I have a speech to do on Monday...writing the speech and figuring what I'm going to say isn't too difficult for me, it's delivering the speech is what frightens me. Any help would be appreciated...thanks.
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I have a speech to do on Monday...writing the speech and figuring what I'm going to say isn't too difficult for me, it's delivering the speech is what frightens me. Any help would be appreciated...thanks.
The best advice I can give you is to just be relaxed. The last thing you want to is go up there and mix your words all up, or stumble through your statements. If that happens, regain your composure as quickly as possible, and start over.
It'll be even easier to screw up too. You're not allowed to read from anything other than a note card with an outline of what you're going to say. blah.Quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy
The best advice I can give you is to just be relaxed. The last thing you want to is go up there and mix your words all up, or stumble through your statements. If that happens, regain your composure as quickly as possible, and start over.
In that case, the best advice I can think of is that you should commit the major points of your speech to memory, and build on them with your background knowledge of whatever you're giving your speech on. What are you giving your speech on anyways?
How much of a wackjob/"witch" my boss is. Seriously.
OH, in that case, I can honestly say, try to have fun with it. :DQuote:
Originally posted by Shinobi128
How much of a wackjob/"witch" my boss is. Seriously.
Relax, be comfortable.
Hilight key words or phrases to ensure fluidity of speech. That way you'll stumble less. Also try to find a "friendly face" (someone who won't make you laugh and helps you relax) if you can. That helps a lot.
I have this vision in my head that I can deliver a powerful, fun, and entertaining speech, but I'm afraid I'll crap out once I get up there, which I do 100% of the time.
Quick opinion needed here...would it be too much/offending if I said, "it's like that time of the month for my boss every day." Good? Bad?
Pray you don't let down your boss?
Seriously just practice and be sure to use eye contact look him dead in the eye, er maybe not that much.
Good luck tho...
EDIT I wouldn't mention the time of the month bit unless your boss is a women.
Depends. Does your boss have a sense of humor? If so, then maybe give it a shot. If not, then don't try it.
Write down your first sentence verbatim. If you're going to freeze, you'll do it right at the beginning. Once you break the ice, you'll be fine.
And remember that 90% of your audience isn't paying attention anyway.
erm, my speech is for my communications class in school...
I have to do an informative speech, so I will inform my classmates how much of a bitch she is.
burgundy's right - most of your class won't even be listening to you - just the first couple rows - most ppl will be either too tired/sleepy/apathetic/worried over their own speech to really listen to what your ass has to say.
From Maxim to me to you:
Face your audience and make eye contact.: Pick one or two people and "speak" to them.
Don't memorize: Audiences can smell when they are getting something canned.
Use notes sparingly: Spending too much time reading makes you look unprepared.
Dress for sucess: If you dress like a clown people will expect you to pull balloon animals out of your shorts.
Although I usually don't talk about my profession here, this thread seems an appropriate place. Short story: I am a trial attorney, so when cases go to trial (a rare happening), I am essentially engaging in "public speaking" for a week or three straight. So, I can appreciate your concern, because even after 11 or 12 years of doing this, I get nervous as hell.
Tips:
1. "Nervous" is fine, "panic" is doom. Accept being nervous, and channel the energy it provides into your preparation. You'll be nervous when you start, but once you get past the opening, you should settle down. Speaking with some passion/emotion/enthusiasm --i.e., caring about what you're saying is the key element to defeating nerves. But, there is still...
2. Preparation. Can't be emphasized enough. Some folks (about 1 in each State) can speak well off the cuff. Most cannot. Practice your piece over and over. Prepare until you know your material inside and out, because...
3. You WILL stumble, and knowing your material makes it VERY easy to recover. This is a central problem with writing things out verbatim (which I tried long ago). First, you wind up reading verbatim, and it will show. It's public speaking, not public reading. Second, when you inevitably trip up, having the exact words in front of you makes it harder than you might think to recover because you "search" for the exact words to begin your recovery and it usually comes across horribly. However,...
4. An outline is a very good idea. Just remember not to make it cluttered or you're back to the pitfalls of #3. Keep lots of space between headings/points on the page, and don't scribble little notes all over the paper. Preparation and a CLEAN outline are a great combination. One more basic...
5. SLOW DOWN!! This is the pitfall of many, many would be advocates, public speakers, and others who generally open their mouths. Most everyone has a tendancy to gradually pick up the pace, and ultimately it gets away from them -- especially when they know the subject matter (but their audience does not). If you're like most people, you need to consciously force yourself to speak "slowly" -- not "retarded" like Of Mice and Men; rather, speak clearly and with some emotion, like a good actor in a play who loves hearing himself talk.
Good luck. And if that's too many points to consider, go with Preparation.
I've screwed up a speach or two in my time, and I've never gotten over how humiliating they were. The worst one was about video games (I tried to make all my speaches about videogames at the time). The thing was, I barely wrote the speach and had done it in a manner in which I couldn't read. Not only that, the teacher made us pick who went first out of a hat at random, and I was first. Not only that, a couple jocks from the football team (which I just quit a few months back) came in to check out the class. Not only that, as I was going up to the podium, the teacher was bragging on me how I was going to do an awesome job since all my other speaches were good. I then went on to do the worst speach possible, sputtering out a few lines of nonsense and starring at the page trying desperately to decifer what the hell I'd just wrote. Heck, I was so scared I forgot what the point of my speach was in the first place. I rambled on something or other about videogames, and soon enough some girl I liked (and who I thought was a very nice Christian gal) said, "nobody cares". I took my seat in shame.
Good luck :)
Take my advice. Don't picture the crowd naked. You'll get a boner.
I did policy debate in High School, so maybe I can offer a few ideas. Not much more than the attorney though.
1.The day before, speak to the wall. Go over your speech, and give it to the nearest wall or corner. Practice your articulation, and pronounciation. No speech goes over well, when the speaker does not anounciate well.
2. An outline will save your life. Nothing will turn a lister away faster than hearing you speak about something, move on to something else, and then have you return and stumble about the first topic. Commit a few mojor talking points to paper, and get all the details you can commited to memory. Work with the topics, but ad lib all the between stuff. Wrote memorization and speech will only reult in "..uh, I uh..."
3. Wierdest part. Make sure your body is ready. Piss before class, and if you have an inhaler, and you think you will need it, use it right before you speak. Stopping your informative to use an inhaler and cough might as well end it.
4. Go slow, and make eye contact. Don't look at a clock or watch. Use a timer. Go slow. Did I mention slow?
I had this problem in high school five years ago. What I can tell you:
1. Make sure you know your material. When I did my speech in front of the class, I, heh, happened to write it an hour before class and memorize it. While I had it down to memory, I stumbled two times, which is awkward. If you know your material, you can improvise with another point rather than searching for the exact words you wrote down in your mind.
2. This is a tough one: I walked back and forth when I made my presentation. This helps to engage everyone in what you are talking about, rather than nodding off. It was purely a suggestion my teacher had made days before, but it helped. I think the advice of using the bathroom and such really helps here, since you won't hae to worry about being weak in the knees.
3. Eye Contact. This is just another add on to the above. Making eye contact will help to make people believe you know what you are talking about. Just make sure not to look at people who will try to make you laugh or distract you.
Thanks for the help everyone. I did a little research as well. I found out that if someone is too scared to look into people's eyes then look at their foreheads. From their point-of-view they see you making eye contact, but in fact you are not.
Thanks again. *off to research some more*
"People always turn away - from the Eyes of a Stranger... afraid to know what lies behind the stare..."
Had to inject a little Queensryche lyric in there.
Drink the night before - not a lot, but some. My freshman year in college I used to get trashed all the time, frequently the night before an oral presentation. I was always in a haze when it came time for the oral presentation so I always did fine.
Masturbate that morning. You know, get some of that energy out.
Most people dont give a fuck about what you have to say, anyway, keep that in mind.
Make eye contact on occasion, but other than that, focus on a spot beyond the audience. Like if there's a fire extinguisher i nthe back of the room or some shit.
Lets see...a lot of good tips have already been given...
Be prepared. Make an outline that is easy to understand and hits all your main point. You want to start with an introduction them main point, details of that main point, then the next point, then details....then the conclusion.
The more rehearsed you are the easier it will be. Speak loud and slow, you want everyone to hear you. Look around at your audience, you want people to think that you are talking directly at them.
With your topic I'm sure you have good stories, so pick out some choice ones. People love stories about stupid things others do.
Um yes, if there is anyone not male in the room.Quote:
Originally posted by Shinobi128
I have this vision in my head that I can deliver a powerful, fun, and entertaining speech, but I'm afraid I'll crap out once I get up there, which I do 100% of the time.
Quick opinion needed here...would it be too much/offending if I said, "it's like that time of the month for my boss every day." Good? Bad?
Well, everyone eslse has touched on anything Id say. But here is some more stuff.
1. No matter how much you know about something, do not put off actually writing the speech. You might be amazed how hard it is to find that artical on video games and crime when it comes time to write your speech and you need a quote. (I have a speech from last semester on video games if youd like it for a "reference".)
2. Make sure you cover the material the teacher wants. No one likes to work hard for a "F", give the teacher what she ask for.
3. If you must use note cards, try to only write down the headings, and do so in big black letters. Also, number the note cards. By doing this you can keap yourself on track and not skip things you want to talk about.
Give us some more info on this speech class and what the speeches require. I just had speech last semester and may be able to help.
Ok, my exact assignment is to give an informative speech on whatever we want. He suggested the easiest thing you can do is to "inform" the class about your job. That is, what you do, where you work, etc. I thought it would be slightly more interesting to tell the class how much of a nutcase/psycho my lady boss is is.
I am only allowed one note card. On that note card I simply have to outline what my speech is. I need a simple intro, body, and conclusion to my speech. It also must be 3-5 minutes in length.
I'll leave out that "time of the month" comment out of the speech. I'm thinking that I'm going to be better than usual, since I"ll be letting my frustration out on the class and forget I'm even giving a speech?
Thanks again for the help.
@_@ thats wonderfully easy. I had to have a typed outline for my first speech.
I should do fairly well. :) I'll let you guys know tomorrow afternoon.
*thinks positive*
Imagine everyone in their underwear...or giant chicken suits.
Good luck, Shinobi. Try to relax, and imagine that you're talking to a friend or relative, rather than folks you don't know. I've found in the past that worrying too much about how things turn out, or focussing on the fact that you're speaking to people you don't know well only causes you to panic and become needlessly anxious and forgetful.
Wow...I would say almost the exact opposite happend this morning. I got up there and went into panic mode. I looked at the audience and looked at the notecard and my mind was at a complete blank. A few moments later words started to come out of my mouth.Quote:
Originally posted by Black Arts Viper
Try to relax, and imagine that you're talking to a friend or relative, rather than folks you don't know. I've found in the past that worrying too much about how things turn out, or focussing on the fact that you're speaking to people you don't know well only causes you to panic and become needlessly anxious and forgetful.
I understand that most of the time people don't give a damn about what you have to say, but my speech caught the attention of everyone. "This speech isn't about my job...it's about my boss...and how much of a nutcase she is" caught everyone's attention.
I did an "ok" job, I think. I know I could've done better, but hey, it's a start I suppose. My "ok" speech was good enough for a grade of 90/100 points, an A. :) I have to improve my eye contact with the audience.
March 24-27 is my next major speech. :(
Practice makes perfect. Before college, I was an extremely quiet, shy wallflower. Then I finally figured out that if I ever embarassed myself too bad, I could switch schools. :)Actually, teaching organic chemistry lab got me over any fear of speaking real quick. That's not to say that I wouldn't freeze in front of a huge audience, but when it gets to a room full of people, I'm ok these days.
Self confidence is key. Trust in yourself. It's not like the class is going to lynch you or anything. They might laugh, but if you can control that laughter via your speech, you can control your audience.
The class was quite supportive of everyone. Even though only half of the class went yesterday, we were all nervous. Some more than others. *raises hand*
is this a speech class shinobi? :( i have to take that in college as well - its going to be the last class I evar take.
It is. :(Quote:
Originally posted by station82o
is this a speech class shinobi? :( i have to take that in college as well - its going to be the last class I evar take.
I would say about 45% of it is actual public speaking. The rest is group work and lecturing about human communication. It is one on the last classes I'm taking at my community college.Quote:
SPC1016 Fundamentals of Speech Communication (AA)
3 credits, (3 lecture hour(s), 0 lab hour(s), 0 clinical hour(s))
This course will train the student in the basic principles of effective communication, including topics such as intrapersonal communication, interpersonal communication, listening, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, small group dynamics and public speaking. The emphasis is on individual development and improvement in a variety of communication experiences. Gordon Rule writing requirement minimum: 2,000 words. A grade of C or higher is required for this course to be used as a General Education course.
i think thats almost the exact class they want me to take - like i said - it'll be the LAST class i ever take in school - fuck that noise - i might just do that in summer school. I hate public speaking and don't see what the hell its going to have to do with me sitting in front of computers all day doing network type shit. Arf... I feel your pain Shinobi - how many more speeches do you have to give?
I guess the one thing you can be thankful for is that everyone in your class is in the same boat. how many ppl in your class? i know that CC classes have about 20-35 ppl each... i've heard that if you take a speech class at a major university it will be more like 70 people you'd have to talk in front of! CC is the way to go.
I've noticed that some people seem to be able to perform better when stressed than they can whilst relaxed. I've never been one of them, though. I guess the "fight or flight" response to a stressful situation causes some people to become more on edge, aware to what they're doing and alert of what's going on around them. Personally, I find that all that extra adrenaline and anxiousness cause me to stumble over my words and become a bit shaky.Quote:
Originally posted by Shinobi128
Wow...I would say almost the exact opposite happend this morning. I got up there and went into panic mode. I looked at the audience and looked at the notecard and my mind was at a complete blank. A few moments later words started to come out of my mouth.
Congratulations on doing so well. Hopefully you'll be a little less worried next time you have to do a speech...I've found that the more practice you get, the easier public speaking becomes. I'm still not fond of it, though. ;)
I "only" have three required speeches, and two are optional. Two of them are 3-5 minute informative speeches. I just did one of them. The last required speech is a 5-7 minute persuasive speech.Quote:
Originally posted by station82o
i think thats almost the exact class they want me to take - like i said - it'll be the LAST class i ever take in school - fuck that noise - i might just do that in summer school. I hate public speaking and don't see what the hell its going to have to do with me sitting in front of computers all day doing network type shit. Arf... I feel your pain Shinobi - how many more speeches do you have to give?
I guess the one thing you can be thankful for is that everyone in your class is in the same boat. how many ppl in your class? i know that CC classes have about 20-35 ppl each... i've heard that if you take a speech class at a major university it will be more like 70 people you'd have to talk in front of! CC is the way to go.
The two bonus are impromptu speeches, meaning you walk up there without knowing what it is you're going to talk about. My teacher has a bunch of notecards laying face down and you randomly choose one. They tend to be wacky and out of this world topics. They range from "How do you feel about standing in front of the class this very second?" to "What would you do if you got pregnant in high school?" (Some guy picked that one, hilarity ensued.) The first impromptu speech was earlier this semester, and I chose to skip it, regardless that it was for bonus points. I'd rather not speak in front of a class unless I'm required too. I fucking hate/I'm afraid of public speaking.
I need to be relaxed when I do these things, if not I'm screwed. I'll shake, stutter, and forget what my name is. I think i'll do better next time, though, I'm not looking forward to it. :) :(Quote:
Originally posted by Black Arts Viper
I've noticed that some people seem to be able to perform better when stressed than they can whilst relaxed. I've never been one of them, though. I guess the "fight or flight" response to a stressful situation causes some people to become more on edge, aware to what they're doing and alert of what's going on around them. Personally, I find that all that extra adrenaline and anxiousness cause me to stumble over my words and become a bit shaky.
Congratulations on doing so well. Hopefully you'll be a little less worried next time you have to do a speech...I've found that the more practice you get, the easier public speaking becomes. I'm still not fond of it, though. ;)
I have another informative speech to do tomorrow. :( Actually, they were due yesterday, but I forgot about it and was lucky enough to not have my name called.
This time it's about my job, and what I do there. Here we go again...:confused:
You need confidence materials.
Red flags with a 2-tone high contrast picture of your face on it are good. Drape those all around the stage. Get a good poduim. Odds are the one you'll be left to use will not be satisfacory. Get a tall one - very tall - that allows you to haraunge the gathering from a height. Make an emblem... like a red fist raised in defiance with action lines comeing from it. An armband with a coresponding image on it is a nice compliment too. Use LOTS of gestures, speak loudly, and don't be afriad to use strong language. Refer to some people as "dogs" or "hounds" or "infidels". Nothing says SPEACH like blatant finger pointing and vast blanket statements.
Listen to me an you will be on the fast-track to capable and wholely enticeing oration!
ºTracer
I will keep that in mind Tracer. :link:
Quote:
Originally posted by Tracer
You need confidence materials.
Red flags with a 2-tone high contrast picture of your face on it are good. Drape those all around the stage. Get a good poduim. Odds are the one you'll be left to use will not be satisfacory. Get a tall one - very tall - that allows you to haraunge the gathering from a height. Make an emblem... like a red fist raised in defiance with action lines comeing from it. An armband with a coresponding image on it is a nice compliment too. Use LOTS of gestures, speak loudly, and don't be afriad to use strong language. Refer to some people as "dogs" or "hounds" or "infidels". Nothing says SPEACH like blatant finger pointing and vast blanket statements.
Listen to me an you will be on the fast-track to capable and wholely enticeing oration!
ºTracer
That is fantastic advice commrade. Behold the power of The Red Scare!
OH FEARLESS LEADER!
I say just memorize the whole darn thing. My speeches are usually 10 min powerpoint presentations, so I'm not sure if this tactic would work well w/o slides to prompt you or if the length >10min.
anyway...
Good luck!
I was going to do my speech on my job, but someone went ahead a talked about his three favorite video games. I used up my only "free pass" from my teacher (You can delay one speech one day throughout the semester).
I won't feel as geeky going up their and talking about video games now. :) I'll get up there and talk about my current favorite game, my collection, and a bit about E3. I'll bring some pictures to show them from last year. :)