Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver is a very practical book that teaches you how to prepare for and give a speech or to teach others. It gives you step but step instructions on what to do and is helpful to anyone who will be speaking or teaching others.
The first step in your speechmaking is to begin to prepare ten days to two weeks before your speech or before you teach.
You should have the first session of ONLY 20 minutes to write 50 questions about your topic with a pencil and paper. It is a time where you write down everything that comes to mind.
In the second session, create a document file and quickly write an answer based on your knowledge.
Keep at it until your energy fades. You should finish this stage at least 3-4 days before your speech, and this is also where you will research your topic.
Thirdly, you need to rehearse your presentation.
It would help if you went over it in a mirror. It would be best to think about it and who your audience is, and where they are coming from and dealing with in their lives. You should talk it through with a friend and ask for feedback.
Fourthly, You should consider several things about your speech or talk.
Your message should use the rule of three. Every talk has three main points. Every point has three sub-points. It would help if you had a clear outline of what is going on in the message. You will also need to make sure that you have a strong opening and a strong closing. If you do not grab the people’s attention at the beginning, then you will lose them.
Finally, you must communicate in your delivery.
When you are speaking, you must connect with the people. Connection is the essence of public speaking. To communicate well, you must learn where to put the stress on words and to change your talking speed so that you don’t sound like a broken record. You must express your heart to the audience if you want them to be changed by your message.
This blog post is part of my book review series. If you would like to read an article about the importance of reading, you can click here.
