Speech Tips: 10 Steps to Giving an Inspiring Speech
Ten speech tips for giving an inspiring talk, from building confidence and using cue cards to body language, simple slides, a strong ending and practice.
1. Confidence
You need a positive attitude toward your speech, so learn to be confident. Unfortunately, there's no secret to this: you have to rehearse over and over until you're confident you can do it.
Most people can easily tell a confident speaker from an uncertain one. That's why you should never read your speech straight from a piece of paper. It gives people a very bad impression.
2. Spice up your speech
"Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech."
Make your performance memorable, make it tasty and try your utmost not to bore people. We all dislike listening to a boring professor, so why make the same mistake? A good way to spice up your speech is to add quotes to it.
Also watch out for filler words that get repeated over and over and can spoil your whole presentation, such as "like," "well" and "you know." One way to counter them is to plan memorable phrasing in advance, such as alliteration: a phrase in which the words start with the same letter, for example, "Cool! Crusty's car crushed Carl." The important thing is to be creative when it comes to speeches.
3. Your posture
Your body language may turn out to be more important than you think. Some people even claim it matters more than the speech itself! Stay in firm control of your body and try your utmost to cut down on unnecessary movements. They can distract the audience and undermine your whole talk.
4. Eye contact
Be careful about where you look. Avoid staring at anyone or anything that might distract you or throw you off while you're speaking.
5. Water
This one matters especially if you tend to speak loudly. Losing your voice in the middle of a presentation is a bad idea! If you have a bottle of water with you, the problem is solved, and you get a few extra seconds to gather your thoughts while you drink.
6. Cue cards
Have you ever noticed how talk show hosts use cards when they speak? This is an excellent move for a number of reasons:
- It looks professional.
- By writing down keywords and short sentences, you can summarize a long speech.
- You avoid holding full sheets of paper. If your hands shake when you speak in public, paper can shake too and make a sound of pure embarrassment.
7. Tools
Do you know how to make a slide presentation? If so, what's stopping you? If you do decide to use slides, avoid distracting animations or music, which can pull your audience's attention away from you. Simplicity usually works best.
8. Speak with good manners
This must be emphasized: speak in a gentle, respectful manner, because it gives you more credibility. Avoid bad language, and remember that even excessive slang can weaken your performance.
9. Your ending
Try to make your ending summarize your whole speech. Be creative, and make sure you don't neglect this part. A good ending will often make up for a weak introduction.
10. Practice
Good speakers practice a great deal. It's true that some people have always been good at speaking, but even they keep training to improve. Of the ten tips listed here, this one is certainly the most vital, so keep it close.
Still need to write the speech itself? See how to write a speech.