speech presentation

speech presentation

The Art of Delivering a Compelling Speech: Strategies and Techniques

1. Introduction to Speech Presentation

This e-book will describe a survey of the strategy and methodology of speech presentation. It presents several principles of the art of speech giving that we consider to be most important. After discussing these principles and ideas carefully, we then ask you to make your presentations. In later sessions, we will discuss specific presentation topics, follow your feedback with you, and develop your confidence and capability in the art. This e-book will tell you what you need to do to make an interesting, appealing message. However, both of you will conduct the actual speech. Further, we will be able to explain to you the weaknesses and potential improvements that will be found by doing so.

Your ability to communicate with your team, your colleagues, and your superiors will significantly influence the success you have in your job and your career. This communication skill forces you to exercise good judgment in deciding what you should talk about, with whom you should talk, when you should do it, where you should talk, why you should talk, and how you can draw your listeners’ attention to your message. One of the most effective and powerful methods of communication by a manager is speaking in public. You will need to make presentations in front of your superiors, your colleagues, and your colleagues’ teams. There are techniques and practices in the art of speech presentation. These can best be learned by knowing theories and principles related to speech presentation techniques and by practicing these techniques in class and, in particular, in real-life situations.

2. Crafting a Powerful Message

In crafting a powerful message, you not only need to consider what you will include but also what you will exclude from your final speech. When choosing information and examples to include in your message, your guiding principle should be to choose content that leads to understanding. To help your audience understand your message, select content that includes a high proportion of the following five things that audiences want in the speeches they hear: (1) interesting things, (2) important things, (3) relevant things, (4) proximate things, and (5) familiar things.

The content you choose to include in your speech will depend on the purpose of your speech, the audience you are addressing, the constraints you face in delivering your speech, and the cultural, social, temporal, and rhetorical context in which your speech occurs. Regardless of these considerations, however, all messages, whether oral or written, are organized into three main parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. An effective message also includes internal summarization, which helps an audience to follow and retain the information you have to offer, as well as the organization of ideas in the body of the speech, which is central to effectively communicating the content of your message. Good messages, like a well-organized closet, not only are easy for others to comprehend but also maintain order for the presenter who must access them.

3. Effective Delivery Techniques

Engaging the audience’s attention by the effective use of body language, voice modulation, and facial expressions, in combination with persuasive content, is the essence of an effective speech. Though it is a complex task requiring the development of a particular skill set, with regular practice, good public speaking variables can be acquired. We may not realize that many aspects of a speech are being evaluated by the audience, and therefore it is necessary to take treatment of these voice-related problems. Speech can be enhanced if we can find the style of delivering that suits both our temperament and the message itself. It is important to have confidence in our natural style of speaking and avoid trying to adapt our personality to unrealistic and unfamiliar models of speaking, as this will surely interfere with the effective communication of ideas.

4. Engaging the Audience

If something does seem to go wrong, you are better off keeping a cool head instead of succumbing to a fit of nerves. Here’s a typical imaginary scenario: Midway through the speech, the audience’s attention seems to be wandering. You might feel like saying, “For heaven’s sake, sit up and listen!” A better idea would be to take a closer look at the audience. They might be sitting down alright, but inwardly, they could be standing alongside you. If they have been doing so for a while, they need a chance to relax. Perhaps a visual aid or a stunning anecdote would give them that chance. Whatever solution you try, break the ice by saying, “Am I making sense?” To ensure their self-esteem, any question you ask should be put intelligently. A positive question invites a positive answer. A simple question lays the foundation for a safe answer. Since you have finished your opening by telling the audience what to expect, stay a little longer on this subject. This extra time can be spent either on repetition or, better still, on a question. Here are a few examples of repetition and question.

Now that you have found a powerful opening, get the audience on your side. It is important to gain the support of the audience because “a speech is a conversation in which the audience has the smaller share. They can break in with applause or… they can interrupt with opposition and grievances.” It will not be difficult to enlist the audience’s support if you respect them. If you have spent most of your time studying your topic, preparing your speech, and planning your strategy, there is really no need to worry that something will go drastically wrong.

5. Concluding Remarks and Call to Action

And one more thing: Science and research can continue to provide valuable insights to future public speakers seeking to organize and deliver compelling public speeches. If a few insights in this chapter have struck a chord or if future interest develops, organizing and delivering formal public speeches within groups or in the classroom could be turned into a set of motivating simulation exercises. Students work cheerfully in groups of two and somewhat less cheerfully in larger teams to research, prepare, and then role play as formal public speakers in a simulated professional event. Much is learned, skills are improved, and in the case of one early venture, even the employer is interested to meet these self-directing, articulate, and confident students in subsequent job interviews.

In conclusion, then, everyone can achieve better skills in formal public speaking by developing the key components of a compelling speech – a clear objective; a structured organization; and credible, knowledgeable, and, of course, enthusiastic delivery. Throughout the speech preparation and delivery process, speakers should be polite and culturally sensitive to their audience. They should also strive to be both interesting and interested when speaking to other people. These behavioral components are neither guaranteed to be activated nor guaranteed to be effective, but they remain basic in all forms of formal public speaking—political, professional, or professorial. The major difference in today’s complex, multi-media society is that the art of public speaking requires not only the highest levels of preparation, it also requires more effort, more resources, and sometimes simply more guts.