How to Give a Speech

Don’t be afraid to deviate.

While speaking you must be alert to your audience. You may have to alter a statement based on the feedback you’re getting. You may add a few sentences which explain a point you thought was evident, leave out a paragraph as being unnecessary. You are talking to these people so you are so attuned to them that you can see if they “get it” or if they don’t.

Never tie yourself to a piece of paper, never think if you speak fast you’ll get it over with, never betray nervousness or fear. Whether the audience is nine, nine hundred or nine thousand, it doesn’t matter.

Eye contact

You don’t have to look at anyone in particular, not at first. Look just beyond the last row you can see. Eventually as you calm down you can glance at a few people.

Know when to stop

Sometimes you get so into what you’re saying, you almost can’t stop. Remember to stop. Don’t keep explaining unless questions are asked. Don’t give dozens of examples. One is usually sufficient. Don’t repeat yourself. When you come to the end, stop. Look at the audience, say ‘Thank You’, to symbolize you are completed, nod, and walk off.

Time

A rule of thumb; forty minutes is usually the length of a successful speech. Once you go over that limit, people begin to lose interest.

Short speeches should be under ten minutes.

If you have prepared a forty minute speech and are told you are to speak for one hour, allow questions. Don’t pad. If you have prepared a ten minute speech and are told you only have five minutes, cut out examples and opening paragraphs. Once you know what you are going to say, you can expand or contract it to fit the time.

Above all, remember you were asked, so everyone in the room has come to hear what you are going to say.