How to Give a Great Speech

Giving a great speech is a lot like writing a great paper - you need to know what you're going to say, have a purpose for every sentence, stay on task and don't get distracted, and remember who your audience is.

People who love to talk are usually over-confident about speech giving. The first 5 minutes are often excellent, very charming, confident and funny. But then, these speakers are unsure of how to conclude, they haven't been keeping track of their time, they aren't sure if the audience is responding to them, and they began to wander between random topics, searching for something funny to say.

In desperation they turn to the audience and ask, "Does anyone have anything to ask me, or something they'd like me to talk about?"

Don't let this be you! Follow this simple guide to speech giving:

1) Your audience wants to learn new things without being bored. If you're giving a speech, it's probably because you know or have done something interesting and have been invited to share experiences. Personal anecdotes, or funny stories, can be used liberally. However, make sure your story stays on topic and illustrates a point. If the story is only for entertainment purposes, after about 5 stories the speech will seem trivial and people will be bored.

Also - don't make the stories about yourself. Don't brag, or talk too much about your feelings or opinions.

This may seem obvious, but many researchers are proud of how they did the research, and want to share this with their audience. Unless the method is the aim of the presentation, nobody will care about the how, all they want to know is the what - what does your research discover, how is it useful, why does it matter, and what implications it may have.

2) Don't WHINE. I've seen a lot of speeches recently where people complain about how they've been treated, or how they didn't like such-and-such...

Always keep your message positive. If you have a criticism, make sure it's connected to a plan of action that you are enthusiastic about - a way to change the negative into a positive. Otherwise, don't bring it up. You will not "bond" with your audience by complaining about things you hope they also don't like.

3) Engage your Audience. For every 3 minutes you speak, you need to interact with your audience in some way. The best way to invite opinion is right after you introduce a subject, but before you say anything about it. "I'm going to talk about ice cream. Raise your hand if you like ice cream. How many of you like vanilla ice cream? Which country do you think eats the most ice cream?" Illicit questions to get them involved in the speech. Have them guess the answers you want to present, rather than just giving information. This will generate authentic interest, and they will remember more if they are participating.

3) Make An Outline
Having a clear plan for your speech will help you stay on track, keep you aware of the time, and make sure your speech progresses naturally. Start with an introduction - add in several main points that you want to discuss - end with a conclusion. Thank the audience and leave.

An outline is better than a written speech. Reading a written paper is the worst way to give a presentation. Just make notes of the main topics and ideas, but express is naturally, in your own words. Use lots of examples.

4) Watch Your Timing!
I've been to several conferences where every single speaker went over their allotted time by as much as 30 minutes. Taking a long time to say what you have to say does not make you seem more important. It is rude to the speakers who come after you, and to the audience. If you go over your time limit, they will stop listening to you anyway.

Time management is a critical skill, especially in making a speech or presentation, and you won't be taken seriously as a professional if you can't manage to deliver a powerful yet concise speech. Include an estimate of how long each segment of your speech will take. Stick to the schedule, say what you need to say, get off stage with dignity.

5) Include Visuals
The attention span of the average adult is 8 seconds. Unless you are a master at giving speeches, vivacious, funny, with the facial expressions of a Shakespearean actor and the voice of a bard, you can be sure that your audience will be bored of you after only a few minutes. Your audience is trying to be polite and listen carefully - make it easy for them.

The easiest way to do this is by using a PowerPoint presentation or slide show, but effective speeches (like effective teaching) will also use props and demonstrations to illustrate key points.

6) PowerPoint Presentation
Make a simple outline and put the main points in it. Do not fill the slide with a long passage, keep it short. Do not read your presentation from the screen. Make sure your PowerPoint looks good, has lots of pictures or animations that illustrate points.

Start from Slide 1, and go through to the last slide. Don't jump around between different slides - this shows lack of foresight and planning.

Most importantly, make sure that your PowerPoint is error-free! Having typos and spelling errors on a presentation (especially coming from a Ph.D. in Literature) is embarrassing. If you don't have time to proofread, send it to us! We'll make sure it's perfect.