How to Master Delivering a Speech

Sep. 21

Have you ever had to deliver a public speech but not know some ways to make it more interesting? After preparing and organizing the content of your speech, you have to gather ideas for how you will actually speak it. You want to make your speech unique and something that your audience is excited to listen about. 

Today we will be discussing some tips and tricks to help accomplish this challenge and improve your public speaking. You will need to keep these tips in mind while preparing and practicing your speech, and you will soon be confident to deliver a worthwhile and remarkable public speech.

Let’s get started!

1. Hand Gestures and Body Language

Whether you realize it or not, almost every speech you have ever watched always has the speaker using hand gestures and body language. These are some of the subtle but most important parts of public speaking. So what are they?

While delivering a speech, never put your hands in your pockets. This makes you as a speaker look unconfident and nervous. Nervousness is something that every public speaker always faces, and delivery skills help mask that problem! Your hands help emphasize important parts of your speech. They are your golden ticket to making you feel more confident. Being open with your hands and making sure to not throw them around portrays you as being relaxed. Additionally, never plan out hand gestures, this is something that comes naturally and can change depending on how you speak at a given time!

Hand gestures are a part of good body language, and is vital to what your audience sees. When giving a speech, stand up straight and relaxed. If you have a podium, try not to rest on it, but hold on to the sides or use it only for your notes. Also, be positive! Smile and show that although it may be daunting, you can push through and deliver an amazing speech!

2. Eye Contact is a Must!

Why is eye contact so important? When you are speaking, it can sometimes help you be more concentrated. This aids with audience engagement because once they see that you are moving around and active, your audience will feel the same energy!

Use a technique called the lock and shift method. This is where you lock your eyes in a specific area of the room or area you are speaking in, and shift your eyes every few seconds. Scan between the audience to build that connection between you and them.

3. Speak Loud and Clear!

Your voice is sometimes the most underestimated thing to you as a speaker. This is what your audience is listening to for the entirety of your speech, and can be the thing that separates your speech from the tons of others. Using different tones and emotions is the key to differentiating your speech. Another thing is to use cadence in your voice, where you go between talking fast and slow which can help keep your audience keen on listening for the rest of your speech. 

After reading these tips and understanding why they are important to making your speech interesting, now you need to practice! Practicing these tips will be the best way to help incorporate them into your speeches and make your audience stay on the edge of their seats.

To learn more about these skills and how to improve as a speaker, take some time to look at our public speaking lessons or free language workshops so we can help you or someone you know!