Art Of Great Speaking

There are two types of outline that are useful in the preparation and delivering of a speech or presentation. The working outline helps in the preparation of a speech and the speaking outline is used by the speaker to assist them in the delivering the speech.

Once the speech has been prepared, the speaker will be familiar with the content but may not be able to remember the order and what they are to present. The speaking outline can help in this situation.

A speaking outline is a very brief outline of the main points and sub-points of the speech using clear and simple words or phrases. The speaking outline will help the speaker recall the order of the speech and what is to be presented.

A speaking outline can be used in the following ways:

(i) Memorizing the outline so that it will not be forgotten. By writing and speaking it several times (from memory) the outline will be remembered. If something is forgotten or the order is mixed up, refer back to the working outline to refresh your memory.
(ii) Writing it on a single piece of paper so that it all can be seen at a single glance. This is especially useful if you have a podium or lectern to rest it on.
(iii) Writing out brief notes on index cards so that they can be help in your hand. This can help you to move freely and not be tied to one spot.

If you need to quote verbatim a large amount of information for the sake of accuracy the speaking outline should include this information.

A speaking outline will help you keep on track when presenting without preventing you from connecting to your audience – you are free to maintain eye contact, gesture and move.

Once you have chosen the best way to organize your speech and material into headings and subheadings (Common ways of organizing are chronological, cause and effect, problem solution). The next step is to prepare a speech outline.
There are 2 outlines that are useful in speaking:-
1 Working outline
2 Speaking outline
The structure of both outlines is similar, however the purpose of each is different and therefore they are different in detail.
The Working Outline
This is used to plan and develop the message and information contained in the speech. It is like the blueprint of a house. It is a brief schedule of ideas and information to be contained in the speech. An outline will normally improve the quality of the speech given.
It helps to ensure;
(a) A unified speech
It enables the speaker to see if;
(i) The topic is related to the speech purpose in an understandable way
(ii) Each part of the speech supports the topic
(iii) The divisions and subdivisions overlap at all
(b) A logical running order
The brief written form of the working outline makes it easier to see the order and re-arrange it for the most effective order. The speaker is not distracted by the details such as wording and transitions.
(c) It is complete
By seeing the speech in outline the speaker is able to see if there are any gaps in the supporting information.
A working outline makes planning the speech easier by getting an overview of your speech by ensuring your information is complete, adequately supports the topic and purpose, and is properly ordered.
The speaking outline will be discussed in my next posting.

For more information on public speaking and great conversation please visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim a free preview of The Art of Great Conversation

The primary goals of organizing a speech are to assist in making the speaker’s message clear to audience and to strengthen it.
A speech is normally organized into 3 parts introduction, main body and conclusion. See previous posts to discuss the organisation of the introduction and conclusion.
The main body is where the ideas and message of the speech are discussed and developed. To be effective the main body of the speech is arranged into headings that reflect a pattern of thought that people will normally think about the topic. Common ways to organize a main body are;-
(1) Chronological – this is a logical progression through time. For example if the objective of the speech is to convince the audience to take their polio shot. The speaker may talk about the crippling effect of polio in the past, then the isolation of cause, followed by the development of a vaccine and finish by the decrease in the occurrence since the development.
(2) Problem and solution – this is a common pattern especially in sales presentations. The problem is presented first. The audience must first be made aware of the serious nature of the issues before it is interested in the solution.
(3) Cause and effect – The speech has two main points which can e used in reverse order, e.g.
The effect – Political unrest in Africa. The cause could be – the desire for independence
The cause – Political unrest in Africa. The effect could be – speculation on the future because of the unrest.
The important point in organizing the main body of the speech is that it should support the topic and purpose of the speech

The conclusion to your speech is very important because your audience will form their lasting impression of you and your speech from it.
Conclusions will vary from speech to speech, but the following components are usually incorporated.

1. Summarize

This step summarizes the main points of your speech. An audience requires help to remember what has been said. It can just be a list of the highlights of your speech. Alternatively a less formal approach is to list the points in a summary sentence.

2. Benefits

This can be a helpful component. It helps to remind the audience of why they should listen to your talk. Without a worthwhile reason there is no reason for the audience have listened to your speech. Because of the importance of this reason it can justify the repetition of the benefits component from the introduction.

3. Call to Action

This need only be included where the purpose of the speech is change the audience’s emotion, belief or action or any combination of these, such as when giving a persuasive or motivational speech.
The essential element is to make very clear the essence of the speech or a call for a definite action for example “Therefore act now, sign the petition before you leave this room.”
As with the introduction to a speech there are 2 important characteristics of a conclusion;-
(i) Brevity – if you go on too long, you audience will get bored and start to ask “When will they finish?”
(ii) Relevance – a new point included here can confuse the listener and destroy the effectiveness of your speech
So keep the conclusion of the speech relevant and brief and finish strongly covering the benefits, highlights and a call to action as appropriate, e.g. therefore act now, include a summary and a benefits section in the conclusion to your speech.    

For more tips on public speaking and great conversation please visit www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim a free preview of The Art of Grat Conversation.

The objective of the introduction is to get the attention of the audience and set the scene for the body of the speech.

The form of the introduction will differ from speech to speech dependent to a great extent upon the amount and what, is needed to get the audience ready for what is to follow.

The most common components used in an introduction are;

Getting Attention

It is usual to use a deliberate method to gain the audience’s attention. There are many ways to do this – e.g. a shocking statement, a question, a joke is told, and a human interest story is told that is related to the rest of the speech. The attention grabbers that are able to be used are only limited by your creativity.

Benefits

The introduction is a great place to include a benefit statement. An audience will listen if they understand it will be worthwhile to them e.g. if they can see by listening they will make more money, have better health, be able to protect their property.

Preview

The preview section is used in the introduction to outline the main points that will follow – also known as an agenda. However, in the case of a hostile crowd it may be wise to avoid or delay this component.

There are 2 overall points to consider when preparing an introduction:

1) Length – The introduction should be long enough to gain the audience’s attention and set up the rest of the speech. Otherwise the audience will be thinking “why don’t they get to the speech?” or worse.
2) Relevant – the introduction should be relevant to the speech and not mislead or contradict the rest of the speech.

In summary the introduction gets the audience’s attention, lets them know what’s in it for me, and what’s in store.

In my next post I will discuss the conclusion and after that I will discuss the main body of the speech.

For more tips on public speaking and conversation please visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking for a free preview of The Art of GreatConversation.