's ability to remember their memorized material is based on them not forgetting ANY of it. So, if you memorize your speech word for word and forget a word or two, the rest of the speech is gone and will not be found.
Instead I want you to memorize the main points of your speech, which is usually 10 words in order. From there each word should just prompt you to talk about information you already know. This way you are talking casually as opposed to mechanically spitting out memorize material.
For example, if I am giving a speech on Gandhi, my words would be something like: Intro, early life, South Africa, British Empire, Nonviolence, Salt March, Independence, Assassination, Legacy. So, for South Africa, I would just be prompted to tell the story of Gandhi being kicked out of the white section of a train and realizing that despite all of his achievements and work, he was just seen as a colored man. In that instance, I did not memorize the story word for word, but just shared it with people.
Q. As someone who speaks in front of people everyday, how can you possibly understand students who really struggle with this project?
A. As a student in school I was incredibly shy. Not only did my face turn red immediately if I was called upon, it also happened when someone next to me was called upon because now I was in view of people looking at that person. I remember skipping school because I did not want my yearbook picture taken. In college I even figured out that if I was sun burnt, it hid how red my face was as I tried to get out of my shell to pursue my dream of teaching. So, I understand your apprehension and quite frankly, I would have hated me too for assigning this speech.
However, the reality is that no life skill is more in demand than speaking in front of people, whether seated or standing. The only way to improve on weaknesses is to do them more, practice with a focus on improving. Unfortunately, many students, including me for much of my educational career took the other route of avoiding weaknesses. Not is not an option anymore.
