speaking strategy

1. REX HUSSEIN D. LAMOSTE
Principal I – Mahaba Integrated School
Strategies for
Becoming a Better
Speaker

2. Study
• Look up articles online and discover new trends in
writing and delivering speeches.
• You can also research a famous speaker you admire
and attempt to emulate them.

3. Research the topic
• Before presenting to an audience, develop a deep
understanding of your topic.

4. Use metaphors and analogies
• When used appropriately, a metaphor or analogy
becomes a great method to express your idea or
concept.

5. Categorize the information
• When speaking in public, consider your audience's
capacity to absorb and retain vital information. If
exploring a complex topic or speaking for a long
time, it's helpful to present key information little
by little to help your audience comprehend each
component.
• A common method of categorizing your
information is to separate your key message into
three fundamental parts
• Consolidating the information of your speech into
an outline is also useful.

6. Ask rhetorical questions
• Consider incorporating rhetorical questions into
your speech
• Rhetorical questions create a dramatic effect and
restate your topic in a thought-provoking manner.
• Rhetorical questions encourage the audience to
linger on an idea and help further their
understanding of it.

7. Develop a strong beginning and
ending
• It can be effective to include a hook, meaning a topic
sentence that fully explains the problem your speech
addresses and the solution it offers. A hook clearly
defines the point of your speech and gets the
attention of the audience right away.
• Alternatively, instead of stating what your speech is
about in your introduction, you can try incorporating
an interesting quote, an entertaining anecdote or a
relevant statistic.
• In your conclusion, use a strong statement or summary
that will leave the audience contemplating your
message.

8. Consider your audience
• Explaining a topic clearly and appropriately
requires a thorough understanding of your
audience.
• Optimize your terminology and speaking habits to
create greater impact and results.
• Customize your speech toward a common problem

9. Practice before speaking
• Conduct vocal exercises. Perform exercises that can
help you warm up your vocal cords, such as producing
different sounds or humming.
• Use memorization techniques. For easier
memorization, consider dividing your speech into
separate parts. Practice each section separately and
give yourself time to master each one rather than
attempting to remember the full speech.
• Record yourself. Recording yourself practicing your
speech is a great way to assess both your verbal and
nonverbal communication styles. Look for aspects that
you can improve, such as eliminating verbal stalls
"like" or "um."

10. Make eye contact
• During your speech, make eye contact with
different members of the audience.
• You can certainly look at your notes occasionally,
but try to look up regularly.

11. Speak with confidence
• Once you're in place, strike a confident pose. Hold
your head high, stand up straight and deliver your
speech.

12. Take a deep breath
• If you feel nervous, consider loosening up before
you present, taking a deep breath and letting your
body relax.
• Let your arms hang naturally or rest on an
available surface and prevent locking your knees
by keeping them slightly bent.
• You might also want to try a brief relaxation
exercise, like meditating or visualizing a place that
makes you happy.

13. Consider your hand placement
• Using your fingers to count through a list
• Arching your shoulders into a shrug to emphasize
rhetorical questions
• Sweeping both arms in front of you for emphasis
• Making a solid fist to show determination
• Using your hands to gauge various sizes

14. Walk the stage
• Instead of standing in place, make use of all the
space available to you.
• Your speech may become more personal when you
can intermingle with the audience.

15. Ask questions
• Asking questions that provoke a simple nod or
shake of the head keeps the audience engaged and
attentive.
• It also creates the perception that you're speaking
to them individually, asking each person a direct
question they can answer nonverbally.
• You can further engage with the audience by
calling out individuals.
• Ask a follow-up question for them to explain the
reasoning behind their choice.

16. Deliver a relevant joke
• Some public speakers take inspiration from stand-
up comedians, especially by creating a joke they
refer to throughout their presentation.
• Toward the midpoint of their speech, they either
tell another amusing story or refer back to the
original.
• By the end, they culminate their story or series of
stories into an impactful one-line joke that makes
the audience laugh.

17. Act out the humor and smile
• Aside from sharing a joke or humorous story, you
can express humor through nonverbal
communication.
• Smiling often encourages the audience to smile at
you.
• Consider the moment in which you smile and its
significance to what you're saying.
• Smiles also add a lighthearted touch to your
speech, especially if you're addressing a sensitive
topic.

18. Use emotion and dramatic
pauses for emphasis
• Even if the topic is highly logical, emotion can add
personality and charm to your speech and engage
members of the audience even more.

19. Adapt to feedback
• Be receptive to live feedback about your speech as
you deliver it.
• By keeping your attention on the audience, you
can evaluate their reactions and adjust your
message accordingly.

20. Use visual aids wisely
• If you're using a visual aid, such as a slideshow or
whiteboard, use it sparingly.
• While a visual aid can be a great tool to emphasize
your main points, take care to keep the audience's
focus primarily on you.
• Strategies for doing this might include placing
limited or bullet-pointed text on this visual aid,
using a stylish but simple background and
memorizing your speech rather than reading it
from the visual aid.