USEFUL TIPS RE SPEAKING
By Graham McLachlan, Central Scotland Speakers Zoom Meeting
Key elements in the above are use of pitch, pause and pace plus the application of variety in speaking. In short, effective use of the voice.
A Scottish failing is that we all speak far too fast. I can think of other sister races with similar high speed of delivery but can’t name names for fear of being racist!
The opposite extreme is equally undesirable in that a pathetically slow delivery is just as bad! Have you heard the advert about in town slow down?
It is difficult to define the optimum pace for delivery especially when practising because what seems to the speaker to be a sufficient pause is usually too short for comfortable listening. So what is the correct pause? Probably long enough for the speaker to gather their breath.
Too much emphasis on slowing down will affect your delivery; perhaps it is better to make your notes in preparation then time your speech while speaking out loud. If you are concerned about your pace of delivery then provide a double space on your script between sentences or make a red coloured hyphen between sentences to emphasise the need for a short pause.
There should be a longer pause between paragraphs to signal a possible change of subject or to allow the audience to catch up with your words. Remember we can speak faster than the audience can hear and comprehend your words, never mind follow your development!
Aids to improving pace are writing time in minutes on your script working backwards from your conclusion. This is especially useful in competition where marks will be deducted for over or under time. Use a different colour for emphasis. Similarly writing “slow down” on your script can be a big help.
As for variety in tone I suggest regarding every speech as a performance and “hamming” it up a bit – or use passion or conviction to drive your speech or fill it with power!
Decide at the start when thinking about your subject what is your aim with this speech. What is your purpose? Is it to educate, inform, entertain, or arouse your audience. This should influence HOW you construct your words, sentences and structure.
The only practical way to achieve an effective presentation speed and impact is to ask your evaluator to concentrate on, say speed of delivery or variety in tone. This requires intelligent and competent evaluators – not always easy to select!
Our secret of success in improving and developing effective and interesting public speakers is evaluation hence my comments on quality evaluators.
To conclude, there is no single or simple answer. Your key to improving is to watch experienced speakers, use marks or words on your script, let your evaluator know what you’d like them to concentrate on or ask an experienced speaker to evaluate your speech and let you have their written evaluation, hopefully with advice as to how to improve.
As for breathing, again practise out loud. We can speak in our minds far faster than we can speak comfortably. I suggest taking a breath before starting, to emphasise important words between sentences and take 2 breaths between paragraphs and certainly when arriving at your conclusion. Again practising out loud will help, indeed it is the only sensible way to become proficient at speaking in public.
Central Scotland Speakers Club 