Resources & Tips

• Ending Any Speech

• Table Topics

• Organising Your Speech

• Memorising Your Speech

Ending Any Speech__________________________________________

When finishing a speech whether you are introducing yourself, making a comment, doing a table topic, presenting a prepared manual speech or delivering a meeting report (e.g. Timer, Grammarian, etc), try not to say "THANK YOU"

Firstly the audience should be thanking you. The only reason many speakers say thank you is to let the audience know they've finished their speech.

RECOMMENDATION: Finish your speech with a strong closing statement. The best way to do this is to link your closing sentences to your opening statement, keyword, subject and/or theme.

Table Topics____________________________________________________

There are many strategies you can use to generate ideas for a Table Topics session and to be safe you need about 20 topics. Listed below are some themes that may help you generate ideas. Don't feel that you need to do a whole table topic session on one theme.

• Famous Movie Themes or Lines
• Celebrities / Personalities
• Best Person Awards e.g. tells the best jokes, best story teller etc
• Quotes
• Unusual Words (ask them to make something up about what they think it means, e.g. Taffy)
• Newspaper Titles ( cut some out and ask people to speak on them)
• Sports Awards
• Use Items from around your house for a Show and Tell session
• Book Titles - ask speakers to give you a plot based on the title
• You are Beethoven, or Einstein, or Queen Victoria

Try to keep your questions short and general in nature, you may like to start a question with How, What, When, Where, Why, or Who? For example, How would you stage the movie 'Batman', What would you do if you suddenly became a Celebrity?.

Try to keep the surprise and impromtu element in the Table Topic by stating the subject THEN nominating the person to speak on it from the audience.

Organising Your Speech_________________________________________________

Post-it Notes listing key points can help you organise key components of your speech. Many movies are first outlined using a story board to document the key scenes and story progression. The same can be done with your speech, it helps you visualise your speech and time key sections.

If you are having difficulty developing a topic into a speech try the strategy below.

Broad Subject: What is the subject of your speech, e.g. how to make a cake?

Working Title: Jot down any titles you think of, it may change at any time during the preparation of your speech, try to make it engaging, to generate interest in the audience e.g. "Bomb Alaska"

Type of Speech: Information / Entertainment / Call to Action e.g. the cake speech is information

Intention (Purpose Statement) complete this statement
"At the end of my speech I want my audience to say, think or do what???" This is an important statement to keep coming back to as your speech evolves. 5 - 7 minutes is not a long time, and you need to retain only that material that will assist you to achieve your stated purpose.

For example: "At the end of my speech I would like my audience to appreciate that making a cake is easy, fun and very rewarding and they should give it a try."

Opening (100 - 150 words)

• Story
• Statement
• Rhetorical Question

Body of Speech (400 - 500 words) 3 - 5 points only - e.g. scenes in a story, steps in a process, etc

1. Point #1
2. Point #2
3. Point #3
4. Point #4
5. Point #5

Closing Statement (100 - 150 words) - You can chose one or all of the following to close your speech.

• Quotation
• Summary of Key Points
• Link to Opening
• Concluding Statement

Key points

• The way you write is different from the way you speak, don't memorise your speeches unless you have scripted it for verbal presentation
• Maximum number of words 700 - for a 5 - 7 min speech (avg 100 words per min)
• Recommend sketch outline, then voice record before transcribing, and then edit draft
• Inject a speech highlight at 3.5 minutes to wake up/refresh the audience
• Check your visual imagery - is it vivid, imaginative and will it engage your audience
• Can you inject humour at point
• Check transitions between key points, do they flow and are they logical?

Memorising Your Speech_____________________________________________

Only certain parts of your speech should be memorized.

• Your opening. It sets the stage and should be well word-smithed and rehearsed.

• Your quotes and humour statements, especially the punch line.

• Key Points – maybe written on note cards: images / keywords / short phrase / mind maps

• Transitions between Key Points - great transitions enhance the flow and organization of your speech and tie your entire presentation together for your audience.

• Your Closing: This is what your audience remembers and is therefore the most important part of a speech. It should be precisely crafted and rehearsed for maximum impact.

BEST PRACTICE TECHNIQUE – Use your voice to practice your speech daily (who cares if others think you’re mad!), record sections, then transitions between sections up until you have covered the whole speech. At this point it is good to "script" your speech, which is indicating vocal variety, mark places where you are loud or soft, fast or slow, etc.

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