How To Speak

How To Speak Structure of your talk 1. Introduction You might start with a story or incident that engages the attention and interest of the audience. 2. An Indication of the structure of your talk Give a brief outline 3. The body of your talk A clear, brief presentation 4. Conclusion Summarise your points and perhaps return to the story or incident you began with. How to begin a Talk 1. Set up a good relationship with the audience. ‘Be friendly, look friendly, sound friendly’. 2. Grab the attention of the audience with an incident, a “slice of life” from your own experience. 3. Arouse curiosity / build up the theme 4. Present arresting facts or catchy statements 5. Make it more interactive; ask questions.. How to end a Talk 1. When you have said what you wanted to say, STOP ! Speaking is like drilling for water: when you have struck water, stop boring. “Be clear, be brief, be seated ”. 2. Go back to the story/incident with which you started. Connect the main point of your talk with it and finish. 3. Often a little summary is helpful. “ Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you told them. 4. Have a strong finish. The last words will remain in their minds. 5. Don’t leave the speaker’s stand while saying the last few words. After the last word, pause for just a moment and then leave the platform with purpose decision. How to evaluate a Speaker DELIVERY 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Volume/Projection – Varied/ Loud/ weak/ Monotonous Enunciation – Clear/Slurred/Needs work Rate – Fast/ Slow/ Varied/ Monotonous Inflection – Used it well/ Monotonous/ No inflection Contact – Looked at every one/ Only a few/ Nobody Posture – Direct/ Distracting/ Used gestures

CONTENT Introduction

Clear Interesting Attention getting

Conclusion

Strong Clear Convincing

What was the Speaker’s purpose in the speech ? What was the Speaker’s central idea ? Any additional comments : How to introduce a speaker 1. Familiarise yourself with the Speaker’s background. Do not read from his bio data. Pronounce the name correctly. 2. Be cheerful, warm and enthusiastic,. This is contagious. 3. Avoid the commonplace ‘ for having graced this occasion by taking out of his busy schedule..’ 4. Be accurate. Don’t have the speaker wondering who is being introduced. 5. Often it is more effective to single out one quality or accomplishment of the speaker rather than give an undifferentiated litany of the past. How to give vote of thanks 1. Be relevant Refer to the central thought or position that struck you most. 2. Be Positive This is no time for display of your analytical skills. Emphasize the positive, forget about the negative. 3. Be Crisp The audience is tired after the talk. You’re just a punctuation mark.- Be brief and be gone.