UNIT FIVE: Preparing a Speech

The following ten steps are suggested as an easy and organized way to prepare a speech or
paper.

1. Know your audience/What are their aspirations, pains, …?

2. Know the occasion

3. Select a topic

4. Select a purpose

5. Gather potential content

6. Gather more content than actually used

7. Organize content

8. Phrase the speech

9. Prepare visual aids

10. Practice, practice, practice1

1. Know Your Audience/ Audience Analysis.

Knowing your audience helps you figure out how to adjust your speech and your
presentation. Considering your audience aids your decision in what kind of language you use,
how long your speech is and what topics are appropriate.

Whether you are presenting a paper or giving a speech, you need to analyse your audience
first and foremost. It is easy to alienate an audience by not examining the characteristics of
the group, what they know and what they want to know.

Be aware of the audience’s attitudes and beliefs in general, toward you and the topic.
Consider age, socioeconomic status, and educational level.

For example, if you are addressing a veteran group of administrators on a management topic,
covering the basics of management would undoubtedly be boring and possibly insulting.
There are numerous other factors crucial to analysing an audience, but the time spent on this
background check is necessary for the success of your presentation.

In order to connect with your audience during speeches, it is important to be able to place
yourself in their shoes. Only from this perspective can you truly communicate understanding
and establish rapport.

To know your audience is to engage your audience.

 Suppose you are to deliver a speech on the use of sugar in processed foods. Some
questions the empathy map would trigger are:
  What do they think about the use of sugar and how does it make them feel?
 What do they hear about sugar from their environment or in the news?
 What do they see when it comes to sugar, e.g. in terms of advertising or packaging?
 What do they say about sugar to their peers? What do they do – what actions do they
take (or not take)?
 What pain, or significant disadvantages, do they associate with sugar?
 What gain, or significant advantages, do they associate with sugar?

Note that the answers to some of these questions will overlap. Don’t worry about that — this
is just a brainstorming tool to trigger relevant information stored in your memory. The point
is not to organise information in any neat way.

Try it, even if it’s for 5 minutes! You’ll be surprised how helpful the answers are for:

 finding an angle
 finding the right words
 creating goodwill
 overcoming resistance
 and much more.

2. Know the occasion/occasion analysis/the context.

As you scrutinize the audience, think carefully about the occasion. Are you a keynote
speaker? Presenting a paper? Introducing a speaker or chairing a panel? Each situation is
different and requires preparation tailored to the occasion.

Occasion analysis includes looking at room size (i.e., whether there are enough chairs for
everyone affects the comfort level of the group which in turn affects its response to your
message), the arrangement of space (can everyone see you?), and the acoustics (there’s
nothing more exasperating than having to strain to hear a speaker).

Be conscientious about time limits too—if you are allotted 15 minutes, then prepare your
speech or presentation accordingly. Also, make sure your message matches the occasion. It
would be inappropriate, for example, to speak about a serious topic at a happy event.

3. Selecting a topic.

Selecting a topic can some- times occur first, stemming from the audience and occasion, as in
the case of a paper being accepted for a conference.

If you need to pick a topic, however, be sure it is one that is interesting to you. It is also a
good idea to be a little more knowledgeable about the subject than your audience, but interest
is crucial. If you do not have enthusiasm for the subject matter, neither will your audience.

Finding a "Good" Topic

If you are having difficulty finding a topic, it helps to realize that it's not the topic that makes
a speech effective. There are no "bad" topics, but there are inappropriate or poorly developed
ones. At this stage you should focus on choosing a topic:

· that you have some knowledge about, or wish to gain knowledge about.
· that you care about.
· that is appropriate for the audience and the setting.

Appropriateness is especially important, because some topics simply don't work in a class
setting.

 You should always strive to select topics that will not offend any members of the
audience or promote harmful or illegal actions.
 In addition, avoid topics that the audience already knows.
 In addition, use caution in selecting topics where your audience might have extremely
political opinions on subjects like abortion and school prayer.

For example, if your audience agrees with your viewpoint, then you are "preaching to the
choir" –redundantly persuading those who are already persuaded.

Likewise audience members who disagree with you probably won't change their minds based
on a short speech, especially one that they are forced to sit through.

However, you should not avoid all controversial topics. Instead, you should consider the pre-
existing attitudes of your audience when attempting to create an effective message. When in
doubt, always check about the appropriateness of a topic with your instructor well in advance
of speaking day.

4. Selecting a purpose. Why are you speaking?

For this step, determine the general purpose of your speech or presentation. Are you
informing, presenting, or entertaining?

For a speech to be effective, it must have a clear goal. A goal also helps you focus while
creating the speech.

Ask yourself: do you mainly want to…

 entertain?
 inform?
 persuade?
 motivate?
 inspire?

Note: these goals may overlap, and one does not exclude another. But one must be your main
goal.
Beyond the general purpose, decide on a specific purpose, what you want your audience to
specifically think or do (e.g., I want my audience to understand the three benefits of holding a
faculty workshop on preparing library assignments). It is helpful at this stage to write down
the central idea or thesis statement of your talk as well (e.g., library censorship is increasing).

5. Gathering potential content/information.

If you are presenting a paper, you have already done this step. If not, this is the research
phase where you gather information through printed sources, interviews, discussion with
others, and your own expertise.

. Gathering more content than actually used.

Sort your material choosing only the strongest and best material for your talk. This step
allows you the luxury of editing and, if need be, recognizing any information gaps that need
to be filled.

6. Organizing content.

The importance of this step cannot be stressed enough, for both speeches and paper
presentations. Many presenters do not realize that presenting a paper does not mean the paper
is read, word for word, at breakneck speed. Rather, the “information has to be recast for the
new medium. Don’t be bound by the flow of your paper.” This means organize your ideas
based on the audience, occasion, and purpose of your presentation.

Follow the standard organizational format of introduction, body, and conclusion, which
translates into the standard public speaking formula:

• Tell them what you’re going to tell them;

• Tell them;
• Tell them what you’ve told them.
Step 1. Outline the body of your talk first, limiting it to three or four main points with
sufficient supporting material to back up those points.

 Too much information can lose an audience; well-organized key points help
an audience re- member them and allow for easy note-taking. Also, if
presenting a paper, your goal is to whet the appetite of the audience with key
ideas so they will want to get a copy of the full paper to read at a later time.

Step 2. After you have outlined the body of your speech or paper, prepare the introduction
and conclusion.

 Your introduction should start out with an attention- getter which can be an
anecdote, a quotation, a question, a joke, or whatever is appropriate for the
topic and audience.
The introduction is also your opportunity to build rapport between you and the audience;
tell them why your speech or paper is relevant to them and that you are glad to be speaking to
them.

Activity: This is an opening remark made by a speaker. Evaluate it based on the criteria of a
good introduction.

The speaker said, in essence, “I’ve been to a hundred of these and, to tell you the truth, I
really don’t want to be here; my feet hurt; and I don’t know what I’m going to say, but
we’ll get through this together.”

N.B. Please, treat your audience as if they are guests in your home.

Step 3. You’ve told your audience why they should want to listen to you, lead into your talk
by briefly previewing the major points to be covered in your speech (tell them what
you’re going to tell them).

Step 4. The conclusion should include the summary of the main points (tell them what
you’ve told them) and a final statement that leaves the audience with something to think
about or remember (this will depend on the purpose of your speech).

For your talk, I suggest you write the main ideas of your introduction, body, and conclusion
on 3 x 5 note cards that are numbered (in case you drop them). Many speakers write delivery
cues on the cards, i.e., “slow down,” “emphasize this word,” “look at audience.” You can also
indicate transitions on the cards so you will move smoothly from idea to idea. Overall, be
sure your note cards are just that—easy- to-read notes on easy-to-handle cards—and not the
speech written in full.

Also, movement is fine, but only if it is controlled—your audience does not want fo feel it is
at a tennis match.

7. Phrasing the speech.

The previous steps involved preparing the message; now you are ready to work on delivering
the message.

Usually, a type of delivery most appropriate is the extemporaneous delivery. With

extemporaneous speaking, you are thoroughly prepared and practiced, but the exact wording
of the speech is determined at the time you actually speak the words.

You want to avoid memorizing your talk; instead, know your key ideas and translate them
into words as you speak. Each time you practice, you may say your speech a little bit
differently, but this allows flexibility and the chance to adapt to your audience if needed.
8. Preparing visual aids.

Visual aids, if appropriate for your speech or presentation, can help your audience remember
your points and clarify information.

Speech textbooks usually emphasize the following when covering visual aids:

 make sure the audience can see the visual aid;

 show the visual aid only when you are referring to it;
 and talk to the audience, not to the visual aid.
 Also, practice with the visual aid;
 using visual aids can add to the length of a talk and can cause you to become flustered
if you run into difficulties.
 Additionally, if you have audience handouts, distribute them at the end of your talk if
possible. An audience’s attention can shift easily to a handout instead of staying
focused on you.

9. Practice, practice, practice

Practicing your presentation or speech contributes directly to your success as a speaker.

As you practice, consider both your verbal and nonverbal delivery.

 Vocal delivery includes volume, rate, pitch. Strive for vocal variety which is the
variation of these elements—loudness/softness (volume), fastness/slowness (rate),
highness/lowness (pitch).
 An expressive voice will engage an audience; a monotonous, flat voice will
lose one. Also, remember that nonverbal delivery carries as much weight as
verbal.
 Eye contact with your audience is crucial, and this means actually looking at
audience members. Hamilton Gregory says to look at the audience 95 percent
of the time in a friendly, sincere way, using the other five percent of the time
to look at your notes.
 As for posture, don’t slouch, and avoid shifting your weight from foot to foot.
 Also, movement is fine, but only if it is controlled—your audience does not want to
feel it is at a tennis match.
 Gesturing can be an effective element to your talk, but only if it’s controlled as well.
Many speakers indicate on note cards when to gesture or move in order to reinforce a
point.

There are certainly other elements of verbal and nonverbal delivery to investigate when
practicing your speech or paper. Your goal is to sound spontaneous and feel comfortable, so
time spent practicing is necessary.

 It is a good idea to practice in a situation as close to the real one as possible, and in
front of friends or with a tape recorder.
Even if you follow these ten steps, you probably will experience some nervousness before or
during your talk. This “energy” is an asset and evidence that you care about the quality of
your presentation. However, if you have prepared well and practiced enough, you will lessen
your apprehension considerably. Also, think positively as you prepare, rehearse, and actually
deliver your message. Positive thoughts can make a difference in the quality of your speech
or presentation.

If you keep these ideas in mind and follow the ten steps, you can have a successful (and
relatively painless!) speaking experience.