Step Ten: Deliver Your Speech

On the day of your speech, arrive to the event early and practice giving your speech. Consider how loud your voice should be, given the size of the room and how many people will be there. The larger the room and the larger the audience, the louder you should speak. See if you can practice with the microphone and make sure you know how to adjust it. Giansante and Finney have three important tips for public speaking:

• Slow It Down Many people experience stage fright when called upon to speak publicly. The result can be racing through your speech without pausing. Try to speak slowly and clearly in a voice that is loud without shouting.
• Keep It Lively While it's important to speak slowly enough that people will hear what you have to say, it's also important to speak with enough emotion and feeling that people will want to listen. Practice speaking with conviction. Include some pauses and emphasize your key points with your voice. Refer to your marked-up script.
• Make Eye Contact Look up from your paper whenever you can. Your goal is to engage your audience and make them feel as if you are addressing them personally. If you feel nervous, one trick is to look out at your audience as if you're making eye contact, but don't actually look at anyone directly.