Topic 9: Remembering Speeches and Presentations - Tutorial 15
The most effective way to deliver a speech is to speak it in your own words, thought for thought. Any speech is basically a sequence of thoughts. If the thoughts are random, out of sequence, they won't make a lot of sense.
You should by now be completely familiar with using the Link System to memorise things in sequence. The Link System, with the addition of the Key Word idea, will enable you to remember any speech you want to deliver, thought for thought.
The Key Word Method
This is how you do it. Firstly, write (or type) out your speech, including all the ideas you want to get across, and everything you want to say about those ideas. When you are happy with the speech, select a Key Word or Phrase for each of the thoughts in the speech which will remind you of the entire thought.
This paragraph can be summed up by the Key Phrase new products. Assuming that you are familiar with the facts about which you are talking - for example that your company has launched no new products for over a year - then thinking of new products sums up the entire thought of the above paragraph.
Having extracted the Key Thoughts from your speech, if you then link them together, in sequence, you will have memorised your speech, thought for thought.
Practical Example: Company Policy Speech
Let's consider an example. Suppose you have to deliver a brief speech to a meeting of company employees, outlining reasons for changes in policy by the company. Assume that you have written out your speech and selected the following ten Key Thoughts which you need to remember:
Assume also that you know what you want to say about each of these thoughts. If you knew nothing about the subject, why would you be speaking about it? Your problem is simply to remember the Key Thought in the correct sequence, without missing any.
Practice and Benefits
Forming a Link accomplishes two things. It forces you to concentrate, and be Initially Aware of, the thoughts of the speech, and it will give you the sequence of thoughts. When you know that you definitely have that sequence fixed in your mind, it gives you a confidence you wouldn't have if you were relying on notes.
Once you are confident with the idea of linking Key Words to help you remember a speech, you can use the method with more aplomb than even the scantiest notes. You will find that you can move smoothly from one point to another, recalling the next Key Word as you are reaching the end of the one before it.