How To Speak

Structure of your talk

1. Introduction
You might start with a story or incident that engages the attention and interest of the
audience.
2. An Indication of the structure of your talk
Give a brief outline
3. The body of your talk
A clear, brief presentation
4. Conclusion
Summarise your points and perhaps return to the story or incident you began with.

How to begin a Talk

1. Set up a good relationship with the audience. ‘Be friendly, look friendly, sound
friendly’.
2. Grab the attention of the audience with an incident, a “slice of life” from your own
experience.
3. Arouse curiosity / build up the theme
4. Present arresting facts or catchy statements
5. Make it more interactive; ask questions..

How to end a Talk

1. When you have said what you wanted to say, STOP ! Speaking is like drilling for
water: when you have struck water, stop boring. “Be clear, be brief, be seated ”.
2. Go back to the story/incident with which you started. Connect the main point of your
talk with it and finish.
3. Often a little summary is helpful. “ Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell
them and then tell them what you told them.
4. Have a strong finish. The last words will remain in their minds.
5. Don’t leave the speaker’s stand while saying the last few words. After the last word,
pause for just a moment and then leave the platform with purpose decision.

How to evaluate a Speaker

DELIVERY

1. Volume/Projection – Varied/ Loud/ weak/ Monotonous

2. Enunciation – Clear/Slurred/Needs work
3. Rate – Fast/ Slow/ Varied/ Monotonous
4. Inflection – Used it well/ Monotonous/ No inflection
5. Contact – Looked at every one/ Only a few/ Nobody
6. Posture – Direct/ Distracting/ Used gestures
CONTENT

Introduction Clear
Interesting
Attention getting

Conclusion Strong
Clear
Convincing

What was the Speaker’s purpose in the speech ?

What was the Speaker’s central idea ?
Any additional comments :

How to introduce a speaker

1. Familiarise yourself with the Speaker’s background.

Do not read from his bio data.
Pronounce the name correctly.
2. Be cheerful, warm and enthusiastic,. This is contagious.
3. Avoid the commonplace ‘ for having graced this occasion by taking out of his busy
schedule..’
4. Be accurate. Don’t have the speaker wondering who is being introduced.
5. Often it is more effective to single out one quality or accomplishment of the speaker
rather than give an undifferentiated litany of the past.

How to give vote of thanks

1. Be relevant
Refer to the central thought or position that struck you most.
2. Be Positive
This is no time for display of your analytical skills. Emphasize the positive, forget
about the negative.
3. Be Crisp
The audience is tired after the talk. You’re just a punctuation mark.- Be brief and be
gone.