Writing and Delivering a Good Speech
Giving a speech can strike fear into the heart of the steeliest business professional. Their cool exterior can melt away when the heat is on. There is no doubt about it; public speaking can be one of life’s toughest challenges. Keeping an audience’s attention, remembering your eye contact, keeping the flow going and most importantly, ensuring you are speaking in an engaging way, is a lot to remember at once! There are some truly gifted ‘naturals’ when it comes to speech giving but most of us have to learn the art. Simple steps can help you to come across as a natural. Firstly, carefully consider your content. It needs to be current, it needs to be interesting and it needs to hold an audience’s attention. A few lighter moments are always appreciated by the audience during a long speech. Dot these throughout your content, where appropriate, and keep them relevant. It is better that you do not read the speech directly from pages. Doing so makes it harder to interact with an audience as you are losing eye contact with them. If possible, make simple notes of points to touch upon, perhaps with associated PowerPoint slides highlighting what you are saying which you can also use as a prompt. Remember to keep your slides simple - pictures are better and keep words to a minimum. If you really must read straight from paper, bold some words so that you remember to enunciate throughout your speech. This will make your speech flow more naturally with more inflection and less monotony. Twenty or thirty minutes of someone talking, accompanied by a few slides, is hard-going for an average audience member, even if the content is very interesting. It is a good idea to break your speech, perhaps with a short accompanying video. For example, a company ad, a YouTube clip that is appropriately-linked to your speech or some vox pops carried out on your behalf, relevant to your content. Your audience will appreciate the interruption or the change of focus that a video will bring. When your speech is ready, you have your accompanying slides and your video; it is now time to focus on the delivery. Remember to talk slowly. Imagine the pace of a conversation between you and a friend or a colleague – if you speak to your audience at this speed, your delivery will be too fast and your speech will be over before you know it! Slow way down. Interact. Keep eye contact and engage. If you smile, stop to take a breath and give the audience time for a joke to sink in, then you will be more likely to deliver a good speech. And it is then that people are likely to remember just what you said. A good PR company will be able to advise, draft, prepare slides and video content, as well as train you, to deliver a good speech.
T - 02890 402296 W - www.dcppr.co.uk E – info@dcppr.co.uk Twitter – dcppr Facebook - DCP Public Relations & Public Affairs Linked In – Gwynneth Cockcroft Content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute professional or other advice.
Why not have a look at some past Expert Insights provided by DCP... Be well prepared... If you want to manage the media Big Bang for your Buck...How to select a PR consultant Brand Management for the 21st Century Make sure your photo has print appeal
|
