by Patricia Rockwell

Created on: June 17, 2009

Let's assume that you can give a pretty good speech. Maybe you've taken a public speaking class in school. Possibly you're one of the lucky few who doesn't suffer from stage fright. Now, what you want is to be able to give a dynamite speech-one that will ignite an audience. I can help you.

In my over forty years of teaching public speaking classes, I have listened to thousands of student speeches-most of them perfectly fine. However, some of those speeches have been so noteworthy that they genuinely ignited the audience. Some even caused the audience to change their thinking or their behavior. Those speeches I remember.

I've thought about those few speeches that truly ignited the audience and I asked, "Why?" What qualities did they have that made them so memorable? Here are some of the main reasons.

A speech that ignites an audience:

Is extremely well prepared. That means the speaker has thought about what to say and how to say it. The speaker has organized the speech in a way that makes the points clear-crystal clear-to the audience. The speaker creates an outline that he (or she) follows and refines it by practicing and practicing and practicing. The speaker knows this outline is his recipe for a great speech, but the outline isn't the speech. This is called extemporaneous speaking (as opposed to memorized speaking or reading) and is by far the best way to ignite an audience.

Is packed with intriguing and inspiring examples. These examples may be personal from the speaker's own life or drawn from current events. But they are amazing examples-they resonate with the audience and they are examples the audience remembers. The speaker doesn't just mention the examples; he tells them with drama and excitement as any good storyteller would when spinning a yarn. Think about how various Presidents have various heroes sitting in the audience as they tell their stories.

Involves the audience directly. A great speaker doesn't make the audience feel as if there's a barrier between himself and the audience. He (or she) reaches out to the audience and each audience member in any way possible. If the audience is small, this task is easy, and the speaker can interact one on one with individual audience members. If the audience is larger, the task is harder but can still be achieved. Top speaker move among the audience or ask audience questions or communicate directly with audience members, just like a good television talk show host does.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>