How to present a good speech..? (1 Viewer)

[harrietty]

So I would've posted this in English, since this is what I'm trying to figure out, but it could go for any subject I guess.

Anyhow, the marking guidelines we've been given for our first assessment task (speech) say this:
"Persuasively represents own ideas and points of view regarding the impact of time on belonging using speech form (address and engage live audience) and rhetoric (repetition/binary opposition/ accumulation of phrases/short sentences/pauses/rhetorical questions etc). (o/c 8)"

I've never done it before, but it's Year 12 now, and it's on the marking guidelines, so I'm thinking of starting off with a rhetorical question, then stating my thesis?

Also, anyone actually know what binary opposition and accumulation of phrases are? I tried googling the first one, but to no avail, haha.

Does anyone know any tips or tricks on how to present a good speech? I'm sure a lot of people would want to know too.

 

[enoilgam]

Well, from what I can remember, binary opposition is where a situation can be defined by two opposite outcomes (like win or lose, right or left etc). An accumulation of phrases isnt anything specific, it is just asking you to refer to a series of phrases in order (phrases can be powerful persuasive tools).

 

[Green Pup]

As with all speeches, you need to engage your audience. What I found with English speeches at school was that the marker focused more on the delivery, rather than the actual content. My prelim speech was dodgy but I presented it reasonably well and got 18/20, hardly any techniques put into it. That doesn't mean you're going to skimp on the content though, this is the bloody HSC after all!

Do not, I repeat DO NOT look only at the marker. It is ridiculous and your audience as a whole will quickly lose interest. Try to scan the room and make eye contact with everyone. Markers will look for this. Don't exaggerate on the hand motions. And the obvious one: voice projection.

Starting off with a rhetorical question is going to be fine, perhaps excellent depending on how your thesis goes. One tip that I will suggest to you is to get a camera and record yourself whilst practising delivery. Look for any bad habits such as shifting from one foot to another, putting "uhm"s in, etc.

 

[enoilgam]

The speech needs to have a structured and logical flow to it. With speeches in High School and in uni, the ones that do poorly often appear disorganised and the ideas are all over the place.

With your delivery, as Green Pup look at the whole audience and carry yourself with confidence. As another user (I think mirakon) has said before, the HSC is mostly about attitude and this is especially the case with a speech. If you feel confident then this will definitely show which will make for a far more energetic and memorable speech.

 

[CaffeineMotor]

Content aside you need:

1. Open body language (use your hands, I find it stupid that some people say you shouldn't. People who are rigid and barely move do little to engage, regardless of content).
2. Be direct with your eyes (Like someone else said, scan the room. Look at your audience you want to make some solid eye contact with most of the audience and show them that you are talking to them.
3. Don't rush it, speak loud, clear and concise.
4. Move around if you have to. Doesn't need to be excessive but a few steps here and there can further the engagement.
5. Adopt a tone that suits what you are trying to say at the time. Change it according to what you're saying. Being monotone is like trying to verbally kill your audience.
6. Be somewhat dramatic, it shows the marker you are interested and want to engage with others.

Content:

1. Try not to be cliche, it's cringeworthy hearing the good ol' "the so and so dictionary says y = x". This kind of intro is always appalling.
2. Follow the marking criteria and try to add your own touch to the speech, not just stringing out a list of facts and data. Try and provide your own thoughts on the topic and how it relates to what you are saying.
3. Again be concise with what you are saying, try no to do any 'storytelling' and get to the point (whilst of course being as interesting as possible)
4. Try and finish in a manner that neatly sums up your points and provides a somewhat definitive answer to your argument etc.

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Speeches:
I've done many public speaking competitions, they are looking for engagement!
1. Do an interesting opening-a question, a quote-don't be boring and like Today la la la...
2. Eye contact across the whole audience
3. Pacing is important-never too fast but variance through out.
4. Volume should be consistant, loud enough to be heard but you can raise (not shout) some parts.
5. Use stress to your advantage, stress and little pause.
6. Hand gestures used sparingly and classily can bump a band 5 speech into the band 6 zone.
7. No aids or very small palm cards that you should barely need to look at.

 

[Rawf]

As with all speeches, you need to engage your audience. What I found with English speeches at school was that the marker focused more on the delivery, rather than the actual content. My prelim speech was dodgy but I presented it reasonably well and got 18/20, hardly any techniques put into it. That doesn't mean you're going to skimp on the content though, this is the bloody HSC after all!

Do not, I repeat DO NOT look only at the marker. It is ridiculous and your audience as a whole will quickly lose interest. Try to scan the room and make eye contact with everyone. Markers will look for this. Don't exaggerate on the hand motions. And the obvious one: voice projection.

Starting off with a rhetorical question is going to be fine, perhaps excellent depending on how your thesis goes. One tip that I will suggest to you is to get a camera and record yourself whilst practising delivery. Look for any bad habits such as shifting from one foot to another, putting "uhm"s in, etc.

Lol, this didn't work well for me at my school.
I had perfect eye contact, looked at basically everyone in the room and constantly changed the tone of my voice. My speech was practically memorised and i glanced at my palm cards probs 2-3 times in the whole entire speech.
However, as always... i'm terrible at english and my content wasn't that great (at the time i thought it was good/ok) and i scored an 8/15 - this occurred for both my year 11 and year 12 speech for english. I had a few rhetorical questions and even had a few lines which made the audience and markers laugh, but they were relevant to the topic.

In comparison, other kids who spoke in monotone with barely any eye contact (their speeches were boring af lmao) scored around 11-13/15. Idk about their content really... I wasn't exactly listening. Or maybe it's due to the bias of markers at my school idk...

 

[hayabusaboston]

Speeches:
I've done many public speaking competitions, they are looking for engagement!
1. Do an interesting opening-a question, a quote-don't be boring and like Today la la la...
2. Eye contact across the whole audience
3. Pacing is important-never too fast but variance through out.
4. Volume should be consistant, loud enough to be heard but you can raise (not shout) some parts.
5. Use stress to your advantage, stress and little pause.
6. Hand gestures used sparingly and classily can bump a band 5 speech into the band 6 zone.
7. No aids or very small palm cards that you should barely need to look at.

This is all too important, ive seen some people who literally shout at the audience their entire speech. Firstly, it sounds ridiculous, and second, it gives you a false sense of security in believing that because you are shouting, surely your speech will come across as more sophisticated, because youre conveying your "emotion" with it. Its bullshit, keep it down to a reasonable level.

 

[Kimyia]

I think for my english speeches, the marks were equally divided between content and presentation so it's important to be aware of both.
Also, just to add, be aware not to rock back and forth on your feet or shift your weight from one leg to the other. And don't put your hand in your pocket during a speech.
And pretty much what everyone else has said Good luck!

 

[funstudy]

Binary opposition I'm guessing is like contradiction- two words/phrases that are contradictory? and accumulation of phrases is just the listing of words e.g. "to have courage, to be bold as well as resilient, to believe in ourselves, to stick together". For good speeches ensure you include a bit of humour- otherwise ppl tune out and it's not engaging. Also, be confident and KNOW your material- this doesn't mean you have to memorise it. also practise pronouncing words before, nothing more annoying than people who can't pronounce it and laugh pathetically.

 

[Charlotte00]

Just remember that the actual presentation is extremely important- it makes up 50% of the mark at my school!
Make sure you have eye contact- as in you look up for 50% at least. (That will give you a huge boost)
Palm cards, word stresses and hand geustures are all helpful!
Good luck!

 

[Absolutezero]

Just remember that the actual presentation is extremely important- it makes up 50% of the mark at my school!
Make sure you have eye contact- as in you look up for 50% at least. (That will give you a huge boost)
Palm cards, word stresses and hand geustures are all helpful!
Good luck!

Technically, you should be looking up for all of it.

 

[girlworld_club]

just please don't fuken introduce yourself and the topic you're doing. It's funny how so many people still do this in year 12. Hey, i'm jessica and i'm talking about water pollution. fml. i've known you for 6 years, u would assume i know your name by now. or when people welcome the audience with good morning, brings out the loooooooooools.

 

[Eg155]

Ah okay, speeches! My favourite communication in English

Doing speeches for ee2, I have found that the sophistication and delivery are most important.
As someone said above, for the love of all that is good DO NOT introduce who you are. We have to do peer marking and I automatically deduct like 6 marks- it's th biggest annoyant.

1) Make sure you know what you're talking about. So many people start talking about political concepts and ideologies and it's like they have no idea, they just thought it would make them look smart. Yeah, no.
2) Eye contact. Emphasis. Passion, passion, passion!
You should know your speech off by heart, or only look down at your palm card for reference to continue your point. Being too reliant on aids creates a dissonance with your audience- you need to engage fully to keep them interested.
Monotoned voices are the 2nd worst thing you can do in public speaking. Voice modulation is imperative to pushing a band 6. Keep it at a snappy pace but not so fast that your muddle up your words and no one can understand you. A quick pace followed by a pause at the conclusion is smashing. I feel the conclusion is the memorable part of your speech and where your passion and summation of your beliefs should be expressed. Pause and intense eye contact and small, not over emphasised, natural hand gestures gets your emotion and passion across. On that note, a great intro is needed too. It doesn't have to be a rhetorical question, in fact, I think it's better if it isn't. So many people use it and it becomes such a common feature of a speech intro that it's becomes a cliched technique to audience encapsulation. Consider an anecdotal introduction- if your speech is exploring belonging which I assume it is- imagine yourself to be the protagonist or the persona if poetry. It not only fulfills contextualization but also the emotive aspect of speeches.
Passion- look up Gough Whitlam's 'It's Time', he had incredible passion for his political campaigns and his beliefs for change. This needs to come across. Like for my belonging speech the protagonist is trapped in a world where sexist prudes limit her search for self. I am the greatest opponent to sexism and I think people will get this message through my delivery and diction. Point of consideration.

No rocking, no shuffling, no sluggish paces or prolonged pauses, no walking around- this is not some training session. Stand up straight.

There's probably heaps of other things but from thinking back on it these are the things I have noticed that get people good/ bad marks over the years. Hope it helps!