Helping you to

speak in public

 

Many people believe they would feel too nervous to speak in public and worry about ‘drying up’ or becoming tearful – whether at a wedding or a funeral.

 

Here are some ‘top tips’ which will help you prepare to speak at a ceremony.

 

1. Think about what you want to say. You won’t be able to include everything, so it’s best to ‘tell a story’ – maybe picking out one or two particular events or anecdotes.

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If you are speaking along with one or two other people, try to work together so you each avoid repeating what someone has said. You can each then focus on telling your story to its best.

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2. Keep to time. Plan on about speaking at about 140 words a minute. So if you have two minutes to speak you need to prepare 280 words or 420 for three minutes.

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3. Practice speaking your words, if at all possible. This will help you lift your voice, and practice how you are going to say your words, with pauses in the right places and to give emphasis.

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4. We often feel nerves or ‘butterflies’ when speaking in public. Before you speak, take several deep breaths. This will help you to feel calm.

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Read through what you are going to say one more time.

If you do feel anxious or emotional when you are speaking, then just pause, take a deep breath and continue.

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Don’t worry if you trip over a word or make a mistake when speaking. We all do it. Either ignore it, or go back and say what you intended to say.

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5. If you can, type out what you want to say so it’s clear and easy to read. A typeface and size like Arial 14 point or 16 point, will be large enough on the paper to read easily.