The two big parts of a speech are preparation and delivery. First you’ve got to write your speech, figure out how to deliver it, and practice it. Then you’ll deliver your speech for the audience (at school your audience will usually be your teacher and classmates). Here are some tips, stage by stage:

PREPARATION

Writing Your Speech
The first step will be picking out your topic. For most school assignments, this will be easy – your teacher will probably assign you one! If you get to pick one out yourself, keep your audience in mind. What can you talk about that will interest everyone in your audience? How can you make a boring topic into something that people want to hear about?

As you’re writing your speech, remember that you’ll be speaking the words aloud, not handing them in to your teacher on a piece of paper. You’ll be using sentences that have simpler forms than those you would use if you were writing a paper. You will also be using fewer complex words. The reason for this “simplification” is your audience. You want to keep their attention, so you’ll need a speech that is easy to digest.

Practicing Your Speech
Now that you know what you want to say, it’s time to figure out HOW you’re going to say it! For most speeches, you won’t want to memorize it or read it word-for-word. Instead, write out all your main points on note cards. Avoid writing on both sides of your note cards – it can get really confusing if you lose your place!! Number each card so you know in what order to look at them.

If you’re going to have any visuals or hand-outs, decide at what point in your speech you’ll be using them. There are pros and cons to passing out hand-outs before your speech – people might pay more attention to the paper than you, or it might help them to follow along with your speech. If you use a computer application like PowerPoint, make sure that you’re still part of your speech!! People have a tendency to use visuals as a sort of crutch – either hiding behind them or trying to get people’s eyes off of themselves and onto something else. If you use electronic equipment of ANY kind, be sure that it works!! There’s nothing worse than trying to open a PowerPoint presentation moments before your speech, and realizing that the file is lost or doesn’t work!

The best way to prepare for your speech is to run through it, over and over and over again. Don’t practice in front of a mirror – you’ll just get distracted by fixing your hair or checking out how you look when you talk. If you don’t feel comfortable practicing in front of family or friends, try running through your speech in an empty room. Scan the room as if you’re making eye contact with everyone.

As you’re running through your speech, slow your words way, way down. If you know that you tend to talk too fast when you’re nervous (and most people do), try counting between words. You might try counting one second between each word or two seconds after every two words. Warning: you WILL sound funny when you do this. But the point is to train yourself to slow way down – people can’t understand you when you talk too fast, and many of your main points will be completely lost on your audience. Don’t speed up your speech after this exercise – just get your voice inflections right so that you don’t sound like a robot!!

Be sure to speak loudly and clearly. Think you’re talking pretty loud? Bump it up a notch. Speaking too quietly, especially during the real thing, is a common problem for all people. And it’s SO easy to fix!! Also, if you have trouble remembering where to emphasize important points or words, take a highlighter to your note cards or written out speech. Mark places that need special attention.

Nervous? Don’t be! Here’s what you can do while preparing to stay cool and collected:

• Practice, practice, practice! It really DOES make perfect. And after awhile, it won’t seem like such a big deal.
• Be like an actor. If you deliver your speech slowly, carefully pronouncing every word and getting your voice inflections just right, you might start to feel like an actor delivering a speech. This is a good thing!! Separate yourself from your “presenting persona.” Imagine that you’re an actor delivering the speech – it helps take the pressure off of you!
• You = a great speaker! Ever seen a really great speech? Adopt that speaker’s attitude – imagine that you’re them for a little while. It can really help you to get into your speaking role!
• Know the area. If possible, practice in the room that you’ll be delivering your speech in. Bring a friend to tell you how you’re doing. Joke around and have fun with it – it’ll help you feel calmer during the real thing if you’ve got good memories associated with delivering your speech!
• Visualize! The day before your speech, imagine yourself succeeding. Close your eyes and visualize how you’ll look delivering an awesome speech. It might seem lame while you’re doing it, but if you imagine yourself succeeding, it’ll be easier for you to make it a reality.
• “The clothes make the man (or woman).” Pick out what you’re going to wear a day ahead of time. Make sure everything is clean and fits well. Don’t wear old jeans and a t-shirt – make an impression!!

a note on humor...
Some people rely more on making their audience laugh than others. A few jokes are great to keep your audience’s attention, but don’t overdo it. We’ve all seen the “class clown” get away with a speech that worked solely by making people laugh. And who knows, maybe you’ve done it yourself! Although this can be fun for the class, it can really hurt your grade if you pick the wrong teacher to try this on!!

DELIVERY

Talking the Talk
Now you’ve put in the work, and it’s time to go and knock some socks off! You’ve already done the hardest part, so now it’s time to show your stuff. Here are some last minute tips for delivering your speech!

• Remember to breathe! Don’t speed up your speech – just take it easy and enjoy being in the limelight.
• Make eye contact! Scan the room so that you’re addressing everyone. If making eye contact distracts you, look at people’s foreheads instead (they can’t tell the difference).
• Have water! Make sure you’ve got water close at hand in case your mouth gets dry.
• Project your voice! Speak louder than you feel like you need to. It WILL feel uncomfortable, but you need to do it so that no one in the room is straining to hear what you’re saying. People will just tune out if you don’t make them listen!!

Nervous the day of? Here are some last minute calm down tips:

• Breathe deeply, and smile. Doing these two things let your body know that there’s no danger. When you’re nervous you might feel the old “fight or flight” instinct. You want to get rid of this by letting your body know you’re about to talk, not go into hand-to-hand combat with a saber tooth tiger!!
• Look the part. If you look calm on the outside, you’ll feel calmer on the inside.
• Remember your audience. Let’s be honest, it’s probably your classmates, friends, and your teacher. You’d be JUST FINE talking to any of these people one-on-one or in small groups, so what are you worrying about?! And to be even more honest most kids don’t really listen all that closely to class speeches.
• You’re all in the same boat. Unless you’re speaking at graduation or for an election, you’re probably doing it for a class assignment. Realize that everyone else in your class has to go through the same thing. So don’t worry about being judged or being the focus of attention. Everyone has to do it!!