Presenting Your Speech
At this stage, you should have a speech ready to be presented. But how should you go about presenting it?
Body Language
We have previously looked at how you can control your anxiety and show self-confidence during your speech. These two elements are important in successfully delivering your speech to the audience. It is equally important to review how your body Language should also align with what you are presenting.
đź“ş How should I use my body language for my own benefit as a presenter? Watch the video below to learn how you can do that.
Practicing Delivery
Practice, Practice, and Practice a little bit more.
No one can deny that the best way to mastery is practice, and that should be your motto and your first go-to.
These five steps you can use to practice your delivery:
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Go through your preparation outline aloud to check how what you have written translates into spoken discourse. Is it too long? Too short? Are the main points clear when you speak them? Are the supporting materials distinct, convincing, and interesting? Do the introduction and conclusion come across well? As you answer these questions, revise the speech as needed.
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Prepare your speaking outline. Use the same visual framework as in the preparation outline. Make sure the speaking outline is easy to read at a glance. Give yourself cues on the outline for delivering the speech.
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Practice the speech aloud several times using only the speaking outline. Be sure to “talk through” all examples and to recite in full all quotations and statistics. If your speech includes visual aids, use them as you practice. The first couple of times, you will probably forget something or make a mistake but don’t worry. Keep going and complete the speech as well as you can. Concentrate on gaining control of the ideas; don’t try to learn the speech word for word. After a few tries you should be able to get through the speech extemporaneously with surprising ease.
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Now begin to polish and refine your delivery. Practice the speech in front of a mirror to check for eye contact and distracting mannerisms. Record the speech to gauge volume, pitch, rate, pauses, and vocal variety. Most importantly, try it out on friends, roommates, family members—anyone who will listen and give you an honest appraisal. Because your speech is designed for people rather than for mirrors or recorders, you need to find out ahead of time how it goes over with people.
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Give your speech a dress rehearsal under conditions as close as possible to those you will face in class. Some students like to try the speech a couple of times in an empty classroom the day before the speech is due. No matter where you hold your last practice session, you should leave it feeling confident and looking forward to speaking in your class. If this or any practice method is to work, you must start early. Don’t wait until the night before your speech to begin working on delivery. A single practice session—no matter how long—is rarely enough. Allow yourself at least a couple of days, preferably more, to gain command of the speech and its presentation.
Answering Audience Questions
đź“ş At the end of your presentation, questions are inevitable. Watch the video below to learn how you can manage that Q and A section post your presentation.
đź“ş How do you answer questions when you do not know how to answer them? answer challenging questions and others. Check out the video below to learn how to answer these types of questions like a pro.