A GREAT SPEECH DOES NOT HAPPEN BY LUCK
When someone gives a great speech and everyone applauds it seems so easy, but nothing could be further from the truth. As an after dinner speaker one appreciates that applause and recommendation are the fruits of hard work.
All good things in life come from hard work and practice. The old phrase is “the more I practice, the luckier I get”
You can make your own luck. It starts with reading around the subject, so what are the essential elements of a good speech?
THE FIVE MUST HAVE ELEMENTS
- Appearance
- Authority
- Eye Contact
- Structure
- Originality
APPEARANCE
Firstly and most importantly it starts with you. You will be the focus, you will be the thing that interrupts the flow of whatever the audience is doing, so you have to look the part.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Make sure you have clean shoes, a friendly smile and a look of confidence. That is how you can win the crowd in the first few important moments.
Essentially, the audience has to believe you are up to the task.
AUTHORITY
Following on from appearance we need to discuss authority. The audience is anticipating your speech. They do not want someone like them – they are expecting a voice of authority. A confident person.
Why? It’s because THEY are nervous. They will be uncomfortable until you get going.
When you are introduced – take your time – before you start make sure you PAUSE and look the whole room in the eye.
As a compere and host you learn the importance of timing. It comes with experience.
Whatever you do – make sure you are NOT RUSHED in any way because this suggests you are nervous and the audience will feed off that reaction in a negative way.
Look em’ in the eye, start when you want to, at the pace you choose.
EYE CONTACT
Eyes don’t speak but they can say much more than words ever can. I’ve written an article on the importance of eye contact in this blog.
The eyes are such a powerful ally for you and an incredibly strong weapon in your arsenal.
When you are speaking make sure you keep your head up. It suggests you are confident, that you know what you are talking about and you are fully engaged with the audience.
In all speeches there sometimes comes a period of doubt in the speaker’s own mind. Have you lost the audience? Are you experiencing negativity?
Audience members may seem to stare at you. The best way to deal with this is eye contact.
Look straight at them and hold their gaze. They will look away or look down and you have broken the imagined threat. You have reasserted your authority. It will make you feel better about yourself in that moment.
Whatever you do, make sure you do not start looking down reading notes and avoiding the audience. It is a guaranteed way to lose attention.
In my experience the most difficult role for engaging with the room has been as a Boxing MC. I can tell you it is very difficult to engage with the audience because it’s a 360 degree vista. I make sure I keep turning through 90 degrees to include everyone and maintain eye contact wherever possible.
STRUCTURE
All speeches must have a structure. It is this structure that creates a logical, flowing balance that flows easily over the audience.
If the audience has to work hard and think in order to understand your point, your flow, your speech then you have failed in your task!
They are there to listen, not to work at it. Get it wrong and they will start playing with mobile phones and look at watches.
There should be a beginning, a middle and an end. Most importantly, the speech should run in that order. It may sound too simple to be true but I have heard many speakers get carried away with themselves and just over complicate things.
Keep it simple!
ORIGINALITY
Be the original you! This is the absolute biggest tip of all. Do not try to emulate or copy someone else.
It is hard enough being a speaker, but being a speaker and an actor is two jobs. It’s hard enough to do one.
People like originality. If you have an accent use it, don’t thwart it or mute it.
If you are naturally flamboyant and stylish then be just that.
Finally here is one huge mistake to avoid!
If you are not a naturally funny person, then for your own sake, do not try to be.
However, if you are funny, can deliver great anecdotes or tell a good joke then milk it to death. It is a rare skill.
More of that in future posts.
Great article