• Youth

The do's and don'ts of delivering a speech

- Metumu Tjimune

Whether it''s a funeral, a wedding or birthday, we all have to at some point in our lives give a speech. The purpose of presenting a speech could be to instruct, persuade, inform or even just to entertain. Once you''ve identified the purpose of your speech, effective preparation comes easy.. At this point in our lives the majority of speeches we have to give are either LRC speeches, farewell speeches and the list goes on.

But do we know the simple principles of delivering speeches? Like keeping eye contact with the audience or never chewing gum while presenting a speech? I''ve seen or heard dozens of speeches at school, at events, from learners and adults and I''ve seen little improvement in the overall quality of presentations. The problems that plague most presentations are simple, basic things that could easily be avoided and improved. Like that fidget or hair scratch that almost every learner does when giving a presentation (stop doing that guys!). Here are some do''s and don''ts of delivering a speech to make our presentations much more effective and pleasing to our audiences.

Do''s

1. Do stand still, but not rigid, you don''t want to look like a statue.

2. Do make use of natural gestures to emphasis a point.

3. Do make eye contact with the audience - don''t stare though, that''s just weird.

4. Do be relaxed, but attentive, you aren''t chatting with pals.

5. Use language that is appropriate for the audience, there''s a difference between speaking to five year olds and twenty-five year olds.

6. Stand up straight, slouching or leaning against a podium makes your audience uninterested.

7. Pause for effect, I know it sounds corny but it does work. The audience needs time to digest the information.

8. Breath, just breath, don''t let your nerves get the best of you.

9. Have confidence, if you believe in what you are saying, so will the audience.

10. Practise, practise and practise some more. (It helps)

Don''ts

1. Don''t scratch fidget or pace.

2. Don''t stare at the ceiling, door or floor.

3. Don''t mumble, speak clearly and pronounce the words crisply.

4. Don''t speak too fast or too slow.

5. Don''t rock, kick or bounce.

6. Don''t “lecture” or “scold” the audience.

7. Don''t read the speech rather memorise it and make small notes.

8. Don''t be too casual with a formal audience or too formal with a casual audience.

9. Don''t ever give a speech unprepared. Especially if it''s at a formal event.

10. Last but on least, if you have to give a speech of five minutes, give a speech of five minutes not ten. Making it too long might bore your audience.

With these few tips, you are sure to give a killer speech anytime!