It isn’t surprising that fear of public speaking is a near-universal fear. When you think about how often the average person speaks in front of a large group of strangers, though, this makes a lot of sense. Here are some tips that can help you craft a speech and deliver it successfully.
You’ll find that most speeches will follow these basic rules. Being brief is important unless you were asked to give a lengthy speech. Simplicity is another hallmark of a great speech, so try to limit your scope to only a few topics. Finally, your speech should be targeted to your audience, that is, know what the audience wants and expects and try to cater to that. Don’t confuse knowing your audience with pandering to them. What you’re really trying to do is match the tone and style to the situation. Now that you have some idea of what good speeches have in common, you can start working on yours.
It’s the nature of speeches that we only hear, and remember, the final product, but it’s important to remember that most good speeches are carefully crafted. Start by figuring out what the purpose of your speech is. Are you trying to persuade your audience to a certain opinion or mindset, educating your audience on a topic, or simply trying to entertain? You can’t start crafting your speech until you know what it is you want it to do.
When it comes to content, having facts on your side is an important part of any speech. If you aren’t already an expert, and even if you are, it can’t hurt to look up some facts that can help support your arguments. In something like a toast or best man speech, come up with a good anecdote that will let your audience better understand the groom and the couple.
Structure is also important to think about. You want to draw the audience in from the beginning with a strong introduction. The ending also needs to be strong to make sure that you leave your audience with a good impression. In between, you need to form some connective tissue, if you will, that brings these two parts of the speech together.
Speeches may be written, but most people won’t experience it as written words, but as spoken words. It doesn’t matter how good the speech is on paper if you fumble through the delivery. It may seem like a clich?, but it really does help to practice the speech in front of a mirror, or at least out loud, before the big day. You’ll likely find, as you read it out loud, that some of the things that read well don’t work as well when said out loud.
Inspirational Speeches Zine 