Resources
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Technical Pointers
In general, a school public speaking speech will have:
- an introduction,
- three argued points,
- a summary; and
- a final “cherry on the cake” paragraph.
Each argued point should have a source / citation and the points should be roughly the same length. This applies to the lower grades too! We make the reference to the source really simple and short for the little ones. Length guideline for the total speech:
Grade 1: 400 words or less
Grade 2 and 3: 400 – 450 words
Grade 5 – 7: 450 – 550 words
Grade 8 – 12: 500 – 600 words
Speeches that are longer than this become really boring. And you know what we think about boring!
High School Group Public Speaking:
Each group consists of a chairperson and three speakers, having to present and argue a specific topic from different angles. The chairperson is responsible for the introduction, for announcing the three speakers and for the summary/conclusion. Each of the three speakers is responsible for their own full speech. The chairperson has to make sure that the three individual speeches tie together to address the topic. This is not always easy! In effect we are talking about four speeches. Please ask for a quotation here.
Preparation Tips
-You have received your speech, now you need to make speech cards. Download some instructions here.
-Start learning the speech.
-It is a good idea to record the speech, speaking slowly and clearly. For younger children, the parent can read it – most cellphones have recording facilities. Older children can do this for themselves. It is so much easier to learn a speech if you listen to it whenever you can.
-The mirror is your friend. Just you and the mirror and the speech. And lots of practice!
-Once you know the speech, start working on how to present it:
- Decide which words / sentences to emphasize for effect;
- Practice the pause. Are you allowing enough pause between different sections so that your audience can absorb what you have just said?
- Check your body language! The best speakers have an “open” and relaxed stance towards the audience – something that has to be practiced. If you have any nervous habits, such as pulling on your clothes while you are speaking, try to eliminate them. The audience will notice and it will detract from the content of your speech.
- Check if you are allowed any gestures - different competitions have different rules. In our opinion gestures should be used only if it really adds value to the speech and only if you can deliver them very confidently.
-Once you are confident to present the speech, record it again and listen to yourself speaking. You are also welcome to send the recording via voice note to info@getaspeech.com.
We will gladly listen and give you some ideas on making your presentation even better!
Presentation Tips
Public Speaking “fashion” changes all the time. We need to re-invent continuously. In general:
- Always check the rules of the competition. You might want to use some well-placed gestures for dramatic effect, but if the rules stipulate that no gestures are allowed, you are going to get marked down.
- Make sure you know your speech back to front! If you are ill-prepared, the audience will stress on your behalf and you will not achieve good results!
- Speaking too fast is a BIG public speaking sin! Oh goodness. It is probably your nerves. But when you stand on that stage and you rush through your speech, you have already lost the competition. You may know your speech, but your audience does not! They need time to absorb what you are saying.
- Learn to slow down. Learn to pause for effect. Confident speakers are at ease and in command. They do not look like they would like to be anywhere else except on that stage saying that speech, and they do not sound like they are busy running for their lives.
- Take a short breather between between your main paragraphs/main points. If you launch straight into your next point, your audience might not keep up.
