7 Tips for Giving a Speech for People Who are Not Accustomed to Public Speaking

I am so proud, because it's time for my biggest event of the year. For years, I have been coaching my clients to give speeches to raise money for scholarships for injured Israeli combat soldiers. I get to coach injured soldiers who stand up and bravely tell their stories and make speeches - like ROCKSTARS! It's not often that I am in the presence of so much courage and valor in one room. Last year, in Boca, they raised more than a million dollars in one night - 50 Scholarships! This year, they are aiming for 55 scholarships. I have to glue my feet to the floor because I am so proud of them, I want to jump and down like a wacko cheerleader... BRAVO!!!!! after their speech. The FIDF helps people in ways we can't even imagine, and I am blessed to be there to help, to be a part of goodness, which begets more goodness... miracles.

 

What are my recommendations to the soldiers who are not experienced in public speaking and need to give a speech to a large audience?

1.  Don't write down your speech. It's YOUR story, and YOU KNOW IT BY HEART.  Give your speech by heart.  When you write it down, it makes you nervous to shift your eyes from the audience to the paper, hoping you find your place.  The audience doesn't know what's on the paper, and it's better if it comes from your heart.  So I recommend you OUTLINE your speech, not write it down.

2. The winning formula is 20% preparation and 80% practice. You should not still be on the computer the night before your speech, you should be walking around the laun practicing your speech (just like John Kennedy used to do).  You should be saying it in the car, in the shower, and in YOUR SLEEP!

3.  Record yourself, and practice the speech with your own voice.  It's the quickest way to learn a speech on short notice, or if you have a short time to prepare.  You also get to know what you left out and what you should say differently.

4.  TIME YOURSELF.  Good timing does not happen by accident.  Amateurs ramble, professional speakers speak with precision, and timing is the result of tight planning and practice.

5.  Build your confidence.  It takes confidence to give a speech, and confidence does NOT arrive by Fedex, I always say.  You have to build it.  So use positive self talk, and visualize your speech being a success... visualize it in detail, from beginning to end.  This is a tool athletes use too, and are just some of the tools for confidence building in public speaking.

6.  Body language - Delivery:  practice with your feet grounded and your elbows bent, for natural gestures. Don't fold your hands in front of you, it creates a barrier between you and the audience. Don't 'fly' the podium.  The new style is to get out and move around.

7.  Smile.  Yes, smile.  Find the places in your speech you CAN smile, and practice smiling while you are giving the speech... it relaxes you and it relaxes your audience.  Studies show that if we like you, we believe what you are saying is a good idea.  So smile.  Practice in the mirror... it works!   

Good luck!  (But luck has nothing to do with it!)  Practice, practice practice!

"Lisa-isms"


Amateurs ramble, professional speakers know that timing is a SKILL!
--Lisa