give a memorized speech

Ace the Presentation

How to Prepare and Deliver a Great Memorized Speech

Today we will learn a bit about how to prepare ourselves and deliver a memorized speech successfully!

Everything we need to say and pitch about is centered on only one content that usually is not new to our public (whichever is other speakers or audience).

 As the speakers in the speech, we need to have some time, days, or weeks, to prepare to perform it to an audience.

Our audience doesn’t expect us to bring notes, books, or any guide besides memory to remind the content. 

There is an implicit requirement that the speaker needs to be familiar with the content and passionate if possible, this way… it will come out naturally; That is why it is crucial to find a reason or something that we like about the content.

Related Articles:

Extemporaneous Speech or Presentation

Manuscript Speech or Presentation

The 4 Types of Speech Delivery

15 Ideas to Make a Speech Unique, Memorable, and Inspiring

 Passion comes in zero place before our two main tasks: 

• Preparation

Successful Memorized Speech Task 1: Preparation

Reading about it or having conversations with people that know about it would be great to create natural memories that we won’t easily forget.

Most times, subjects are given, so we don’t need to focus on producing content, but they’re also those times we need to be the speakers and the content like most poetry contests. 

Visual interactions associated with arguments tend to last more time on our minds, and because we are about to find a way to bond with the content, it won’t fade away that easily.  

A memorized speech is not always about saying the words precisely as they were written. To wing it without going out of the original content can be in sometimes an excellent thing. 

Because it passes the message that we own the content, and it is not a set of words that we took memorize and repeat.

Some memorized speeches will produce the content, which means looking for the information that interests us and makes us feel passionate enough to write about it; this is commonly seen in poetry contests. 

Our concern is to take on board which type of subjects our audience is concerned about, but we should also find it essential to find reasons to be passionate to create flow and openness.

They are also those memorize speeches like a sales pitch, in which our primary focus is on getting to know more about the product itself, side-effects, finding positives things, and structure the best way to launch it behind people.

The preparation stage of a memorized speech is all about three things:

• Get Familiar with the subject;
• Feel Comfortable with it;
• Develop a structure of speech outcome.

 These are the pilar of the preparation stage, and to achieve this, we need to draw actual goals, namely, transforming the which to perform a memorized speech in activities.

So imagine we are getting ready for a spelling competition, we need to engage this new goal into on our schedule, not as a task that needs to be ticked diary but as visualizing different sets it could be practiced, for example:

• Hanging around with friends making a game of rotating spell;
• Scrolling images and as we see spell the word;
• Have a playlist of our favorite relaxing songs when it is time to practice.

Because we want to imprint in our brains and make it a regular action, our memory will be tested.

We need to practice, especially when we are about / having fun, so it gets on our emotions, in front of friends or family, so having an audience on the big day won’t make us feel anxious or blocked.

A memorized speech can be prepared in 4 steps:

• Make our need to memorize an activity;
• Engage it in our daily schedule to turn into a lasting memory;
• Choose times we are having fun, so it becomes easier to do;
• Do it with people’s help from time to time so we can get used to an audience.

Successful Memorized Speech Task 2: Delivery

So here we are, the BIG DAY as arrived. What should we first? First of all, breathe. We need to make sure we have time enough to breathe slowly and be in the moment. It is scientifically proven that breathing helps our brains calm down and find solutions when facing a problem. 

When I had to perform my first memorized speech, I took plenty of time reading the content over and over again. All kinds of the way with music, without music, alone, with people, I  did everything but breathe , which was my biggest mistake.

When the time arrived, I had all in my mind until I got nervous and forgot everything I need to say before; I could not improve because I didn’t bond with content. We don’t this to happen with you never, so remember to breathe.

On the day of the delivery, we want to be relaxed and make sure our mind and spirit are in sync. The pressure of practicing too much on the day eventually will create tension between us, trying to remember what goes next and the audience. 

Having a structure is always helpful. We could start by not forgetting to interact with the audience, which means say Good Morning, smile, make eye contact, and maybe just come with a little joke.

Showing some pictures related to our content or adding some light instrumental to a poetry contest would be a good tip because it would create an open environment.

We want to choose clothes that are not very colorful so that the audience pays attention to what we have to say and not how neon green doesn’t match our curvy stance, so yes, we also need to pay attention to our body language.

The memorized speech can be delivered in 5 steps:

• Believe that we got this; after all, we have been practicing to make it a habit, something that is naturally part of us;
• Keep up the new routine we created on the preparation stage;
• Have a structure to outcome the content;
• Articulate body language with speech to make the audience open and receptive;

It is possible to perfume a memorized speech without getting stressed by planning it and engaging in our daily activities. It doesn’t have to be a speech without personality either by creating a structure that will not only outcome the content at the right time but also adding some images to make it memorable.

References and Further Reading

Social Sci LibreTextes. Methods of Speech Delivery .

SPCH PPTs Text LearAct. Speak from the Memory.

How to Make a Speech Unique, Memorable, and Inspiring

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14.1 Four Methods of Delivery

Learning objectives.

• Differentiate among the four methods of speech delivery.
• Understand when to use each of the four methods of speech delivery.

Maryland GovPics – House of Ruth Luncheon – CC BY 2.0.

The easiest approach to speech delivery is not always the best. Substantial work goes into the careful preparation of an interesting and ethical message, so it is understandable that students may have the impulse to avoid “messing it up” by simply reading it word for word. But students who do this miss out on one of the major reasons for studying public speaking: to learn ways to “connect” with one’s audience and to increase one’s confidence in doing so. You already know how to read, and you already know how to talk. But public speaking is neither reading nor talking.

Speaking in public has more formality than talking. During a speech, you should present yourself professionally. This doesn’t mean you must wear a suit or “dress up” (unless your instructor asks you to), but it does mean making yourself presentable by being well groomed and wearing clean, appropriate clothes. It also means being prepared to use language correctly and appropriately for the audience and the topic, to make eye contact with your audience, and to look like you know your topic very well.

While speaking has more formality than talking, it has less formality than reading. Speaking allows for meaningful pauses, eye contact, small changes in word order, and vocal emphasis. Reading is a more or less exact replication of words on paper without the use of any nonverbal interpretation. Speaking, as you will realize if you think about excellent speakers you have seen and heard, provides a more animated message.

The next sections introduce four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality when giving a public speech.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. Impromptu speeches often occur when someone is asked to “say a few words” or give a toast on a special occasion. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and I’m a volunteer with the Homes for the Brave program.” Another example of impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the documentary?”

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.

Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu speech in public.

• Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point you want to make.
• Thank the person for inviting you to speak.
• Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
• Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
• Stop talking.

As you can see, impromptu speeches are generally most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.

Extemporaneous Speaking

Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes. By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech as it progresses. The opportunity to assess is also an opportunity to restate more clearly any idea or concept that the audience seems to have trouble grasping.

For instance, suppose you are speaking about workplace safety and you use the term “sleep deprivation.” If you notice your audience’s eyes glazing over, this might not be a result of their own sleep deprivation, but rather an indication of their uncertainty about what you mean. If this happens, you can add a short explanation; for example, “sleep deprivation is sleep loss serious enough to threaten one’s cognition, hand-to-eye coordination, judgment, and emotional health.” You might also (or instead) provide a concrete example to illustrate the idea. Then you can resume your message, having clarified an important concept.

Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally. The disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is that it requires a great deal of preparation for both the verbal and the nonverbal components of the speech. Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before you’re scheduled to speak.

Because extemporaneous speaking is the style used in the great majority of public speaking situations, most of the information in this chapter is targeted to this kind of speaking.

Speaking from a Manuscript

Manuscript speaking is the word-for-word iteration of a written message. In a manuscript speech, the speaker maintains his or her attention on the printed page except when using visual aids.

The advantage to reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, in some circumstances this can be extremely important. For example, reading a statement about your organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact. In reading one word at a time, in order, the only errors would typically be mispronunciation of a word or stumbling over complex sentence structure.

However, there are costs involved in manuscript speaking. First, it’s typically an uninteresting way to present. Unless the speaker has rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures (as poets do in a poetry slam and actors do in a reader’s theater), the presentation tends to be dull. Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script precludes eye contact with the audience. For this kind of “straight” manuscript speech to hold audience attention, the audience must be already interested in the message before the delivery begins.

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians often read from an autocue device, such as a TelePrompTer, especially when appearing on television, where eye contact with the camera is crucial. With practice, a speaker can achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of speaking extemporaneously while using an autocue device. However, success in this medium depends on two factors: (1) the speaker is already an accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a prepared script, and (2) the speech is written in a style that sounds conversational.

Speaking from Memory

Memorized speaking is the rote recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script in a stage play, television program, or movie scene. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses visual aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage. However, there are some real and potential costs. First, unless you also plan and memorize every vocal cue (the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace), gesture, and facial expression, your presentation will be flat and uninteresting, and even the most fascinating topic will suffer. You might end up speaking in a monotone or a sing-song repetitive delivery pattern. You might also present your speech in a rapid “machine-gun” style that fails to emphasize the most important points. Second, if you lose your place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. More frighteningly, if you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep going.

Key Takeaways

• There are four main kinds of speech delivery: impromptu, extemporaneous, manuscript, and memorized.
• Impromptu speaking involves delivering a message on the spur of the moment, as when someone is asked to “say a few words.”
• Extemporaneous speaking consists of delivering a speech in a conversational fashion using notes. This is the style most speeches call for.
• Manuscript speaking consists of reading a fully scripted speech. It is useful when a message needs to be delivered in precise words.
• Memorized speaking consists of reciting a scripted speech from memory. Memorization allows the speaker to be free of notes.
• Find a short newspaper story. Read it out loud to a classroom partner. Then, using only one notecard, tell the classroom partner in your own words what the story said. Listen to your partner’s observations about the differences in your delivery.
• In a group of four or five students, ask each student to give a one-minute impromptu speech answering the question, “What is the most important personal quality for academic success?”
• Watch the evening news. Observe the differences between news anchors using a TelePrompTer and interviewees who are using no notes of any kind. What differences do you observe?

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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35 Delivery Methods- Which One Should I Use?

There are many ways to deliver your speech. Each one has some specific things to know. In this chapter, we will cover impromptu speaking, extemporaneous speaking, manuscript speaking, memorized presentation, and finally group or team presentations.

Ray, corporate will be here in five minutes and I want you to walk them through the proposal. Jade, would you give a toast to the partners in a few minutes? Alex, the speaker is going to be 15 minutes late, would you go out and talk about some related topic until she gets here. I have a few people here who need a quick brush up on how to use features of Microsoft Teams, do you have a minute to show them? I think I want to buy this computer but I’m not sure if it is right for me, would you demonstrate how to log onto Zoom with it? Our political candidate has asked that you go to the Farmer’s Market and talk with constituents about his beliefs about the upcoming zoning changes. Javantee, at today’s business meeting, could you tell us about the progress your team is making on project X? Eve, would you give your testimony at Bible study in a few minutes. Mr. Davidson, the reporter will be here in two minutes to take your statement about the opening. We will be asking you questions at the end of your presentation if that is OK with you.

It is likely that each of you reading this book will be called to give an impromptu speech in your life. It is that sudden and often unexpected call to give a speech. In public speaking classrooms and in speech clubs, a topic is offered, and you have a few minutes to prepare.

Steps to Success in an Impromptu Speech

• Breathe. Often the call to give a speech will catch you off guard. Take a deep breath, fill your body full of wonderful idea-giving, stress-reducing oxygen.
• Jot down a few quick ideas.
• If time, write down three solid points on the topic.
• Always figure out what your first three words will be. Never let your first words be, “Ok, so um”.
• Plan your last sentence. If you do not have a plan to end and end strong, you will find yourself rambling in search of an ending.

Impromptu Like a Pro

• To put the “Advanced” into your public speaking, use strong signposts. ” I have three points to tell you today,” “point one,” “point two,” “point three,” “Now that I have given you three things to consider.”
• As with all speaking, you should plan the first three words and the last three words to be strong and impactful.

Extemporaneous Speech

Extemporaneous speaking is speaking with brief notes and careful practice. When doing this type of speech, you have written most of the main ideas of your speech in an outline, but the speech is delivered from brief notes. The main ideas are developed but the exact wording of the point is decided at the moment.

The advantage of this type of speaking is you can prepare, plan, and practice. Not having every word scripted helps the speech feel fresh, alive, and real. In addition, the fact every single word isn’t written allows you wiggle room to add new information that seems relevant during the speech. It also can provide a buffer if you mess up. Since it is not scripted, it is easier to pick up and recover.

Steve Johnson who gave a Ted Talk on Where Good Ideas Come gave this commentary on why he decided not to memorize his speech:

In all of my TED talks, I very deliberately did not memorize them, precisely because the audience can hear memorized text very clearly, and it takes awas from the spontaneous, engaged nature of speaking to a live audience. The other problem with a memorized speech is that when it fails, it fails catastrophically. If you’re just talking, following a rough outline, if you slip up a bit and forget a small piece, it’s barely noticeable to anyone but you. But if you’re reciting something from memory and draw a blank, you’re likely to freeze with nowhere to go. It’s like your mental teleprompter has frozen.

Steps to Success in an Extemporaneous Speech

The process for developing an extemporaneous speech is as follows:

• Think of a topic.
• Create a thesis statement/ big idea.
• Research your topic.
• Outline your speech with a pattern appropriate to the topic and audience.
• Prepare clear preview and review statements at the opening and closing of your speech where you state and restate the main purpose of your speech.
• Add a clear opening and closing statement.
• Create brief notecards from your outline.
• Deliver the speech in a conversational manner with good eye contact and body movement that enhances the topic and your credibility.

The key advantage of extemporaneous speaking is it tends to feel more natural.

Salman Khan, of Khan Academy learning programs, made several TED Talks on educational principles and says,

I personally tend to list out bullet points of what I want to talk about and try communicating those ideas in my natural language as if I’m talking to friends at a dinner table. The key is to keep your mind focused and let the words fall out. The audience knows when you are thinking about what you are saying versus when you have just memorized a script.

Extemporaneous –Always Have This Speech Ready to Go

There are a few speeches that you should always have ready to go

• Elevator Speech -Imagine you are taking an elevator ride with the person that you want to work for, give you a loan, do research with, partner with and you have only one minute to convince them to talk with you.
• Corporate Story -If you are in business, you should have your corporate story ready to go in a one to two minute speech. This speech should tell people who you are and what you believe.

In the early days of rhetoric, students would learn the art of speaking by memorizing the speeches of others and delivering them in public places. The Greek rhetors placed a great emphasis on the skill of memorization and it is even considered one of the canons of rhetoric. The most common times you will see a speech memorized is for toast speeches and acceptance speeches. After all, it ruins the moment if you have a wine glass in one hand toasting the groom and your speech notes in the other. Memorizing your toast helps you to be in the moment. In addition, many sales companies require their salespeople to memorize the company sales script. These tested formulas often pay off in larger sales, so they expect associates to deliver word-per-word scripts in their sales presentations. Some politicians have memorized stump speeches or at least memorized answers to standard questions.

While not as prevalent as it was in ancient Greek and Rome, memorized speeches are making a comeback. The biggest place of resurgence is on the Ted stage. Chris Anderson, Ted Talk curator said, “Many of our best and most popular TED Talks have been memorized word for word.”

TED speaker and voice artist Rives says,

I memorize the s#@! out of it. I memorize the talk until the talk is like a tune. I workshop the talk in my mouth. I run it fast and slow, singsong and stentorian, cool and cooler. I rehearse the talk until I’m performing the talk, not remembering it.

Pamela Meyer, TED speaker says,

You haven’t really memorized your talk thoroughly until you can do an entire other activity that requires mental energy while giving your talk. Can you give your talk while measuring out the ingredients to make brownies?

The advantage of memorizing your speech is you can plan every word making the most of your speech time. Not having to look at notes frees you up to make good eye contact. The disadvantage of memorizing your speech is you might not sound fresh and your audience may perceive it more as a performance than a speech. Some speakers take on a machine gun tone with their voice giving away the memorized format. Sometimes eye contact is lost as the speaker reads off the “invisible notecard in the sky.” The biggest disadvantage is that you risk going blank and forgetting what to say.

If you do decide to memorize your speech, be sure you know it well. TED curator, Chris Anderson says, “Most people go through what I call the ‘valley of awkwardness,’ where they haven’t quite memorized the talk. If they give the talk while stuck in that valley, the audience will sense it … Getting past this point is simple, fortunately. It’s just a matter of rehearsing enough times that the flow of words becomes second nature. It is important,” according to Anderson ” that, you are not supposed to recite your talk, you’re supposed to live it. Embody it. It must come across as if you are sharing these ideas for the first time.”

Have a backup plan. If you decide to memorize your talk, keep a notecard in your pocket. If you forget what to say, pause and say, “Let me refer to my notes” and then pull them out or pause for a moment and have a sip of water. No matter how well you know your talk, have a backup plan.

After all the memorization work I’d done, performing this speech felt like swinging a racquet or shooting a basketball, like dancing a routine you know perfectly. The speech had become a literal part of me, encoded in the neural connections of my brain. Memorization, I realized, is a place where the mind learns to cope with the body. Consciously, we want to remember something, but that’s not sufficient to embed information in the networks of the brain. We have to earn the memories we want. Alexis Madrigal. What Memorizing a Ted Talk Did for My Brain

Memory Techniques

Greek poet Simonides of Ceos is the first recorded use of the method of loci (loci being Latin for places). It is more recently called the memory palace. If you have ever watched BBC’s Sherlock, you may have noticed that Sherlock uses the memory palace to remember things. Individuals who compete in memory competitions often use the memory palace or memory journey technique to remember long lists of times–Clemons Mayer memorized 1040 random digits by using a 300-point journey through his house and Gary Shang used the technique to memorize pi to 65,536 digits. Brain scans of these super memorizers show the region of the brain involved with spatial awareness is activated when using this technique.

So how does it work? In short, this technique suggests that you remember things in familiar spatial environments. For example, you might imagine each part of your speech being located in one of your kitchen cabinets. When you open the cabinet door, you can see the speech part. Speaker Irina Elena Antonescu found images and cut and pasted them on big sheets of paper in a kind of journey to help her memorize her talk. Heather Hanson learned from Grandmaster of Memory, Nishant Kasibhatla how to think in pictures and how to find pictures that make sense to her in some way. 

  I’ll show you how it works. This picture illustrates my third speaking point on listening. In my mind, the rainbow was cascading down on the audience from the first-floor balcony while I spoke of the beautiful variety of English accents. Then, the colors turned into speech bubbles floating over everyone’s heads with all their different sounds as I talked about how accents work. The bubbles popped and turned into music notes as I remembered to elaborate on tone and emphasis until a huge donkey showed up and started eating the music notes. That reminded me to tell everyone not to be an “ass” and not to make “ass”umptions about the way people speak (I didn’t use those words, of course, but that’s actually what I was thinking). Then, the donkey looked right at me and his eyes popped out of his head! He was wearing accented contact lenses, which reminded me to talk about how we need more contact with different varieties of accented English.  Suddenly, it was incredibly easy to remember my talk! Heather Hansen Read the whole article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/memorization-trick-saved-my-tedx-talk-heather-hansen/  

In the video How to Memorize and Give a Speech Without Notes , Jim Kwik gives a step-by-step tutorial to apply this to memorizing a speech.

There will be times when reading from a manuscript is helpful. When giving a eulogy you are likely to experience strong emotions.  Having your words written out will be very helpful. Politicians often speak from manuscripts because there will be people weighing the meaning of each word. They often have speech writers who take their ideas and make them sound fancy and they likely have several people help them omit words that might offend.

The advantage to speaking with a manuscript is you have your speech in front of you giving you an opportunity to plan interesting wordplays and advanced language techniques. Another advantage to a manuscript is you can share your speech with others. For example, many people like to have written copies of the toast given to them at a special occasion or family members might want to keep a copy of the eulogy.  Politically speaking, a manuscript can be helpful to help keep you on track and make sure you only say things you meant to say.

The disadvantage to a manuscript is if not done properly, your speech may feel like merely an “essay with legs.” Speaking from a manuscript is a skill. I would argue that it is one of the most difficult of all the delivery types because your goal is to read without appearing to read. It can be so tempting to lock your eyes on the page where it is safe and to never look up. Speakers who lack the skill of manuscript reading will have very little eye contact. It is usually sporadic and rarely long enough to lock eyes with anyone in the audience. Finally, it is very difficult for most people to make gestures when reading a manuscript. Many people run their hands down the page to keep their place and worse yet, many speakers clutch both hands over the podium and never let go.

There is an entire chapter written on how to use a manuscript

Group or Team Speech

Several years ago, I was on a charter bus headed to teaching camp. I often use that time to learn more about other teachers and their specialties. This time the person seated next to me was a professor from the Walton School of Business. I asked him, “In your opinion, in what area are students not properly prepared when it comes to communicating in a corporate environment.” He said, “Group presentations.” He went on to explain that the model in most speech classes is four people each prepare a speech on a similar topic and then one at a time, they stand up and give their speech. They may share slides and put them all together, but often there is not a lot of group in a group speech.  He said, “That is not a group speech in the real world where each person plays to their strengths. In that setting, team members talk for different amounts of time. In the presentation, they tag team, they interact, and they are involved with the content from the other group members. The whole thing looks like a seamless presentation, not four speeches glued together by a shared slideshow.

Once I was working on a team presentation with another teacher. Originally, we had the typical I talk for five minutes and then she talks for five minutes set up, but then we decided there was no team in that model. We reworked the presentation where she might present a point, and then I might give some supplemental information on a point and one of us would introduce the next point. Since there was a lot of turn-takings, we coded our slides by putting a red dot or a blue dot in the corner of the slide to remind us of whose turn it was to present. One person held the clicker and we had practice signals to know when to advance. We even had it worked out where when one person would talk, the other person would walk around and be ready to give out handouts or to ask an interactive question to the audience. We worked as a unified team moving towards the goal of educating teachers about how to talk about difficult subjects in the college classroom.

Steps to Success in a Group Speech

• Everyone Should Know All the Content. One of the big mistakes I see in college presentations, it that students put everything together last minute and each speaker is not aware of what the others are saying. They may use a shared document to make an outline, but each person adds the content so late the others do not have time to read and respond. Inevitably, two presenters have the same information. The second person who presents finds themselves in the awkward position of saying, “Like Joe already said, repeated fact.”  For group speeches to work, group members must share content early and they need to, not only share the content in a document, but they also need to practice together.
• Nonspeaking Group Members Can Be Distracting. You need to plan what the nonspeaking group members are doing when they are not speaking. Are they sitting, standing, walking around? Are they in view of the audience? During a group presentation at the university, I had the students unwisely decide to stand in front of the class in a line and then take turns speaking down the line. The third speaker got bored, so he grabbed a marker and started drawing a cartoon on the whiteboard while his group member was talking. I’ve also seen groups where they didn’t manage facial expressions and looked genuinely surprised by a fact the speaker said or looked very angry by the information that clearly was tacked on by one of their team members last minute.
• Dead Air Kills. When I worked as a radio DJ, we had the phrase, “Dead air kills.” Which meant if the DJ didn’t properly time one song to lead into the next or if there was even a short pause before the commercial, the DJ would lose your audience. A brief pause might even lead to the listeners changing the channel. When working with groups, the time it takes for each speaker to stand, to speak, or to get their notes ready can result in dead air. Work towards a seamless presentation and practice the timing and logistics of how to get from one speaker to the next.
• Transitions Keep Things Seamless . Each speaker should give a transition that clearly connects their speech to the next speaker, “I told you about the culture of Mexico, now Yazan will tell you about the food.”
• Slides Should Be Consistent. They should be consistent in the background, headings, photos, and font. For example, one person has high-quality photos for the slides while the other group member has cheesy uncentered clip art. Make sure each person knows and has access to the whole slide show. Oftentimes, one person will be responsible for making the slides for the group. If that is the case, make sure the slide show is done before the deadline so each team member can proof the slides and practice with the slides.
• Start and End Strong. There should be a grabber to get the attention of the topic and there should be a thesis/preview that includes all the subtopics of the speech. At the end of the speech, you should restate the thesis/review and give a strong closing statement.

In summary, there are many considerations when picking a way to deliver a speech. The context of the speech, the need for precision or flexibility, and the personal preference of the speaker will all influence which delivery method works best.

Key Takeaways

Remember This! 

There are several ways to deliver speeches each with advantages and disadvantages. It is important to pick your delivery mode based on audience, occasion, and personal style preference.

• Extemporaneous
• Group Presentation

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Hansen, H. (2018). The memorization trick that saved my TEDx talk. [Video]. YouTube.   https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/memorization-trick-saved-my-tedx-talk-heather-hansen/

Jameson, S.  (2005).  Reading for college PowerPoint. Drew University. https://www.nwmissouri.edu/trio/pdf/sss/study/Reading-for-college.pdf

Madrigal, A. (2016). The weird, wonderful, sometimes awful world of bots. TED Talk. [Video]. YouTube.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUosXSJf-9E Standard YouTube License.

Maguire, E.A., Valenrine, E.R., Wilding, J.M., & Kapur, N. (2002). Routes to remembering the brains behind superior memory. Nature Neuroscience . 6 ( 1): 90–95. doi: 10.1038/nn988. PMID: 12483214.

  Memory Town System for Languages – Memory Techniques Wiki  https://artofmemory.com/wiki/Main_Page

Raz, A., Packard, M.G., Alexander, G.M., Bulhe, J.T., Zhu, H, Yu, S. & Peterson, B.S. (2009). A slice of π  An exploration neuroimaging study of digit encoding and retrieval in a superior memorist. Neurocase. 15 (5): 361–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/13554790902776896

Stout, S. Eulogy to Papa with the Theme of Dancing. Delivered in Lynn Meade’s Advanced Public Speaking Class at the  University of Arkansas. Used with permission.

van As, T. Tribute to Nelson Mandela. Delivered in Lynn Meade’s Advanced Public Speaking Class at the  University of Arkansas. Used with permission.

Winfrey, O. Eulogy to Rosa Parks. A slice of π  An exploration neuroimaging study of digit encoding and retrieval  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cfhtfNfIPE Standard YouTube License.

Media Attributions

• Woman at computer © AllGo - An App For Plus Size People is licensed under a CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license
• Memory 2 © Heather Hansen is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives) license
• Memory © Heather Hansen is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license

Advanced Public Speaking Copyright © 2021 by Lynn Meade is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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12 Delivery: A Recipe for Great Speaking

Megan orcholski, university of wisconsin-milwaukee, learning objectives.

• Understand the importance of delivery and its impact on public speaking.
• Learn what tools create delivery and have a basic understanding of how to use them.
• Be better prepared to deliver a speech!

Imagine you go to a restaurant and order a dish that sounds delicious.  When they bring you the food, it is cooked without care, unseasoned, and slopped onto your plate. It doesn’t look or taste very good. You’re hungry, so you eat it. It still has nutritional value, but you don’t enjoy it. You probably won’t remember this meal, and if you do, you will probably only remember how bad it was. When food is cooked, there is a lot of thought that goes into how the person eating the food (the audience) will feel when they eat it. Delivery is similar, as it is the vehicle for how an audience consumes a speech. The audience will get the speech whether it’s perfectly seasoned or thrown together without care. You have the opportunity as a speaker to make your content and performance appetizing to your audience!

Delivery can be thought of as the “icing on the cake,” but let’s break that down. Can you eat cake without icing? Sure. But icing is intended to complement the cake, make it look pretty, and taste better. Similarly, bad delivery can call attention to itself or make the cake worse. As a good friend of mine says, excellent delivery can enhance the content and make it taste sweeter.

Delivery is not always valued as an essential part of presentations by speakers. For example, have you ever had a teacher who was incredibly boring, didn’t look at you, or stumbled through their lectures? You, as the audience, probably wished they had practiced their delivery. To an audience, delivery is important. It can be the difference between an audience tolerating what you are saying and an audience really understanding, enjoying, and remembering your content.

Often, speakers in my class treat delivery like a magical talent that some people are lucky enough to have and others don’t. However, delivery skills can be learned by practice. Imagine speaking to someone who says, “I’m bad at downhill skiing.” You may reply, “Do you ski a lot?” or “Have you taken any lessons?” If someone does not practice and learn basic skills, they cannot expect to do well at a skill like skiing. Speaking is also a skill. It is something which you can practice, train, and improve. Yes, there are certainly some individuals for whom strong delivery seems to come naturally, but anyone can be an effective presenter if they are willing to practice. You do not have to like public speaking to be good at it. So get ready to get great at gifting your messages to audiences!

How to Effectively Use Your Voice

Vocalics also known as paralanguage, refers to the pieces of oral communication which convey meaning beyond the words. Have you heard the proverb, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it?” Vocalics is referring to the “how.” There are five distinct vocalics: volume, pitch, rate, articulation, and pronunciation. The first three (volume, pitch, and rate)  are nonverbal components that are present in both oral and verbal communication. Oral, referring to the mouth, can be any sound or noise. Let’s say your blowing air out of your lips, making a loud sigh or humming, you are still using volume, pitch, and rate even though you aren’t saying words. Volume, pitch, and rate work nonverbally or in connection with the words to create meaning. The final two vocalics, articulation and pronunciation, are only present in verbal communication, as they address how words are formed and emphasized.

Vocalics , also known as paralanguage, refers to the pieces of oral communication which convey meaning beyond the words.

Think of vocalics as the basic ingredients of delivery. By learning how to utilize them, you can make unlimited types of delivery dishes. Having an understanding of how vocalics work and the main things they communicate will allow you to have more control over how you are communicating with your audience.

Volume has to do with how loud, or soft, something is. This is probably a pretty familiar concept, but you may not have thought deeply about how volume functions as a communication tool. Volume is associated with power and control. When a person gets louder, it is often because they want to be heard. Imagine a child who is trying to get the attention of busy adults or a customer trying to get the attention of a server at a crowded restaurant. Increasing volume is a way for a speaker to direct focus to themselves. However, the relationship between volume and power is more complicated. Being louder does not necessarily translate to more power. Instead, volume can work in complex ways to create meaning. Sure, getting louder or yelling can communicate importance or control, but so too can a drop in volume. For example, when parents are trying to get children to do something, the indication of it getting serious is often when they go from yelling to talking in a soft, controlled, serious manner. I knew as a child that it was when my parents got very quiet was when I was actually in big trouble!

Try It: Talk to Grandma

For a lot of people, an appropriate volume is a huge problem. Even when they think they are loud enough, it can still be a struggle to hear them well enough to easily understand what they are saying. If you have seen the movie Sister Act , think about the scene where Whoopi Goldberg’s character uses visualization to get the young singer to be loud enough and find her voice. Visualization may work for you too. Start by visualizing an older relative or friend who doesn’t hear very well. Imagine they are coming to see you speak. They will want to be able to hear you. In your head, place them behind the last row of the audience. If you are always making sure they can hear you from behind the last person, your volume should be adequate for the size of the audience and space.

When using volume as a tool of communication, speakers must consider projection. When you are speaking for an audience, you want to be loud enough to be heard. This volume often requires speakers to adjust how they project sound and focus their sound towards a target. [i] If you have had any music or theater training, you probably already understand the basics of focusing and directing your sound. You will want to have strong breath support to properly project. This breath support can be achieved by making sure you are not breathing shallowly with your shoulders, but rather pulling air all the way down to your diaphragm or about two inches below your belly button.

To get louder, people often use the throat and increase how hard the vocal cords are working, but this can strain the voice and also produce a stressed sound. A better way to achieve increased projection is to pull in a lot of air using your diaphragm so that more air can flow over your vocal cords. Your breath support will help you be able to control your volume.

Finally, you will want to focus your projection or have motivation in your volume. We do this all the time, like when we are at a sporting event and cheering your favorite player or when you are at a loud party and want to have a conversation with one person. [ii] You will adjust your volume to match your speaking situation. In these cases, the direction of your projection helps aid your volume in communicating intention and meaning. Use changes in volume meaningfully and deliberately to focus communication, emphasize ideas, or make yourself heard.

Try It: Using your Diaphragm

Breath support is crucial for projecting your voice without straining your vocal cords.  To make sure you are breathing deeply enough, place your hand below your belly button.  When you fill yourself with air, your hand should rise.  To start, try laying down.  This technique can help you to breathe deeply and relax.  You can also see your hand move!  If you find that your shoulders or chest are moving, you are probably not breathing deeply enough.  To help, visualize that you are pulling from your toes.  Your toes are not part of the breathing process, but thinking about drawing from your whole body can help deepen your breath.

Pitch deals with where your voice is resonating on the musical scale. If you start humming, a musician would be able to match the tone of your hum on their musical instrument. All of us have a pitch we naturally tend to. Our pitch is based on both the make-up of our body, specifically the length of one’s vocal folds and size of the vocal tract, and our socialization. Pitch is determined by how much your vocal folds are vibrating.  Vibrating fast at a high cycle produces a higher pitch, whereas fewer vibrations create a lower pitch. [i]  While our biology determines our abilities and range, a person may also vary or control their pitch based on cultural and social roles.   Pitch is often used to communicate gender, as the physiological makeup is connected to sex. Female voices are, on average, about an octave higher than male voices. This claim is a generalization and can vary based on the individual. But this idea was demonstrated on a daily basis before everyone had a cell phone and the main phone used was a house phone. If a person unfamiliar with the house called, they had to rely solely on a person’s pitch to determine gender and age. Many of us, who grew up with a house phone, have a story of being mistaken for someone else in the household or being labeled with a gender we don’t identify with. Though our bodies may limit our pitch, we do have the ability to utilize pitch variation to give meaning to our words.

As with the other vocalics, pitch gets more interesting when it changes. Intonation  refers to how your pitch rises and falls, creating vocal variety. When pitch rises, the voice communicates uncertainty or indecisiveness. This can be seen when we ask questions. However, some people tend to go up at the end of their sentences even when it is not a question. [ii] For example, imagine saying the phrase “I like your shirt” to a friend. Try it right now with your tone going up at the end. Now say it with your tone staying the same or coming down. Your intonation drastically changes the meaning.

Intonation refers to how your pitch rises and falls, creating vocal variety.

As a speaker, you want to be careful you are not communicating hesitancy or uncertainty when you intend to communicate confidence. Similarly, the dropping of pitch communicates certainty or finality. An example of this is in the Wizard of Oz when the Winkie guards are marching outside of the Wicked Witch’s castle. You can hear them sing, “O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah!” [iii] Not only can you hear them change their intonation throughout the song, but their pitch lowers at the end of the phrase, creating finality to what may otherwise be meaningless sounds.

Try It: Play Around

Speakers do not tend to use as much vocal variety as they are capable of because they are not aware of how much variation they could have. One way to explore pitch is to specifically practice trying different tonal changes when you are speaking. First, to warm up, make noise all the way up and down the tonal scale. Start by making a high pitch and then falling to as low as you can comfortably go. Then go back up. (If you have a piano, you can plunk out notes or do scales). Once you’ve established your range, then pick a line or two in your speech, use the Pledge of Allegiance, or anything else you know very well. Try to speak those sentences in at least ten different ways. Each time, change your tone to play with how you could say the line or phrase. Pay attention to how your tone will impact the audience’s understanding of what you are saying. Focusing on your impact can be especially important on the last line of an argument or the end of the speech. Working to bring your pitch up in the middle of the sentence and dropping it at the end for finality can help you finish strong.

At its most basic, rate deals with speed, specifically how quickly or how slowly the words are spoken. This speed not only deals with the sounds within a word, but also the spaces between words. The speed at which words are spoken is connected to perceptions of emotional control. A fast rate is associated with uncontrolled or extreme emotion, whereas a slow rate is associated with controlled emotion. Think of an excited child trying to tell you a story. Their quick pace may sound frantic or frenzied. Now contrast that with how President Obama spoke during his public speeches. He typically has a very deliberate pace that communicated his command of the situation. You will want to pay attention to your rate in general, but you are also able to vary your rate to communicate meaning. For example, when you have something that is very important, slowing down the rate can help the point come across as important to the audience.

Speaking too quickly is a common problem, but you can train yourself to speak slower. Unfortunately, trying to “be slower!” doesn’t usually help. One tip is to think of putting little tiny spacers between your words. This way, it is easier to be understood, even at a fast pace. It’s like a friendship bracelet–if you put all of the beautiful, glamorous beads together, it looks gaudy. So, you separate them by clear or white spacer beads, making the beauty easier to look at and more fluid. By giving your words tiny spaces around them, your articulation will be stronger, and your words will be easier to understand. Some students also benefit from simply writing “pause” or “breath” on their note cards. These words can remind you to slow your rate, even if you are nervous during your speech.

Pacing can be an effective way of creating meaning and allowing your audience to absorb those meanings. A well-placed pause or giving more time to an explanation can help your audience understand and retain the information you are telling them. Your speaking rate is especially important because your audience is trying to mentally digest what you are saying. They cannot control the speed with which they receive the information, but you can help your audience have time to absorb and process information by being conscious of your rate.

Speakers often throw out information without much thought to the speed or pacing. Think about spoon-feeding a baby. Baby’s don’t have much control over how fast they receive their food. If you feed them too fast, they will cough and choke, and baby food will potentially come out their nose! When you feed a baby, you adjust your speech based on how long it takes the baby to taste, swallow, and enjoy the food. You want to do the same thing with your audience. Pay attention to how they are reacting and how they are absorbing the information. Observation is especially important during transitions of points or topics. Have you ever fed a baby a bite of peas and then a bite of bananas? It’s hilarious. The baby makes weird funny faces because their expectations were violated—they were expecting peas and got bananas instead. When you switch food, you often take a pause, maybe give the baby a sip of water. You want them to know you are moving to a different food. Similarly, a speaker should utilize their delivery to lead the audience from one point to the next. By paying attention to your pacing, your audience will be able to retain and remember more of your information.

Try It: Object Toss

One way to help you with your pacing is to picture your words as tangible objects going toward your audience. To practice this, get a bowl of cotton balls, pennies, scarves, or other lightweight objects. While you are practicing your speech, toss the objects toward a pretend audience (a blanket works great for this). However, you have to toss and speak at the same pace! This action shows a speaker very quickly how fast they are going. Now, one potential risk of this exercise is that you may start to find a rhythm with your tossing that may lull you into an unnatural speaking rhythm. You want your rate to sound natural and conversational, so once you get the pace under control, stop physically tossing and work to speak at that comfortable pace.

Articulation and Pronunciation

Articulation deals with how the words come out of your mouth, specifically how the words are shaped. Pronunciation is articulation combined with cultural influences to create ways of saying words that are identifiable to specific regions or groups of people. While two separate concepts, they often work in tandem when we are dealing with language. As a speaker, you want to make sure the audience can understand you. Paying attention to how you form your words can help you avoid mumbling or slurring your words together.

Pronunciation is grounded in culture and expectations can vary depending on your audience and specific speaking context. A dialect, which refers to how a person or group specifically forms their words and arranges their grammar, may impact how you are communicating with your audience. You may want to be aware if the audience has a similar or different dialect than you. For example, if you grew up in the Midwest, you may refer to Pepsi as “pop” with the o sounding more like an a. Whereas, those in the south would refer to it as a “coke” with a long o sound. And then there is the rest of the nation who say “soda.”  People often forget they have a dialect and will sometimes view other dialects as inferior. But everyone has a dialect that delineates from ethnic heritage as well as regional locations. Being aware of dialect is important in public speaking because parts of your dialect may not be familiar to a group who uses a different one. You may end up using a term common to you, but unfamiliar to your audience. You may also pronounce a word in a way that the audience wouldn’t understand. By being aware of these issues, you can address them in your presentation if necessary.

Try It: All it Takes is a Pencil

If you are struggling with articulation or worried you are mumbling, a pencil can help your mouth realize how it’s forming words. Put the pencil in your mouth horizontally, and bite down on it. Say your speech with the pencil in your mouth until your words can be completely understood. Once you are understandable, pull the pencil out of your mouth WHILE YOU ARE TALKING. You should be able to feel the difference. This exercise can help train the muscles how to properly enunciate.

Vocal Variety

While there are different vocalics, they function together to create meaning and vocal variety . Be aware of how volume, pitch, rate, articulation, and pronunciation are working together in your speech to communicate to the audience. What does it do to a sentence when you get quieter, slow down, and drop your pitch all at the same time? How about getting louder, speeding up, and raising your pitch all while over articulating? These tools are excellent for helping to craft meaning beyond your words. Being aware of how they interact with each other can increase your ability to utilize them for making meaning when you are speaking.

Types of Vocalics

Volume has to do with how loud, or soft, something is.

Pitch deals  with where your voice is resonating on the musical scale.

Rate deals with speed, specifically how quickly or how slowly the words are spoken.

Articulation deals with how the words come out of your mouth, specifically how the words are shaped.

Pronunciation is grounded in culture and expectations can vary depending on your audience and specific speaking context.

Vocal variety is when there are different vocalics being used, and they function together to create meaning.

How to Effectively Use your Body

To develop strong delivery skills, speakers need to realize the extent of the body’s power. Your body is an incredibly complex tool that is continuously making meaning. To start to understand this, do some people watching. What can you determine about a person based on the way they stand or how they move? Do you know how they are feeling based on their facial expressions? Beginning speakers are often quick to take their body for granted and not consciously employ choices of movement or expression. To better understand the tools of physical delivery, we will discuss kinesics and the multiple parts of nonverbal communication. Then, we will discuss proxemics or your body in relation to other objects, before ending with a discussion of appearance.

Similar to the vocalics, your body movements add to the words you are saying.  Kinesics refers to how the body is interpreted as nonverbal communication and how physical movements are able to communicate on their own. Think about how often you move your body and what those movements signal to those around you. From popping your hip and crossing your arms to communicate impatience to a late friend, waving at a neighbor as you pass by, or even initiating a hug to a loved one, the movement of our bodies transmits meaning to those observing us. The significance of kinesics is heightened in a public speaking context because of the specific nature and focus of the presentation.

Kinesics refers to how the body is interpreted as nonverbal communication and how physical movements are able to communicate on their own.

Most of us have a basic understanding of posture , even if just from being told to “stand up straight” as a kid. However, posture is more than just standing up straight. It deals with the arrangement of your bones and muscles so that each area is allowed to do its job to its best ability. Good posture allows your body to support and control its structure without unnecessary tension in your frame or strain in the muscles. [i]

To think about your posture as a speaker, it’s helpful to think of the ranges in which your body could arrange itself. The first range is contraction to expansion. How broad are you letting your shoulders expand? How much space are you allowing your arms to take up? The amount of space you take up communicates to the audience. The next range is withdrawal and approach.  Are you leaning forward or sinking back as you speak? When you move in your speech, is it toward or away from the audience? While this happens while walking, withdrawal and approach can also be communicated while standing. Think of how a lean forward communicates advancement whereas leaning back tends to communicate moving away.

Finally, general body orientation, or where all of your parts are in relationship to each other, is important. A neutral body posture is when both feet are flat on the floor, weight is balanced, arms hang gently, and muscles are relaxed. A neutral body posture is not the way most people tend to stand. Many people pop their hip or cross their legs. These stances do not provide a strong foundation to pull breath and initiate movement. As with all of the other components of delivery, there is not an ultimate right or wrong way to stand. Rather, thinking about your stance in relation to your message and audience is the most important consideration.

Try It: Roll it Up and Pull the String

Walk around a mall for a bit and you will be amazed by the popped hips, crossed legs, leaning, and general disregard for a balanced and strong posture. However, when you’re giving a speech, you want your body to look powerful and confident. Instead of forcing your body into an unnatural position, help your body find perfect posture on its own. Stand up straight and find balance with your weight equally distributed between both legs. Picture your spine as building blocks and, starting at your head, roll your spine down block by block until you are comfortably doubled over (do not stretch beyond your capabilities). Here, breathe deeply a few times. As you breathe, feel your back rise and fall with the inhale and exhale. Then slowly, block by block, roll back up until your head is gently floating on tip of your neck. Picture a string connected to your spine that comes out of the top of your head. By gently “pulling” that string at the end, your body should naturally lift into the correct posture. You don’t want to be tense. It may help to think “Bones up, Muscles down.”

While all of the pieces of our body are important for communicating, our arms and hands are arguably the most moveable and versatile. They can help enhance the emotional impact of your verbal message. Gestures are when our arms and hands use their different types of movements to create emphasis, meaning, and symbols. Two of the most well-known categories are emblems and illustrators. Understanding emblems and illustrators can help you know more about how your gestures are communicating. An emblem happens when the body creates something which can be interpreted as a verbal word or phrase. For example, holding your index finger and your middle finger into a “V” with the other fingers closed can be interpreted as the peace sign or the number 2. To be an emblem, Steven R. Brydon and Michael D. Scott argue a gesture must do three things: [i]

• It must have specific meaning for the audience members.
• It must be used intentionally by the speaker to purposely generate meaning.
• It must be easily translated into a few words.

Emblems are very specific to the context. For example, signaling to a train or truck driver by making a fist with a bent elbow and pumping it up and down means “honk your horn.” But that same gesture after scoring a goal in a soccer game can mean “YES!”

Emblems are also very connected to culture. Because of this, you will want to be aware of what meaning you are communicating with your emblem. For example, most of us know that connecting your thumb and index finger into a circle with your other fingers flared up means okay in the United States. However, if you did the same gesture in Japan it means “money” and in France, it means “zero” or “worthless.”

Illustrators are similar to emblems, but instead of being directly translated, they aid the verbal messages and are more generalized meanings. For example, you can describe how big or small an object is, but it is even more effective to also show with your hands. The visualization is aided because of how your motions connect to what you are saying. To demonstrate the importance of illustrators, attempt to give directions or describe something specific without using your hands. It’s very difficult to do!

Types of Gestures

An emblem happens when  the body creates something which can be interpreted as a verbal word or phrase.

Illustrators are similar to emblems, but instead of being directly translated, they aid the verbal messages and are more generalized meanings.

Facial Expressions

Faces are fantastic places for expression and communication.  Facial expressions are when a speaker uses their face to communicate. The face is often completely forgotten as a communicative space. Speakers should be very aware of their face to both increase their communication and prevent sending unintentional messages to the audience. When thinking about facial expressions, it’s important to avoid a blank or unexpressive face. You also don’t want to rely on one facial expression the whole time. Like your vocal tone, your face helps convey meaning. You want it to match your topic and change with the specific information in your speech.  Smiling, for example, is incredibly underused. Many speakers get nervous about speaking and forget the elemental power of a smile. Obviously, there are times and topics for which a smile would not be the appropriate facial expression. But just as we do in conversations with our friends, do not be afraid to use your face to help communicate.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is important for establishing a connection and communicating with the audience.  Eye contact is when the speaker meaningfully connects to the audience with their eyes. The first step to utilizing eye contact is to know your information well enough to be able to speak while making eye contact. This step may seem like common sense, but it can be incredibly difficult to do. Most beginning speakers rely very heavily on their notes or manuscript. I have often told students that I’m jealous of the podium or notecard because it gets all their attention! It may seem scary to look up at the audience, but sustained eye contact has the power to make you feel both physically and emotionally closer to each other. [i] In Western culture, eye contact works to establish a connection, communicate confidence, and affirm credibility.

Once you’re able to look up at the audience, it is important to practice looking directly in the eyes of the audience members. You cannot fake eye contact! If you can see your audience, they will know whether you are actually looking at them or if you are looking over the top of their heads. [ii]  Direct eye contact is especially important if it is a smaller audience. If it is a larger audience or if you are on a lighted stage and can’t see the individuals in the audience, you will still want to direct your energy at specific spots to make it feel personal.  There is no set time for how long to hold eye contact, as it is another variable which changes with the situation and circumstances.  However, most speakers think they are holding their eye contact for longer than they are.  Audiences gain a tremendous amount of energy and connection through eye contact, so making sure you are holding your eye contact for a significant amount of time is important.

Try It: Holding Eye Contact

One of my favorite mentors from college does this activity in class to show how really effective eye contact should make you feel. He will look at someone and say “Hi! You are my favorite. You are the only person I care about in this room. All these other people don’t mean anything to me. I have to look over there for a minute, but I’ll be right back…don’t forget you’re my favorite!” Then he looks to the next person and says, “Hi! You’re my favorite. You’re the only person I care about in this room…” After three or four people you understand how eye contact can make you feel like you are important and being spoken to at the individual level.[1]  To practice eye contact, rehearse in front of objects with eyes. Obviously, a practice audience is the best. But if you don’t have one, you can use stuffed animals, pictures, posters, or anything that has eyes you can connect with. Set a few up around the room and practice playing connect the dots with your eyes while you speak. This will help you practice moving your attention from person to person instead of glancing at the wall, the clock, the floor on your way from one individual to another.

Make your Movement Matter

To make choices about your movement, you first need to be conscious of your body while speaking. I once watched a student twirl the lanyard from the keys in his pocket for most of his speech. When he saw the video, he was shocked because he had no memory of what his hands were doing during the speech. The brain is complicated and tricky. You need to train your brain to recognize and control what your body is doing while you speak. This training is comparable to a basketball player doing layups over and over or a baseball player practicing their swing. You want to know the movements so well that your muscle memory takes over while you are speaking. Many people will either not move at all or move for no particular reason.

Remember, movement helps aid in the communication process. In the same way, you are carefully selecting your words, you also want to choose your movements. If you don’t have a justified reason to move, you do not need to move. Save your energy for when the movement aids your message. One visualization that helps me is picturing my body as full of energy. That energy has to be used for certain things, such as making a sound to say the words, thinking about what comes next, and moving my head to have good eye contact. Sometimes the body does things that waste energy. Many people have ineffective habits, such as crossing legs, leaning on the podium, or pacing. Personally, I sway. If left to my own devices, I would sway the entire time I teach a course. Which would be incredibly distracting and unnecessary, not to mention tiring. So, I employ body consciousness to focus that energy into my words instead of wasting it swaying. This consciousness can take a lot of practice and mental energy. However, by employing body control and making conscious movements, you can increase your audience connection and enhance your topic.

Parts of Kinesics 

Posture is the arrangement of your bones and muscles so that each area of the body is allowed to do its job to its best ability.

Gestures are when our arms and hands use their different types of movements to create emphasis, meaning, and symbols.

Facial expressions are when a speaker uses their face to communicate.

Eye contact is when the speaker meaningfully connects to the audience with their eyes.

Proxemics deals with space and location, specifically with how close humans are to each other. There is certainly a physical aspect to how bodies move together in spaces.  There is also a cultural connection to proxemics. Think about how you are around certain people. You probably have a specific comfortable distance you usually stand away from people, and that distance most likely varies based on who the other person is. You may also have that one friend who has no personal space and will talk very close to you.

Proxemics deals with space and location, specifically with how close humans are to each other.

Proxemics is important in public speaking. If a podium or table is in the room, you will need to make a choice whether to stand behind, in front, or move the object out of the way. You do not want to be too far away from our audience, as a connection with the audience is important. However, you also don’t want to be too close, potentially making your audience uncomfortable or cutting off eye contact to parts of your audience. If you choose to move during your speech, pay attention when you are moving away and when you are moving toward them. Increasing or decreasing your distance during specific parts of your speech can enhance your message.

How you look matters, but I often find my students oversimplify this idea. There isn’t one way to look or appear. My students frequently ask if they have to “dress up” for their speeches. I point out that appearance doesn’t appear anywhere in my grading rubric, but appearance impacts a speaker’s ethos. It is more important that you are thinking critically about your speaking appearance than relying on one way to always look.

When you have to speak in public, consider the details of the situation. Is there anything specific you should wear to the occasion? How will your clothing communicate? Will it interact with your meaning? In an advanced public speaking course I taught, an experienced public speaker who showed up to every speech day in a full suit and pantyhose. This student was a self-proclaimed nerd and a huge Trekkie, so for a humorous speech assignment, she chose the topic of Star Trek. In the feedback session, a classmate said, “it’s too bad you don’t have a Star Trek uniform. That would have really added to your speech.” The student’s face fell—of course she owned a uniform! But, it had never occurred to her to wear it because she was so used to dressing up for speeches. For her final speech, she wore her Star Trek uniform and noted how it was the first public speech she’d ever given in anything other than a suit, citing that as part of her growth. As long as you are critically thinking about your appearance during a speech, you will be able to make conscious choices about what to wear.

Types of Preparation and Delivery

There are four styles of delivery that tend to be most useful for public speaking: manuscript, memory, impromptu, and extemporaneous.

Speaking from a Manuscript

In my experience, speaking from a manuscript is the type of delivery people tend to want to try. I have had students say it makes them feel more safe and comfortable to have every word planned out. That is an advantage of speaking from a manuscript. Manuscript speaking should be used in cases where getting the exact words correct are very important. In cases of intense or emotional speaking, a manuscript can also be the best delivery method. I had the opportunity to give my father’s eulogy when I was 21. This was an instance when I choose to use a manuscript in order to have a very well-constructed speech in an emotional time. There may be formal contexts where a manuscript would be preferred or follows the norms of the occasion. Former President Obama is an excellent example of someone who employs manuscript speaking in emotional times like after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. A manuscript allowed the president to be comforting even in the face of tragedy.

If you plan to speak from a manuscript, you need to be aware of the challenges this type of speaking creates.  Effectively speaking from a manuscript is harder than most people anticipate. Remember, the words are only part of the issue. As we have seen in this chapter, there are so many other components that go into delivery. Reading from a manuscript often causes speakers to talk very fast and not look up enough to connect with the audience. Because of this, manuscript speaking often leads to an uninteresting or disconnected performance. But, this does not mean manuscript delivery can’t be done well. Delivery from a manuscript can be effective with a significant amount of time and practice.

Speaking from Memory

There are some instances that may benefit from a memorized speech . For example, you may find yourself in a situation where memorization is required, such a speaking contest. You may find times you don’t want to use notes, such as at a wedding giving a toast. Memorization can be very beneficial, especially if the speech is short or the material is very familiar to you.  First, memorization is the method that allows for the most audience connection. Since you don’t notes or a script to look at, you can engage your body, face, and eyes with the audience the entire time. Practicing your material thoroughly can put the speaker at ease.

But, like manuscript speaking, people greatly underestimate how much work it takes to speak from memory effectively. Different people have varying abilities when it comes to memorizing, but it almost always takes longer to memorize than people anticipate. You can’t just memorize the words, but rather you must know the material deeply in order to confidently speak from memory. Additionally, while the payoff can be great, so is the risk. Even with a lot of practice, speaking from memory may increase nerves and there is always a chance of a forgetting the material.  Even if a speaker is well rehearsed, blanking in the moment is possible. You will want to practice blanking and know how to handle it if it happens. Finally, you will need to work hard to speak in the moment. While this method does allow you the most freedom with your voice and body in the moment, it is common to sound over-rehearsed or on autopilot. Make sure you are staying in the moment by really talking to your audience instead of at them.

Try It: Tips for Memorizing

• The more you can do to help your brain remember, the easier it will be to learn your speech. One way to help is to color-code your script by point. If your intro is one color, your first point is a different color and so on, it will help your brain remember the pieces of your speech. Another way to help is to stand in the places you plan to give each point. If you plan to move, placing your color-coded part in that place to help you associate the words with the space can be very effective. This process mimics how Greek orators memorized long stories and passages. They would walk, associating the ideas with where they were.
• Combine content memorization with word for word memorization. Use your outline to memorize the flow of ideas, the main points and where they go. Then, if you mess up or forget the individual words in a spot, you will be able to default to talking about the main ideas or jumping to the next part you remember.
• Practice in multiple contexts. Moving contexts will help your brain recall in many different circumstances. If you only ever practice in the car, your body will not be used to standing to deliver. Practicing in multiple spaces and for actual people can help increase the trustworthiness of the memory recall.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking happens when a person has little or no time to prepare for the speaking situation. You may be thinking that this mode of delivery sounds terrifying, but you actually already practice impromptu speaking quite often. Anytime someone asks you for a short introduction about yourself, you speak to a group about yourself for a few minutes; or, when someone asks what you thought of the movie you just saw and you give a detailed answer, you are employing impromptu speaking. This method is not one that should be chosen for a speech you have time to or are required to prepare. Instead, think of this more as a skill or a recognition of circumstance to improve your speaking in these moments.

One key to impromptu speaking is to practice active listening. If you are in a meeting or a class where you know you may be called on to share your thoughts, intensely listening to what is happening and mentally engaging in the ideas will help you formulate your answer if someone asks you to talk. Anticipating impromptu opportunities can always be helpful in mentally preparing. I have been to several funerals and memorials where they open up the floor for people to share memories or say a few words. In these cases, I start thinking about what I want to say in advance by going over the order of my brief message in my head. In some cases, you may even want to jot down a few quick notes to help you stay focused.

Extemporaneous Speaking

The definition of extemporaneous speaking is to speak from limited notes. Extemporaneous speaking often gets confused with impromptu or off-the-cuff speaking, with people assuming you don’t have to prepare much before the speech. But, extemporaneous speaking is actually an engaged process that forces you to do a lot of research, organizing, and writing before you actively practice your delivery. There are several advantages of extemporaneous speaking. First, you are prepared but flexible in the moment. This level of preparation can prevent you from sounding robotic and encourage you to react to your specific audience in the speaking moment. Second, this type of speaking allows you opportunities to connect with the audience while not having to rely on your memory recall to know every word. Finally, you can adapt to your audience and the situation. If the audience laughs or reacts really well to something, you can mention it or add a reaction. If you are running out of time, you can make adjustments quickly to make sure you get out the most important information with the remaining speaking time.

The main disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is that most people are not familiar with this process and it takes some getting used to. Beginning speakers, even if they are attempting extemporaneous speaking, will often make outlines with too many details and not practice enough which usually turns into reading a script. The process for practicing a strong extemporaneous speech can feel very different than other types of speaking methods. Instead of spending the majority of the time crafting each word, you need to practice talking. This practice can feel non-intuitive to writers or people who want their speech to sound perfect. Instead of writing every word, you want to craft a strong outline to use while you speak. Then, you want to stand up and practice it. I will say that again so you really believe me—stand up and try it!! Do not wait until you think you have everything perfect. You will run out of time, as it will never be perfect. And, practicing will help you make your outline stronger. Strengthening your outline with help you speak better in the moment. Go back and forth until you think you have a strong grasp on the concepts and can speak from your notes in the strong way you practiced.

This type of delivery is often the most effective and the one you will probably utilize the most beyond speaking classes. I highly encourage you to learn this skill and to practice it.  You want to have a grasp of all of the styles of delivery. If you are in a class, that is a great place to practice extemporaneous speaking and get better at it. That way you understand and can use the multiple methods of delivering speeches. Extemporaneous speaking is often the most employed style in prepared speeches. It is what you will likely use in your job or at events you’ve been asked to speak. Learning how to do it well will be incredibly useful.

Remember, the most important thing is to choose the method that fits you and the situation best. You may also want to consider your strengthens and weaknesses as a speaker. The more you are critically thinking about the speech and it’s circumstances, the better qualified you are to make choices about how to best get your message to the audience.

Delivery and Audience Connection

You are not a tv.

Many speakers suffer from what I have termed “the TV effect.” Have you ever noticed your TV doesn’t care about you? If you are watching it and you have to leave to get a snack, the TV just keeps on playing. It doesn’t wait, and it doesn’t pause. Or, you laugh out loud at something in a show. The TV doesn’t pause for your laughter or even recognize you have laughed. At times, speakers act this way. They are nervous and just want to get the speech done. So, they get up and go! However, the brilliance of performance is how we can adjust in the moment and react to what is happening in our current situation. Your speaking is enhanced by the audiences’ reactions, the space you are speaking in, and how you are performing in the moment. Keep working to utilize the tools in this chapter to enhance your delivery during live performances.

You are not a train

The fear of doing something “wrong” often prevents speakers from achieving an audience connection. They are afraid they will mess up. I’ve even seen speakers ask to “start over” as if I am in control of them. Speakers often act like they are a train on train tracks. When it’s time to go, they go! They are chugging along, not looking up, not pausing, not paying attention to the audience, because they are afraid they will mess up and fall off the tracks. If a train is disturbed in its route, it doesn’t have a lot of options. It can go forward, backward, or just fall over. You are not on train tracks. Rather, you are in a field on a fairly trampled path. You have crafted the way to go but may veer off for one reason or another. If that happens, pick some berries, and find a way back to the path. Your audience may think that’s part of the journey or might be pleasantly surprised by the detour.

You are a tour guide!

Remember, your speech is a new destination where your audience has never been, and you are their tour guide. If you throw them onto the bus, hit the gas at 100 miles an hour, and never point out the sights, they are not going to enjoy the tour. You have the power to make it enjoyable for them. Help them onto the bus. Make sure they are comfortable. Connect with them. Go at a decent pace for them, so they don’t feel like you’re going to “crash.” Remember, that pace might be different than you want to go as the driver. Have you ever ridden with someone who is driving just a little too fast? They know they are in control because they are driving. But, the passenger does not necessarily feel comfortable. Adjust your pace with the audience in mind. Point out the important parts of your speech using emphasis. Make sure they can hear you. By being a good tour guide, your audience will definitely enjoy the trip!

Being yourself

When learning how to speak, speakers often fall into a few delivery traps when they are trying to deliver the speech “correctly.” They rely on reading or ignore their audience. Even when they conquer some of these basic delivery strategies, they still revert back and sound like a generic speaker. They fall into vocal patterns and don’t choose the pacing for their material or audience. They sound fine on the surface, but they don’t sound like themselves. In an attempt to do the speech “right,” speakers end up not actually being effective because they are not making conscious choices with themselves and the audience in mind.

Even if you are nervous, keep working to channel the verbal and physical qualities that are unique to you. Audiences want personality. Do not be afraid to let yours come through. You do not need to sound scripted or robotic to be an effective speaker. In fact, most people prefer someone who they can tell is a person beyond the confines of the speaking moment. One thing that can help you relax into being your engaging self is to think of yourself as an audience member. What do you enjoy? How do you want to be talked to? If you don’t enjoy monotone speaking (and few do), then work to have vocal variety. If you don’t want to work to hear and understand the words, work to be loud enough.  If you prefer someone who is smiling, connected and engaging you, then work to be that person! You have the power to be entertaining! It takes practice, but you are capable of engaging the audience as yourself.

Audience participation

It is tempting to think of a speech as a speaker standing in front of an audience dumping information on them. But, as we have learned in this chapter, delivering a speech is an interactive performance that involves both the speaker and the audience. The level of audience participation may vary based on the speech and situation. For example, there may be times you ask questions to the audience that you actually want them to answer. Make sure you are patient and give them enough time to answer, as they may be used to answering a speaker’s questions.

Regulators ,  or gestures that control the flow of interaction can be used here. This may involve head nodding or moving your arms in a way to encourage your audience to participate. You may even find yourself in situations where there is a question and answer session as part of your speaking opportunity. The more you know about your topic, the more at ease you will be during this period. It is common to fear that an audience member might ask a question and you don’t know the answer. If this happens, there is no need to fake your way through an answer. Just explain how you don’t have that specific information and potentially discuss where they could find it.

Regulators  are gestures that control the flow of interaction.

Actively listening to the question posed will help you formulate an answer. Don’t be afraid to be short and sweet. Often by that time, the audience has sat through your whole speech. While there are certainly times and occasions for drawn-out answers and discussions, be aware of how long you take to answer. They may be looking for a short supplement to what you already covered.

You have the power!

In the end, remember you are in charge of your vocal and physical choices as a speaker. It doesn’t always feel that way, but with practice and exercises, you will gain more awareness of what your voice and body are doing during a speech. Then, you will be able to make conscious choices to control them in order to make your speech more impactful. By working on delivery alongside the construction of your speech, you ensure your audience with be engaged and listening to you. Your practicing will help get your audience interested in your topic, retain what you are saying, and think deeply about your concepts.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2017 by Josh Miller; Marnie Lawler-Mcdonough; Megan Orcholski; Kristin Woodward; Lisa Roth; and Emily Mueller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Memorize a Speech for a Powerful Delivery

Giving a speech doesn’t sound like a hard task, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a simple undertaking. Did you know that about 75% of the world’s population suffers from the fear of public speaking, which is commonly referred to as glossophobia? If you’re reading this, you probably do too.

So, what’s a smart way to help you handle this fear and deliver a good speech at the same time? Memorizing your speech!

Memorizing a speech and no, I don’t mean cramming, allows you to give your presentation in a way that makes you feel and seem confident while also connecting with your audience . There’s a catch though, you need to memorize your speech in a way that makes it seem like you didn’t memorize it.

This will ensure that the speech feels and sounds natural as you present it, even though you may have practiced it a few hundred times. Memorizing a speech also prevents you from avoiding eye contact with your audience while you keep looking down at your notes, which makes you seem unprepared and unengaged.

How to Memorize a Speech

Below, we look at a few steps that could help you memorize and give your speech.

1. Be Prepared

I cannot stress this enough: being prepared is the best way to ensure that you give a good speech/presentation.

This basically means that you should do your research and have the material that you’ll be talking about at your fingertips and in your head.

This may seem obvious but for those who may think it unnecessary, I’d highly advise you against skipping this step.

Learning more about your topic of discussion could prevent you from being blindsided if an audience member were to ask you a question, in addition to helping eliminate fears of worry or nervousness that may stem from the fact that you don’t know your topic well enough.

You can never go wrong with actual knowledge and solid research about your subject!

You might also like:  How to Prepare for a Speech

2. Draw up a speech outline

After you’ve learnt more about your subject, you can move onto your speech outline . It may seem like a good idea to have your speech memorized word for word but trust me, it isn’t. Not only will it sound rehearsed but you’ll also have a hard time returning to your original flow if someone were to ask you a question or interrupt you.

Writing down your speech outline allows you to outline your main points, which makes it easier for you to memorize or internalize them.

Your outline doesn’t have to be something long, it can be anywhere between a single word to a few short phrases that remind you of what you’d like to talk about. 

This also affords you the freedom of being able to say something you just thought of that would be a good addition to your presentation while giving your speech.

Let’s be flexible people!

3. Mental images for the win

Well, this point gives the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” a whole new meaning.

It is common knowledge that the mind remembers pictures easier than it does words, so a good way to remember your main points would be to attach them to a mental image in your mind that you feel conveys a similar message.

The image doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but yourself, given that it’s going to be in your head anyway.

4. Ever heard of a Mind Palace?

You’ve probably heard at least one fairytale about a king and queen living in a palace, which should hint at the fact that a palace is a house in which people live, a very big house at that.

This means that a mind palace is basically a big house for storing information inside your head, so don’t let the phrase scare you.

A good way to remember your main points would be to select different pieces of furniture in your office or home and assign numbers to each of them, depending on the number of your main points.

This will make it easier to recall key points.

5. Now, visualize!

After you’ve assigned mental images to each key point, you need to focus on associating each image with a piece of furniture, incorporating how you think it would smell or the sounds it would make.

Say for example item #1 is a mahogany grandfather clock whose dings reverberate throughout the whole house every time the clock strikes 12.

Doing this for every point, with different furniture items, makes it easier for you to memorize your main points, because you’ll be seeing these furniture images.

The more vivid the image is, the easier it will be to recall it. When you do begin to give your speech, think about your mind palace and mentally begin a walk through your home.

When you see the mahogany grandfather clock, you’ll remember a point you associated the mental image to, which allows you to breeze through your speech without difficulty.

Here's a video talking about the mind/memory palace in more detail:

6. Practice and review

Reviewing these images over and over in your mind makes it easier for you to remember them.

Additionally, you can try practicing your speech using the points from your mental images at least once from memory, which allows you to make adjustments, however minor, to something you feel could be better.

Once you have mastered this technique, giving a speech without notes, even one that lasts for hours, will not be a problem for you.

This is not to mean that you can’t use other visual aids to guide you through your process like PowerPoint. If you have resources that’ll allow you to interact with your audience while presenting and still engage with them, use them as you see fit.

Here are a few additional tips that you may find helpful:

7. Try to relax

Before your presentation, you may feel jittery, which is completely normal. To help with this, you can try relaxing.

The more relaxed you feel after you’ve memorized your speech and right before you present it, the more effectively you’ll be able to deliver the said speech, in a calm and confident manner.

So, what technique can you use to help you relax before you give your speech?

Box Breathing

This is a breathing technique that can help you stay calm in situations that make you feel like you’re under a lot of pressure.

All you need to do is inhale to a count of 5, hold your breath in for a count of 5, exhale to a count of 5 and hold your breath out for a count of 5 then repeat as necessary.

8. Be prepared to make mistakes

Every person who has given a speech has probably stumbled over their words at least once. If you do end up making a mistake, chances are you’re probably the only one who has noticed, so try to maintain your composure and move on.

Paying attention to the mistake only draws your audience’s attention to it, which may make you lose your place or feel flustered, which could cause you to lose your composure even more.

We all know that it is human to err, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you do end up making a mistake or two. Instead, relax and pick up from where you left off.

9. Pay attention to your body

Just like any other machine, your body needs to be well cared for and properly maintained to achieve optimal performance.

Therefore, on the morning of your presentation, you should ensure that you avoid drinks that may make your hands shake, like coffee or foods that may affect your digestion.

Instead, try to drink tea and water to stay hydrated and make sure that you’re well rested on the night before your presentation.

Pro Tip: Exercise has been found to be good for nerves so you could try exercising on the morning of your presentation - ensure you stretch first though!

10. Do table reads

Giving your speech in front of friends or family before you do so on stage will allow you to receive insights on anything you may have overlooked.

Table reads also allow you to listen to yourself speak and note any changes that need to be made, while also giving you the chance to improve your audibility and eloquence.

Additionally, it allows you to get more comfortable with giving your speech or presentation before you finally have to get on stage and do it in front of unfamiliar faces.

If you have no one to read to, you can do a table read by yourself. Using your smartphone camera, record yourself giving your speech.

This allows you to hear your speech objectively and externally and if you want, also allows you to share your script with other people who may provide you with additional insights.

If you’d prefer to not memorize your main points using mental images, you could try to memorize:

• Specific details of your main points, could be dates or names
• Acronyms and key words that relate to your key points
• Any quote that you deem appropriate to your presentation

Note: Starting your memorization process early allows you to become more confident in your topic of presentation as D-Day approaches.

Conclusion: On Memorizing Your Presentation

Giving a speech to an audience at seminars, conferences or meetings can sometimes be frightening. However, you shouldn’t allow fear to paralyze you. Instead, remind yourself that you are knowledgeable about your topic of presentation or that you wrote your speech, so you know what you’re talking about.

Furthermore, remaining calm while giving your speech also allows you to take your time while presenting, which makes it easier for you to interact with your audience, ensuring they understand the main points of your speech.

Module 6: Organizing and Outlining Your Speech

Methods of speech delivery, learning objectives.

Identify the four types of speech delivery methods and when to use them.

There are four basic methods of speech delivery: manuscript, memorized, impromptu, and extemporaneous. We’ll look at each method and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

A manuscript page from President George W. Bush’s address to the nation on the day of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

A manuscript speech is when the speaker writes down every word they will speak during the speech. When they deliver the speech, they have each word planned and in front of them on the page, much like a newscaster who reads from a teleprompter.

The advantage of using a manuscript is that the speaker has access to every word they’ve prepared in advance. There is no guesswork or memorization needed. This method comforts some speakers’ nerves as they don’t have to worry about that moment where they might freeze and forget what they’ve planned to say. They also are able to make exact quotes from their source material.

When the exact wording of an idea is crucial, speakers often read from a manuscript, for instance in communicating public statements from a company.

However, the disadvantage with a manuscript is that the speakers have MANY words in front of them on the page. This prohibits one of the most important aspects of delivery, eye contact. When many words are on the page, the speakers will find themselves looking down at those words more frequently because they will need the help. If they do look up at the audience, they often cannot find their place when the eye returns to the page. Also, when nerves come into play, speakers with manuscripts often default to reading from the page and forget that they are not making eye contact or engaging their audience. Therefore, manuscript is a very difficult delivery method and not ideal.  Above all, the speakers should remember to rehearse with the script so that they practice looking up often.

Public Speaking in History

The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, owed in large part to a momentary error made by an East German government spokesperson. At a live press conference, Günter Schabowski tried to explain new rules relaxing East Germany’s severe travel restrictions. A reporter asked, “when do these new rules go into effect?” Visibly flustered, Schabowski said, “As far as I know, it takes effect immediately, without delay.” In fact, the new visa application procedure was supposed to begin the following day, and with a lot of bureaucracy and red tape. Instead, thousands of East Berliners arrived within minutes at the border crossings, demanding to pass through immediately. The rest is history.

The outcome of this particular public-relations blunder was welcomed by the vast majority of East and West German citizens, and hastened the collapse of communism in Eastern and Central Europe. It’s probably good, then, that Schabowski ran this particular press conference extemporaneously, rather than reading from a manuscript.

You can view the transcript for “The mistake that toppled the Berlin Wall” here (opens in new window) .

A memorized speech is also fully prepared in advance and one in which the speaker does not use any notes. In the case of an occasion speech like a quick toast, a brief dedication, or a short eulogy, word-for-word memorization might make sense. Usually, though, it doesn’t involve committing each and every word to memory, Memorizing a speech isn’t like memorizing a poem where you need to remember every word exactly as written. Don’t memorize a manuscript! Work with your outline instead. Practice with the outline until you can recall the content and order of your main points without effort. Then it’s just a matter of practicing until you’re able to elaborate on your key points in a natural and seamless manner. Ideally, a memorized speech will sound like an off-the-cuff statement by someone who is a really eloquent speaker and an exceptionally organized thinker!

The advantage of a memorized speech is that the speaker can fully face their audience and make lots of eye contact. The problem with a memorized speech is that speakers may get nervous and forget the parts they’ve memorized. Without any notes to lean on, the speaker may hesitate and leave lots of dead air in the room while trying to recall what was planned. Sometimes, the speaker can’t remember or find his or her place in the speech and are forced to go get the notes or go back to the PowerPoint in some capacity to try to trigger his or her memory. This can be an embarrassing and uncomfortable moment for the speaker and the audience, and is a moment which could be easily avoided by using a different speaking method.

How to: memorize a speech

There are lots of tips out there about how to memorize speeches. Here’s one that loosely follows an ancient memorization strategy called the method of loci or “memory palace,” which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information.

You can view the transcript for “How to Memorize a Speech” here (opens in new window) .

An impromptu speech is one for which there is little to no preparation. There is often not a warning even that the person may be asked to speak. For example, your speech teacher may ask you to deliver a speech on your worst pet peeve. You may or may not be given a few minutes to organize your thoughts. What should you do? DO NOT PANIC. Even under pressure, you can create a basic speech that follows the formula of an introduction, body, and conclusion. If you have a few minutes, jot down some notes that fit into each part of the speech. (In fact, the phrase “speaking off the cuff,” which means speaking without preparation, probably refers to the idea that one would jot a few notes on one’s shirt cuff before speaking impromptu.) [1] ) An introduction should include an attention getter, introduction of the topic, speaker credibility, and forecasting of main points. The body should have two or three main points. The conclusion should have a summary, call to action, and final thought. If you can organize your thoughts into those three parts, you will sound like a polished speaker. Even if you only hit two of them, it will still help you to think about the speech in those parts. For example, if a speech is being given on a pet peeve of chewed gum being left under desks in classrooms, it might be organized like this.

• Introduction : Speaker chews gum loudly and then puts it under a desk (attention getter, demonstration). Speaker introduces themselves and the topic and why they’re qualified to speak on it (topic introduction and credibility). “I’m Katie Smith and I’ve been a student at this school for three years and witnessed this gum problem the entire time.”
• Body : Speaker states three main points of why we shouldn’t leave gum on desks: it’s rude, it makes custodians have to work harder, it affects the next student who gets nastiness on their seat (forecast of order). Speaker then discusses those three points
• Conclusion : Speaker summarizes those three points (summary, part 1 of conclusion), calls on the audience to pledge to never do this again (call to action), and gives a quote from Michael Jordan about respecting property (final thought).

While an impromptu speech can be challenging, the advantage is that it can also be thrilling as the speaker thinks off the cuff and says what they’re most passionate about in the moment. A speaker should not be afraid to use notes during an impromptu speech if they were given any time to organize their thoughts.

The disadvantage is that there is no time for preparation, so finding research to support claims such as quotes or facts cannot be included. The lack of preparation makes some speakers more nervous and they may struggle to engage the audience due to their nerves.

Extemporaneous

The last method of delivery we’ll look at is extemporaneous. When speaking extemporaneously, speakers prepare some notes in advance that help trigger their memory of what they planned to say. These notes are often placed on notecards. A 4”x6” notecard or 5”x7” size card works well. This size of notecards can be purchased at any office supply store. Speakers should determine what needs to go on each card by reading through their speech notes and giving themselves phrases to say out loud. These notes are not full sentences, but help the speakers, who turn them into a full sentence when spoken aloud. Note that if a quote is being used, listing that quote verbatim is fine.

The advantage of extemporaneous speaking is that the speakers are able to speak in a more conversational tone by letting the cards guide them, but not dictate every word they say. This method allows for the speakers to make more eye contact with the audience. The shorter note forms also prevent speakers from getting lost in their words. Numbering these cards also helps if one gets out of order. Also, these notes are not ones the teacher sees or collects. While you may be required to turn in your speech outline, your extemporaneous notecards are not seen by anyone but you. Therefore, you can also write yourself notes to speak up, slow down, emphasize a point, go to the next slide, etc.

The disadvantage to extemporaneous is the speakers may forget what else was planned to say or find a card to be out of order. This problem can be avoided through rehearsal and double-checking the note order before speaking.

Many speakers consider the extemporaneous method to be the ideal speaking method because it allows them to be prepared, keeps the audience engaged, and makes the speakers more natural in their delivery. In your public speaking class, most of your speeches will probably be delivered extemporaneously.

• As per the Oxford English Dictionary' s entry for "Off the Cuff." See an extensive discussion at Mark Liberman's Language Log here: https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4130 ↵
• Method of loci definition. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• The mistake that toppled the Berlin Wall. Provided by : Vox. Located at : https://youtu.be/Mn4VDwaV-oo . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• How to Memorize a Speech. Authored by : Memorize Academy. Located at : https://youtu.be/rvBw__VNrsc . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• Address to the Nation. Provided by : U.S. National Archives. Located at : https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/09/06/911-an-address-to-the-nation/ . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
• Methods of Speech Delivery. Authored by : Misti Wills with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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• 4 modes of speech delivery

4 modes of speech delivery | an overview 

Which speech delivery technique is best.

By:  Susan Dugdale  

There are 4 modes (methods) or ways to deliver a speech: to read it from a manuscript word by word, to completely memorize it, as an impromptu, and to give it extemporaneously.

How do you know which mode will be most effective?

The answer depends on how much time you have available, the type of speech you’re giving and, your audience.

Let’s briefly outline each method and their advantages and disadvantages.

What's on this page

An overview of the 4 modes of speech delivery, the pros (advantages) and cons (disadvantages) of each, plus links to examples and further resources.

• extemporaneous

1. Manuscript

One of the most common ways to deliver a speech is to use a manuscript: a word by word document of everything you plan to say from beginning to end. This ensures, when you read it out loud, what you say is exactly what you intend, without deviation.

What is the best way to write a manuscript speech?

As with any type of speech, the best way to start is not with the words but with considering your topic, your audience, how much time you have to speak and the purpose of your speech.

Once you have those clear, then you are ready to begin planning a speech outline: an overview of all the material you want to cover. 

When the outline is completed you’ll use that to write your manuscript.

Click the link for more about the process of preparing a speech outline , with examples. (The page also has a free printable blank speech outline for you to download and use)

And for more about writing a speech, in particular writing oral language, words to be spoken aloud, please see how to write a speech . You’ll find a useful guide covering the principal characteristics of spoken speech. (It is very different from writing an essay!) 

Who regularly delivers a manuscript speech?

Newsreaders, TV personalities, politicians, business leaders and the President! Anybody whose speech is going to be closely scrutinized will use either a manuscript or its electronic equivalent, a teleprompter. These are speeches where the content is significant, perhaps life changing, where facts and figures must be 100% accurate, and where the tone of the language used is important.

What distinguishes a good delivery of a manuscript speech from a poor one, is practice. Some of the greatest public speakers in the world ‘read’ their speeches with so much skill they sound as if they are making up what they’re saying on the spot. The speech comes across as being completely spontaneous and is delivered flawlessly. 

Great public speakers who 'read' their speeches

A famous example is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Winston Churchill. Throughout World War Two (1939-1945) his extraordinary speeches inspired the people he led to persevere in their fight to keep the Nazis out of England in spite of the odds being stacked against them.

To find out more read Winston Churchill's Way With Words - an excellent NPR article, with audio, on how he crafted his speeches. 

And another more recent example is America’s ex-President Barack Obama. 

American Rhetoric has audio and text (pdf) links to his speeches spanning 2002 - 2014. Four are included in a list of 49 of the most important speeches in 21st century America . These are:

• 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
• Commencement Address at Knox College (2005)
• A More Perfect Union (2008)
• Speech at the 'Together We Thrive: Tucson and America' Memorial (2011)

How to deliver a manuscript speech

Print your speech out single sided. Make sure each page is numbered clearly. Use an easily read font like Arial, black ink, and size the font and space the lines so that the text may be read at a glance.

Use a lectern  adjusted for your height  to put your manuscript on. As you finish reading each page turn it over face down and move it to your left. That will help stop you from getting muddled.

Aim for at least one read through aloud before you deliver it.

The more you can practice the better your delivery will be. 

How to read aloud well

Reading aloud well is a skill. Some people are very good at it, and some are ghastly, largely because they’ve had no practice. (And sadly, many who regularly read their speech scripts don’t realize how bad they are to listen to because nobody has told them. Their presentations have been endured, rather than enjoyed for years!)

If you have to regularly read your speeches here’s how to read a speech effectively: 4 good ways to improve how you read aloud . It will help a great deal!

The pros (advantages) for a manuscript speech

The major advantage of using a script is that it ensures the speaker will deliver the right message, the one that’s been prepared, without errors. This is particularly important when presenting complex subject matter.  

Another is that when there's not enough time to rehearse or prepare thoroughly, reading may be the only real option available. Without the safety of a script you may forget large chunks of information, or misremember important material. The script keeps you on track.

A third reason could be that the mere presence of the script is reassuring for nervous or anxious speakers. Even if they do not actually need it, because they’ve prepared well, the script is calming. If they suddenly blank out, they’ll be alright, as they have the script to refer to.

And a fourth is that you can easily back track, return to a point you made several pages earlier, if you need to.

The cons (disadvantages) of manuscript speeches

The main disadvantages of using a manuscript are:

• being anchored to one place . If you are using a full script you need to remain in front of the lectern, or teleprompter in order to read it. You can not move freely as you deliver your speech.
• lack of eye contact with your audience because you need to keep your eyes on your words. When there is very little or no eye contact between a speaker and their audience, the audience switches off because they feel ignored, shut out.  The ability to look at the audience while using notes or a teleprompter helps your audience to listen better, retain more of what they hear, and feel as if they’ve gained more value from your speech. Click the link for more about the importance of using eye contact [including 5 fun activities to teach students how to use eye contact well]
• Using language that doesn’t flow easily when you say it aloud . There are major differences between writing intended for oral language - something to be spoken aloud, and writing something that is intended to be read, like a newspaper article or an essay. For more please see how to write a speech . You’ll find an infographic on the characteristics of spoken language.   Whenever possible, always read your manuscript aloud before you deliver it. It’s much nicer to find typos, missing words, vital information omissions and other glitches (such as words you are not sure how to pronounce correctly), by yourself rather than in public. Another useful thing to do is to run your manuscript through a grammar checker . It may pick up errors you've overlooked.

2. Memorized speech

A memorized speech is one delivered completely from memory. That means: no notes at all. There is just you: the speaker, the speech you recall, word for word, and your audience.

Why choose to memorize a speech?

There are three likely reasons. 

• You want the illusion of a ‘natural’ conversation between yourself and your audience. The presence of a lectern with your manuscript on it, a teleprompter, or a set of cue cards in your hand makes that impossible.
• You want to be able to ‘play’ freely with your delivery: to be able to move, to gesture, as you see fit rather than be tethered to notes.
• You want to make completely sure the words you have written are faithfully delivered to the audience, without any changes at all. That can be vital in comedy.

What type of speech is enhanced through memorization?

A personal speech, for example one sharing childhood stories, a very carefully scripted humorous speech where you absolutely must get the words in the right order for them to work, or an inspirational one prepared especially to move and motivate a particular audience. All of these can be more effective delivered without notes.

There are also declamation speeches . These are in a special category of their own. They are memorized recitations of known speeches: a task set by teachers to have their pupil's fully experience the power of carefully crafted, well delivered oratorical language.    

What type of speeches are NOT suited to memorization?

• Any presentation or speech covering critical information that people will use to make important, and often life-altering, decisions. For instance, a detailed weather report cannot be inaccurate. The information outlining the state government’s strategy for combating poverty, declining employment rates, and climate change needs to be presented in a way the audience can easily follow and be factually correct. Missing bits out or getting them wrong creates confusion.
• Presentations which include large amounts of data : for example, a roundup of a company’s annual performance figures would be very difficult to accurately memorize, as well as being very difficult for an audience to listen to and retain.   
• Lengthy presentations - speeches running over 10 or more minutes in time.     

How to memorize a speech

If you decide to memorize your entire speech, the very first thing you’ll need is lots of time to practice. This is critical. Do not be tempted to minimize how much is required.

To safely commit it to memory you have to go over and over your speech until you can easily say it out loud without hesitation, deviation or repetition. This can take weeks of regular daily practice, particularly if you’ve not done it before. If you haven’t got that time available to you, opt for an extemporized delivery. (See the notes on extemporaneous speeches below.)

Review your speech outline

Having made the decision to memorize, the next thing you need to do is carefully review your speech outline. 

These are questions you’ll want to consider: 

• Are the major points in the right order? Do you have supporting examples for each of them? Are the transitions between each of the points clear? Is there a memorable conclusion? Does the opening or introduction work as a hook to pull the audience in?
• Does the speech have a clear purpose? Does it meet it? Has it been tailored for its intended audience? 

(Click the link for more about preparing a useful speech outline . You’ll find step by step guidelines, examples, and a free printable blank outline template to use.) 

Repeat your speech out loud, a lot!

Once you are satisfied with your outline, it’s time to begin the process of committing it to memory.

This starts with saying your speech out loud multiple times while using your outline. As you do you’ll be listening for bits you need to change in some way. Perhaps the words you’re using aren’t quite right for your audience. Maybe it doesn’t flow as well as you thought it did and you’ll want to swap pieces around. Or it’s too long and needs pruning. 

It’s a repetitive process: make a change. Try it out. If it’s good, keep it and move on to the next section. Repeat until you’ve worked through the entire speech.

An additional tip is for every significant change you make, make a new document, (eg. myspeech v1, myspeech v2, myspeech v3…) or at least track the changes. That way if you decide you want to revert to an earlier version you can. I’ve got at least 10 versions of some of the speeches I’ve written!

The next step is to begin working without the outline. 

The 'see, walk, and talk' method

The method I use is the same one I use as an actor to learn play lines. 

I call it ‘see, walk and talk’. It's a 3 part approach. Each is essential. 

The seeing part is visualization: seeing the words on the page. Seeing the order they come in, and anything else that distinguishes them from the rest. Is it a heading? Is it a number? Is it highlighted? 

The second part is walking. Walking helps a great deal and is an ancient  technique for  memorizing   now backed by science. *

If it’s fine, I walk outside and as I walk, I talk (the third part), repeating out loud  the section I'm trying to recall over and over until I get it right.

If the weather is bad, then I walk inside, around and around a room, or on a treadmill which works just as well.

*   Schmidt-Kassow M, Zink N, Mock J, et al. Treadmill walking during vocabulary encoding improves verbal long-term memory. Behav Brain Funct. 2014;10:24. Published 2014 Jul 12. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-10-24 ) 

'See, walk, talk' in action

Start with the body of your speech, the main points. Your goal is to remember each one, in their correct order.

There are three steps in this process.

• Look at your outline. If it helps highlight the main points, and number them. Take a mental photograph of it.
• Put the outline behind your back. Walk and say out loud as many of the main points you can in their correct order.
• When you find yourself struggling to recall, stop. Look at your outline. Take another mental photo. Put the outline behind your back, and start over again. Walk and talk. 

Repeat until you can run through the entire sequence of main points, and the transitions between them, without hesitation.

Add the subpoints to the main points

The next step is to add the fine points - the subpoints (additional material) and examples to your main points.

Go back to the first main point. Take a mental snapshot of the subpoints and examples. Note carefully the order they come in, and any specialist vocabulary or phrase you wanted to use.

Now walk and talk. Repeat the sequence until you have it as you want it. Then go back to the beginning and repeat the first main point, its supporting material and then the subsequent main points.

Your next part to memorize is the second main point's supporting material. Once you have that down, you go back to the beginning to run the first main point, its sub points, then the second point and its sub points.  Then you are ready to do the third main point in exactly the same way.

Add the conclusion and the beginning

Once you have completed memorizing the body of your speech, add the conclusion and the beginning.   

The pattern is simple. You add a piece, then go back and repeat it all through from the beginning. Each repetition etches it more deeply into your memory.

Please note : you are not working on delivery as you say it out loud. This is purely routine repetition. There is no need for pausing, emphasis, or changes in volume and pace. Think of it as a vanilla performance - plain.  At this stage the bulk of your energy needs to go into remembering, not expression. 

Sort out and memorize the delivery

Delivery is how you say your speech, not what you say.

Once you have the content (what you are saying) reliably remembered, you are free to work on your vocal delivery: how you are going to say it.

Which parts need to be said more slowly? Which parts need to be highlighted through strategic pausing? What can be spoken quickly? Are there bits that need to be treated as asides? Are there ‘voices’ to take on? Perhaps an angry voice? Or a wheedling, whining voice?

How you say your speech directly affects how your audience receives it. If you deliver it like a monotone robot - one speed, one tone, one pitch, one volume, people’s ears will switch off even if the content is interesting to them. Delivery can make all the difference between listening and not listening.

To be effective, your delivery needs to fit both the content and the audience’s needs.

As with memorizing the content, getting the delivery how you want it requires experimentation and then repetition to ensure you’ve got it safely embedded.

Working with a recorder is useful to actually hear what your voice is doing, rather what you think it’s doing. There’s often a very big difference. You’ll hear if you’re going too quickly, pausing too long, not pausing long enough, mispronouncing words, gabbling, or using the same inflection pattern over and over again.

Find out more about the vocal aspects of speech delivery . 

Use a mirror, a video and a test audience

It’s also useful to either work in front of a mirror or video yourself. That will show you where you need to modify your body language. Do you stand straight? Do you gesture appropriately? 

Rinse, and repeat until you feel happy with what you’re doing. And then practice in front of a select test audience, whom you know will give you honest useful feedback. Incorporate what you want from the suggestions you’re given and practice again. And now you should be ready to deliver your speech!

Pros of memorizing your speech

A memorized speech is generally more engaging. If delivered well it creates the illusion of having a conversation with your audience because you are speaking directly to them and you are able to make eye contact freely, as well as move how, and where you want. This creates a more intimate and personal connection.

Cons of memorizing your speech

There are three major disadvantages to memorizing a speech. The biggest is the risk of forgetting something, especially with a longer speech. This can lead to panic which leads to scrabbling around trying to pick up the threads to start again. That can rapidly become a downward spiral which compromises the whole presentation.

Secondly, using a memorized speech can constrain or limit the ideas you express because everything is prepared in advance. It leaves little room for spontaneity: content adjustments and additions made in response to a particular audience’s needs.

And thirdly, a memorized speech can be incredibly boring if the speaker has not worked on delivery. It has a canned quality, lacking immediacy and vitality. It sounds like a switch got flicked on and out it comes: blah, blah, blah … irrespective of the audience.

3. Impromptu

An impromptu speech is, as its name suggests, a speech made without prior planning, organization or rehearsal.

Although it may be based on a brief outline or written prompt, the speaker will often have little or no opportunity for detailed or extensive preparation.

While making an impromptu speech involves little immediate preparation it require significant amounts of prior practice to give one well.

An effective impromptu speech is structured, (beginning, middle, end), and meets the needs of those listening to it. To give a good one requires versatility and flexibility: the ability to adapt and respond easily and appropriately to the unexpected.

The speaker needs to understand how to quickly choose the best format, how to decide on the main points to cover, how to order them, and how to open and close the speech.

And lastly, impromptu speaking requires confidence, and trust in oneself.  

When should an impromptu speech be delivered?

There are many social or work settings where making an impromptu speech is expected, and if done well, very much appreciated.

At a family get together the person who is asked to say a few words to welcome everyone, or make the toast is giving an impromptu speech. At a meeting to discuss current work issues, a sales manager may be asked to outline areas of challenge without prior warning. The response they give is an impromptu speech.

The ability to summon up succinct, structured remarks is highly valued in all areas of life. 

How do you prepare for an impromptu speech?

The essential preparation for impromptu speaking begins out of the spotlight, long before being asked to speak.

For comprehensive step by step guidelines covering how to gain the necessary skills please see:  strategies and templates to succeed at impromptu speaking .

You’ll find tips to get you started, 7 different structural templates to use, suggestions for keeping any nervousness under control, and links to 100s of impromptu speaking topics to use for practice.

Pros of impromptu speeches

The advantages definitely outweigh any disadvantages. 

Although some people have a natural gift for being able to talk freely and spontaneously, it can be learned. It’s a skill, like riding a bike. (But better!) When you’re beginning you fall off a few times, and graze your knees. If you get back on and keep pedaling eventually you stay upright.

Get better at impromptu speaking and you’ll find it will open many doors, leading to a richer and fuller life.  

Don’t settle for silence when you can learn to speak up for yourself, and others.

If you're reluctant to attempt it and put yourself out there, please read this article:  Speaking in business may be your most important skill .

The cons of impromptu speaking

In some contexts and on some subjects it would be unwise to attempt delivering an impromptu speech.

For instance, when asked for an evaluation of business risks associated with Covid-19, or to comment on possible correlations between socio-economic status and educational achievement in the USA, speaking without consulting a broad cross-section of informed specialists would be ill-advised. 

Each situation needs careful consideration. Are you able to talk knowledgeably on the topic you’ve been given? Are you entitled to talk about it?

If you can not speak on the subject being asked of you, say so politely. You can offer to come back with a full response at a later date. Or you can hand the question on to someone who can answer it. Knowing your limits is very useful for maintaining credibility!

Another possible downside is succumbing to fear. It could be fear of finding yourself with nothing to say, of drying up under pressure, or of muddling material in some way. The only really useful antidote to nervousness/fear is practice. Lots, and lots of it. It does get better! 

4. Extemporaneous speaking

An extemporaneous speech is one where the speaker combines the use of notes or cue cards with improvisation. It’s a mix of carefully scripted and sequenced material and impromptu speaking.  

How do you deliver an extemporaneous speech?

An extemporaneous delivery is naturally flowing and conversational. The points to be made will have been carefully outlined. They will be in the correct order, along with their supporting ideas and examples but the exact wording is made up as you go along.

If you give the same speech to different audiences, the words you use may change because every audience responds differently. The result is a speech that is fresh each time it is delivered, because while you are speaking, you are in the moment, speaking off-the-cuff and from the heart. The text is neither memorized, or being read word for word.

Like the first three modes of delivery, this too needs practice, in order to become good at it. 

You’ll need to practice:

• speaking to time to avoid either going on too long or being too brief
• making effective transitions - finding the bridging words to link one main point to the next, or to link one segment of your speech to the following one. For instance the introduction to the body of the speech,  or the body of the speech to the conclusion.
• openings and conclusions.

For more information here's a very useful 'how to' article from The Dept. of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh on oral discourse and extemporaneous delivery .  

The advantages of extemporaneous speeches

An extemporaneous speech is more spontaneous and therefore natural compared to either a manuscript or memorized speech.  The speaker is free to tailor the presentation to the audience, rather than sticking to a set speech. That could include responding to any questions or objections he receives. 

Disadvantages of extemporaneous speeches

There are three main drawbacks to extemporaneous speaking.

The first is becoming stranded; tongue tied and silent because you don't know how to get from one point on your outline or cue cards to the next.  When that happens, the delivery becomes stilted, a stop-start presentation, which in turn can make the speaker feel anxious, which makes recovering the flow more difficult.

A second drawback is misreading the audience, and delivering the speech using either language, (word choices), or humor they find hard to understand or accept.

As an example, a speech littered with ‘corporate speak’ is not going to win me over. I don’t want to hear about ‘core competencies’, ‘going forwards’ , ‘ducks in a row’ or anything ‘scalable’ at all!

And a third is exceeding the time allowance you’d been given. Because you are fleshing it out from your cue cards or outline as you go along it is easy to lose track of time. The cumulative effect of an additional example or two and further comments, quickly soaks it up, leaving you scrambling to finish properly.  

If you are a first time presenter, probably the safer option is to learn how to read a manuscript speech well and gradually build the skills required to give an extemporaneous speech.

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Preorder my new book and get $400 of bonuses, how to memorize a speech.

Giving a good speech is a kind of paradoxical task.

On the one hand, nobody likes a reader. If you’re looking down at your notes, or worse, simply reading off the slideshow, you seem unengaged and unprepared.

On the other hand, the speech should feel natural. Good speakers sound as if the words just came to them in a conversation, even though they probably practiced it thousands of times.

For an interesting dissection of this, consider this analysis of how the comedian Louis C.K. tells a joke . The delivery is so casual that you feel like you’re overhearing him chatting with a friend in a bar. Yet the timing is so perfect you know that he did this dozens, if not hundreds, of times to get it right.

That’s the paradox: you need to memorize a speech, without seeming like you memorized it.

Fortunately, there’s a method for doing this, that is useful to learn.

Should You Even Try To Memorize?

Before I jump into the method, I want to address a first complaint—that memorizing a speech isn’t the thing you should do. That memorization will make your delivery robotic.

There’s some truth to this. Over-reliance on verbatim memorization can lead to an artificial sounding speech . However, I’ve learned that this is more a symptom of memorizing the speech, in the wrong way, than an issue with memorizing per se .

Good speakers aren’t entirely rigid. There should be some flexibility to your speech, particularly if there’s a chance you might get interrupted or need to change direction based on the reaction from your audience.

However, memorization, in some form or another, is essential. If the speech isn’t in memory, then it needs to be in your cue cards or slideshow, and then you’re back to reading. So most critiques of memorizing speeches are merely critiques of memorizing in a particularly inflexible, verbatim way. The way I’ll teach you avoids this problem.

The Step-by-Step Process to Memorize a Speech

1. write out the speech.

The first step is to write out your speech. There’s two ways you can do this. The first is simply to write it out exactly how you want to say it. If you’re comfortable as a writer, or you are trying to script out a presentation quite precisely, this can work.

However, most people are more familiar with talking than writing, so it’s often better to write out the speech as an outline, instead of as a full script.

2. Rehearse the Speech, With Your Script/Outline

Next, you want to try saying your speech out loud, with your script. At this stage, it’s okay to read it. You simply want to know how it sounds as a speech before you start the work of trying to memorize it.

Very often, when you start reading your speech aloud, you’ll recognize parts that need to change. This is a sculpting process, where you delete, add or reorder large chunks to make it sound better.

If you wrote out a complete script, you’ll need to do this several times to edit the script to make it sound more natural. If you’ve written a lot of speeches, this is easier. However, writing and speaking differ in many ways, so if you just go straight to memorizing a fully written speech you will probably sound a bit off.

If you only wrote an outline, this stage is where you end up creating the speech. It will probably take several times just to figure out what you want to say, so this process can sometimes be longer. The advantage of going from outline, as opposed to full script, is that you don’t have the residue of the written script influencing how you deliver it. If you need to appear more casual or spontaneous, this is especially helpful. Less so if you’re doing a formal presentation.

3. Memorize, Big to Small

The key to memorizing a speech is to memorize it hierarchically. You want to start with the broad chunks, then specific paragraphs, phrases, and finally, specific intonation and timing with words.

There’s two reasons to do it this way. The most obvious is that, aside from professional speakers, few people will hit the last stage and memorize the tiny details. Instead, the speech will be “good enough” when you’ve memorized the broad content of certain paragraphs, and are still loose enough to switch the delivery a little bit.

The second reason is that this gives you maximum practice at the more zoomed out level of your speech. This means you’ll have memorized this part the best, and will be able to fall back on it if you misremember a lower-level detail.

I once was presenting with a team, and one of our team members had the bad habit of skipping over small paragraphs or sections, like a record skipping over part of a song. For us it was a nuisance. But for the audience, he was skipping out parts of the logical sequence of the speech. Suddenly, our beautifully crafted presentation didn’t make any sense since we omitted a key part of the presentation. Memorizing hierarchically solves this problem by giving you the ability to remember the gist, even if you forget the parts.

4. Start with the Big Chunks

The first place to start is with the biggest chunks. These should be the logical and rhetorical content of your speech. The broad strokes of what you’re trying to talk about.

If you’re giving a sales presentation, this might be, “Describing the problem,” “What our product is,” and, “How to buy it.”

The first way to memorize this is simply to write out what these main points are on the page and then, covering them up, try to recall them. Spend a few minutes doing this and then try delivering your speech, focusing on the broad points, without worrying too much whether you get the exact delivery right.

5. Move to the Small Points

Once you’ve convinced yourself that the big chunks are 100% memorized (which shouldn’t take too long), then you want to move to the smaller points. These are not sentences, but they represent the meaning of what you want to say with them.

Depending on the speech there will be a lot more of these. I recommend expanding your bullets for your big chunks to represent each idea with one or two key words. This is considerably briefer than a full script, but it may actually be more detailed than your original outline—since you’ll have one point every sentence or two, whereas your original outline might have only included the big chunks.

Quiz yourself to memorize these points. I often like to tie them to the big chunks. So I could ask myself, “What are the points for — ‘Describing the problem’?” I would then proceed to recall from memory all the points I want to make and then check my list. Did I get them all right?

This can take a bit more work, so it’s useful to do a mixture of memorizing via this quizzing and actually practicing the speech. The reason to do some self-quizzing, instead of just rehearsing the speech, is that we’re trying to memorize the speech content first. Whereas, if you only rehearse the speech verbatim, it’s very easy to get stuck on memorizing the literal words of the speech but losing track of the broader structure.

Your goal here should be perfect recall of all the points. If I ask you, what are the points for chunk X of the speech, you should be able to flawlessly tell me what they all are. If you can’t, or you have to stop and think for more than two seconds, you don’t know it well enough. Keep quizzing yourself and you’ll have it memorized soon.

6. Memorize the Delivery

Now, hopefully, you’ve memorized the big chunks of your speech and all the points you need to make in each chunk. Since you’ve done it in this order, the overall structure of the speech should be deepest in your memory, followed by the points to be made and only finally some of the ways in which you are trying to say those points.

For many speeches, this is enough. You can simply go out and deliver your presentation, knowing that even if you change how you deliver it, the content will remain the same.

However, good speakers often go a step further. They rehearse it top-to-bottom a number of times so they can start making microscopic changes to the order of words, sentences, even timing and intonation.

One example of such a tweak. If I’m giving a speech, I might start to overuse a word too much. If I were giving this article as a speech, loosely, I might say the word “memorize” over and over again. In this phase of rehearsing a speech, I could make sure that sometimes I say “memorize” and sometimes I say “remember” and other times “rehearse” so as to give variety in my performance.

Jokes and comedy depend a lot on timing and delivery. So if you’re trying to write a speech that intends to be funny, this step is often difficult to skip since you need to have not only the right content, but the right delivery to make the speech work.

7. Deliver the Speech

Finally, you need to actually give the speech.

Although now we’re onto performance not rehearsal, it’s important here to remember to focus on the high-level chunks and points, not the words and delivery in your mind at this stage. Focus on what you want to say, and the “how” of your delivery will simply come out however you practiced it most before.

This step is important for a couple reasons.

First, it gives you maximal flexibility. If you get interrupted, someone asks a question or you flub and forget a word, you’ve remembered the meaning not the syntax. This means it’s easier to get back onto a logically coherent path, rather than trying to spit out sentences in the wrong order.

Second, it will feel the most natural. What makes someone feel natural in their delivery of a speech is that they are feeling the content of the speech as if it was coming to them right now. When you memorize the words, the semantics of the speech can get buried, and you can end up delivering it in a way you would never do in a conversation.

If you did do the sixth step, mastering the delivery, then whatever was best practiced will be the groove to which the record needle of your mind sticks to. Focusing on the content, not the delivery, is important here to seem natural. Think about what you want to say and the right way to say it will come out automatically because of your practice.

Why Bother With Memorizing a Speech?

I don’t memorize every presentation I have to give. If I know I have multiple takes (say I’m recording a video) very often what gets recorded are the takes I do as I’m trying to figure out what to say.

Similarly, if I’m delivering a longer talk then I may aim for improvising around the structure of the talk, without trying to master some element of the delivery. Longer speeches, obviously, take longer to memorize, so there may be somewhere when the cost-benefit of memorizing is no longer being reached.

However, often in your life you’ll have to deliver a speech where the stakes are high and there are no do-overs. In this instance, knowing how to properly memorize a speech, so you can say it exactly, without sounding robotic, is a useful skill to develop.

The nice thing about this process is that it goes in order of priority. So the question usually isn’t, “should I use this approach to memorize a speech?” but, “how far should I go for this particular speech?”. You may finish after early rehearsals, or memorizing the points, or even go so far as to perfect the timing of tiny nuances in your body language or tone of voice for particular words and phrases. This same process applies throughout.

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Chapter 32: Methods of Speech Delivery

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Distinguish between four methods of speech delivery: the impromptu speech, the manuscript speech, the memorized speech, and the extemporaneous speech
• List the advantages and disadvantages of the four types of speeches
• Explain why an extemporaneous is the preferred delivery style when using rhetorical theory

Key Terms and Concepts

• extemporaneous

We have established that presentations involve much more than the transfer of information. Sure, you could treat a presentation as an opportunity to simply read a report you’ve written out loud to a group, but you would fail to both engage your audience and make a connection with them. In other words, you would leave them wondering exactly why they had to listen to your presentation instead of reading  it at their leisure.

The Four Methods of Speech Delivery

One of the ways to ensure that you engage your audience effectively is by carefully considering how best to deliver your speech. Each of you has sat in a class, presentation, or meeting where you didn’t feel interested in the information the presenter was sharing. Part of the reason for your disengagement likely originated in the presenter’s method of speech delivery .

For our purposes, there are four different methods—or types—of speech delivery used in technical communication:

• Extemporaneous

Exercise #1: The Four Methods of Speech Delivery

What comes to mind when you think about the four methods of speech delivery? How do you think they are different from one another? Have you given a speech using any of these methods before?

Watch the video below for a brief overview of each one. After you are finished, answer the questions below:

• Which method are you most comfortable with? Why?
• Which method are you the least comfortable with? Why?
• Which method do you think is the best for connecting with your audience?  Why?

The public speaking section of this course will require you to deliver a speech using an extemporaneous style, but let’s take a look at how all four differ in approach:

Impromptu Speeches

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advanced preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “ Hi, my name is Shawnda, and I’m a student at the University of Saskatchewan .”

Another example of impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the movie?” Your response has not been pre-planned, and you are constructing your arguments and points as you speak. Even worse, you might find yourself going into a meeting when your boss announces to you, “I want you to talk about the last stage of the project” with no warning.

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The  disadvantage is that the speaker is giv en little or no time to contemplate the central theme of their message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.

Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu speech in public:

• Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point that you want to make (like a mini thesis statement).
• Thank the person for inviting you to speak. Do not make comments about being unprepared, called upon at the last moment, on the spot, or uneasy. In other words, try to avoid being self-deprecating!
• Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
• If you can use a structure, use numbers if possible: “Two main reasons. . .” or “Three parts of our plan. . .” or “Two side effects of this drug. . .” Past, present, and future or East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast are pre-fab structures.
• Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
• Stop talking. It is easy to “ramble on” when you don’t have something prepared. If in front of an audience, don’t keep talking as you move back to your seat.

Impromptu speeches are generally most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.

We recommend practicing your impromptu speaking regularly. Do you want to work on reducing your vocalized pauses in a formal setting? Great! You can begin that process by being conscious of your vocalized fillers during informal conversations and settings.

Exercise #2: Impromptu Speech Example

Below are two examples of an impromptu speech. In the first video, a teacher is demonstrating an impromptu speech to his students on the topic of strawberries. He quickly jots down some notes before presenting.

What works in his speech? What could be improved?

Link to Original Video: tinyurl.com/impromptuteacher

In the above example, the teacher did an okay job, considering how little time he had to prepare.

In this next example, you will see just how badly an impromptu speech can go. It is a video of a best man speech at a wedding. Keep in mind that the speaker is the groom’s brother.

Is there anything that he does well? What are some problems with his speech?

Link to Original Video: tinyurl.com/badimpromptubestman

Manuscript Speeches

Manuscript  speaking is the word-for-word iteration of a written message. In a manuscript speech, the speaker maintains their attention on the printed page except when using presentation aids.

The advantage to reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. This can be extremely important in some circumstances. For example, reading a statement about your organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact. In reading one word at a time, in order, the only errors would typically be the mispronunciation of a word or stumbling over complex sentence structure. A manuscript speech may also be appropriate at a more formal affair (like a funeral), when your speech must be said exactly as written in order to convey the proper emotion the situation deserves.

However, there are costs involved in manuscript speaking. First, it’s typically an uninteresting way to present. Unless the speaker has rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures (well-known authors often do this for book readings), the presentation tends to be dull. Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script prevents eye contact with the audience.

For this kind of “straight” manuscript speech to hold audience attention, the audience must be already interested in the message and speaker before the delivery begins. Finally, because the full notes are required, speakers often require a lectern to place their notes, restricting movement and the ability to engage with the audience. Without something to place the notes on, speakers have to manage full-page speaking notes, and that can be distracting.

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians often read from an autocue device such as a teleprompter. This device is especially common when these people appear on television where eye contact with the camera is crucial. With practice, a speaker can achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of speaking extemporaneously and maintaining eye contact while using an autocue device.

However, success in this medium depends on two factors:

• the speaker is already an accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a prepared script, and
• the speech is written in a style that sounds conversational.

Exercise #3: Manuscript Speech Example

Below is a video that shows an example of a manuscript speech. In the video, US Presidential Historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, gives a speech about different US presidents.

What works in her speech? What could be improved?

Link to Original Video: tinyurl.com/goodwindepauw

Here’s a video that shows the dangers of relying on a manuscript for your speech:

Michael Bay heavily relied on his manuscript , so when he suddenly lost access to it, he was left feeling embarrassed and had to hastily leave the stage. As a result, he experienced face loss .

Link to original video: https://tinyurl.com/MBayManuscript

Memorized Speeches

Memorized  speaking is reciting a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script in a stage play, television program, or movie. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses presentation aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage.

Memorization, however, can be tricky. First, if you lose your place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. If you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep going. Obviously, memorizing a typical seven-minute classroom speech takes a great deal of time and effort, and if you aren’t used to memorizing, it is very difficult to pull off.

Exercise #4: Memorized Speech Example

Below is a video that shows an example of a memorized speech. In the video, former Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, responds to Barack Obama’s State of the Union address back in 2009.

Extemporaneous Speeches

Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes.

Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you don’t need to read it. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally.

By using notes rather than a full manuscript (or everything that you’re going to say), the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech as it progresses. It also allows flexibility; you are working from the strong foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or to adapt to your audience, you can do so. The outline also helps you be aware of main ideas vs. subordinate ones.

Compared to the other three types of speech delivery, an extemporaneous style is the best for engaging your audience and making yourself sound like a natural speaker.

The video below provides some tips on how to deliver a speech using this method:

Link to Original Video:  tinyurl.com/deliverextempres

The slide below provides a brief overview of tips for preparing your extemporaneous presentation:

Exercise# 5: Extemporaneous Speech Example

Below is a video that shows an example of an extemporaneous speech. In the video, a former University of Saskatchewan student tries to persuade her peers to spend more solo time outside.

Link to Original Video: tinyurl.com/rcm401speech

Key Takeaways

• When designing any speech, it’s important to consider how you will deliver that speech. In technical communication, there are four different types of speech delivery, each with their advantages and disadvantages. They are: impromptu , manuscript , memorized , and extemporaneous .
• An impromptu  speech can take many forms such as a toast at a wedding, being asked to give a project update at a meeting, or even simply meeting someone for the first time. While this type of speech can be spontaneous and responsive, the speaker generally has little to no warning that they will need to speak.
• A  manuscript speech is completely written out and read word for word.  It is often a good style when you want to nail the specific wording and do not want to make an error. However, this type of speech is not very persuasive because it does not take advantage of the immediacy of public speaking. It also completely removes audience relation from the process.
• A  memorized  speech is when a speaker commits an entire speech to memory. This style also harms relation with the audience because the speaker is more focused on remembering the text of the speech rather than communicating with the audience. Additionally, if you lose your place and need to ad lib, it may be obvious to your audience.
• An extemporaneous speech is done in a natural, conversational speaking style. While it is carefully planned, it is never completely written out like a manuscript.  It is also not read or memorized . Instead, an outline is used to help guide the speaker. As a result, more attention can be paid to the audience, allowing the speaker to better connect with them and make adjustments as necessary. This is the style we want you to use for your presentation assignment in RCM 200.

Attributions

This chapter is adapted from “ Communication for Business Professionals ” by eCampusOntario (on Open Library ). It is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .

This chapter is also adapted from “ Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy ” by Meggie Mapes (on Pressbooks ). It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .

a speech delivery method where a short message is presented without advanced preparation

a speech delivery method where a message is read word-for-word off a written page or autocue device

a speech delivery method where a message is presented after being committed to memory by the speaker

a speech delivery method where the presentation is carefully planned and rehearsed, but spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes

the experience of feeling judged, or feeling that people do not recognize us as we perceive ourselves to be

Effective Professional Communication: A Rhetorical Approach Copyright © 2021 by Rebekah Bennetch; Corey Owen; and Zachary Keesey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to memorize a speech

• James Haynes
• October 3, 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction.

You’ve just been invited to give a talk. That’s great! Whether it’s for your speaking business or just a short speech in front of one of your community groups, you may be wondering how and whether to memorize your talk. What are some tips for memorizing it? How can you keep from forgetting your lines? For answers to these questions and more, read on.

Should I memorize my speech word-for-word?

First of all, it’s important to know whether you need to memorize your speech word-for-word. Typically, if you need to stick to a script, you will be told in advance that you need to do so, and will have notes for your talk.

But suppose you’re not allowed to bring notes onto the stage, or simply feel more comfortable walking around the lectern instead of standing behind it. What can you do to remember your lines?

Remember: for a lot of speeches you’ll give, you’re not going to have a Powerpoint or similar visual aids. So how are you going to stay focused and find cues?

There are a couple of tricks you can use. One method comes from speaker Harriet Turk, who told Grant Baldwin in our  podcast on creating your talk  that writing some bullet points on a notecard can be one way to succinctly outline a talk in a way that you can rely on, even when you’re on stage and nervous.

“Bullets are easy because they trigger what it is that you’re really wanting to do,” Turk said, “Whereas if you write it out and then you memorize it, you could have stage fright, or you’ve practiced it so much that you get to a point that you’re nervous and you forget.”

But you can’t wing it. After all, professional speakers don’t just make stuff up. They don’t just write a few thoughts on a notecard and then shoot from the hip for an entire presentation. They take the time to write and carefully craft their material. Read  this super helpful post  by Josh Sundquist for his tips on writing your speech, setting your fee, and booking your first gigs.

Free Download: 6 Proven Steps to Book More Paid Speaking Gigs in 2024​

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Methods to memorize your speech

So if you aren’t going to have a transcription of your talk on the stage (which you probably shouldn’t), and you’re not yet sure how to fit a 30-minute or even an hour-long speech on note cards, how can you store your content in your head without freezing up?

Sequential structures for memorizing your speech

One method Grant Baldwin  discusses in our podcast on how to create your talk  is to use different types of structures. For example, a sequential structure for memorizing your talk can take the main themes you want to speak about and put them in a sequential form, so that it’s easier to remember the order. Grant gives the example of a talk he gave for college audiences called “Life is a Highway,” where he talked about an imaginary road trip.

As Baldwin said, the way the talk was structured was to talk in the beginning about the past, and where the audience has been, then talk about the future, where they’re going, and to end by talking about where they are, right now. “It needs to almost happen in this certain sequence,” Baldwin said, “which also makes it easier for you to memorize because they need to go in this specific order.”

Modular structures

Another type of structure you can use to memorize your speech is a modular structure. This allows you to go in order, but it also allows you to jump around. This could be especially helpful if you’ve got a couple of main thoughts or ideas and they don’t necessarily have to go in a certain order. You can kind of mix and match them around, similar to how a band at a concert can switch songs around in their setlist.

Baldwin gives the example of topics he covered in a book talk for high school students, answering questions such as, should I go to college? how do I pay for college? What classes do I take? What do I major in? Job interviews, resumes, internships, credit cards, budgets, taxes, etc.

Similar to the sequential structure, it may be helpful for you to think of the content as telling a story, so that you don’t leave anything out. If you have five key themes, for example, that you’d like to cover, they could be five elements of a story you would like to tell. Remember: stories will keep your audience engaged and also make it easier for you to memorize your speech.

How to practice memorizing your speech

Got your outline for your talk? Decided whether to use a sequential or modular structure? Now you’re wondering, what’s next? The next step is to practice your outlined talk. If you get nervous before going on stage, this will be a game-changer. One of the best ways to minimize any nerves on stage is to practice so you know exactly where you’re going with your talk. (for more on managing nerves when you speak,  check out this episode  of The Speaker Lab podcast). In the same way that you would practice a standardized test before taking it, or your lines in a play before performing, you should practice your speech before giving it.

Step 1: Read through – aloud.

When you’re speaking live, you don’t get a second take, as  Grant Baldwin discusses in this Speaker Lab podcast on how to practice your talk.  So you can benefit from practicing your entire talk all the way through beforehand.

How do you do this? “The first thing I do,” Baldwin said, “is [to] manuscript my talk…I’m not trying to learn a manuscript verbatim, I just want to know it. I want to know where I’m going, and I wanna know what it is that I want to communicate.”

Then, Baldwin says, he can read that talk out loud, as one continuous piece. This enables him (and you as a speaker) to ask questions like, does this flow together? Does this seem smooth? Are the transitions smooth as you’re going from this point into that point? Is it really clear what this talk is about?

As you read and go through your talk, you may realize that a particular story just doesn’t work. So you can just cut it out. Going through the whole manuscript by reading it aloud can help you catch things and rewrite anything that doesn’t fit. There will be things that need work, but oftentimes you won’t catch them just by reading your talk. That’s why you ought to do this by reading your talk out loud.

Step 2: Break your talk into sections

The next step Baldwin recommends is to begin to break your talk into sections. “I start trying to basically internalize the message,” Baldwin said. “I go paragraph by paragraph, trying to internalize the message.” Again, the goal here is not to memorize it verbatim. Unlike a singer, whose audience may know all the lyrics to the song she sings, if a speaker goes out of order, it may be impossible for the audience to notice – after all, they don’t have a script!

As you internalize your talk’s message, you can break the talk into sections that you either deliver in order or out of order. But regardless of how you break it up, you should determine what the point of each section is. It may be to tell a story to illustrate some key thoughts. Practicing that section could include practicing telling the story aloud, delivering the punchline, and transitioning out of that story into the next point that you’re trying to make. This will make it easier to memorize your speech.

Each section should stack on to what you’ve already learned. So once you learn paragraph one, then you can practice paragraph two. Then you can go back and practice one and two together – again, everyone has their own technique, but oftentimes out loud is best! (Another tactic here is to record yourself and listen back to help you to not only learn the material, but to also help decide if the material works.)

Step 3: Practice the talk as a whole

Once you’ve run through the whole talk and broken it into sections, you will want to practice the talk as a whole several times. Go from point A to point Z and see how long it takes. If it’s a 30-minute talk or an hour-long talk, this may take a while, but it’s worth it.

Practice like you would perform your talk. Don’t just go through the motions. Think through your hand gestures, your voice inflections, and your stage movement. If you plan to be using a handheld mic, practice with something to mimic that so you can get used to it. Knowing what action to take next can help you stay on track as you memorize your speech.

Create a rhythm to your talk. Rhythm means creating a pace or flow to your talk that makes it easier to follow and navigate for the audience. I generally follow this rhythm when presenting: present the main point or idea…expand on that point….tell a story related to that point…make application….wash, rinse, repeat.

You might also consider practicing in front of another person (ideally someone who can stand in well for an audience member), or in front of a mirror.

Remember: you don’t spend 10 minutes on this part. Depending on the length of your talk, it will number in the hours. That’s a big commitment. But each time you speak, you’re going to get better, and the talk is going to get easier.

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All in all, knowing how to memorize your speech is a necessary skill for furthering your speaking career. Although you don’t need to remember word for word exactly what you have to say, having the entire outline and structure in your head rather than in a script will make your talk shine.

If you found this piece helpful, we have a  great podcast with Grant Baldwin on how to create your talk.  He tells us how he prepares for talks, what makes a talk good versus another talk, and what types of structures you can use to organize your content. You can listen to this  podcast on creating a talk here . Want to read more about speaking tips? Take a look at our  100 tips for motivational speaking for any speaking engagement ! Happy speaking!

• Last Updated: February 29, 2024

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How to Memorize a Speech (In 5 Easy Steps!)

February 15, 2023

If you have an upcoming speech or presentation, you’ve probably wondered whether or not you should try to memorize it. 

Some people memorize the speech word-for-word, some people use notecards, and some don’t commit any bit of their speech to memory. But what’s best?

In our ultimate how-to guide, we’ll cover how to memorize a speech fast, why memorizing speeches is beneficial, common pitfalls when trying to memorize a speech, and other tips for memorization. 

Why Should You Memorize a Speech?

Learning how to memorize a speech — or at least the main parts of a speech — can be incredibly beneficial for any public speaker. Your audience will understand your message or the information you’re trying to convey much easier if you’ve memorized the key points. Chances are, you’ll speak more clearly and appear more confident and engaging. 

Think about it: If you’re reading a speech from a piece of paper or your phone, or if you’re just reading the slides of your presentation, you’re hindering the connection with your audience. 

On the other hand, if you’ve memorized a speech, it’ll sound more natural, conversational, and almost informal, which helps people relate to what you’re saying. Using note cards is totally fine, but the more you’ve memorized, the easier it is to deliver a successful speech.

There are tons of benefits to learning how to memorize a speech. For example, you’ll: 

• Master effective public communication, one of the most helpful skills you can have (no matter what career or industry you’re involved in)
• Build and a cultivate closer connection with your audience
• Show just how knowledgeable you are about the subject you’re covering 
• Shine a light on your public speaking skills

However, memorizing a speech can be challenging for lots of people.

What’s the fastest way to memorize a speech?

How fast it’ll take you to memorize a speech depends. But at the very least, try to give youself an hour’s worth of time.

How to Memorize a Speech Fast

To memorize a speech fast, you’ll have to put in some work and practice. 

The best way to practice memorizing a speech is through a speech coach like Yoodli . Yoodli uses AI capabilities to analyze a user’s speech to provide them with insights they can use to improve. 

It can tell you if you’re talking too fast, if you’re using too many filler words, and even if you’re using non-inclusive language by accident. You’ll get coaching comments too, including actionable suggestions to take your speech to the next level — completely for free. 

Once you’ve recorded or uploaded a video of yourself practicing your speech, you’ll get instant analytics and feedback you can take advantage of.

Here are some more specific tips on how to memorize a speech fast, including the specifics for the best way to practice.

5 Tips for How to Memorize a Speech Fast

We already know there’s a plethora of benefits to memorizing a speech. From improving your confidence to building reliable connections with your audience, memorizing at least parts of your speech can take your public speaking skills to the next level.

Here are the top five tips to memorize a speech fast. 

1. Write your speech out first.

Before you do anything, write your speech out in full. You can also make an outline for the overall speech (this will help you identify some key points for later).

Making an outline and writing out your speech also helps you nail the structure and plan not only what you want to say, but when you want to say it. If you’re wondering how many words you should aim for, you can make an estimate based on the time limit you’re going for. For example, evaluating how many words in a five-minute speech can help you make an appropriate estimate. 

2. Start by reading your speech word for word.

Even though your goal isn’t to read your speech word-for-word to your audience, reading it to yourself in full can help you identify areas that don’t work. There might be some awkward phrasing or even a mistake or two. Reading it aloud helps you target these.  

You can change overly complex information or complicated jargon to simpler terms, making it easier for the audience to understand and easier for you to convey.

3. Identify your speech’s key points.

Since you have an outline and full speech written out, identifying your speech’s main points will be easier. 

If you’re feeling stuck, try thinking of the top three main points you’d like to make. Then, you can break down those main points into smaller key points via a method called chunking. You can think of it like a tree. 

The main idea would be the tree trunk. So, for example, if you were giving a presentation on cybersecurity , you might have three main branches: information sharing, federal networks, and critical infrastructure protection. Under the information sharing branch, you might have a few other smaller branches, like: 

• Information sharing programs
• Traffic Light Protocol (TLP)
• Automated Indicator Sharing (AIS)

Chunking information like this can help break your speech down into bite-sized, consumable pieces that are easier to memorize. 

4. Practice, practice, practice.

Most importantly of all, to memorize a speech, you need to practice. Practicing through Yoodli is a great option, since you’ll get instantaneous, individualized feedback for improvement. You can use this AI speech coach to skip the guesswork and find exactly what you need to work on. 

For example, maybe Yoodli flags your filler word usage as an area for improvement. Now, you know exactly what you need to work on. You can even play games on Yoodli, like “No Filler,” that tests your ability to go without fillers for a set period of time.

Whichever way you practice, it’s always easier when you have some direct feedback to work off of. 

5. Don’t stress.

Easier said than done. But keeping your cool is essential to memorize a speech. Getting overwhelmed or overly anxious can derail your progress. Nerves can affect your practice and your speech’s delivery, too. 

Use some relaxation techniques, like deep breathing and mindful pauses. Remember: You’re fully capable of giving a successful speech. 

Common Mistakes When You’re Learning How to Memorize a Speech

If you’re learning how to memorize a speech, you’ll want to avoid these common pitfalls: memorizing the speech in full and not preparing at all. 

Although you might be tempted to memorize the entire speech just to be safe, it actually does more harm than good. Here’s why: You could completely lose the actual message in staying too close to the script. 

If you’re so focused on not slipping up and merely reciting the speech, there’s a good chance you’ll sound too robotic or monotonic . 

Memorizing your speech in full also puts extra pressure on yourself, whether you realize it or not. Going off script can inevitably cause you to panic, since you didn’t practice anything other than the word-for-word speech.

However, not preparing at all is an even bigger mistake when you’re learning how to memorize a speech. 

This is the complete opposite of the first pitfall . People who choose not to prepare usually do so because they’re worried they’ll sound too monotonic if they try to memorize any part of their speech. However, that’s not the case if you stick to memorizing the key points. 

It’s always better to prepare through practice and key memorization than to just wing it. Winging it is too big a risk, especially if the speech and presentation could affect your career. 

How to Improve Your Memorization Skills

When you’re learning how to memorize a speech fast, sometimes working on your core memorization skills can make a world of difference. 

Here are four quick tips to improve your memorization skills, especially if you have a speech or presentation coming up.  

• Get some good rest. Although you might be nervous about your speech (or you might be tempted to stay up all night practicing), it’s essential to get good sleep if you’re working on your memory. 
• Make sure you’re eating right. Nerves aside, you shouldn’t be skipping meals. Make sure you’re eating healthful foods and staying hydrated. Being dehydrated or hungry can affect how your brain remembers things. 
• Be sure you stay organized. Just like your notes and speech should be well-organized, so should your overall space. It’s difficult to memorize anything when you’re in a cluttered, distracting environment, so staying organized can help with this issue. 
• Keep your mind sharp. It’s easier to memorize things if you’re working on your mental capabilities as well. Keeping your mind sharp can include doing things like: crossword or sudoku puzzles, finding a new hobby, reading, playing music, or even in-person activities, like volunteer work. All of these activities can help prevent memory loss in the future. 

The Bottom Line

Learning how to memorize a speech can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Usually, you aren’t trying to deliver a perfect monologue. The goal of giving speeches and presentations is to convey information in a meaningful, effective way.  

By learning a few tips for how to memorize a speech fast, you’ll be able to break down the speech into manageable, key points that are more easily remembered. 

Start practicing with Yoodli.

Getting better at speaking is getting easier. Record or upload a speech and let our AI Speech Coach analyze your speaking and give you feedback.

• Internet , Productivity

15 Short Memorized Speech Examples

Giving a speech feels hard and that feeling is so common that a majority of people would rather die than speak publicly. But when it is inevitable, maybe as the best man, mother of the bride, or a speech assignment for class, we turn to memorization.

Why? Because we assume that if we know and remember what to say, we won’t embarrass ourselves. Slightly effective, but it comes with its own limitations.

Here, I will show you how to memorize a speech with 15 examples worth referencing.

But first, let’s go over how to write a speech, because it doesn’t matter how well you memorize one if the content is bad.

How to Write a Speech

The anxiety that fuels the need to memorize a speech comes from either not knowing what to say or how to say it. A sure fire way to overcome that is by writing the speech.

And contrary to what you might think, it is not hard to write a good speech. If you know how to have a meaningful conversation, moving from point A to point B, you can write a speech. You just need to follow these tips.

Set the stage with an introduction

How exactly you start depends on the context of your speech. For instance, you may need to introduce yourself if your audience isn’t familiar with you. This is unnecessary if you’ve been introduced or you’re speaking among your peers.

But the main point here is about how you start your speech. The goal is to explain the what and why in a way that captures the audience’s attention.

It could be a famous quote, a shocking statement, or a rhetorical question. As long as it gets ears to perk up and eyes to focus on you.

Create and follow a structure

Now that you have their attention, it is time to hold it. As the speaker, the audience expects a path and destination from you. They want to know where the gist leads and why the point matters.

Ergo, structure.

Each paragraph in your speech must have a central point and connect with the next. Don’t try and stuff everything you know about the subject in the paragraphs. Focus on the key issues and maintain clear, logical transitions from idea to idea.

That is why it is crucial to understand the purpose of the speech. Are you trying to entertain, argue a point, inspire, or educate? The answer will inform the structure and overall tone of the speech.

Use Anecdotes to illustrate key points

When you write a speech, tailor your language and ideas to your audience. The way you speak in a school seminar is different from how you will talk at your best friend’s wedding, and there is no place where this matters more than in your anecdotes.

Countless studies have shown that our brains remember stories pretty well. That means if you want your speech to be memorable, you have to sprinkle some of them in there to illustrate your points.

That way, even if the facts and figures fly over their heads, the story will stick. And the good thing about anecdotes is, you don’t have to memorize them.

Use Transitions

No matter how great every line in your speech is, there will be moments when the audience drifts off. Use transitions to recall their attention. It signals to them that the oncoming part is worth paying attention to.

There are different ways to deploy this. It could be a rhetorical question like “Why does this matter?” followed by a pause, just long enough to create anticipation.

Other examples include “So here’s the lesson” or “In a similar fashion.”

Summarize with a call to action

Your audience won’t remember everything you say, but they are more likely to remember the last thing you said to them. That means, alongside the introduction, this is an integral part of your speech.

Summarize the speech using sentences that drive home the main point. You can do this by repeating a few key takeaways or sharing an anecdote that illustrates the point.

How to Memorize a Speech

Image by Rodnae Productions ( Pexels )

Hopefully, after reading that section, you are starting to get the idea. Once you know what to say and how to say it, you’ve cracked the first step to memorizing a speech.

The next thing is to observe a few steps, and you are well on your way to delivering a captivating speech from memory.

Rehearse the Speech

After writing the speech, try reading it out loud. The goal here is to figure out how it sounds to fix what doesn’t work.

You can add, delete, or reorder parts of the speech until it sounds compelling and natural during this phase. Like something you wouldn’t mind sitting through yourself.

This process could take a few times, so feel free to pause and come back with fresh eyes and ears. You could also try reading it to someone for a different perspective.

Memorize the main ideas

The best way to memorize a speech is to learn the main points. This is where you benefit from writing the speech. Once you understand the subject matter and the goal of the speech, your mind has a framework to follow.

Instead of trying to capture the entire speech word-for-word, you have memorized the main ideas. Enough to talk about it to an audience as if you are having a regular conversation.

There are two main benefits to this. One, it gives a natural feel to your speech. Regurgitating a speech word-for-word makes you seem like a robot. There is no warmth, and it makes your content less engaging.

Two, it makes you immune to a slip-up. When you forget a word or sentence, it has little to zero impact because you know what you are trying to say and how to say it. You have maximum flexibility.

A practical way to memorize each idea is by quizzing yourself over each paragraph. “What is it about?” “What problem is it describing?” “Why does this matter?”

Practice your delivery

Finally, a speech is only as good as its delivery. Think about the most remarkable speeches you’ve heard or seen. What made them stand out?

One thing that is for sure is it isn’t because they remembered every single word. Not that you would know. But instead how the speaker spoke, entertainingly and informatively.

It is possible to memorize this by rehearsing over and over again.

Since you are more concerned about the meaning than the syntax of your sentence, you start to get a feel of when it’s okay to make a joke, change the timing or intonation.

That is how to memorize a speech, and it all starts with focusing on the content. Now, let’s see some good examples of these tips being put to use in different scenarios.

Short Memorized Speech Examples

Short memorized speech for a college paper.

This example might not align with your definition of “short,” but it gets a whole lot right when it comes to speeches.

First, it starts with a question that piques attention, then immediately establishes what and why they are talking about it. The sentence structure is also conversational, and the author doesn’t have to memorize each word.

The rest of the speech maintains that tone, and the thought flows logically. From explaining what dreaming big is to its downsides and negative impact, all told through anecdotal lenses.

Not only is this speech easier to memorize because it is their story, but it makes it more engaging. More than what a rollout of psychological facts would have been.

Finally, the speaker ties it up in a compelling conclusion that summarizes the key point with a call to action.

Short speech for a company event

This is a much shorter speech than the previous example, but it still follows the same principles. In the introduction, the author uses the scale of time to capture the audience’s attention. With a few sentences, it transports their mind to the past and the future. Engaging!

That thought continues its logical progression in the body. The CEO (presumably) zeroes in on the implications and impact of that journey in time on members of the organization. Relatable!

Finally, they tie up the speech with a nice bow with a call back to the beginning.

Not only does this speech have the perfect length for the occasion, but it is also stirring enough to leave a lasting impression.

Short wedding speech

If you have ever attended a wedding, you are probably familiar with speeches like this. What makes them so common yet effective is how much it understands its audience.

A wedding reception is a relaxed atmosphere, which means the audience experts jokes and laughter. The author doesn’t waste time and delivers right from the beginning. Humor makes us attractive, and with that, the audience is interested in what the writer has to say.

Another thing that makes this speech good and easy to memorize is a total familiarity with the subject matter. In this case, that’s Josh. Because of that, the author can craft a structural narrative that establishes Josh’s personality and character and its relevance to the current event.

Short memorized speech for a presentation

Here is a nice example of a proper introduction if you ever have to give a speech to your peers at school, work, or any other setting. They already know who you are, which means your primary focus is to give them something to listen to.

Next, dive into the what and why it matters. Here, the writer offers both at the end of the first paragraph and in the next. In two paragraphs, the audience knows why she’s talking about her future and why it matters to the speaker and them.

The next logical question is how the speaker plans to achieve that, and they answer in the final paragraph.

Short introductory speech for a college seminar

What if you had to come up with an introductory speech for an event? Well, you still follow the same beats as other types of speeches. Establish the what and the why.

For What, this college seminar speech covers the relevance of the seminar by mentioning the dignitaries that have supported it. Without explicitly stating that it is an important event, the roster of those in attendance and the organizing team conveys that to the audience.

To answer Why, the principal plainly states the value of the seminar. The audience understands they are part of a long history, and the content is valuable enough for commercial publication.

Short Personal Introductory Speech

When you have to introduce yourself, you have a limited time to establish who you are and why you should be listened to.

Thankfully there is not much to learn in this scenario because you are the subject, and no one knows you better than you. Start with your name and your experience like this example to prove your credibility.

Since it is a personal introduction, the body of your content should be something that humanizes you. That way, you go from a name and title to a person, and in this example, a relatable one.

The good thing about this type of speech is it is fun to memorize, and you can rehearse and shape it by giving it to as many people as possible.

Short persuasive speech to students

In the game of attention that is speech writing and delivery, there are multiple paths to victory. This example deploys the rhetorical question method to command the attention of its audience.

By asking questions audience members have most likely asked themselves, the speaker has positioned himself as someone with answers. After all, if you know about these questions, then they have probably figured it out.

Furthermore, each point builds on the one before it, in the direction of a typical day. Because it follows the logical progression of their regular day, the audience has permission to insert themselves into the narrative, making them more receptive to the advice and suggestion.

Persuasive for a diverse audience

What if you are trying to write and memorize a speech for a diverse audience? First, you need to find something that unites you all. In this short excerpt from a speech, the speaker has chosen their identity as residents of Thailand.

It would be difficult for the speaker to memorize every single word in this speech. However, by crafting points around how the central purpose of the speech benefits everyone, they don’t have to.

All that needs memorizing are the broader supporting points. To provide jobs, improve the local economy. Each point is bolstered with verifiable facts, which makes it more convincing.

Short speech for an argumentative speech

If you ever find yourself having a debate, the trick to making a convincing argument is to display a complete understanding of the topic interspersed with your opinions and verifiable facts.

This example does two of those things excellently. It starts by recognizing the conflict. Phones are helpful, and they serve an essential role in modern society, but it has its downsides. Then there’s the referenced medical fact that adds credibility to the conflict.

These points are connected by transitional phrases and words like “On the other hand” and “Worryingly” that make it easy for the audience to follow the speaker’s train of thought.

Short Memorizable speech for a proposal

Found the perfect partner and want to propose? Besides the content, writing and delivering your proposal speech is no different from any other kind of speech. It is all about connecting with your audience.

That means, like this example, you need to speak in the first person a lot, i.e., lots of Is. Your key points, as shown here, should focus on how your partner makes you feel and what their presence in your life means to you.

Memorizing the main points of your proposal is especially important in this context because your speech should come from the heart. Or at least feel like it did.

Memorized acceptance speech

Suppose you’ve received an award or recorded an accomplishment that requires a speech. In that case, the majority of your content should focus on showing appreciation.

First, start by thanking the people giving you the award, then move on to thank everyone else, specifically those who contributed to the achievement.

Feel free to introduce humor into your speech, but it should be appropriate for the event and place.

As always, when you memorize this kind of speech, you should focus more on each section than on the exact words. For instance, you could thank the awarding body first, then move to your peers, then family last.

That way, even after rehearsing multiple times in front of a mirror, it still feels natural and spontaneous.

Short acceptance speech with commentary

There are occasions when you want to do more than simply thank you in your acceptance speech. In scenarios like that, find a way to connect your appreciation with your commentary, as seen in this example.

Start by appreciating the organization or people responsible for the award or accomplishment. Then use transitional phrases or a topic sentence to segue into your commentary.

The example above used “…all the effort of my entire team…” to segue into an inspiring comment. It also used an anecdote to illustrate the point further.

Finally, end with a note of thanks to close the circle.

When crafted this way, you only need to memorize the broad strokes of your speech and perhaps the connective phrase if you came up with the perfect line in your draft.

Short Goodwill speech

Above is an excerpt of the famous Ich bin ein Berliner speech by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. You can watch and read the whole thing here .

The popular name appears at the very end of the speech, but it would have made zero sense or had little impact if it wasn’t the conclusion of logically progressive thought.

Goodwill speeches should be informative and persuasive, and this example does that brilliantly from the first paragraph. It starts by showing great respect to the city and sticks to the theme by highlighting the shared values and beliefs.

If you ever have to deliver one, focus your memorization efforts on what you have in common with your hosts and build out from there.

Short memorized speech for a funeral

Many of us will have to deliver a speech at a funeral someday. When that time comes, it is better to memorize the order of your thoughts than the exact words.

A good order starts with introducing yourself and your relationship with the deceased. Then spend the following paragraphs talking about their life and personality. This includes speaking about their accomplishments, major life events. Each talking point should connect back to the impact on you.

Finally, summarize with a final takeaway from the theme, how you want others to remember the individual, and a thank you to attendees.

Short Farewell Speech after leaving a place or position

Your farewell speech is your last time to leave an impression on your audience. This could be your colleagues, boss, or students. Whoever they are, they will determine the exact tone and style you choose in your speech.

Depending on your experience and emotional attachment to the organization, your speech could be a simple thank you. It could also be exciting stories that highlight your history and journey there.

Whatever you decide, make sure it is personal. The second half of the first paragraph and the second paragraph above is an excellent example of this.

Wrapping it Up

That makes it 15, and depending on the scenario, each one is a useful reference when crafting your speech. Remember, the first step to memorizing a speech is to write one.

It gives you a chance to organize your thoughts, deepen your understanding of the topic, and familiarize yourself with the audience. In turn, you get the confidence to deliver in a way that is both engaging and convincing.

By following these tips and examples, you too will be able to deliver a speech that makes you proud.

Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing. I started my first e-commerce company in college, designing and selling t-shirts for my campus bar crawl using print-on-demand. Having successfully established multiple 6 & 7-figure e-commerce businesses (in women’s fashion and hiking gear), I think I can share a tip or 2 to help you succeed.

How To Memorize & Give A Speech Without Notes

• April 19, 2017

Have you ever wanted to memorize and give a speech without notes? Learn how to memorize a toast or presentation without rehearsing it 200 times.

CONNECT WITH Jim Kwik

We give speeches a lot, whether they’re toasts at weddings or presentations at school or at work. Learning a speech doesn’t have to require rote repetition. It doesn’t have to be boring, slow, or a chore. In fact, it can be fun, fast, and effective.

The Loci Method

• Loci is short for location. This method is also referred to as the “memory palace.”
• People used this technique before there were smart devices or even a printing press.
• 2500 years ago, a Greek orator named Simonides gave a reading. After he left the building, it collapsed, and Simonides was given the task of identifying the bodies. He was able to remember who they were based on where they were sitting.
• As hunters/gatherers, our brains didn’t need to memorize words and numbers. We needed to know where things were – things like enemy tribes, clean water, and good food. It was essential to our survival. So we are better at remembering places.
• If you’ve ever used the phrase “in the first place,” you used language left over from this technique.

How to Use the Loci Method

Pick 10 key points.

• Find the 10 major points of your speech.
• You don’t need to know it word for word, or you’ll sound rote and rehearsed. You need to know the main points in the correct order so you can start at the right place if you’re thrown off with a question.
• If you don’t have a speech to memorize, use my  10 favorite brain foods  or the  10 keys to unlocking brain health .

Create 10 Landmarks

• Select 2 rooms in your home and create 5 landmarks in each.
• Imagine you are standing in the doorway and go clockwise.
• Pick places, not empty space. Instead of picking a corner of the room; pick an object in the corner.
• Pick things that are relatively large, like the coffee table, not the figures on it.
• Pick only one of each item per room. If you have 4 chairs, use one chair.
• If you need to create more than 10 landmarks, use other rooms. You can also use your office, your car, and more. Get creative!

Pair Each Key Point to A Landmark

• Create an image for each key point.
• Put each key point into its corresponding place.
• The first key to unlocking brain health is a good brain diet. If your first place is the radiator, imagine blueberries and walnuts on the radiator.
• The second key to unlocking brain health is killing ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts). If your second place is the piano, imagine killing ants on the piano.
• The third key to unlocking brain health is exercise. If your third place is the couch, imagine doing pushups on the couch.
• Making the image intense will help you remember it with less repetition.

Knowledge isn’t power; it’s potential power. You don’t know something unless you do it. So practice! Practice makes progress.

Your Homework Assignment

• Create 10 places. Write them down if you need to, and memorize them forwards and backwards.
• Practice this technique with what you need to remember!
• How did you do? Let me know by tagging @KwikLearning or @jimkwik on Twitter and Instagram.

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14.2: Methods of Delivery

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• Page ID 106487

• Lisa Coleman, Thomas King, & William Turner
• Southwest Tennessee Community College

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): "Student Speaker Leighanne Oh_6056136566_l.jpg"  by  NCSSMphotos  is licensed under  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter the student will be able to:

• Identify the different methods of speech delivery;
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each delivery method;
• Identify key elements in preparing to deliver a speech;
• Understand the benefits of delivery-related behaviors;
• Utilize specific techniques to enhance speech delivery.

The Importance of Delivery

Good delivery is meant to augment your speech and help convey your information to the audience. Anything that potentially distracts your audience means that fewer people will be informed, persuaded, or entertained by what you have said. Practicing your speech in an environment that closely resembles the actual situation that you will be speaking in will better prepare you for what to do and how to deliver your speech when it really counts.

You need to first dismiss the myth that public speaking is just reading and talking at the same time. You already know how to read, and you already know how to talk, which is why you’re taking a class called “public speaking” and not one called “public talking” or “public reading.”

Speaking in public has more formality than talking. During a speech, you should present yourself professionally. This doesn’t necessarily mean you must wear a suit or “dress up” unless your instructor asks you to. However, it does mean making yourself presentable by being well-groomed and wearing clean, appropriate clothes. It also means being prepared to use language correctly and appropriately for the audience and the topic, to make eye contact with your audience, and to look like you know your topic very well.

While speaking has more formality than talking, it has less formality than reading. Speaking allows for flexibility, meaningful pauses, eye contact, small changes in word order, and vocal emphasis. Reading is a more or less exact replication of words on paper without the use of any nonverbal interpretation. Speaking, as you will realize if you think about excellent speakers you have seen and heard, provides a more animated message.

Methods of Speech Delivery

What follows are four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality when giving a speech. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, but you will most likely want to focus on the extemporaneous approach  since that is probably what your instructor will want from you .

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation . You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and I’m a volunteer with the Homes for the Brave program.” Another example of impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the movie?” Your response has not been preplanned, and you are constructing your arguments and points as you speak. Even worse, you might find yourself going into a meeting and your boss says, “I want you to talk about the last stage of the project. . . “ and you have no warning.

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.

Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu speech in public:

• Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point or points you want to make.
• Thank the person for inviting you to speak. Do not make comments about being unprepared, called upon at the last moment, on the spot, or uneasy. No one wants to hear that and it will embarrass others and yourself.
• Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
• Stay on track. Answer the question or prompt as given; resist the temptation to go elsewhere.
• If you can, use a structure, using numbers if possible: “Two main reasons . . .” or “Three parts of our plan. . .” or “Two side effects of this drug. . .” Past, present, and future or East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast are common structures.
• Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
• Stop talking (it is easy to “ramble on” when you don’t have something prepared). If in front of an audience, don’t keep talking as you move back to your seat

Impromptu speeches are generally most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.

Manuscript Speaking

Speaking from a written or printed document that contains the entirety of a speech is known as manuscript delivery . Manuscript delivery can be the best choice when a speech has complicated information and/or the contents of the speech are going to be quoted or published. A manuscript speech may also be appropriate at a more formal affair (like a funeral) when your speech must be said exactly as written in order to convey the proper emotion or decorum the situation deserves. Despite the fact that most novice speakers are not going to find themselves in that situation, many are drawn to this delivery method because of the security they feel with having everything they’re going to say in front of them. Unfortunately, the security of having every word you want to say at your disposal translates to a poorly delivered and unengaging speech . Unless the speaker has rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures (well-known authors often do this for book readings), the presentation tends to be dull. Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script prevents eye contact with the audience. For this kind of “straight” manuscript speech to hold the audience's attention, the audience must be already interested in the message and speaker before the delivery begins. 

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians often read from an autocue device, such as a teleprompter, especially when appearing on television, where eye contact with the camera is crucial. Almost all politicians who give televised addresses use teleprompters. In Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) “President Obama’s Teleprompter System”, you can see President Obama’s teleprompter system.

You may not even notice them, as the technology has improved to give the illusion that a speaker is engaged with the audience and delivering a speech from memory. The Plexiglas sheets on poles that surround the president during the inauguration and State of the Union addresses are cleverly hidden teleprompters. Even these useful devices can fail. A quick search for “teleprompter fail” on YouTube will yield many examples of politicians and newscasters who probably wish they had a paper backup of their speech. Since most of us will likely not have opportunities to speak using a teleprompter, great care should be taken to ensure that the delivery is effective. Success in this medium depends on two factors: (1) the speaker is already an accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a prepared script, and (2) the speech is written in a style that sounds conversational and in spoken rather than written, edited English, for example, with shorter sentences and clearer transitions. To make the delivery seem more natural, print the speech out in a larger-than-typical font, triple-space between lines so you can easily find your place, use heavier-than-normal paper so it’s easy to pick up and turn the pages as needed, and use a portfolio so you can carry the manuscript securely.

For the purposes of your public speaking class, you will not be encouraged to read your speech. Again we note that you will be asked to give an extemporaneous presentation.

Memorized Speaking

Memorized speaking  is the exact recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory . Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script. The advantage of memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses visual aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage. However, when a speaker's anxiety level spikes at the beginning of their speech and their minds go blank for a minute, many admit they should have chosen a different delivery method. When using any of the other delivery methods, speakers still need to rely on their memory. An impromptu speaker must recall facts or experiences related to their topic, and speakers using a manuscript want to have some of their content memorized so they do not read their entire speech to their audience. The problem with memorized delivery overall is that it puts too much responsibility on our memory, which we all know from experience is fallible.

When memorizing, most people use rote memorization techniques, which entail reading and then reciting something over and over until it is committed to memory. One major downfall of this technique is its effect on your speaking rate. When we memorize this way, we end up going over the early parts of a speech many more times than the later parts. As you memorize one sentence, you add on another, and so on. Unless you also plan and memorize every vocal cue ( the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace ), gesture, and facial expression, your presentation will be flat and uninteresting, and even the most fascinating topic will suffer. You might end up speaking in a monotone or a sing-song repetitive delivery pattern. You might also present your speech in a rapid “machine-gun” style that fails to emphasize the most important points.

Rote memorization tasks that many of us had to do in school have left their mark on our memorized delivery. Being made to recite the pledge of allegiance, the preamble to the Constitution, and so on didn’t enhance our speaking abilities. Many speech students who use memorization remind give off the same sound of school children flatly going through the motions of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s the “going through the motions” impression that speakers should want to avoid. Also, if you lose your place during a speech and start trying to ad-lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. If you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep going. Obviously, memorizing a typical seven-minute classroom speech takes a great deal of time and effort, and if you aren’t used to memorizing, it is very difficult to pull off. Realistically, you probably will not have the time necessary to give a completely memorized speech. However, if you practice adequately, you will approach the feeling of being fully memorized while still keeping with what your teacher wants,  extemporaneous speaking .

In summary, We only recommend memorized delivery in cases where the speech is short (only one to two minutes), the speech is personal (like a brief toast), or the speech will be repeated numerous times (like a tour guide’s spiel), and even in these cases, it may be perfectly fine to have notes. Many students think that their anxiety and/or delivery challenges will be fixed if they just memorize their speech only to find that they are more anxious and have more problems.

Extemporaneous Speaking

Extemporaneous speaking  is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes . By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech as it progresses. And since you will be graded (to some degree) on establishing and maintaining eye contact with your audience, extemporaneous speaking can be extremely beneficial in that regard. Without all the words on the page to read, you have little choice but to look up and make eye contact with your audience. In some cases, your instructor will require you to prepare strong preparation and speaking (notes) outlines as a foundation for your speech.

This delivery style brings together many of the strengths of the previous three methods. Since you only internalize and memorize the main structure of a speech, you don’t have to worry as much about the content and delivery seeming stale. Extemporaneous delivery brings in some of the spontaneity of impromptu delivery but still allows a speaker to carefully plan, like a manuscript , the overall structure of a speech and incorporate supporting materials that include key facts, quotations, and paraphrased information. Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you don’t need to read it. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally. It also allows flexibility; you are working from the strong foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or to adapt to your audience, you can do so. The outline also helps you be aware of main ideas vs. subordinate ones.

When preparing a speech that you will deliver extemporaneously, you will want to start practicing your speech early and then continue to practice as you revise your content. Investing quality time and effort into the speech-outlining process helps with extemporaneous delivery. As you put together your outline, you are already doing the work of internalizing the key structure of your speech. Read parts of your outline aloud as you draft them to help ensure they are written in a way that makes sense and is easy for you to deliver. By the time you complete the formal, full-sentence outline, you should have already internalized much of the key information in your speech. Now, you can begin practicing with the full outline. As you become more comfortable with the content of your full outline, start to convert it into your speaking outline. Take out information that you know well and replace it with a keyword or key phrase that prompts your memory. You’ll probably want to leave key quotes, facts, and other paraphrased information, including your verbal source citation information, on your delivery outline so you make sure to include it in your speech. Once you’ve converted your full outline into your speaking outline, practice it a few more times, making sure to take some time between each practice session so you don’t inadvertently start to memorize the speech word for word. The final product should be a confident delivery of a well-organized and structured speech that is conversational and adaptable to various audiences and occasions.

Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before you’re scheduled to speak, so be aware that if you want to present a credibly delivered speech, you will need to practice many times.

Practicing Your Delivery

There is no foolproof recipe for good delivery. Each of us is unique, and we each embody different experiences and interests. This means each person has an approach or a style, that is effective for her or him. This further means that anxiety can accompany even the most carefully researched and interesting message. But there are some techniques you can use to minimize that anxious feeling and put yourself in the best possible position to succeed on speech day.

If you’ve ever watched your favorite college football team practice, you may have noticed that sometimes obnoxiously loud crowd noise is blaring over the speaker system in the stadium. The coaches know that the crowd, whether home or away, will be raucous and noisy on game day. So, to prepare, they practice in as realistic an environment as possible. You need to prepare for your speech in a similar way. What follows are some general tips you should keep in mind, but they all essentially derive from one very straight-forward premise:

Practice your speech beforehand, at home or elsewhere, the way you will give it in class.

Practice Your Speech Out Loud

We sometimes think that the purpose of practicing a speech is to learn the words and be prepared for what we will need to say. Certainly, that is part of it, but the practice also lets you know where potential problems lie. For example, if you only read your speech in your head, or whisper the words quietly, you’re not really practicing what you will be doing in front of the class. Since you will be speaking with a normal volume for your assignment, you need to practice that way, even at home. Not only will this help you learn the speech, but it will help identify any places where you tend to mispronounce or stumble over words. Also, sentences on paper do not always translate well to the spoken medium. Practicing out loud allows you to actually hear where your sentences and phrases are awkward, unnatural, or too long, and allows you to correct them before getting up in front of the audience.

Practice Your Speech Standing Up

In all the time that the authors of this book have been teaching speech, not once have either of us come into a classroom and seen a bed behind the lectern for students to speak from. This is to say that when you practice at home, lying on your bed reading your speech really only prepares you for one thing: lying on a bed reading a speech. Since you will be standing in front of your class, you need to practice that way. As we mention in more detail below, the default position for delivering a speech is with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Practicing this way will help develop muscle memory and will make it feel more natural when you are doing it for real. We also suggest you wear the same shoes you will be wearing on the day of your speech.

Practice Your Speech with a Lectern

One of the biggest challenges with practicing a speech as you’re going to give it is usually the fact that most of us don’t own a lectern. This is problematic since you don’t want to practice giving your speech while holding your notes in front of you because that is what will feel comfortable when you give your speech for real. So the solution is to practice your speech while standing behind something that approximates the lectern you will have in your classroom. Sometimes this may be a kitchen counter or maybe even a dresser you pull away from the wall. One particularly creative idea that has been used in the past is to pull out an ironing board and stand behind that. The point is that you want to get experience standing behind something and resting your speech on it.

Of course, if you really want to practice with an actual lectern, it might be worth the time to see if your classroom is empty later in the day or find out if another classroom has the same type of lectern in it. Practicing with the “real thing” is always ideal.

Practice Your Speech with an Audience

Obviously, on the day you give your speech you will have an audience of your fellow students and your professor watching you. The best way to prepare for the feeling of having someone watch you while giving a speech is to have someone watch you while you practice giving a speech. We don’t mean a collection of stuffed animals arranged on your bed or locking your pets in the room with you, but actual human beings. Ask your parents, siblings, friends, or significant other to listen to you while running through what you will say. Not only will you get practice in front of an audience, but they may be able to tell you about any parts that were unclear or problems you might encounter when you give it for a grade.

Not to overcomplicate the issue, but remember that when you speak to your class, you will have an entire room full of people watching. Therefore, if you only have one person watching you practice, be sure to simulate an entire audience by looking around the room and not focusing on just that one person. When you give your speech for real, you will want to make eye contact with the people on the left side of the room as well as the right; with the people in the front as well as in the back. You also want the eye contact to be around five seconds long, not just a glance; the idea is that you are talking to individuals, not just a glob of people. During practice, it may help to pick out some strategically placed objects around the room to occasionally focus on just to get into the habit of looking around more often.

Practice Your Speech for Time

You will undoubtedly be given a time limit for each of your speeches, and points will probably be deducted from your grade if you go over or under that time. Therefore, you want to make sure you are well within time. As a general rule, if your speech window is 5-7 minutes, your ideal speech time is going to be 6 minutes; this gives you an extra 60 seconds in the beginning in case you talk very fast and race through it, and 60 seconds on the back end in case you get lost or want to add something at the last minute. If you practice at home and your 5-7 minute speech lasts 5:06, you are probably going to be in trouble on speech day. Most likely your nerves will cause you to speak slightly faster and put you under the 5:00 mark. If your times are vastly different, you may have to practice four or more times.

When practicing your speech at home, it is a good idea to time yourself at least three times. This way you can see if you are generally coming in around the same time and feel pretty good that it is an accurate reflection of how long you will speak. Conversely, if during your three rehearsals your times are 5:45, 5:12, and 6:37, then that is a clear indicator that you need to be more consistent in what you are saying and doing.

Although we are using examples of practicing for classroom speeches, the principle is even more important for non-classroom speeches. One of the authors had to give a very important presentation about the college to an accreditation board. She practiced about 15 times, to make sure the time was right, that her transitions made sense, that she was fluid, and that the presentational slides and her speech matched. Each time something improved.

Practice Your Speech by Recording Yourself

There is nothing that gets us to change what we’re doing or correct a problem more quickly than seeing ourselves doing something we don’t like on video. Your instructor may record your speech in class and have you critique it afterward, but it may be more helpful to do that in advance of giving your speech. By watching yourself, you will notice all the small things you do that might prove to be distracting and affect your grade during the actual speech. Many times students aren’t aware that they have low energy or a monotone/monorate voice, or that they bounce, sway, pull at their clothes, play with hair or jewelry, or make other unusual and distracting movements. At least, they don’t know this until they see themselves doing it. Since we are generally our own harshest critics, you will be quick to notice any flaws in your speech and correct them.

It is important enough that it deserves reiterating:

Following these steps will not only prepare you better for delivering the speech, but they may also help reduce anxiety since you will feel more familiar with the situation you find yourself in when faced with a speaking engagement. Additionally, the more you speak publicly, whether for practice or in front of a live audience, the more fluid you will become for later speeches.

Key Takeaways

• The four methods of delivering a speech are impromptu, manuscript, memorized, and extemporaneous delivery.
• Impromptu delivery evokes higher levels of speaking anxiety because a speaker has little to no time to prepare the speech; however, this method can increase public speaking skills for people who enjoy thinking on their feet.
• Manuscript delivery entails speaking from a manuscript that contains a word-for-word transcript of your speech. This delivery method can be good for speeches that contain complex information that will be published or quoted but can be challenging because speakers may read their speech, which lessens engagement with the audience.
• Memorized delivery entails speaking from memory. Speakers with a reliable memory will be able to include specific information and engage the audience freely. This method is the most time-consuming delivery option and may come across as a recitation instead of an engaging speech.
• Extemporaneous delivery entails memorizing the general structure of a speech, not every word, and then delivering the speech from a keyword outline. Having the keyword outline allows a speaker to include specific information and references while remaining adaptable to the occasion and audience since every word isn’t planned out.
• Which delivery methods have you used before? Which did you like the best and why? Which delivery method would you most prefer a speaker to use if you were an audience member and why?
• Have you ever had any “surprises” come up during a speech that you could have prevented with more effective practice sessions? If so, explain. If not, list some surprises that good practice sessions could help prevent.

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School Board Cancels Gay Actor’s Anti-Bullying Talk Over His ‘Lifestyle’

Maulik Pancholy was scheduled to give a talk on anti-bullying at a Pennsylvania school next month. School board members scrapped it, citing concerns about his activism and “lifestyle.”

By Orlando Mayorquín

A Pennsylvania school board canceled an anti-bullying speech by the actor Maulik Pancholy, who is gay, after board members raised concerns about his “lifestyle,” prompting outrage from the surrounding community.

The Cumberland Valley School District school board voted unanimously to pass a motion to cancel Mr. Pancholy’s speaking event next month at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, a community of about 9,000 people roughly 100 miles west of Philadelphia.

The board drew criticism after the members voiced what some called homophobic concerns about Mr. Pancholy’s activism and his lifestyle.

Mr. Pancholy played the obsequious assistant to Alec Baldwin’s character on the TV show “30 Rock” and voiced Baljeet in the cartoon “Phineas and Ferb.” He is also an author who has written children’s books, including one called “The Best at It,” about a gay Indian American boy named Rahul and his experience dealing with bullying in a small Midwest town.

“He labels himself as an activist who is proud of his lifestyle and I don’t think that should be imposed on our students,” said Bud Shaffner, a board member at the Monday evening meeting.

Kelly Potteiger, a newly elected board member and a member of the local chapter of the right-wing activist group Moms for Liberty , voiced concerns that Mr. Pancholy would discuss his children’s books, which deal with the bullying faced by its L.G.B.T.Q. characters, or his own experience with “anti-bullying and empathy and inclusion.”

“Again, it’s not discriminating against his lifestyle, that’s his choice, but it’s him speaking about it,” Ms. Potteiger said. “He did say that that’s not the topic, but that’s what his books are about.”

In a memo sent on Thursday to faculty, staff and administrators, the leadership of the Cumberland Valley School District said that it was disappointed in the board’s move.

“While the issue of ‘political activism’ was cited, statements made publicly by individual board members identified Mr. Pancholy’s sexual identity as a factor, an identity shared by many of members of our school community,” the memo said.

“We believe that Mr. Pancholy’s assembly should have been allowed to happen and that all of our staff and students should be proud to be part of a community that values who they are,” it added.

Every year, the middle school brings young adult authors to visit with students, according to the district. It noted that the motion to cancel the assembly, which was to have taken place on May 22, had not been on the agenda and was introduced by a board member during the meeting.

In a statement issued on Thursday evening, Mr. Pancholy said: “When I visit schools, my ‘activism’ is to let all young people know that they’re seen. To let them know that they matter.”

He added: “I wonder why a school board is so afraid of that?”

The cancellation prompted a petition to reinstate the event that stated that the decision was made “solely because he is openly gay.”

Trisha Comstock, who has two sons enrolled in the school district, started the online petition. By late Wednesday evening, the petition had gotten more than 1,000 signatures.

In a phone interview, Mr. Shaffner said his comment was misconstrued and that his remark about Mr. Pancholy’s lifestyle had to do with his activism.

“The fact that he is a self-proclaimed political activist is what we object to,” Mr. Shaffner said.

On his website, Mr. Pancholy calls himself an “activist” who works on social justice causes. But Mr. Shaffner and other board members cast his work as political and said they worried his speech could violate a district policy barring political events.

“There is no political agenda,” Ms. Comstock said in a phone interview. “He is not trying to pass policies or change minds or anything like that.”

“They cloaked it as ‘We want to keep politics out of school’ when they clearly knew it had nothing to do with politics,” she added.

Ms. Comstock said that if the policy were applied more broadly, other groups, such as “Mothers Against Drunk Driving,” would be considered activists.

“Would we ban them from coming and talking to our members?” she said.

Ms. Comstock, whose children once attended the school, said the board’s decision was not representative of the community.

“And that’s why our community is outraged right now,” she said. “This isn’t who we are.”

Orlando Mayorquín is a breaking news reporter, based in New York, and a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class , a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Orlando Mayorquín

USC valedictorian’s grad speech is canceled: ‘The university has betrayed me’

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When Asna Tabassum learned that USC had disinvited her from speaking at next month’s graduation, she hadn’t yet planned what she would say in her remarks, beyond that she would convey a message of hope.

University leaders who announced the decision Monday , after pro-Israel groups criticized a link on Tabassum’s Instagram page as evidence of her being antisemitic, didn’t know the theme of her speech because she hadn’t shared it with them, the class valedictorian said an interview with The Times on Tuesday.

Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major, said that in addition to hope, she was thinking of touching on “how we must continue to use our education as a privilege to inform ourselves and ultimately make a change in the world.”

In keeping Tabassum from giving a three- to five-minute speech in front of 65,000 people during the May 10 ceremony, USC Provost Andrew T. Guzman cited the need to “maintain campus safety and security.” The university alluded to unnamed threats but has not publicly detailed them.

The move was unprecedented for a ceremony where students regularly make political and cultural statements through written message on their graduation caps and sashes, as well as through the traditional valedictory speech.

Citing safety concerns, USC cancels pro-Palestinian valedictorian’s graduation speech

USC cites safety reasons in canceling the upcoming graduation speech of pro-Palestinian valedictorian from speaking onstage at her ceremony.

April 15, 2024

The backlash against Tabassum, who was chosen as valedictorian by a university committee from nearly 100 applicants with GPAs of 3.98 or above, was unusual, even at a time of intense campus strife between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel activists, because it didn’t involve anything she said or did. The opposition appeared to stem mostly from a link on her Instagram profile to a website she did not create.

The site, Free Palestine Carrd, features a photo of a woman raising a Palestinian flag above plumes of smoke during a 2018 protest near the Israel-Gaza border. A series of links explains how to “learn about what’s happening in Palestine.”

The links include statements that Zionism is a “racist settler-colonialist ideology” and that founders of Zionism thought “Palestinians needed to be ethnically cleansed from their homes.” The website explains proposals for two-state and one-state solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“One Palestinian state would mean Palestinian liberation, and the complete abolishment of the state of Israel,” it says, adding that “both Arabs and Jews can live together.”

Speaking to The Times on Tuesday, Tabassum defended herself, saying she is not antisemitic. She said she supports the pro-Palestinian cause that has grown at college campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage before Israel’s retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip. Gaza health authorities say the war has killed nearly 34,000 Palestinians. According to the United Nations, 2 million Gazans are in near-famine conditions.

“The university has betrayed me and caved in to a campaign of hatred,” Tabassum said of online attacks demanding that the university rescind its invitation for her to speak at the graduation.

She said that the university did not share any details with her about its security concerns and that it did not offer her an alternative method of participating in the commencement, such as a video appearance.

In an interview Monday, Guzman said that he did not consult Tabassum before rescinding the invitation and that he saw the decision as solely a safety — not free speech — issue.

On Tuesday, Joel Curran, USC’s senior vice president of communications, said the “final decision” on the matter rested with university President Carol Folt.

Folt was not available for an interview.

“Whenever there is a question of safety and security of the campus, the president always makes the final decision,” Curran said. “This decision was made in the best interests of campus security. There has been no change from the provost’s letter on Monday.”

Tabassum, who said she has participated in pro-Palestinian activism at USC but “not taken a public role,” said the controversy has made her more strident in her views on the Israel-Hamas war and student activism.

“It’s no longer about free speech. It’s no longer about me. It is about when the university silences me, they are silencing all these people,” she said, referring to pro-Palestinian activists at USC and outside the campus.

“When you silence us, you make us louder. You make louder the aims of imparting hope and commitment to human rights and the responsibilities of graduates to use our education ... to make the world a better place,” said Tabassum, 21.

A hijab-wearing Muslim who grew up in San Bernardino County in an Indian American family, Tabassum said she feels singled out by critics for her race and faith.

“I’m not ignorant of who I am or what I believe in and the time we are in or the place we are in,” she said. “I am not ignorant of the context or environment, at the end of the day.”

Tabassum, who minored in resistance to genocide, suggested her opponents were mistaken about her views and her studies.

The program, an official minor at USC, requires students to enroll in five courses from a list that includes several on the Holocaust as well as on the Armenian genocide and other genocides, such as targeted killings of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.

Tabassum said she “studied the Holocaust extensively in multiple classes” but “did not take a class exclusively on the Holocaust.”

She tied the minor to her major in biomedical engineering.

“I see my work as using health technologies that could preserve access to health for all people who have been subjugated to evil. That includes, at its most extreme, genocide,” Tabassum said.

She said she is interested in going to graduate school but, for now, is focused on her final exams the first week of May.

Tabassum, who wrote a statement about the matter, declined to say whether she will attend the graduation ceremony.

More to Read

USC cancels appearance by director Jon Chu, others amid valedictorian controversy

April 19, 2024

USC students protest the ‘silencing’ of valedictorian with cancellation of speech

April 18, 2024

Letters to the Editor: Canceled valedictorian speech is another self-inflicted black eye for USC

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Jaweed Kaleem is a national correspondent at the Los Angeles Times. Based in L.A. with a focus on issues outside of California, he has traveled to dozens of states to cover news and deeply reported features on the complexity of the American experience. His articles frequently explore race, religion, politics, social debates and polarized society. Kaleem was previously based in London, where he was a lead news writer on Russia’s war on Ukraine and spearheaded European coverage for the Times, including the Global California initiative. Before joining The Times in 2016, he reported on religion for HuffPost and the Miami Herald, where he was a member of a Pulitzer Prize finalist team recognized for coverage of Haiti. His reporting has also received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society for Features Journalism, the Asian American Journalists Assn., the South Asian Journalists Assn. and the National Headliner Awards.

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USC cancels guest speakers, honorees at main commencement after valedictorian decision

LOS ANGELES — Following the publicized decision to cancel a commencement speech by a Muslim valedictorian, the University of Southern California said Friday it will have no outside speakers or honorees at the main stage commencement event.

“Given the highly publicized circumstances surrounding our main-stage commencement program, university leadership has decided it is best to release our outside speakers and honorees from attending this year’s ceremony,” USC said in a statement . University leadership will still speak.

The decision comes after the Los Angeles university was criticized by some , including valedictorian Asna Tabassum, over its decision to cancel Tabassum's speech due to security concerns.

“Crazy Rich Asians" and “Wicked” film director Jon M. Chu, an alumnus of USC, was to give the keynote commencement address and was to receive an honorary degree, the university had announced . Tennis star Billie Jean King was among those to get an honorary degree.

Tabassum, a major in biomedical engineering and a minor in resistance to genocide, said she was shocked and disappointed.

She said that she felt abandoned by USC and that the university was “caving to fear and rewarding hatred.”

At least two pro-Israel and Jewish groups complained to USC about the choice of Tabassum as valedictorian, pointing to her Instagram account, which links to a slideshow encouraging people to “learn about what’s happening in palestine, and how to help.”

It calls for “one palestinian state,” which it says “would mean palestinian liberation, and the complete abolishment of the state of israel.” 

Tabassum has she said added the link on her social media account five years ago and was not the author, according to  NBC Los Angeles .

The Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations was among those that condemned USC's decision to cancel her speech.

Protests have been held both on and off college campuses across the United States following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel, where more than 1,200 people were killed, and Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza that health authorities there say have killed more than 30,000 people.

USC said Friday that those who were to receive honorary degrees will hopefully be awarded them at a future commencement or other academic event.

Tabassum said that she "was hoping to use my commencement speech to inspire my classmates with a message of hope."

She said in a statement that she is imploring students at USC "to work towards a world where cries for equality and human dignity are not manipulated to be expressions of hatred."

The May 10 commencement event, which will celebrate 19,000-plus graduates, is expected to draw around 65,000 people to the campus in the University Park section of Los Angeles, according to USC.

Guest speakers and honorees were cut from the university's main stage commencement, which is for everyone. The schools of USC also have their own commencement events.

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

California valedictorian will no longer give graduation speech over 'alarming' discussion

The university of southern california says asna tabassum will no longer speak at the ceremony after the discussion about her selection took on 'an alarming tenor'.

The University of Southern California said its valedictorian will no longer deliver a graduation speech this year, citing "substantial risks relating to security" over social media chatter surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Los Angeles school revealed that Asna Tabassum , a fourth-year student from Chino Hills, California, was selected as the valedictorian and would give a speech alongside two salutatorians. In a news release Monday, the university said she would no longer speak at the ceremony after the discussion about her selection took on "an alarming tenor."

The move comes after some students, alumni and others complained to the university about Tabassum's social media, which includes an Instagram bio that links to a pro-Palestine website.

"The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement," Provost Andrew Guzman said in a statement.

Guzman said the school can not ignore that similar risks led to harassment and violence at other campuses. He added that the school's Department of Public Safety and campus safety team have consulted to evaluate potential threats for graduation, which typically draws around 65,000 people.

"This decision is not only necessary to maintain the safety of our campus and students, but is consistent with the fundamental legal obligation – including the expectations of federal regulators – that universities act to protect students and keep our campus community safe," he said.

Groups call to reverse USC decision

Tabassum addressed the university's decision in a statement released through the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles.

"Although this should have been a time of celebration for my family, friends, professors, and classmates, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all," Tabassum said.

The council said the school's decision empowers voices of hate, violates its obligation to project students and "sends a terrible message to not only Muslim students at USC but all students who dare to express support for Palestinian humanity." It's also urging the community to demand the school to allow Tassabum to speak at graduation.

Among the calls against Tassabum as a graduation speaker were student group " Trojans For Israel ," who said her selection turned "an inclusive and meaningful milestone into an unwelcoming and intolerant environment for Jewish graduates and their families."

The 2024 commencement ceremony is scheduled for Friday, May 10.

War in Gaza stokes controversy worldwide

Controversies over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict have been amplified since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a brutal attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people.

Over 30,000 Palestinians  have died in Gaza since that day. The region is also difficult to access, leaving many civilians displaced and  facing famine .

The crisis had led to protests for the release of Israeli hostages  and to  call for a ceasefire in Gaza , with those speaking out in support of Israelis and Palestinians  on social media receiving threats.

Contributing: Kinsey Crowley