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"Just get up there and DO IT!" |
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It is
indeed the number one fear of American adults:
speaking before an audience of peers. Incidentally,
I seem to remember it's number two for teens, right
after parental divorce. Well anyway, there's no need
to be afraid of speaking before peers - or, for that
matter, superiors, students, friends, infants, pets, or a
mirror. I recommend those last three for practice,
by the way. So let's get to it - some performance
tips for your speech...
- Know Your Place - Perhaps the most important
thing to remember is that you belong in front
of an audience giving a speech. That is, unless
you're doing a walk-on. But seriously, the
audience expects you to give a speech - they're
not going to question why you're up there shooting
your mouth off! This is meant to make you
comfortable with public speaking, but to be completely
honest, the best way to get comfy with speaking is
practice. If you ever get a chance to do small
& easy bits of public speaking - announcements,
church readings, etc - take it. It'll help.
- Rehearse - Run the speech past some people
you trust (family, friends, whoever's having you do
the speech, etc.) just to get a feeling for their
reactions. You'll be more sure of yourself when
you find out they don't hate the speech; it always
works for me! That, and you get the bonus of a
little feedback - you discover some parts that don't
work (no speech is perfect) and fix'em in time for the
real audience. You'll find out if those
"applause points" (see Devices) work out the
way you planned. Of course, if you don't want to
go straight to sentient beings for practice, try it
with pets or babies - these are better than sofas or
walls because you can also practice eye contact...
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