When I talked about my first public speaking experience years ago, I fell into a very common trap. I was trying to deliver humorous lines but the tone of my voice and the rate in which I was speaking made me seem more like a robot reading from a telephone book. The speech was not good and my poor presentation of it made it worse. As an adult I have become animated. Thanks to some tips I picked up from choir practice, I’ve gotten much better at a rather under estimated part of presenting a speech- the actual performance of it!
Rate of Speed
I type all of my speeches in long form so I can look at the words I’m choosing. I can look at the words and see where a paragraph is running long. I can spot words that are harder for me to pronounce or enunciate. I highlight these items so I know to slow down and take my time with them. The most effective way I have found to manage my rate of speech when I am speaking is to add a symbol to my document that indicates (PAUSE, TAKE A BREATH). In musical notation, I am used to see an apostrophe that appears just above the staff. This little symbol tells me to breathe when I am singing, so I use the same symbol in my speech notes!
Emphasis and Variety
When you are speaking, you don’t want your audience to fall asleep. You don’t want their attention to wander. You want the audience to focus on what you are saying. You want to captivate them and hold their attention. One of the tools that you have to achieve that goal is your voice.
When you listen to music, you can hear vocal differences between a mother singing a lullaby to her child and a rock star who is singing and trying to get you on your feet to dance. The mother my sing with more of a whisper. She may hold the child and sway gently. She will emphasis words like shush and sleep. The rock star may wear outlandish clothes and move around the stage more. They may even try to start one of the dance moves they want the audience to adopt. The rock star may even shout a call to action at their audience, “Come on!” Musicians have a huge variety between genres and even if you listen to an entire album- there will be variety from song to song. Some songs may be loud and raucous but others may be sweet love ballads.
Take something you’ve written and read it- as if you were a mother singing a lullaby. Then read it again as if you were a rock star at a concert. Try singing the words in your speech making the volume loud when you are making a point and softer when you are presenting facts and information to support your point. Strike a funny pose if you say a funny word. You will feel entirely ridiculous practicing your speech this way, but it will help you loosen up and lose the monotone robot that may show up if you just stand in front of a room reading your speech to the audience.
