Tips on How to Give a Speech

There may be times when you have to give a speech or presentation in class, office or elsewhere. Does the thought of making a speech make you nervous.

You are not alone, many people have stage fright. Here are some tips to help you put up a good performance.

1. While practising your speech at home, practise it out aloud, preferably in front of a mirror. Notice your body posture, your facial expressions and your tone of voice. You may also use a recording device to record and listen to how you sound.

2. Know your topic well. It helps to know your subject as much as possible and prepare thoroughly. Knowing your subject thoroughly can add to your confidence levels. You may be able to confidently answer the questions posed by audience.

3. Once you are on stage take some time to relax and gather your thoughts. Do not be afraid of pausing momentarily during your speech if required. Remember you do not have to speak continously without stopping, you can very well afford brief moments of silence in order to organize your thoughts and continue.

4. Reduce fear of the audience. You can do this by realizing that usually the audience will be on your side. They want you to do well and want to hear what you have got to say. There may be a few mischief-makers in the audience, but most of them are not likely to be so. It is best to just ignore the mischief-makers. Think that you are talking to your friends. Talk to your audience as if you are talking to a group of friends or to guests at a party.

5. While starting to speak if you notice that you voice is shaky, take a pause. Clear your throat, drink some water and take deep breaths to cool down your nerves.

6. Focus on someone sitting at back of the room, this might have a calming effect on some speakers.

7. If people ask you questions and you do not know the answer to some of those questions, do not be afraid to acknowledge so. You do not have to know all things. You might say that you need some time to look into the question.

8. Have a good ending statement prepared in advance. While writing down the speech, make sure you have written a good ending statement so that you do not end with an awkward silence or say something like " I guess this is the end of my speech". Its not necessary that the ending statement is a dramatic one, even a simple well-thought out statement should do the job.