Topic 9: Speeches and Presentations - Introduction
Many speakers, when delivering a speech, rely on one of two methods - they either try and memorise the speech word for word beforehand, or they read from notes as they talk.
Common Speech Delivery Methods
Word-for-Word Memorization
Attempting to memorize every single word of your speech before delivery.
Makes the speech sound memorized and unnatural
High risk of forgetting specific words and losing your place
Creates unnecessary pressure and anxiety
Reading from Notes
Relying heavily on written notes or scripts during delivery.
Likely to bore your audience and lose their attention
Difficult to maintain eye contact and connection
High chance of losing your place when looking up and down
The Problem with Memorization
Memorising the speech word for word will make it sound exactly like that when you deliver it - memorised. Also, there's a good chance that you will fumble over one or two words you can't remember, and so lose the thread of your talk completely.
The Problem with Reading
Reading a speech is not a good idea either, because you are likely to send your audience to sleep rather than holding their attention. Of course, you can look up at your audience at regular intervals, but that won't disguise the fact that you are reading to them, not delivering a real speech. And, when you look up and then look back down at your notes, there's a good chance that you will lose your place, leading to lots of 'Er..umming'.
If you've been asked to give a speech or talk, the assumption is that you know something about the subject you are going to talk about, so it really shouldn't be necessary to memorise it word for word.
A Better Approach Awaits
Tutorial 15 teaches you some simple techniques to help you remember and deliver any speech confidently and effectively using the memory principles you've already learned.
Instead of struggling with word-for-word memorization or becoming dependent on notes, you'll learn how to structure your content using visual associations and key points that make delivery natural and engaging.