Fast Results E-Zine
When you sign up, you'll get instant access to my article archives, exclusive content and other freebies. Plus, we will never sell, rent or share your information so sign up today.
Search
|
|
Bookmark this Page
Resources
My Blogroll
Categories
- 10 Things (3)
- Blog Carnival (8)
- Bullying (7)
- Career (70)
- Communicators in the news (22)
- Contests (1)
- events (1)
- General (17)
- Goal Setting (28)
- Health (3)
- Inspiration (38)
- Interpersonal Communication (41)
- Job Interview (35)
- Leadership (5)
- Learning (2)
- Million Dollar Month (12)
- Motivation (80)
- Networking (21)
- Online Success (19)
- Personal (10)
- Politics (21)
- Productivity (3)
- Public Speaking (158)
- Quick Tip (7)
- relationships (2)
- Review (2)
- Social Media (3)
- success (5)
- Time Management (8)
- Toastmasters (45)
- Video of the Week (14)
- Writing (7)
Nothing strikes fear into the heart of someone more than telling them they need to give a speech. Whether it’s a speech for work, a speech to promote their business or a speech where they’re volunteering their expertise, most people panic when they learn they’ll be facing an audience.
It’s no surprise that that this scares people – so much could go wrong. They could embarrass themselves, make a mistake, say the wrong thing, lose their train of thought or commit countless other blunders that they fear could result in not getting the sale, not getting the promotion or other failure.
The good news is that it’s usually not this bad – and public speaking really isn’t that complicated. It’s simply a conversation with audience and once you’ve practiced doing it a few times, you’ll find that it’s not as scary as you thought. And the truth is that despite what a number of so-called speaking gurus tell you, public speaking simply is not that complicated.
There are three basic things you need to do to give a great speech: write a good speech, practice speaking to groups and practice your speech. Let’s look at each of these things in more detail.
Write a good speech:
Speech writing is an art form that can take years to master, but unless you’re giving a speech that’s going to be televised to world and people will be analyzing each word and phrase so they can spin it, it’s not that difficult. The key is to have a speech that’s well organized and flows nicely. Start with the theme of your speech – the general message you’re trying to communicate. Then find three to five supporting points and three pieces of evidence to support each point. Try to get the points to lead into each other – what’s known as a transition – so it flows well.
Then create your introduction – where you introduce your theme to the audience and list out your main points. It’s great to open your speech with an attention getting device such as a rhetorical question or unusual fact, but don’t sweat it if you feel your opening could be more powerful – the introduction is merely the appetizer.
Finally, create your conclusion where you close up your speech and recap your main points. If possible, try to close with a call to action where you invite the audience to think, do or act on something.
Practice speaking to groups:
This is important because the only way you’ll become a better speaker is to get up there and speak. All the books, articles and coaching in the world, no matter how good the material is, will not help you unless you put it to use. Getting up in front of groups can feel a bit odd at first and takes some getting used to, and the only way to do so is to get up there and experience it. Every audience is different so the more you expose yourself to speaking, the more confidence you build in your speaking abilities.
If you need to find an audience to speak to, start with joining a Toastmasters club. You’ll get the added bonus of learning from others and getting feedback. Other options include service clubs such as Rotary that are always looking for guest speakers.
Practice your speech:
I cannot stress this enough. You need to practice your entire presentation at least three times – unless it’s over 90 minutes, then you should practice the whole thing all the way through once and work on the parts that are most tricky. If you’re using PowerPoint or any other technology, practice with it. Practicing your talk helps you build confidence, commit it to memory and work out any issues. Reading it is not enough, you actually need to speak it out loud – preferably while standing up so you can you work out your gestures and movement.
While things like vocal variety, body language and eye contact can definitely enhance a speech, there’s been too much emphasis on these aspects by a number of speaking coaches so that their client can see a difference in their talks. The problem here is that many of these people overuse these devices, which is why they themselves are bad speakers, and while they think it makes them look like a polished speaker, it actually distracts the audience from the meat of the talk – the content. Public speaking is more like basketball than it is like figure skating – a good speech is measured by results, not on style.
ShareCheck out these Related posts:
- What to Do When You’re Asked to Give a SpeechTweet Not everyone has the luxury of time when they’re...
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Speech – Part 1: Your Speech OutlineTweet Writing a speech can sometimes be as nerve-racking as...
- Public Speaking Success: The 80/20 Rule of Speech PreparationTweet You’re probably familiar with the 80/20 rule– it seems...
- The Real Reason People Hate Public SpeakingTweet It’s no secret that most people associate some sort...
- Public Speaking Success: Are You a Smug Speaker?Tweet In one of my “Overcome Your Fear of Public...
- Public Speaking Success: Why Writers Make Great SpeakersTweet I’ve met a number of writers in recent months...
- Public Speaking Success: Why You Shouldn’t Practice Your Speech in Front of a MirrorTweet You’ve been tasked to give a speech and you...




(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Social Media Help
If you feel too busy or too overwhelmed to keep up with social media or blogging, then check out our new online services section. We can handle everything from creating your accounts and setting up a blog or Facebook page to managing your entire online presence. We know you’re busy so let us do the work for you.
For Toastmasters!
Please take a look at my latest e-book, "The Ultimate Guide to Effective Theme Meetings." This 62 page e-book contains tips as well as 10 ready to use theme meeting kits. Each kit contains everything from the invitation to planning the food & decor to enough table topics for up to 30 participants. And if you act fast, you can get it while it's still on sale.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Bob on Do You Live Under a Rock or in a Cave?
- Why You’re Losing Twitter Followers | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development on On-line Success: How Do You Use Twitter?
- Darren Fleming on How to Stand Out in a Competitive Job Market
- Stephen on How to Stand Out in a Competitive Job Market
- Simon Raybould on What I Hate About Toastmasters
- Rich M on Public Speaking Myths: Imagining Your Audience in their Underwear Makes You Less Nervous.
- Blog Carnival on Personal Power 21 June 2009 | Pink Blocks on There’s More to Success than Money
- Regal on Do You Need to Join the National Speakers Association to Be a Succesful Paid Speaker?
Pages
recent entries
- I Want to Be a Better Man
- Job Interview Success: Five Things to Do Before a Job Interview
- Social Media Overwhelm – How to Deal with It
- Why You’re Losing Twitter Followers
- How to Make Your First Day at a New Job a Success
- What is Twitter?
- How to Stand Out in a Competitive Job Market
- Learn Useful Skills for Free from your Club
- What I Learned from NaNoWriMo
- Make 2013 Your Best Year Ever
Wordpress theme by Wordpress Themes & made free by Internet Marketing Center
© 2006-2008 James Feudo All Rights Reserved.



2 users commented on " Public Speaking Success: How to Give a Great Speech "
January 18 2010
These are alll wonderful suggestions James. Thanks for sharing!
March 22 2010
[...] Harvey Mackay once wrote that the only time you’re truly alone is when you’re about to die and when you’re about to give a speech. While there’s definitely some truth (and humor) in that statement, there’s also a lot more [...]