“For every minute of speaking I spend at least one hour of preparation” -- Winston Churchill

Importance

The American communications guru John Maxwell claims that there are 4 things that an audience won’t forgive you for, and one of these is not to be prepared (the others are not to be committed, not to be comfortable and not to be interesting).  It’s imperative to be prepared.

Public Speaking requires preparation and practice the same as in other areas of life eg sport.  If you don’t prepare and practice it, you can’t expect to deliver a speech as well as you might.

Prepare Early

Prepare early and not at the last minute.  There are no problems with preparing a speech early and leaving it.  It will take little time to refresh your memory, all the hard work has been done.  A benefit of preparing it early is that you are unlikely to leave it completely.  You will occasionally go through it in your mind which means you will get to know the speech thoroughly.  Ideally you will have decided what you want to say several days prior to delivering it.  This will leave you these days to go through it in your mind, under no pressure of time.  A thoroughly prepared speech gives you the best chance of delivering a speech well and this in turn enhances your general speaking confidence.

Steps in Preparing a Speech

The first step is to plan the timing.  In the Tutorial on Speech Structure you learnt that each speech should have an Opening, Body and Closing.  If you have been allocated a 5 minute speech, allow 30 seconds for the Opening, 4 minutes for the Body and 30 seconds for the Closing.  Allow 1 minute per main point, this means 4 main points are needed. 

The second step is to select a topic (refer to the Tutorial on Selecting A Topic).  Select it and write it down.  Make sure the topic is specific and not general eg “my next holiday” and not “holidays”.

Once the topic is selected jot down a general plan of how the speech may be shaped without specifics eg:

Main Point 1: I’m not going where I’ve been in the past, name the places.
Main Point 2: I’m only going where I can afford to go, name possibilities.
Main Point 3: List desired attributes of a holiday destination.
Main Point 4: Announce where you are going and what you will do there. 

Brainstorm jotting down any other main points for consideration and all sub-points, which are directly relevant to the topic, and that you would like to include in your speech.  It’s a good idea to carry paper and a pencil with you at all times because sometimes ideas for a speech come at any time. 

Put together and structure the speech, in point or abbreviated form, as per the tutorial on Speech Structure and consider a joining phrase (for the example above it could be “for my next holiday…”).  You may think of this as your first draft. 

Speech Notes

Remember that you are delivering a speech, not a reading.  At the time of delivery, the speech notes to be used should be in point form on one piece of paper or on small cards able to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand.  Point form means a key word or key words to serve as a prompt for you to remember the main or sub-points.  If you use cards, number them, in case you drop them.  If you will be using a lectern, an A4 sheet will fit comfortably on the lectern and not be noticeable.  However if there is no lectern, cards should be used.

How you arrive at the speech notes in point form may depend on your experience.  The inexperienced speaker may want to write the speech out completely, make adjustments and then break it up back into point form.   In fact writing the speech out is a good idea as it can give you a better feel for the speech.  Remember that everything in the speech should relate directly to the topic.

Practicing the Speech

Once in point form, start practicing it.  Never try to memorise the entire speech word for word, that is courting disaster.  No matter how little preparation time you have, always try to practice it out loud at least once.  Practicing to yourself is good but you will tend to go a lot quicker than out loud.  Remember that you have a time constraint and particularly if you are speaking at a seminar you shouldn’t speak beyond your allotted time.

Find a target in front of which you can practice at least once eg friend, spouse etc.  This will always be more difficult than speaking to yourself and you will certainly find out the parts of your speech you know well and parts you don’t know well.  For the other times, stick A4 faces on the wall and speak to the faces.

Memorise the Opening, main points and sub-points of the Body, and the Closing.  Go over these when you are spending non-productive time eg washing the dishes, driving home from work.  Memorising the opening is vital as it is imperative that the speech gets off to a great start.

When you are very confident that you know your speech, rehearse it in your mind backwards ie in the order of: Closing, final main point etc.  This will guard against knowing the start well but the end not so well if you have a habit of practising the start without often arriving at the end.

The last rehearsal should be done as close as possible to the time of actual delivery.  It’s good that it sits on your brain percolating.  Go through it in your mind just prior to delivering the speech.

Audio Tape your Speech

I strongly recommend that you audio tape the speech.  On listening back you will become aware of areas that you thought were clear but that you now think an audience may have difficulty understanding.  Also you may become aware of words which aren’t pronounced well, areas where it may be appropriate to pause and areas where you are rushing perhaps because there is too much information.  If you are to err on providing less or more information, err on providing less as the speech will usually take a little longer than it took practising.  It seems to happen that way. 

After settling on your speech you can listen to your speech on a walkman from time to time.  This will assist in thoroughly knowing your speech and it is not as hard work as saying the speech to yourself.

Remember (your speech but also the following)

• Make 2 copies of your speech in case one is misplaced on your way to or at the speech venue.

• A well prepared speech that is delivered just as you want it will provide you with a lot of confidence.

• A not so well prepared speech can be a demoralising experience.

Source: www.youthsspeak.com.au