- READING FROM A MANUSCRIPT
Certain speeches must be delivered word for word, according to a meticulously prepared manuscript. Examples include a Pope’s religious proclamation, an engineer’s report to a professional meeting, or a President’s message to Congress. In such situations, absolute accuracy is essential. Every word of the speech will be analyzed by the press, by colleagues, perhaps by enemies. In the case of the President, a misstated phrase could cause an international incident.
Although it looks easy, delivering a speech from manuscript requires great skill. Some people do it well. Their words “come alive as if coined on the spot.”2 Others ruin it every time. Instead of sounding vibrant and conversational, they come across as wooden and artificial. They falter over words, pause in the wrong places, read too quickly or too slowly, speak in a monotone, and march through the speech without even glancing at their audience. In short, they come across as reading to their listeners, rather than talking with them.
If you are in a situation where you must speak from a manuscript, practice aloud to make sure the speech sounds natural. Work on establishing eye contact with your listeners. Be certain the final manuscript is legible at a glance. Above all, reach out to your audience with the same directness and sincerity that you would if you were speaking extemporaneously.
- RECITING FROM MEMORY
Among the feats of the legendary orators, none leaves us more in awe than their practice of presenting even the longest and most complex speeches entirely from memory. Nowadays it is no longer customary to memorize any but the shortest of speeches—toasts, congratulatory remarks, acceptance speeches, introductions, and the like.
If you are giving a speech of this kind and want to memorize it, by all means do so. However, be sure to memorize it so thoroughly that you will be able to concentrate on communicating with the audience, not on trying to remember the words. Speakers who gaze at the ceiling or stare out the window trying to recall what they have memorized are no better off than those who read dully from a manuscript.
- SPEAKING IMPROMPTU
An impromptu speech is delivered with little or no immediate preparation. Few people choose to speak impromptu, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. In fact, many of the speeches you give in life will be impromptu. You might be called on suddenly to “say a few words” or, in the course of a class discussion, business meeting, or committee report, want to respond to a previous speaker.
When such situations arise, don’t panic. No one expects you to deliver a perfect speech on the spur of the moment. If you are in a meeting or discussion, pay close attention to what the other speakers say. Take notes of major points with which you agree or disagree. In the process, you will automatically begin to formulate what you will say when it is your turn to speak.
Whenever you are responding to a previous speaker, try to present your speech in four simple steps:
- State the point you are answering.
- State the point you wish to make.
- Support your point with appropriate statistics, examples, or testimony.
- Summarize your point.
This four-step method will help you organize your thoughts quickly and clearly.
If time allows, sketch a quick outline of your remarks on a piece of paper before you rise to speak. Use the same method of jotting down key words and phrases followed in a more formal speaking outline
This will help you remember what you want to say and will keep you from rambling.
In many cases, you will be able to speak informally without rising from your chair. But if the situation calls for you to speak from a lectern, walk to it calmly, take a deep breath or two (not a visible gasp), establish eye contact with your audience, and begin speaking. No matter how nervous you are inside, do your best to look calm and assured on the outside.
Once you begin speaking, maintain strong eye contact with the audience. If you are prone to talking rapidly when you are nervous, concentrate on speaking at a slower pace. Help the audience keep track of your ideas with signposts such as “My first point is …; second, we can see that …; in conclusion, I would like to say ….” If you have had time to prepare notes, stick to what you have written. By stating your points clearly and concisely, you will come across as organized and confident.
Whether you realize it or not, you have given thousands of impromptu “speeches” in daily conversation—as when you informed a new student how to register for classes, explained to your boss why you were late for work, or answered questions in a job interview. There is no reason to fall apart when you are asked to speak impromptu in a more formal situation. If you keep cool, organize your thoughts, and limit yourself to a few remarks, you should do just fine.
As with other kinds of public speaking, the best way to become a better impromptu speaker is to practice. If you are assigned an impromptu speech in class, do your best to follow the guidelines discussed here. You can also practice impromptu speaking on your own. Simply choose a topic on which you are already well informed, and give a one- or two-minute impromptu talk on some aspect of that topic. Any topic will do, no matter how serious or frivolous it may be. Nor do you need an audience—you can speak to an empty room. Better yet, you can speak to a digital recorder and play the speech back to hear how you sound. The purpose is to gain experience in pulling your ideas together quickly and stating them succinctly.
- SPEAKING EXTEMPORANEOUSLY
In popular usage, “extemporaneous” means the same as “impromptu.” But technically the two are different. Unlike an impromptu speech, which is delivered off-the-cuff, an extemporaneous speech is carefully prepared and practiced in advance. In presenting the speech, the extemporaneous speaker uses only a set of brief notes or a speaking outline to jog the memory (see Chapter 10). The exact wording is chosen at the moment of delivery.
Extemporaneous speeches are prepared ahead of time, but the exact words are chosen at the moment of presentation. This allows for more direct delivery than does reading from a manuscript.
This is not as hard as it sounds. Once you have your outline (or notes) and know what topics you are going to cover and in what order, you can begin to practice the speech. Every time you run through it, the wording will be slightly different. As you practice the speech over and over, the best way to present each part will emerge and stick in your mind.
The extemporaneous method has several advantages.
- It gives more precise control over thought and language than does impromptu speaking;
- it offers greater spontaneity and directness than does speaking from memory or from a full manuscript;
- and it is adaptable to a wide range of situations;
- It also encourages the conversational quality audiences look for in speech delivery.
“Conversational quality” means that no matter how many times a speech has been rehearsed, it still sounds spontaneous.
When you speak extemporaneously—and have prepared properly—you have full control over your ideas, yet you are not tied to a manuscript. You are free to establish strong eye contact, to gesture naturally, and to concentrate on talking with the audience rather than declaiming to them.
A good speaker clearly has practiced a great deal, and she knows what she wants to say,and she may or may not memorized her speech. She can have a brief set of speaking notes in case she needs them, but she is not tied to the notes. Rather, she selects her words as she goes along, maintains strong eye contact with the audience, and has excellent conversational quality.
source : Inklink
No comments:
Post a Comment