The Voice of Youth: Time to deliver the Wow! speech

Public speaking is as much fun as it is stressful. When once you get a hang of it and get rid of stage fright, nothing can stop you from being the orator you always wanted to be. Here are a few tips on delivering a perfect speech following which would wow your audience.

• Take your time to settle down on the podium.  Do not start speaking immediately after you reach the rostrum. Take a second. Look at the audience. This will grab their attention and make them wonder what you have to say. But don’t make this silence too long. It will only make things awkward for you and others might think that you have forgotten your speech. The best way to time this silence is your breath. Breathe normally, inhale, and then exhale, and you are ready to go.
• Dais is a good friend of yours. Take support from it. Do not stand too far away from it. How you touch the dais and make use of it makes a big impression on your audience. It is also a way to hide your nervousness.
• Do not use the dais too much. Making the right use of dais can help you deliver an impressive speech. However, using it too much can have adverse effects. Try not to lean over it too much. Neither should you put your weight on it.
• Do not be stiff. Your posture should show flexibility, adapting itself to what you are saying. You should keep changing your posture according to the flow of your speech. The art of public speaking is not about your voice alone. Your body language counts a lot.
• You should be perfectly in control of your movement. And yet, your movement should appear to be natural and free flowing. Sometimes, your movement is so much rehearsed that the audience can clearly see that it is not a natural movement. Avoid doing that. Conversely, some speakers move to the point of fidgeting. That turns out to be distracting for audience. A fidgeting speaker does not seem to be in control of the situation.
• Do not hold a paper in your hand. It is a good idea to keep all the key points ready at hand. But holding them especially if your hands are shaking is distracting and can leave a bad impression.
• Use index cards instead of paper. They are handy and leave lesser room for messing up with your speech.
• Maintain eye contact. It is very important to maintain eye contact with your audience. Don’t keep looking at one person alone. Many speakers make the mistake of looking only towards the judges. The entire audience is there to listen to you. Give them equal importance.
• Control the pitch of your voice. Some speakers are unable to control the pitch of their voices. The result is annoying for the audience. If you know that your voice is shrill, you should try to keep your voice low and refrain from being loud. If you know that your voice becomes hoarse at a certain pitch, avoid that pitch.
• There should be a variety in the tone and pitch of your voice. You shouldn’t sound monotonous. Instead, manipulate your voice according to the content of your speech; inquisitive when asking a question, authoritative when making a statement. It should be a combination of loud, medium and low.
• Do not just speak. After you have made an important point, pause for a while. Look at the audience in a meaningful way. Leave the impression that you are giving them some time to think over the question you have just posed, or the important statistics you just gave them. Again, the pause doesn’t have to be too long; breathe in, breathe out, and start speaking again.
• Remember, the stage is yours. So sound authoritative. You are on the stage because people want to hear you. Make use of this opportunity and make a lasting impression on your audience.