What You Need to Know Public Speaking

1. About Your Audience… Make eye contact with your audience consistently throughout your speech. Be sure to speak to all areas of the room evenly. Be animated in your facial expressions. Entice your audience. Get them excited about your topic! Be cognitive of body language. What you do with your body can be more powerful than the words you say. Do not be afraid to move around, but be sure to keep gestures intentional and at a minimum.

2. About Your Posture… Be sure to stand confidently. Do not slouch or have more weight on one foot. Do not pace back and forth without a purpose. Do not sway to ease your nerves. Be sure to use gestures appropriately. Do not have hands in your pockets or tug on clothing as you deliver your speech. Use gestures to emphasize a point.

3a. About Verbal Elements… Use professional language. Do not use slang terms such as: um, uh, like, hey, etc., or other “filler” words. Choose your words carefully when you write your speech. Use high quality words, but words that meet the needs of your audience and words they will be able to comprehend. Be a fluent speaker. Rehearse your speech to ensure you have confidence and fluency when delivering your speech.

3b. More About Verbal Elements… Speed Pace your speech. Due to nerves, you will naturally begin to speak more quickly. Plan to rehearse the pace of your speech. Speaking while delivering a speech is different than speaking while in a conversation. Your audience needs to process what you say. Plan to slow down your pace and speak clearly. Tone Vary the tone inflection of your voice during your speech. Make your tone reflect the mood of the speech. If it is a somber topic, be more subdued and calm. If it is an exciting topic, show the enthusiasm with your tone.

4a. About Delivery… Content Notecards Be sure content is appropriate for your audience. Incorporate the interest of your audience into your topic to gain their attention. Be sure what you say makes sense and you do not contradict yourself within your speech. Be sure to support your claims with credible sources. Make it evident that you have planned, prepared, and thought critically about your topic prior to delivering the speech. Notecards Use notecards to guide your speech. Do NOT read the cards word for word. In fact, only write key words or phrases on your cards to avoid nervous tendencies. Number your cards in order of points in your speech. Use a separate card for separate points. Include a card to remind you to show and discuss a visual aid.

4b. More About Delivery… Start and Stop Be sure to start your speech with something that will grab the attention of your audience. Consider starting with a polling question, an intriguing image, or a current trend that ties directly into your speech topic. Have a definite closure to your speech. Do not end with this: “Yeah, so, um… That’s it.” A better closure would be this: “These are the reasons why it is so important to get plenty of exercise.”

5. About Your Appearance Dress for Success Gaining the attention and respect of your audience is easier if you are dressed professionally. Jeans, sweatshirt/sweatpants, and t-shirts should be avoided. Be sure to wear appropriately matching footwear that aligns with the level of professionalism you hope to achieve. Tennis shoes and flip flops are not appropriate. Plan to give additional attention to your hair or make-up, clean/polished fingernails, jewelry, etc. See Slides Posted Below—Dress for Success Examples: What’s Appropriate and What’s Not?

6. About Using Visual Aids… Be sure content is appropriate for your audience. Some content can be emotional and some graphic visual aids should not be used. Consider the needs of your audience before choosing specific aids. Be sure to know how to use your aids. Test them in the location of delivery prior to giving the speech. It must be loud enough for your audience to hear and large enough for the entire audience to see. Do not allow your visual aid to distract from your speech. If it does not add to the understanding, choose an aid that will. Visual aids should not take more than 10% of your overall speech time. For a 3 minute speech, limit the use of your visual aid to 30 seconds or less. Remove or set the visual aid aside when it is not to be the focal point.