| Good morning, today I am going to cover the daunting task of giving a quality speech - |
| a thought that makes most of us cringe. |
| In fact, 90% of all people feel nervous about public speaking, |
| about 10% of whom are described as genuinely terrified. |
| Hopefully when we are finished here today, |
| you all will be in the 10% of the population who do not feel nervous at all. |
| Did you know that lecturers tend to get more nervous if the speech they are giving is an important one? |
| It makes sense, right? |
| You probably wouldn't be nearly as nervous |
| to address your residence hall about the proper use of the recycle and compost bins |
| as you might be if you were asked to give the graduation speech |
| to your entire 5,000-student class. |
| So what is it that makes some people completely comfortable in front of crowds? |
| Some people think that the ability to give a good speech is a gift that others are simply born with. |
| This is almost never the case. |
| Public speaking can be learned with practice. |
| The first, most important thing you can do to improve your confidence in delivering a speech |
| is to prepare a quality speech. |
| Honestly, while the content of your speech is relatively important, |
| the audience will really only remember the last sentence you say. |
| It is a good idea to structure the rest of your speech |
| to lead up to this last point to really drive your message home. |
| This is a good way to ensure that your speech is well organized. |
| Once you are confident in the quality of the speech you have written, |
| the rest is just about your stage presence. |
| Let's go through some do's and don'ts of public speaking. |
| First, you want to command the attention of the room. |
| Do not - I repeat, do not proceed with your speech until the audience is paying attention. |
| Even Martin Luther King, Junior's "I Have a Dream" speech |
| wouldn't have made any difference in the world without the undivided attention of his audience. |
| To continue with the "I Have a Dream" example, |
| one of the reasons that MLK was such an effective orator |
| was his ability to speak with passion and engage with his audience. |
| That sort of charisma does not come from reading straight from paper. |
| Don't get me wrong - |
| it is a good idea to write your main ideas down on a note card, sheet of paper, or something. |
| But one factor that will consistently lead to a boring, forgettable speech |
| is writing down your entire speech. |
| Do not write your full speech down. |
| If you are constantly reading your paper, |
| you are not making eye contact with your audience, |
| and thus failing to really express the feeling that goes with your ideas. |
| I advise you write one or two ideas, |
| so, if you suddenly draw a blank you have something to jog your memory. |
| If you've written a good speech that you believe in, |
| those ideas should be sufficient to keep you on track. |
| Once you have those ideas written down, |
| give your speech a few practice runs in front of the mirror, |
| into your sound recorder on your phone, |
| or with a friend before it comes time to address a crowd. |
| That way you can hear how the ideas come across, |
| make sure there are no abrupt transitions, |
| and find out whether you're talking too fast or too slow. |
| Timing is important - |
| make sure you time yourself beforehand to see how long your speech is. |
| That is pretty much it! |
| With practice you'll be able to deliver an expert speech that engages and even maybe inspires your audience. |
| Just remember - speak with emotion. |
| No one wants to listen to someone reading from a script. |
| As I come to a close in my speech, |
| I'll point out that I have employed all of these tips that I have covered. |
| I practiced my speech ahead of time and timed it, |
| and I can even show you my one small index card with just three simple bullets on it. |
| It's as easy as that! |