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We all share the same goal: we’d like to be able to deliver a great speech. However, in order to do that, a number of different things have to come together at the same time for us. These include such things as having a good speech, having a receptive audience, and just a little bit of luck. I can’t do anything about that luck thing, but I think that I’ve got a few suggestions that will help with everything else.
4 Tips For Creating An Effective Speech
Yes, we’d all like to be able to sit down and just let an effective speech flow out of us. However, all too often it doesn’t seem to happen that way – what we end up with is a jumbled mess of thoughts. In order to demonstrate the importance of public speaking and create a speech that will both connect with our audience and show them that we’ve planned out what we wanted to share with them, we need to follow the following four steps when we are creating an effective speech:
- Pick Your Purpose: You have agreed to give a speech: why? What is the purpose of you writing a speech, practicing it, getting all dressed up, and being willing to deal with the nerves associated with standing in front of a group of strangers? Is your purpose the right one to share with this audience and are you the right person to be doing it? Finally, do you really care about this purpose – if you don’t then you shouldn’t be up there.
- Know Your Audience: If you want your next speech to be effective, then you are going to have to have a good understanding of who you’ll be talking to. How big will your audience be? Who is going to be in your audience (age, gender, profession, political views, etc.) Why are they there to listen to you?
- Clearly State Your Main Point: The reason that you are giving this speech needs to be something that you can sum up in a single sentence. Make sure that you know what this sentence is. Once you have identified this point, make sure that you have three supporting points that all serve to bolster your main point. Pull all of this together, and you’ll have yourself an effective speech.
- Back It Up: If you want to use your effective speech to win your audience over to your way of thinking, then you’re going to have to present them with the evidence that you are right. Make sure that you’ve taken the time to do your homework and you’ve got an compelling set of evidence that will support your viewpoint including: fact & figures, stories, definitions, examples, etc.
What All Of This Means For You
The success of your next speech may be determined before you even take the stage. If you’ve done all of the planning that is necessary, then the benefits of public speaking will be yours and you’ve set yourself up for success.
In order to plan your next speech you are going to have to take the time to define your purpose and make sure that you know who is going to be in your audience. Every speech has a central point – make sure that you know what yours is. Finally, make sure that you have the evidence that you’re going to need in order to back up the point that you are making.
The good news is that you can deliver powerful and effective speeches. What you need to do is to make sure that the take the time before your speech to plan out what you want to say and how you want to say it. Do your homework and I’m sure that you’ll be pleased with the results!
– Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Public Speaking Skills™
Question For You: What’s the best way to find out about who will be in your audience?
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Note: What we talked about are advanced speaking skills. If you are just starting out I highly recommend joining Toastmasters in order to get the benefits of public speaking. Look for a Toastmasters club to join in your home town by visiting the web site www.Toastmasters.org. Toastmasters is dedicated to helping their members to understand the importance of public speaking by developing listening skills and getting presentation tips. Toastmasters is how I got started speaking and it can help you also!
What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time
One of the challenges of any presentation is that we want to be able to both capture and hold our audience’s attention while we are speaking. If your speech is 30 minutes, 60 minutes, or even longer this can be a real challenge. The good news is that your PowerPoint (or Keynote) slides can help you if you know how to add a bit of intrigue to your presentation…