5 Ways to Give a Great Speech
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4. Watch the Clock
Make sure you know exactly how much time you have to speak. And that means if you have been allotted 10 minutes, then stick to it.
First, it’s just common courtesy, but it’s also to ensure that the program runs on schedule. Also, if you go way over your time, you run the risk of having the organizer(s) cut you off awkwardly or try to get your attention while you are giving your speech.
Even the most seasoned public speaker can be thrown off his/her game if you need to end your speech abruptly. Worse, the audience will likely notice and become distracted right when you are trying to have a solid closing.
Which leads us to…
5. Strong Closing
Even if you fumbled your opening, a strong closing provides you with an opportunity to win over the crowd.
To pull this off, practice is key. Like an opening, it’s important that you devote plenty of time to practice your closing over and over until you have just about every line memorized. The crowd will start tuning back in once they realize that you are nearing the end of your speech.
This is your chance to deliver your most powerful lines. It may help to employ something like: “If I leave you with anything today…” or “To sum up, here my point…”
Alternatively and to reference an earlier suggestion, the closing may also be the time when you tell your audience that powerful story to make your point(s). It’s amazing what a strong closing can do when speaking in public. Don’t underestimate it.
As you well know, there are other tips and suggestions for public speaking and delivering a good speech.
There are some things that are hard to replicate, but there are also fundamentals in good public speaking that have stood the test of time for a reason.
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