Public Speech - Tips

When I myself was looking for materials related to this issue, I was able to find only scattered advice on certain topics.
Most of them were about overcoming fear, etc., which, quite, far removed from the essence of the problem and is not very applicable in practice.
Here are links to the most successful of them:

• 10 tips from Donald Trump on how to speak in front of an audience
• Recommendations for improving diction: http://technics-speech.ru/sovet.html
• Councils on the structure of speech and preparation of speech

Nevertheless, I was not able to find any fundamental and comprehensive guide (at least in Russian).
So I decided to outline the generalization of my small but quite successful experience of public speaking.

Speech on the Paper Sheet, on the Cards, which is Better

So, let's start not in order, but from the most important point.

Surely, you have seen the speeches of politicians who read their speech from the paper (often with a large format A4). Many Russian politicians do just that, an example is Vladimir Putin. How interesting is this performance? How much information from it was postponed in your memory.
For most people, this performance is very boring and almost nothing of what is said on it is not remembered.

An improved version of this approach: replace one large sheet with a set of small cards from thick paper. Many American politicians took this into service, an example - Barak Abama. Here are a number of advantages:

• It is more convenient to hold in hands
• The cards are small enough (placed in the palm of your hand), so listeners may not even notice that the speaker is using their help, at least it will not be as obvious as in the case of reading out a speech from a large paper
• On each card only information on a particular part of the speech and nothing superfluous - it is easier to concentrate

Not a bad improvement. But this is not at all what you need.

The main goal of any speech is to convey an idea. To do this, provide the audience with the maximum amount of useful information for a minimum of allotted time in the most convenient form for perception.

You must know exactly what to say: every sentence, every phrase, every intonation. It should be honed like a knife blade. When a person tells, without resorting to help hints (on paper, cards, etc.), there is no doubt about his competence, and also that the expressed thoughts come from him, in addition, contact with the audience is not interrupted for a moment . In your head there should be not only the main idea or individual thoughts, in your head (and not on paper) there should be all the presentation from the beginning to the end with all the smallest details.

Therefore, you should remember your performance by heart, like a poem. And as a poem you have to tell it expressively and with the right intonation in the right moments.

Writing Writing

Always remember that your speech SHOULD NOT BE COMPLEX, it should be understandable to an absolutely uninitiated listener because such an overwhelming majority will be. Even if you are making a report in a narrow circle of specialists, you should not assume (unless you know it for sure) that listeners are well acquainted with the subject of your speech. Your speech should be exactly as complex as if you were telling it in line for milk.

Initially, it is worth writing at least half more than is required, then to leave only the best thoughts and the most memorable phrases and metaphors.

• As a general recommendation on the structure (plan) of your speech, I can suggest the following:
• Introduction (4 minutes): tell us about the benefits that the listeners give to the subject of your performance.
• The main components (10 - 11 minutes): tell us about what is happening and how (it works).
• As a conclusion (3 - 4 minutes) you can tell about achievements and (iridescent) perspectives.

Duration

Your speech should last 14 - 18 minutes.

More - you will begin to lose the attention of the audience. Whatever interesting things you tell, people will not be able to remember them and continue listening to you as carefully as before. In addition, by this time questions may accumulate, and the answers to them will excite the listeners more than receiving new information.

If your speech is less than the specified interval, it may be considered too short.

Necessity to Rehearse

Imagine a movie where actors interrupt phrases in the most inappropriate places to remember what to say next, from time to time look at paper with the written text, they say, without looking at the camera, and without proper intonation. What impression will you have such a film? How long will you watch it?

In fact, the speech of the speaker can be compared to the performance of an actor on stage.
However, the speeches of many speakers are much more like the actors' play of the example above.

So why do actors repeat the same scenes many times, and athletes endlessly work out combinations? First, what you repeat dozens of times, will be deposited in your memory at the level of reflexes. And to repeat this again will require a minimum of effort from you. Secondly, you can see yourself from the outside (with the help of modern technical means it's easy to record sound and video), Analyze and allocate weak points, and then work them out. Well, most importantly, your present speech will no longer be a challenge or a feat, you will come there and, simply, once again do what you have done already a hundred times. Boring and simple.

It's important to remember that in reality everything will turn out worse than the best of your rehearsals.
Due to different reasons, like the other situation, the attention of people is attracted to you, and so on, something will be forgotten, something you will not say as eloquently as you would like.
But in general, your performance will be about the same as your average quality rehearsal.

Diction

Your voice should be loud, smooth, calm. Here - better louder than quiet.

You have to EARLY pronounce every word, including endings. In general, your speech should not be fast. It's better here - slower than necessary, rather than faster.
But it is important not to pause between sentences, in general, only between paragraphs. So you clearly share your thoughts, and pass each of them in one piece, without interrupting.

If you have problems with the pronunciation of individual words (you spin, kortavit or stutter), which hurts the hearing, it is, nevertheless, not fatal. When preparing a speech, try to replace (where possible) words that are difficult to pronounce for you to be lighter.

Choice of Time

If you have the opportunity to influence the time of the beginning of your speech, it would be foolish not to turn this circumstance in your favor.

The best time to perform is morning from 9 to 10 o'clock and an hour immediately after lunch break. At this time people are full of energy and are in a good mood. They are ready to swallow everything that you offer them.

The worst time for performing is before the beginning of the lunch break or in the early morning from 7 to 8 hours. All the people's thoughts about their hunger and about the upcoming dinner, or they have not woken up yet. And no matter what you tell, even if you make a stand on your hands for greater effect, still what they ate for breakfast or eaten for dinner will leave them much more impressions.

In this case, you can use the following method ...
Before the beginning of the speech, say something like: "I will try to be short (oh) so that we all can soon enjoy lunch." This will cause the favor of the public, like: "We are with him (her) on the same wavelength." In addition, attention is paid to the next 3.5 minutes (hardly more). After graduation, you can say: "Thank you again for your attention, now, finally, we can eat." Hardly anyone will remember what you told about, but you will leave a good impression of yourself, which is not bad, considering in what difficult situation you acted.

Particularly worth noting performance at the very end of the working day. This is a risk, but the risk is justified, since you have a chance to break the jackpot. The thoughts of people at this time are roughly the same: "Well, everything, it remains to listen to it, and all - freedom!". Those. Many of them will be in high spirits. In addition, people are so arranged that the best thing in memory is the one that was said last. So, you can hope that what you said will remain in their heads for a long time and will not be interrupted by something else.

But the likelihood of failure is also quite high. This option can be advised, let's say, when you (very) well prepared your speech and know exactly what is waiting for and want to hear.

Speech by

During the performance, you should stand in about the same place. Do not walk from side to side. But in order not to feel the stiffness of the IRRESH it costs a little to change the position of the body without attracting attention:

• Turn head or body
• Jiggle
• Transfer weight from one leg to another

All your movements should be calm and smooth, without fuss. The position of the hands is not particularly important, but it is best if they are freely lowered down.

When you perform, your view should not be directed into the void. Keep eye contact with the audience, because it is for her that you speak, this is your indicator of success, this is your goal. From time to time, look around the audience, watch the listeners' reaction. If someone does not listen to you, stop looking at this person. Most likely, soon he will notice it. Not many will have the audacity in such a situation to continue to openly ignore, and a person will start listening to you.

IMPORTANT!!!
IMMEDIATELY after the end of your speech, thank the audience for your attention. This you show respect, provoking favor, which, most likely, will manifest itself in applause (no matter how good your speech really was). And then (again VERY VELIGIOUS) offer to ask you questions, for example: "If you have any questions, I will be happy to respond to them."

Loss of Audience

What if the attention of the audience is lost? Determine that you are not listening - it's easy: about half of the listeners

• Do not look at you
• Talk to each other
• Are engaged in some of their own affairs

The reasons for this can be many, and, at all, it is not necessarily your fault.

Return the attention of the audience is extremely difficult, almost impossible. And in trying to do this, you risk causing even more protest and irritation. The most reliable decision will be to finish your speech as soon as possible. Thus, you will stop bothering the public with a topic that (more) is not interesting to them.

But even such a seemingly fatal reversal does not mean the failure of the performance.

Verdict

The verdict about your performance most often you will find out right away.

If after your speech you are asked questions (no matter what: clarifying or corrective), Bravo! You were listened to. If the questions for the most part are clarifying, then not only the minimum is accomplished, but also the maximum: you are interested in the audience, at least, of its individual representatives. People want to know more about what you told.

If there are no questions, then two options are possible:

• Your speech was understandable, but it did not interest the audience (it is, nevertheless, a success).
• For some reason your speech was not understandable.

In the first case, it is very likely that one of your colleagues will thank you or mark your speech. If this did not happen, then, alas, with a high degree of probability, your performance can be considered unsuccessful.

Preparation of Questions

Your presentation is best presented in the form of a dialogue. And therefore your speech is just a seed, an invitation to a dialogue. If the topic liked the audience, and you showed your competence, then the listener will want to know something else from you.

This stage is comparable to the last two rounds in professional boxing, the successful performance in which will outweigh the nondescript performance in the previous eight. It is by the way you answer the questions directly interested in the listeners that you will get an impression of your performance. Therefore, you should know and understand the subject of your speech very well. Your knowledge should be much broader than that covered in your report. If this is not the case, you may not be competent enough, and you should not act.

A list of possible questions should be prepared in advance. And prepare answers to them. But you will be asked questions not included in this list, here your knowledge comes into play. In addition, you may be asked questions that you do not know the answers to. If you have studied the topic well, it is possible only if the question you asked is beyond the scope of your report. This is worth saying, well, if you can point to a source of information, where a person (probably) can find the answer.

Appearance

Well, and lastly ... What to wear?
The most important thing here is for you to feel comfortable and familiar, as the primary criterion of evaluation is what you will say and how you will say it. Nothing should distract you from this, everything else is secondary. It is better to throw all possible forces on the main task, so you will gain maximum points. Those. If you usually wear jeans and a T-shirt, then performing is also best in jeans and a T-shirt.

Well, if for certain reasons you need to adhere to a certain style of clothing, not familiar to you? For example, you usually wear jeans and a T-shirt, but on the performance should be in a suit and tie. I can advise the following ...
Shortly before the performance, spend one day dressing shoes, jeans and a shirt with a rolled up sleeves (instead of a T-shirt). The next day, replace the jeans with trousers. Then add a jacket here. On the day of the performance, it will only be necessary to add a tie to this set.

I think the idea is clear. By the time of the performance, this clothing will become familiar to you. You will no longer think: "How do I look in this attire?" And this thought will no longer distract you from the main thing, your speech.

The tips above will help you make a very good performance (close to ideal). How good, depends only on how much time you spend on its preparation and polishing, since a good performance (like all good things) takes time and effort.