Fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias in the academic and professional world. We’re afraid of forgetting our words, of being stuck in that awful “um…uh…er…” cycle, of looking silly, of sounding stupid. There is no place where this fear is more prominent, it seems, than speech and communication classes. After all, we know just how cutting and cruel our classmates can be.
But giving a speech in class doesn’t have to be a horrible experience. As with most academic pursuits, if you prepare ahead of time, you can greatly lessen the stress involved in giving a speech. Here are five steps you can take to ease the strain of giving a speech in class.
- Topic Selection: One of the first things to do when preparing a speech is to figure out your topic. Sometimes, the topic will be given to you (such as “Argue for or against school uniforms” or “Explain why going to year-round school terms would be a good or bad decision), but other times, especially as you get into college level courses, the topics are left to the student’s choice. Whether the topic is given or you get to choose, be sure that you go with the side you most believe in or the topic that best interests you. Don’t select the topic of your speech because you think it’ll be the most popular with your professor or the other students. If you don’t feel passionately or believe in what you’re speaking about, your speech has a greater potential for becoming dull, uninteresting or lost amid a sea of circular logic. The more you like a topic, the more you’ll have to say about it.
- Audience & Purpose: Once you’ve selected a topic, you need to figure out who you’re speaking to and why. Just saying that it’s for class, that you’re speaking to the professor, is not your best option because then you don’t really have a focus. The audience and purpose for your speech will affect the types of argument you use and your vocabulary. For example, if you’re making a speech about needing stronger gun control laws and decide the audience is a National Rifleman’s Association convention, your vocabulary and strategy are going to need to be much stronger and more convincing than if you were addressing, say, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
- Creating the Speech : Rare and few are the people who can make impact-ful speeches extemporaneously, so take the time to plan your speech. Depending on your comfort level, this can be anything from writing down a basic outline of points you know you want to touch on to writing out key sentences you like the sound of and want to say to having almost the whole speech written down. Regardless of how much or how little you write down, do it ahead of time (preferably earlier than the morning of the class in which you will be speaking). This will allow you to be sure your speech is organized, that all your main arguments are handled, that it has a beginning, middle, end and a solid message, and you will have time to practice the speech before delivering it.
- Practice, practice, practice: Go through your speech, several times, out loud. Get used to the sound of your own voice. Learn the flow of the words so you can know when to breathe so as not to break a sentence at an awkward moment. Find out how long your speech is. Most classes will have a minimum and a maximum time limit for speeches. Try to have your speech go a minute or so over the minimum limit so that, if on speech day adrenaline or nerves cause you to speak a little faster than you have in practice, your speech is still long enough for the class. Practicing will also help you be more familiar with the speech so that you don’t spend the whole time speaking looking down at your note cards or reading from a print-out.
G ive your speech to a mirror – this may feel silly and uncomfortable, but it will allow you to become familiar with how you look while giving the speech. This can help you spot problem body behaviors, like fidgeting with a piece of jewelry or waving your hands about wildly as you talk, and change them before speech day. Plan specific moments of movement to emphasize points.
At the very least, try to practice your speech at least three times (at least once in the mirror) before speech day. - Giving the Speech: If standing, plant your feet firmly on the floor and put your weight on one leg with the knee of the other bent. This will prevent you from locking your knees and possibly passing out. If seated, cross your ankles and tuck them under the chair and fold your hands on the desk/podium. This will help prevent you from unconsciously swinging or scuffing your feet out of nerves.
Speak in a loud, clear voice – no mumbling or whispering, but don’t shout. Keep your head up and look at your audience, not the floor or the desk/podium in front of you. If making direct eye contact is uncomfortable, then look at the bridge of their noses or people’s foreheads. Looking at the audience keeps them engaged in your speech and makes you appear confident and sure of what you’re saying. Pick specific points across the classroom – a poster, a clock, a desk – and make sure you look in the general direction of those points at least twice each. This way your focus is moving throughout the speech and you don’t appear static.
One final tip from my own personal experience – get it over with! If the professor gives you any choice, volunteer to go within the first three to five speakers. Putting it off and going later doesn't make you feel any better – it usually makes the nerves and dread even worse. Going later also gives you more opportunity to listen to others and pre-judge yourself against them. If you go within the first three or so, there’s less worry about comparing your speech to someone else’s. Instead of worrying about meeting someone else’s expectations of a speech, you’ll be setting the bar for those that come after and then, you can spend the rest of the class sitting back and not being nervous.
And that’s a definite plus.