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When scheduled to speak, you may be tempted to review your notes or slides right up to the last minute. Last minute cramming like this is rarely of any value. Instead, this article explains three much more important things you should be doing to prepare.
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The opening article of the Speech Preparation Series outlined a six-step process for speech preparation.
This article focuses on the sixth step: critiquing your speech so you can learn from your strengths and weaknesses. Thus, a self-critique is really the first step in preparation for your next speech.
Have you heard this claim?
“Practicing makes me robotic. My speeches are better and more natural if I just work from my outline.”
This may be acceptable for scenarios where you don’t care about the result, but in all other cases, it’s hogwash.
The eighth in the Speech Preparation Series, this article provides practical ideas for maximizing the benefit from your practice time.
Previous articles in this Speech Analysis Series covered how to study and critique a speech, how to approach the task of evaluation, and how to use the modified sandwich technique.
This article provides a speech evaluation form and explains how it supports you in studying and evaluating speeches.
The last article of the Speech Analysis Series discussed the art of delivering evaluations.
This article discusses different ways to structure the content of a speech evaluation. The basis for this method is the sandwich technique for evaluations.
The first article of the Speech Analysis Series explained how to study and critique a speech.
In this second article, we examine how to improve your own speaking skills by teaching others in the form of speech evaluations.
You should regularly provide evaluations for other speakers — not only because it is a nice thing to do, but because the process of evaluating another speaker helps you improve your own speaking skills dramatically.
Studying other speakers is a critical skill, one of the 25 essential skills for a public speaker. The ability to analyze a speech will accelerate the growth of any speaker.
The Speech Analysis Series is a series of articles examining different aspects of presentation analysis. You will learn how to study a speech and how to deliver an effective speech evaluation. Later articles will examine Toastmasters evaluation contests and speech evaluation forms and resources.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if simply making a New Year’s resolution guaranteed success?
Lose weight. Pay off debt. Quit smoking.
Easy, right? No, not really.
Most resolutions fail because they are wishes, not goals. Often, the best way to achieve a long-term goal is to focus on the supporting habits. For example:
| Resolution | Supporting Habits |
|---|---|
| Lose weight | improve nutrition, drink water, exercise regularly, get consistent sleep |
| Pay off debt | use cash instead of credit, supplement your income, “pay yourself first” |
| Quit smoking | use “the patch”, chew gum, reduce stress, find a buddy |
By focusing on the supporting habits (and keeping the end goal in mind, of course), we put ourselves in an excellent position to succeed. The same strategy applies to all other New Year’s resolutions, including another popular one: becoming a better public speaker.
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