Posts Tagged ‘Speech Writing’
Speak With Confidence – What Type Of Speech Are You Going To Give?
An effective speaker thoroughly prepares for each time they speak, so they can speak with confidence because they know their audience, their subject and the speech is benefits their listeners.
After they have researched the audience and their subject they consider the type of speech they are going to make. Are they going to:
(a) impart information;
(b) persuade;
(c) inspire;
(d) make an after-dinner speech which might well incorporate all three, or perhaps just be something in a lighter vein ?
The above, in the main, covers the majority of speeches.
Impart information
This comes very close to a lecture. However, many speakers do have to impart information so that listeners can form their own judgments. For example, a shop steward talking to the men in his union about the new rates is imparting information. A sales mana¬ger at a conference imparts information. A technician, talking about the technical aspects of his work, imparts information . . .
In a speech of this kind, some important points must be remembered.
(a) Don’t try to cram years of experience into twenty minutes. Preferably, take one aspect of your subject and deal with that thoroughly.
(b) You must be ruthless, and cut and cut. We often elaborate merely to show how able we are. Keep to your time-table, and leave the audience wanting more information. Better that than that the speech should fail because the audience has heard everything and under¬stood nothing.
(c) Don’t talk over the heads of the audience to prove your ability. Only deal with intricate technicalities if the audience understands
them.
I once heard a speaker talking in public on aero¬dynamics and not half a dozen people in the audience knew what he was talking about. He could have sim¬plified matters considerably and cut out many words which only experts understand, or he could have re¬fused to speak to an audience not made up of aero¬dynamic engineers.
(d) An effective speaker makes every point clear. If you feel that you have not done so, you can repeat a part of your speech, but word it differently.
(e) However involved their subject may be, an effective speaker is not as dry as dust. They make their speech interesting. Anecdotes can be told to liven up the most difficult of subjects.
(ƒ) An effect speaker will summarize their main points both during the speech and at the end of the speech.
An effective speaker is able to speak with confidence when imparting information because they are delivering the speech for the benefit of the audience, not to impress them with their knowledge. They are providing worthwhile content.
In my next posts I will cover further the next 3 types of speeches.
Effective Speaking – How To Build Your Speech Step 2
Your personal experiences primarily are your foremost source of speech material; those things that happened to you and around you in the course of your lifetime furnish a storehouse of material. You have talked about these incidents and now you extend those conversations to a larger audience.
Another source of material is the written word. The effective public speaker broadens his understanding by extensive reading. He keeps his storehouse from becoming lopsided by digesting editorials, news columns, sports pages, and even the comic strips. By reading, he can mull over the material and what he reads has more time to register than the things he hears. A further source of material covers the broad field of luncheon meetings, dinners, banquets, the theatre, concerts, lectures, and regular radio and TV pro¬grams covering current events.
The outcome of any or all of these is your own analytical and imaginative thinking in reviewing the experiences you have had and the things you have read, heard and seen.
In my previous post on effective speech building I gave the example of the golf club= to follow on that example your research phrase for the golf club could cover:
Can you dig up some little-known historical fact about the club? It isn’t always a good thing to give past history, but on this occasion all the listeners will want to hear how the club achieved success. When was the old clubhouse first built? How was it built? Did the members of the club put it up with their own hands?
Visit the offices of the local newspaper. Ask to be allowed to look through the back files. You may well be able to impart some information to the audience which may not be known even by the oldest inhabitant.
My next post will cover the asking questions step.
3 Easy Steps To Take To Start Your Speech Building Effectively
You have been asked to speak. You like the subject and can help the audience. To build your speech effectively the first three steps for you to take are:
1. Think about it for several days.
2. Research.
3. Ask questions.
Think about it for several days (but not too many days)
Your personal experiences primarily are your foremost source of speech material; those things that happened to you and around you in the course of your lifetime furnish a storehouse of material. You have talked about these in¬cidents and now you can extend those conversations to a larger audience.
By simply thinking around a subject for several days, ideas will come to you which you will never find in a book. Let us take a simple example:
Although you have only lived in your district for a few years, you have won respect during that time, and have been invited to give the first speech at the open¬ing of the golf club’s new building.
First you have to think about it. What was the first tournament you saw? Did anything happen then which might be of interest to anyone? Can you call to mind some unexpected event which took place while the building was being built? Who has played the largest part in the success of the venture? Can you tell about his drive and energy?
Don’t think about what other people have told you at this stage. Just use your own knowledge of the club, the players, and how the clubhouse was built. Keep your notebook handy, and jot down all the interesting points as you think of them.
It is important to effective public speaking that you can speak confidently about your subject. Your personal experiences help immensely in this area because you know these and will have spoken about them previously in private conversation. You are merely expanding the conversation to a larger audience.
Steps 2 and 3 will be covered in my next posts on building a speech step by step
Effective Speaking – What Does Your Audience Want?
The first essential for an effective speaker is to be familiar with his subject, or to have such an interest in it that he is prepared to devote a lot of time to research work, so that he can make a good speech.
If you cannot find a good reason for the audience wanting to listen to you, don’t speak. Be selective. Better to give six speeches a year which are good ones, than twelve, half of which are bad. Audiences will quickly forget your good efforts, but always remember the times when you have bored or irritated them. This often happens to people in the public eye. An author may become famous because of his books. Before long he will be asked to talk on subjects far removed from his writings. Too often he accepts these invitations in his search for popularity. It takes time for him to realize that an author need not necessarily understand the implications of subjects ranging from Peace in our time to Does zoology help children?
After-dinner speakers are just as bad. They are sometimes called upon to honor someone they hardly know. They talk on and on and on, when the audience is most anxious for the speeches to end.
This kind of thing loses friends instead of winning over new ones.
What is it that the audience WANTS from you? Find that out and fill the want, and you will be an effective public speaker.
The major wants of most audiences:
To learn something.
To gain money.
To feel sentimental.
To feel pleased.
To benefit health.
To have love and affection.
To feel proud.
Self-preservation.
Amusement.
Faith.
There may be other wants, but these cover most of the ground. Think it out for yourself, and see if you can find any others.
Assuming that you have six steps in your main theme, then you have to try to fill one want with each step.
In summary, to be an effective speaker talk about a subject you know about or interested in, find out what your listeners want and fill that want. My next post will discuss how to prepare a speech to fill the audience’s wants.
Public Speaking – The Number One Thing You Must Know
When asked to speak on a subject you should either know your subject or be interested in it enough to find out more about. Very few individuals can give an impromptu speech. So if you are not prepared to master the subject the best course of action is to politely decline the request. Otherwise, you may end up wasting not only your time but the audience’s only.
Knowing your subject is a key requirement for effective public speaking today, where it is the conveying of worthwhile ideas that the audience want not fine oratory with little or no beneficial content.
In The Art Of Great Conversation it says the following about the Knowing Your Subject:-
Proficient public speaking requires a thorough knowledge of your subject matter. Your perfectly pitched voice may be pleasing to the ear; you may be a master of delivery and have a fine command of the English language. Despite all these attributes your performance still might be a flop if you are not thoroughly conversant with your subject.
This lack of thorough subject knowledge is the rock that wrecks more public speakers’ ambitions than any other. Veterans of the hard roll and fruit cup circuit frequently pop up with a talk at the sight of a breadcrumb, but often their urge to be heard is hardly worthwhile because they don’t know what they’re talking about.
Audiences are quick to sense it when your knowledge of your subject is superficial and your speech goes over like a lead balloon. Contrariwise, a person may not be considered a first-rate speaker and yet be much in popular demand because he is a recognized leader in his field and knows his subject thoroughly.
My next post in this series on speech building is “Why Should The Audience Listen To Me?”
An Easy Step by Step Approach To Preparing An Effective Speech
Once you have decided to give a speech, you are faced with choice between delivering an impromptu speech or taking the time to prepare for it.
Not many people are suited to impromptu speaking (although sometimes it is unavoidable), and usually the most effective public speaking comes from thorough preparation. Thorough preparation also builds self-confidence.
Here is an outline of the steps for developing a successful speech:
1. Know your subject.
2. Ask yourself the question: How can I help the audience?
3. Before preparing a speech:
(a) Think about it for several days,(but don’t take too long
(b) Research – books, newspapers etc
(c) Ask questions – organizers, experts of the filed etc
4. What kind of a speech are you going to make?
(a) Impart information.
(b) Persuade.
(c) Inspire.
(d) An after-dinner speech.
5. The main steps must be:
The opening.
Creation of interest.
Creation of confidence.
The body of the speech (which will be sub-divided into several steps or main points).
The close.
6. Write down the sub-heads which will apply to each step.
7. Cut out information of little importance.
8. Devise a good opening sentence for each point.
9. Illuminate each point with one, some or all of the following:
(a) Use statistics to prove your point.
(b) Present facts to prove your point.
(c) Give an historical fact in an interesting way
(d) Tell an anecdote.
(e) Tell a funny story.
(ƒ) Give an analogy.
(g) Give a quotation.
(h) Recite a poem or part of a poem.
10. Remember these guidelines:
Statistics—make them interesting.
Quotations—make them relevant.
Anecdotes—consider using a personal story .
I believe this blueprint can help anyone develop an effective public speaking speech or presentation. In the posts that follow I will expand on the points to further explain the steps.
Public Speaking – 5 Effective Speech Closes
There are many different ways that a speaker can close their speech. An effective speaker chooses the close that is best for the purpose of their speech and best reflects their personality.
Here are 5 closes that have proved effective in closing speeches:-
The Fear Close
Fear is a powerful emotion and can be used very effectively to achieve your purpose. Be careful to use it in a “positive” way – moving people from something that is bad for them to something that will be positive for them.
The speaker details the negative consequences of ignoring the speaker’s advice to “frighten” them into taking their advice e.g. – preventing heart attack, preventing crime, etc.
The Alternative Close
As the name suggests the audience is given a choice between two types of action. The speakers preferred action is spoken about in positive terms, while the alternative is portrayed in a negative way.
Foe example, in a political speech, the speaker may end their speech as follows: “will you take a gamble on unproven policies or are you going to continue to move forward with the party that has delivered on its’ promises.
The Question Close
A question at the end of a speech will mean the audience will remember it. They will go away trying to think of an answer to it. If it is given earlier in the speech the audience will probably have forgotten about it by the end.
The Give-Away Close
This is effective and commonly used where you are “selling” something e.g. subscriptions, donations, products etc. A discount or a bonus is given away if the listener takes a certain action. Combining it with a time deadline or a limited quantity will create greater urgency.
The Story Close
Stories can be effective in any part of the speech. To be truly effective the story needs to relevant and interesting. The best stories include a human interest element and contain some drama, suspense and action.
The close of the speech plays a vital role in leaving the audience with the right of impression. Many speakers use only one close because they become comfortable with it. An effective speaker uses the close that is most effective given the situation.
For further information please refer to my previous posts:
Effective public speaking closes
How to Prepare Your Conclusion
Public Speaking – 5 Effective Openings
An effective speaker will choose an opening that fits the circumstances and their personality. There are many different ways that a speaker can start their speech. And there are only 3 general rules in selecting an opening
(i) Keep it brief
(ii) Keep it relevant
(iii) Keep it interesting
With that in mind here are examples of 5 effective ways that a speaker can open their speech:
Funny Story
This is an effective way to start if you can tell stories and you have a good story to tell. The story should be memorized because (a) humor is difficult to get across when read and (b) if you stumble over the punch line you lose the opportunity. If the story falls flat, move on as if you didn’t expect a laugh anyway.
The Casual Beginning
This is always an effective way to start speech. The audience does not realize you have started and you are into your speech straight away. As the speaker stands up they look over at their neighbour and says “I just saying to “Y” that it is plain to see you are all very interested in ….” And off you go.
Open With A Question
Use a question that makes the audience think and gets their attention. The question should be interesting and not to commonplace. A question like “Do you know what do of the week it is?”, does not ask enough of the audience to get them thinking. However, a question along the lines of “Have you ever played intercollegiate football on a muddy field during a cloudburst?”, will get the right audience interested.
Opening With Facts
This beginning gets you straight into your speech. However, facts can be boring. Try to add some interest when stating your fact. For example, starting your speech with “26,000 birds died along this stretch of coast this year because of oil spills” is ok. But a better way is to express this fact is “Oil spills are a killer and a very painful one at that. It is estimated that 26,000 birds died in agony, along our coastline this year because of this killer.”
Use A Quotation
A relevant quotation will get the speech off on the right note. The quote is given first and is followed by the reason for quoting it. It is easy to find suitable quotes either by traditional means or through the internet. Although they are easy to find an audience is impressed by a speaker who knows them off by heart.
There are other many other openings that can be used such as stories opening, empathy opening, shock opening etc. The type of opening used is dependent on the situation and the speaker. To become a more effective speaker, try out a variety of beginnings rather than sticking to one tried and tested opening.
My previous post on openings in public speaking discusses the importance of them in getting started on the right note.
Open Your Speech In An Effective Way
People consider openings to be important for special occasions and events. They will think about them for weeks to get the right words, e.g. when the young man is going to propose or when the employee is going to their boss to ask for a raise.
In the same way a good opening is important in public speaking. Many public speakers are aware of this but will use the same standard opening to every speech. An effective speaker will use a variety of openings depending on the type of speech they are giving.
There are a variety of openings that can be used but here are a few to be avoided;
1. Thanking too many people
Too many speakers bring in too many names when beginning their speech. It is unnecessary. The fewer names used the better.
2. Apologizing for speaking
Make it a rule to never apologize about your speech. It starts the speech off on a negative note.
3. A long introduction
Keep the introduction brief. Too long and the audience will wonder if the speech is ever going to start.
When starting your speech begin in a low key manner. Many speeches that start with a bang then fizzle out as the momentum can’t be kept up. It is much better to start off in a low key manner and build up the momentum through the speech.
There are many different ways that a speech can get started. It doesn’t matter which opening is used as long as it is relevant to the speech, it doesn’t take too long and it starts the speech on a positive note.
My next post will include some ways that effective speakers have used to opening speech the right way.
Public Speaking – The Importance of Speech Preparation
Speech preparation plays an important part in effective delivery and being able to speak with confidence. Careful and thorough preparation leads naturally to self confidence. You will be more familiar with your subject and will be able talk as an expert in your topic.
Careful preparation invoices a number of actions to be fully prepared. One important aspect is the organization and outlining of your speech. The recent posts to my blog cover various points to assist in this;
(1) Organizing Your Speech – Overview of an organized speech and the benefits to the speaker and the audience.
(2) Introduction – provide a useful template on how to structure an introduction to ensure that the speech gets started on the right foot.
(3) Conclusion – the components to include in closing the speech to finish on a strong note.
(4) Main body structure – how to organize a speech so that it is easy for the audience to understand and it is also easier for the speaker to remember their speech.
(5) Working Outline – How this helps in getting an overview of the speech to ensure everything is included in the speech, there are no unnecessary overlaps or conflicting information.
(6) Speaking Outline – how this can help the speaker deliver an effective speech
Investing time in speech organization helps the speaker know what is coming next due to the logical structure of the speech. The message is clearer to the audience because it makes it easier for them to follow the speaker’s reasoning. This will lead naturally to more confident public speaking and speaking to groups.
To learn more tips to speak with confidence in public speaking and conversation please visit www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim your free preview of The Art of Great conversation