It has been said that most, people hate to speak in public. Rarely do you find someone who is good at it. Our last community meeting was no exception. The speakers tended to drag on about seemingly random thoughts. It was bordering on torture to listen too. This is an all too common event when dealing with people who don’t usually speak in front of groups. Maybe it is just nerves or that they like to hear themselves talk.
Jack Valenti wrote an excellent book on speaking in public. Speak up with Confidence is a short read with lots of great tips and tricks to improve anyone’s public speaking. Mr. Valenti was known for his ability to give a speech. This remarkable ability was because of one thing — practice. He would practice, practice and practice some more until he memorized his entire speech.
Writing out what you will say is also important. Getting the words down on paper allows you to focus on your message and ensure that it is correctly presented. Too often, the reason why people ramble on is because they are forming their thoughts on the fly. This leads to the obvious boring speech that meanders along not really going anywhere.
Giving a great speech can motivate your audience and inspire them to great things. Doing a speech right starts with knowing what you are going to say and not just winging it. Not having a prepared speech will make the whole experience awful for everyone involved. That is why you must know what you are going to say before you ever stand up and approach the lectern.
