Preparing for Your Speech Delivery

As we have learned, speech making is a process of sequential steps that will help us to deliver an effective speech. We are now at our final speech preparation steps – again! Below are some reminders as well as additional tips to help you finish your preparation for a successful speech delivery!

Preparing Notes

Once you have created a comprehensive outline and have thought through your speech, you should be able to create your note cards or whatever you might be using (notes or an iPad for instance). Every speaker is a bit different, and different speech topics and organizational patterns may require different notation techniques.

Tips for creating and using your note cards

Your note cards (or cue sheets) must have enough information on them to be able to deliver the speech without missing details; they should be organized in the precise order that you have planned. When you are finalizing your speech making process and putting the finishing touches on your outline, you are ready to make the notecards. DO NOT make note cards before you are done with your speech making process. Your note cards should only contain a few words that will guide your speech. You will read your outline word-for-word if you use an outline; so, it is essential for you to spend time on creating note cards. Once you have created effective note cards, you will want to practice with your visual aid, your note cards, and any other props you have to ensure a strong delivery.

During the delivery:

• You should be able to glance at the cards, get your bearings, and look back at the audience. If you are reading the cards word-for-word, there are too many words on them, unless it is an extended exact quote, or group of statistics that must be delivered precisely.
• Be sure your notes or cards are numbered (e.g., boldly in the upper right hand corner), so you can keep them organized. Color-coding is often done to easily distinguish the cards at a glance. Losing your place can be very stressful to you and distracting to the audience.
• Avoid writing or printing on two sides; flipping a page or card is distracting to the audience. The audience should not be aware of the notes. It is best to simply slide the cards aside to advance to the next card.
• Rehearse your speech using the notes that you will bring to the podium. Be sure you can glance at the notes, get your information, and look up to have eye contact with the audience.

Watch this quick Youtube video to learn how to use notes effectively in a speech. There are great ideas to overcome bad habits and engage in “good” note card use.

Rehearsing the Speech

Students under estimate the amount of time the goes into outlining, creating note cards, and rehearsing their speeches. This “tying up loose ends” is essential for a strong speech delivery. Here are a few tips to remember before you deliver your speech.

Rehearse your speech – aloud and ideally with a colleague or fellow student as an audience

• Rehearse in front of a mirror if needed.
• Record a rehearsal speech so you can preview the speech (you can watch the speech and critically evaluate your performance)
  • Think of doing a quick SWOT analysis. What strengths are present? What weaknesses are present? What opportunities for improvement do you have? What threats exist?
• Practice as if you are LIVE. Use the same technology, presentation aids, notecards and/or tangible props.
• Use a timer – consider writing the time on your note cards to keep yourself on track with the pace of your speech.
• Allow plenty of revision and edit time – practicing for hours the night before your speech is not a successful strategy.
  • Create a practice timeline that will allow plenty of revision time, editing of your outline, and updating your note cards for delivery. Be sure to implement feedback in order to strengthen your argument.

You should also know exactly how your speech will begin and end. Regardless of how dependent on notes the speaker may be, here is one constant word of advice: know exactly how you are going to begin your speech. Not just an idea, but verbatim, with every inflection, every gesture, every eye contact with the audience. The first few sentences should be so ingrained, that you could perform it during an earthquake without batting an eye.

A memorized introduction accomplishes several goals. First, it gives you the opportunity to breathe, and realize it’s not so bad to be up there after all! Second, it lets the audience know you are prepared. Third, it signals to the audience that what you are about to say is important. Finally, it gives you the opportunity for direct eye contact (because you are not reading) and commands the audience’s attention. Eye contact is a signal to the audience that you care about them!

The conclusion of your speech is equally important. In show business parlance, the end of a song or a scene is called a “button.” It is a “TAH-DAH” moment that lets the audience know you are finished, and that it is their turn to applaud. The ending impression your speech leaves with the audience is greatly affected by how effective the ending is. The content and structure notwithstanding, you should also know exactly how you will end (verbatim), so there is no hesitation, no stumbling, no tentative “I guess that’s all” feeling. A confident and decisive beginning will draw the audience to you; a confident logical ending will be very effective in preserving a lasting impression on the audience.

One of the key elements to an effective speech is our delivery method. We are presenting speeches, not reading them. Our goal is to deliver our speeches extemporaneously.

Extemporaneous speaking is one of the most natural methods for delivering a prepared speech. You can use an extemporaneous speech to achieve a more natural tone, flow, and style with the audience. This requires extensive preparation and practice.

To prepare for an extemporaneous speech, you must understand the difference between your preparation outline and speaking notes.

• Your preparation outline helps you to get prepared for your speech by providing the opportunity to organize and write your ideas in a speech format. This is your “formal” outline you use to organize your ideas (it is also the outline you turn in to me).
• Your speaking notes help you achieve a conversational and natural speech delivery.

See these tips for creating speaking notes:

https://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-Notes-for-Public-Speaking