How to Practice a Speech
Learn to make your speech focused, refined, and effective with these tips from The Public Speaker.
Lisa B. Marshall
First, practice right away, before your PowerPoint slides are done, by practicing small segments. Just hit record button and start talking about the content for two or three minutes, as if you are talking directly to a colleague. (By the way, Viddler and Utterz are good free tools for this.) Practice each segment several times. Don’t worry about trying to say the same words each time—just focus on your overall message.
In fact, it’s good if each time you are able to talk about the same content in slightly different ways. This will help you to refine your message. In addition, by starting your practice earlier, you can practice these little segments over time, whenever you have a few minutes. And it turns out this type of practice is more effective than trying to do it all at once, so overall you’ll get done faster and you’ll feel less anxious! The added advantage of practicing in segments is that should a question come up (either before or during the presentation), you’re prepared with a professional, polished response that’s perceived as spontaneous.
Finally, be sure to practice the beginning more than the other segments. That’s when the critical first impression is made and it’s also what your audience is likely to remember. (Of course, that’s exactly why you’re likely to be more nervous).
About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.