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Chapter 8: The Five Essentials of a Dazzling Speech
Summary
Have you come out of an oration being bowled over by the manner the person spoke? Quite likely, these five essentials were part of their speech.
The Five Essentials of a Dazzling Speech
After checking out hundreds of speakers, some of them of international repute, we have unearthed these five characteristics that are present in all their speeches. Are they present in yours?
The Right Stance
Great speakers hold themselves properly on stage. Their mannerisms are exemplary. Even before they open their mouths to speak something, they have already made an impression because of the way they carry themselves. If you check out some eminent personalities speaking, it will be very easy for you to work these into your speech deliveries too.
The Right Tone
A great speech is varied in tone. The speaker won't drone on and on in the same mode. Their volume will go into an ebb and then surge emphatically when a particular point is of great relevance. They will put the correct emphases on exclamatory marks and questions, which will be found aplenty in the whole body of their speeches anyway.
The Right Interest
One more aspect of great speakers' speeches is that they know how to keep the interest alive. At the slightest hint of the audience losing its interest, they will bring forth a highly interesting point to re-captivate the audience's attention. They will also use interrogations in their speech delivery. These interrogations, if effectively used, will make the listeners ponder if even for just a second. This is what we mean when we speak about "interactive" speeches.
The Right Examples
It is very important to include examples in your speeches if you want to make them attractive. There is one very important point served by this. When you give examples, you are making the speech sound more real, as though what you said has really happened with someone that the listeners know. If you don't give examples, your speech becomes one-dimensional as though it is only your point of view. A good speaker is always looking for great examples to include in future speeches. Keep a small book where you make handy references of such 'examples' as you come by them and use them when needed.
The Right Closing
When you are listening to a speech, you are carried by it, but the part of the speech that really makes a lasting impact is the closing. This is what the people will carry home from the speech in most likelihood. All great speeches are characterized by great closing lines.
Chapter 9: The Most Effective Part of a Magnetic Speech – The Closing
Summary
The closing is what lingers in the listeners' mind even after the speech is over. Work on it; this is largely what makes your speech more impactful.
The Most Effective Part of a Magnetic Speech - The Closing
If you make a great speech, but close it in a non-impressive way, a large part of your speech is lost. When you speak effectively, people are very much interested in what you are leading to. People generally have a mindset that makes them think that the best is always saved for the last. That is the reason they are very much eager to hear the close of the speech. Now, if you don't work on it, your speech will become a completely lost cause.
Here are different ways in which you can effectively bring your speech to an effective climax.
1. Pose a question at the end. This question should have to do with what you have just said. Keep the question a little tough, a question whose answer won't come right away into their minds. However, the question must make them go back on what you have said and scout for the answer. Effective speakers are known to use this little device which makes their speeches remain in the listeners' minds for a long time even after they are long over.
2. Place a great quote at the end. Spend time to search for such quotes on the Internet or elsewhere and speak them with aplomb. Do not elaborate on these quotes; leave them hanging in the minds of the audience.
3. Sum it all up at the end. If you don't know how to effectively close your speech, just give them a summary. This helps too, because it gives you a chance to reinforce what you just said on your audiences' minds.
4. If you have something to give away, keep that announcement at the end. This is a great way to get people interested in what you have been saying. After you have made the announcement for the giveaway, summarize the main parts of your speech.
5. Make an earnest plea. This works if your speech is for a clause. Or, get someone else - an eminent personality, if possible - to come ahead and make the plea. Just hand over the mike to them and move offstage.
These are various ways in which you can bring your speech to an effective close. Time and again, it has been proven that any and all of these methods work.
Chapter 10: Improving Yourself as a Speaker
Summary
A speaker is always a listener, a student
Improving Yourself as a Speaker
A speaker is always a student. You have to always keep learning. You can never say that you have become the most perfect speaker there is. Speaking is such a personal thing that there is a great deal of variety in this realm. Even as you listen to other people speaking - by being a part of a live audience or checking them out on television -you see that there are so many of their impressive things that you can include in your speeches. There is definitely no harm in trying out. You could try working in these traits in your own delivery and improve.
A speaker is also a much-informed person. Keep yourself abreast of what's going on. You will have to allude to anything, anytime in your speeches. You can speak the most relevant speeches at any time if you are abreast of what's happening.
Also, speak with people. Take their feedback on everything. Use this in your speeches. This is general feedback, general opinion. It is always great to put a joke about what people are already making jokes. It helps. The speech becomes more colorful.