speech delivery meaning

Module 6: Organizing and Outlining Your Speech

Methods of speech delivery, learning objectives.

Identify the four types of speech delivery methods and when to use them.

There are four basic methods of speech delivery: manuscript, memorized, impromptu, and extemporaneous. We’ll look at each method and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

A manuscript page from President George W. Bush’s address to the nation on the day of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

A manuscript speech is when the speaker writes down every word they will speak during the speech. When they deliver the speech, they have each word planned and in front of them on the page, much like a newscaster who reads from a teleprompter.

The advantage of using a manuscript is that the speaker has access to every word they’ve prepared in advance. There is no guesswork or memorization needed. This method comforts some speakers’ nerves as they don’t have to worry about that moment where they might freeze and forget what they’ve planned to say. They also are able to make exact quotes from their source material.

When the exact wording of an idea is crucial, speakers often read from a manuscript, for instance in communicating public statements from a company.

However, the disadvantage with a manuscript is that the speakers have MANY words in front of them on the page. This prohibits one of the most important aspects of delivery, eye contact. When many words are on the page, the speakers will find themselves looking down at those words more frequently because they will need the help. If they do look up at the audience, they often cannot find their place when the eye returns to the page. Also, when nerves come into play, speakers with manuscripts often default to reading from the page and forget that they are not making eye contact or engaging their audience. Therefore, manuscript is a very difficult delivery method and not ideal.  Above all, the speakers should remember to rehearse with the script so that they practice looking up often.

Public Speaking in History

The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, owed in large part to a momentary error made by an East German government spokesperson. At a live press conference, Günter Schabowski tried to explain new rules relaxing East Germany’s severe travel restrictions. A reporter asked, “when do these new rules go into effect?” Visibly flustered, Schabowski said, “As far as I know, it takes effect immediately, without delay.” In fact, the new visa application procedure was supposed to begin the following day, and with a lot of bureaucracy and red tape. Instead, thousands of East Berliners arrived within minutes at the border crossings, demanding to pass through immediately. The rest is history.

The outcome of this particular public-relations blunder was welcomed by the vast majority of East and West German citizens, and hastened the collapse of communism in Eastern and Central Europe. It’s probably good, then, that Schabowski ran this particular press conference extemporaneously, rather than reading from a manuscript.

You can view the transcript for “The mistake that toppled the Berlin Wall” here (opens in new window) .

A memorized speech is also fully prepared in advance and one in which the speaker does not use any notes. In the case of an occasion speech like a quick toast, a brief dedication, or a short eulogy, word-for-word memorization might make sense. Usually, though, it doesn’t involve committing each and every word to memory, Memorizing a speech isn’t like memorizing a poem where you need to remember every word exactly as written. Don’t memorize a manuscript! Work with your outline instead. Practice with the outline until you can recall the content and order of your main points without effort. Then it’s just a matter of practicing until you’re able to elaborate on your key points in a natural and seamless manner. Ideally, a memorized speech will sound like an off-the-cuff statement by someone who is a really eloquent speaker and an exceptionally organized thinker!

The advantage of a memorized speech is that the speaker can fully face their audience and make lots of eye contact. The problem with a memorized speech is that speakers may get nervous and forget the parts they’ve memorized. Without any notes to lean on, the speaker may hesitate and leave lots of dead air in the room while trying to recall what was planned. Sometimes, the speaker can’t remember or find his or her place in the speech and are forced to go get the notes or go back to the PowerPoint in some capacity to try to trigger his or her memory. This can be an embarrassing and uncomfortable moment for the speaker and the audience, and is a moment which could be easily avoided by using a different speaking method.

How to: memorize a speech

There are lots of tips out there about how to memorize speeches. Here’s one that loosely follows an ancient memorization strategy called the method of loci or “memory palace,” which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information.

You can view the transcript for “How to Memorize a Speech” here (opens in new window) .

An impromptu speech is one for which there is little to no preparation. There is often not a warning even that the person may be asked to speak. For example, your speech teacher may ask you to deliver a speech on your worst pet peeve. You may or may not be given a few minutes to organize your thoughts. What should you do? DO NOT PANIC. Even under pressure, you can create a basic speech that follows the formula of an introduction, body, and conclusion. If you have a few minutes, jot down some notes that fit into each part of the speech. (In fact, the phrase “speaking off the cuff,” which means speaking without preparation, probably refers to the idea that one would jot a few notes on one’s shirt cuff before speaking impromptu.) [1] ) An introduction should include an attention getter, introduction of the topic, speaker credibility, and forecasting of main points. The body should have two or three main points. The conclusion should have a summary, call to action, and final thought. If you can organize your thoughts into those three parts, you will sound like a polished speaker. Even if you only hit two of them, it will still help you to think about the speech in those parts. For example, if a speech is being given on a pet peeve of chewed gum being left under desks in classrooms, it might be organized like this.

• Introduction : Speaker chews gum loudly and then puts it under a desk (attention getter, demonstration). Speaker introduces themselves and the topic and why they’re qualified to speak on it (topic introduction and credibility). “I’m Katie Smith and I’ve been a student at this school for three years and witnessed this gum problem the entire time.”
• Body : Speaker states three main points of why we shouldn’t leave gum on desks: it’s rude, it makes custodians have to work harder, it affects the next student who gets nastiness on their seat (forecast of order). Speaker then discusses those three points
• Conclusion : Speaker summarizes those three points (summary, part 1 of conclusion), calls on the audience to pledge to never do this again (call to action), and gives a quote from Michael Jordan about respecting property (final thought).

While an impromptu speech can be challenging, the advantage is that it can also be thrilling as the speaker thinks off the cuff and says what they’re most passionate about in the moment. A speaker should not be afraid to use notes during an impromptu speech if they were given any time to organize their thoughts.

The disadvantage is that there is no time for preparation, so finding research to support claims such as quotes or facts cannot be included. The lack of preparation makes some speakers more nervous and they may struggle to engage the audience due to their nerves.

Extemporaneous

The last method of delivery we’ll look at is extemporaneous. When speaking extemporaneously, speakers prepare some notes in advance that help trigger their memory of what they planned to say. These notes are often placed on notecards. A 4”x6” notecard or 5”x7” size card works well. This size of notecards can be purchased at any office supply store. Speakers should determine what needs to go on each card by reading through their speech notes and giving themselves phrases to say out loud. These notes are not full sentences, but help the speakers, who turn them into a full sentence when spoken aloud. Note that if a quote is being used, listing that quote verbatim is fine.

The advantage of extemporaneous speaking is that the speakers are able to speak in a more conversational tone by letting the cards guide them, but not dictate every word they say. This method allows for the speakers to make more eye contact with the audience. The shorter note forms also prevent speakers from getting lost in their words. Numbering these cards also helps if one gets out of order. Also, these notes are not ones the teacher sees or collects. While you may be required to turn in your speech outline, your extemporaneous notecards are not seen by anyone but you. Therefore, you can also write yourself notes to speak up, slow down, emphasize a point, go to the next slide, etc.

The disadvantage to extemporaneous is the speakers may forget what else was planned to say or find a card to be out of order. This problem can be avoided through rehearsal and double-checking the note order before speaking.

Many speakers consider the extemporaneous method to be the ideal speaking method because it allows them to be prepared, keeps the audience engaged, and makes the speakers more natural in their delivery. In your public speaking class, most of your speeches will probably be delivered extemporaneously.

• As per the Oxford English Dictionary' s entry for "Off the Cuff." See an extensive discussion at Mark Liberman's Language Log here: https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4130 ↵
• Method of loci definition. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• The mistake that toppled the Berlin Wall. Provided by : Vox. Located at : https://youtu.be/Mn4VDwaV-oo . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• How to Memorize a Speech. Authored by : Memorize Academy. Located at : https://youtu.be/rvBw__VNrsc . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• Address to the Nation. Provided by : U.S. National Archives. Located at : https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/09/06/911-an-address-to-the-nation/ . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
• Methods of Speech Delivery. Authored by : Misti Wills with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

Quick links

Controlling speech anxiety, vocal variety, body language, practicing and preparation, general delivery tips.

As we know, words communicate meaning. But the way we say words also communicates meaning . This is why effective speakers devote time to improving their delivery.

So what exactly is delivery? Delivery is the speaker’s physical (vocal and bodily) actions during a speech. The main purpose of delivery is to enhance, not distract from, the message. In order to help you avoid distracting from your message, we’ve created a document about what not to do while delivering a speech.

We consider several aspects of delivery: controlling speech anxiety , vocal variety , body language , and practice .

It’s important to thoughtfully consider both the organization and oral style of the speech before discussing the principles of delivery. It doesn’t matter how great your delivery is if the speech is disorganized and hard to understand.

If you’re confident about organization and oral style , it’s time to work on delivery!

To control your speech anxiety the first step is simple: practice. The better you know your speech, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Comfort generally helps reduce anxiety.

In addition, it would be incredibly helpful to practice in the same room you’ll be giving the speech or to practice in front of other people. Both of these situations will simulate the speaking experience, and make the actual speaking experience feel less foreign, and less anxiety provoking.

You’ll be most anxious in the first minute of the speech. After the first minute (or so) anxiety levels tend to stabilize and decrease. Since the first minute can be the most challenging, it may be wise to memorize your opening.

For additional methods to deal with speech anxiety, this article will prove useful.  If you’re in a rush, here are a few quick tips summarized:

• Visualize your success.
• Find a friendly face.
• Take a few calming breaths.

Even the best orators still get nervous when speaking; it’s normal, so don’t worry about it.

Please contact the Center for Counseling and Wellness if your anxiety is daily and inhibiting.

Vocal variety is essential to a captivating delivery. In oral rhetoric classes, you’ll learn about effective vocal variety. You may have an excellently written speech, but if delivered without vocal variety, it will be boring and dry. However, not every speech assignment at Calvin is for an oral rhetoric class. So what is vocal variety and how does one use it?

Vocal variety includes elements such as pitch, tone, volume, and rate .

How do I speak with vocal variety?

To learn about pitch, tone, volume, and rate variation, watch this video by  Florida International University's Comm Art Studio from 1:10 to 6:09.

Additional tips related to vocal variety:

• Practice in everyday conversation to make vocal changes second nature.
• If you’re using a notecard, use slash marks or asterisks to mark cardinal places to vary pitch or slow down.
• Pause or slow down to emphasize important words or concepts.
• Speed up to solicit excitement or energy.
• Use a lower pitch to create an authoritative tone.

Many extraordinary speakers rely heavily on vocal variation. Listen to Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, in her 2015 address to the United Nations. Markle frequently changes pitch and rate--pitch to make the speech interesting and rate to emphasize different points. (At 5:20-6:05 she slows down to emphasize her message; this is an effective rate change.)

Sometimes our voices sound scratchy when we speak. This may be vocal fry.

What is vocal fry and how to avoid it?

Vocal fry is the lowest voice register of the human voice. It sounds muffled and unclear. Speaking professionals recommend you avoid it during public speaking. If you think vocal fry may be a problem for you, watch this short video .

If you need help or someone to listen, come to the Rhetoric Center!

Many speakers use notecards for guidance through speech delivery. Notecards aren’t the same as the outline . Normally, the outline is turned in to the teacher and consists of complete sentences. The notecards would be the reverse: they are guideposts for the speaker, normally written as single words, phrases, or bullet points that are easy to glance read during a speech.

Note cards can also be used for notes about the delivery. Many speakers use slash marks to signal places where a pause would help. If you sound monotone or struggle with vocal variety, note places where vocal variation would be appropriate.

For a deeper look on how to use notecards, check out this resource from Oral Communication Center, Hamilton College.

Some people recommend using only one or two notecards. Typically, we at the Rhetoric Center don’t recommend that it’s better to have more cards to make sure you don’t get lost.

While you’re using notecards, it’s tempting to forget to make eye contact with the audience; remember, eye contact will communicate confidence.

For an example, look at this notecard for a speech about the Orlando shooting.

For further direction, check out Hamilton College or visit the Rhetoric Center.

Body language communicates meaning just like your words and how you say them. Consider what your body language says about you and your message while you’re speaking. For instance, your body language can affect your tone, your audience’s attention, and your audience perception of you. 

Body language and movement affects the tone of your speech or presentation. For instance, how much moving should take place during a eulogy? Probably none. In a eulogy you want to be more composed. However, in a more energetic environment, such as an informative speech, it would be more acceptable to use movement. For example, Michelle Obama,  in her campaign speech for Hillary Clinton , uses energetic body language to excite voters about voting for her preferred candidate.

Body language can either gain or lose the attention of your audience over the course of a speech. If used conservatively and properly, it can make your speech more interesting and engaging. If used excessively and carelessly, it can distract your audience from your message.

Confidence or insecurity

Body language communicates confidence or insecurity. If your back is turned to the audience, you’re pacing back and forth, or your hands are in your pockets, you’ll probably come off as insecure. On the other hand, walking with confidence and using hand gestures meaningfully will communicate confidence.

Now that you’re aware of how body language can affect your speeches, let’s consider how to use our body language while speaking.

What do I move and how?

Need some options for body movement? Watch from (6:52-9:55) for fundamental body movement concepts during a speech. Pay attention, but also put it to practice!

A few suggestions on body movement:

• Face the audience and don’t turn your back to them.
• Be in the center of room and don’t walk to near to the edges.
• Don’t put your hands in your pockets or on your hips; this creates emotional barriers.

Practicing is critical to the performance and success of the speech. When practicing, it’s normal to touch up and fix slight wording issues, but at this point in the writing process the speech should be pretty much finished. If you still have more to write, we recommend the speech writing and organization pages.

How do you practice for a speech?

Keep practicing and don’t always start at the beginning; change where you start practicing.

If you always start with the beginning, then you’ll know the beginning best, and the rest will get progressively harder. You should know every part of the speech equally well if you keep changing your starting location. However, memorizing the first few lines isn’t a bad idea because the first few lines will be the hardest to recite when confronted by speech anxiety.

This resource from University of Hawai'i Maui Community College Speech Department will prove helpful when practicing speeches. Read the “Do’s” and “Don'ts” carefully.

It’s also beneficial to imitate the environment of the speech. This can be done by practicing in front of people and in the real space you’ll be giving the speech in. It’ll be easier to deliver if it’s not your first time seeing the space.

Watch two examples related to preparation:   one bad and one good .

• Avoid filler words. Filler words, such as “umm” and “like,” take away from your credibility as a speaker, affecting how the audience receives your message.
• Maintain eye contact; it demonstrates confidence!
• If you slip up, don’t apologize. Apologizing makes you appear insecure and affects your credibility as a speaker.
• Pauses help. They can make a speech somber and serious. President Obama used pauses for effective emotional measures in his speech following the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school , particularly in his introduction.
• Slow down; you deliver the speech faster than your practiced it. Even if your practice trials were perfectly timed, it’s common for speakers to speed up the actual delivery.

For additional tips, check out this resource on general guidelines for speech delivery (The Writing Resources Center, Swem Library, College of William & Mary).

If you have any questions or would like a Rhetoric Center consultant to listen to your speech, schedule an appointment.

In this presentation, business tycoon Elon Musk appears extremely nervous and unprepared. This probably results from the fact that   Musk doesn't practice his speeches .  To see how fragmented and clustered the speech is watch the first 1:30. In addition to being fragmented and clustered, Musk uses filler words, such as “um” and “eh,” like air. This makes him appear insecure. Ironically, this is an important speech updating the world on a possible mission to Mars, delivered by an important man who needs no introduction, yet the beginning of the speech sounds amateur because of his lack of preparation. Further practice would’ve made him seem more natural and effective, and therefore would’ve reduced his anxiety.

Practice helps, even for Elon Musk.

On the other hand, practice puts the most nervous speakers at peace during their presentations.

Winston Churchill, on June 18 1940, delivered one of the most enduring speeches in English history: “Their Finest Hour.” This World War II speech was given via broadcast to the British people and just after France had accepted the German armistice.

It was only a month into Churchill’s ministership, and he was terrified of public speaking because of his speech impediment. However, according to Carmine Gallo from Forbes , Churchill’s practice helped him overcome his anxiety. If you listen to 26:55-30:02 of Churchill’s speech, you can clearly identify his rhythm and diction; this would be impossible to achieve without considerable preparation and knowledge of his own speech.

This note card was used for a speech commemorating the victims of the Pulse shooting in Orlando, Florida.

For starters, the notecard is legible and uses slash marks as possible places to pause when reading. These pauses, a form of vocal variety, place emphasis on each name being read, which would trigger an emotional response. However, more information could probably be fit on the bottom of the card. Perhaps something to prompt the next sentence.

It’s important that the notecard doesn’t use full sentences; rather, use trigger words and phrases. Compare the notecard to the outline version of the first sentence: “Today, I wanted to individually remember those lost on June 12, 2016.” The word “individually” is nowhere near as important as “remember.” So “individually” gets put on the card and not “remember.”

Furthermore, things that must be exact need to be written on the cards. This includes dates, names, and quotes. You don’t want to say (or pronounce) any of these incorrectly as it could reduce your credibility.

Michael Bay, the famous film director, didn’t prepare sufficiently for this speech. This embarrassing mess resulted from a miscommunication between Bay and the teleprompt person. However, this could’ve been prevented with preparation. For starters, Bay should have had a backup, hard copy version of the speech. This may not have been ideal, but it would’ve prevented the disaster.

Make sure you have a backup plan .

Bay’s problems didn’t end with his miscommunication; he also didn’t know when to begin the speech. He started before his introducer asked him the first question. If prepared, he would’ve known how to start. In addition, the final question about his movies was a simple throw away by the interviewer in attempt to save Bay. Bay said he couldn’t read the teleprompter, apologized, and left. He didn’t need the teleprompter to answer this question about his movies (that he has spend hundreds or thousands of hours working on). This demonstrates unpreparedness; If he knew the speech, rather than just relying on the teleprompter, he would’ve been able to answer the last question.

On the other hand, careful preparation can make for a great speech. For Monica Lewinsky's Ted Talk on “The Price of Shame” she had no teleprompter, so she used paper notes, which can be seen on the small podium in front of her. Even though she used paper notes, her speech was well practiced. This is evident in her consistent eye-contact, lack of mistakes, and how she carried the room with evidently prepared diction and vocal variety.

• Faculty & Staff
• Admitted Students
• Administration
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Vision 2030
• Sustainability
• Media Center
• Campus & Location
• Consumer Information
• Safer Spaces
• Majors & Programs
• Graduate Programs
• Online Programs »
• First-Year Opportunities
• Academic Calendar
• Course Offerings
• The Calvin Core
• Calvin Academy for Lifelong Learning
• Off-Campus Programs
• Student Services
• Centers & Institutes
• Global Campus
• Hekman Library »
• Request Information
• Facts & Standards
• Cost & Aid »
• Internationals
• Military & Veterans »
• Residence Life
• Faith & Worship
• Student Involvement & Activities
• Life in Grand Rapids
• Careers & Outcomes
• Multicultural & International Students
• Wellness & Safety
• Service Learning
• Arts Collective
• Box Office »
• Get Involved
• CalvinKnights.com
• Outdoor Recreation
• Intramurals
• Group Fitness
• Sports Camps

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

9 Delivering a Speech

Introduction

9.1 Managing Public Speaking Anxiety

Sources of speaking anxiety.

Aside from the self-reported data in national surveys that rank the fear of public speaking high for Americans, decades of research conducted by communication scholars shows that communication apprehension is common among college students (Priem & Solomon, 2009). Communication apprehension (CA) is fear or anxiety experienced by a person due to real or perceived communication with another person or persons. CA is a more general term that includes multiple forms of communication, not just public speaking. Seventy percent of college students experience some CA, which means that addressing communication anxiety in a class like the one you are taking now stands to benefit the majority of students (Priem & Solomon, 2009). Think about the jitters you get before a first date, a job interview, or the first day of school. The novelty or uncertainty of some situations is a common trigger for communication anxiety, and public speaking is a situation that is novel and uncertain for many.

Public speaking anxiety is a type of CA that produces physiological, cognitive, and behavioral reactions in people when faced with a real or imagined presentation (Bodie, 2010). Physiological responses to public speaking anxiety include increased heart rate, flushing of the skin or face, and sweaty palms, among other things. These reactions are the result of natural chemical processes in the human body. The fight or flight instinct helped early humans survive threatening situations. When faced with a ferocious saber-toothed tiger, for example, the body released adrenaline, cortisol, and other hormones that increased heart rate and blood pressure to get more energy to the brain, organs, and muscles in order to respond to the threat. We can be thankful for this evolutionary advantage, but our physiology has not caught up with our new ways of life. Our body does not distinguish between the causes of stressful situations, so facing down an audience releases the same hormones as facing down a wild beast.

Cognitive reactions to public speaking anxiety often include intrusive thoughts that can increase anxiety: “People are judging me,” “I’m not going to do well,” and “I’m going to forget what to say.” These thoughts are reactions to the physiological changes in the body but also bring in the social/public aspect of public speaking in which speakers fear being negatively judged or evaluated because of their anxiety. The physiological and cognitive responses to anxiety lead to behavioral changes. All these thoughts may lead someone to stop their speech and return to their seat or leave the classroom. Anticipating these reactions can also lead to avoidance behavior where people intentionally avoid situations where they will have to speak in public.

Addressing Public Speaking Anxiety

While we cannot stop the innate physiological reactions related to anxiety from occurring, we do have some control over how we cognitively process them and the behaviors that result. Research on public speaking anxiety has focused on three key ways to address this common issue: systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring, and skills training (Bodie,2010).

Although systematic desensitization may sound like something done to you while strapped down in the basement of a scary hospital, it actually refers to the fact that we become less anxious about something when we are exposed to it more often (Bodie, 2010). As was mentioned earlier, the novelty and uncertainty of public speaking is a source for many people’s anxiety. So becoming more familiar with public speaking by speaking more often can logically reduce the novelty and uncertainty of it.

Systematic desensitization can result from imagined or real exposure to anxiety-inducing scenarios. In some cases, an instructor leads a person through a series of relaxation techniques. Once relaxed, the person is asked to imagine a series of scenarios including speech preparation and speech delivery. This is something you could also try to do on your own before giving a speech. Imagine yourself going through the process of preparing and practicing a speech, then delivering the speech, then returning to your seat, which concludes the scenario. Aside from this imagined exposure to speaking situations, taking a communication course like this one is a great way to engage directly in systematic desensitization. Almost all students report that they have less speaking anxiety at the end of a semester than when they started, which is at least partially due to the fact they engaged with speaking more than they would have done if they were not taking the class.

Cognitive Restructuring

Cognitive restructuring entails changing the way we think about something. A first step in restructuring how we deal with public speaking anxiety is to cognitively process through our fears to realize that many of the thoughts associated with public speaking anxiety are irrational (Allen, Hunter & Donohue, 2009). For example, people report a fear of public speaking over a fear of snakes, heights, financial ruin, or even death. It’s irrational to think that the consequences of giving a speech in public are more dire than getting bit by a rattlesnake, falling off a building, or dying. People also fear being embarrassed because they mess up. Well, you cannot literally die from embarrassment, and in reality, audiences are very forgiving and overlook or do not even notice many errors that we, as speakers, may dwell on. Once we realize that the potential negative consequences of giving a speech are not as dire as we think they are, we can move on to other cognitive restructuring strategies.

Communication-orientation modification therapy (COM therapy) is a type of cognitive restructuring that encourages people to think of public speaking as a conversation rather than a performance (Motley, 2009). Many people have a performance-based view of public speaking. This can easily be seen in the language that some students use to discuss public speaking. They say that they “rehearse” their speech, deal with “stage fright,” then “perform” their speech on a “stage.” There is no stage at the front of the classroom; it is a normal floor. To get away from a performance orientation, we can reword the previous statements to say that they “practice” their speech, deal with “public speaking anxiety,” then “deliver” their speech from the front of the room. Viewing public speaking as a conversation also helps with confidence. After all, you obviously have some conversation skills, or you would not have made it to college. We engage in conversations every day. We do not have to write everything we are going to say out on a note card, we do not usually get nervous or anxious in regular conversations, and we are usually successful when we try. Even though we do not engage in public speaking as much, we speak to others in public all the time. Thinking of public speaking as a type of conversation helps you realize that you already have accumulated experiences and skills that you can draw from, so you are not starting from scratch.

Last, positive visualization is another way to engage in cognitive restructuring. Speaking anxiety often leads people to view public speaking negatively. They are more likely to judge a speech they gave negatively, even if it was good. They are also likely to set up negative self-fulfilling prophecies that will hinder their performance in future speeches. To use positive visualization, it is best to engage first in some relaxation exercises such as deep breathing or stretching, and then play through vivid images in your mind of giving a successful speech. Do this a few times before giving the actual speech. Students sometimes question the power of positive visualization, thinking that it sounds corny. Ask an Olympic diver what his or her coach says to do before jumping off the diving board and the answer will probably be “Coach says to image completing a perfect 10 dive.” Likewise a Marine sharpshooter would likely say his commanding officer says to imagine hitting the target before pulling the trigger. In both instances, positive visualization is being used in high-stakes situations. If it is good enough for Olympic athletes and snipers, it is good enough for public speakers.

Skills training is a strategy for managing public speaking anxiety that focuses on learning skills that will improve specific speaking behaviors. These skills may relate to any part of the speech-making process, including topic selection, research and organization, delivery, and self-evaluation. Skills training, like systematic desensitization, makes the public speaking process more familiar for a speaker, which lessens uncertainty. In addition, targeting specific areas and then improving on them builds more confidence, which can in turn lead to more improvement. Feedback is important to initiate and maintain this positive cycle of improvement. You can use the constructive criticism that you get from your instructor and peers in this class to target specific areas of improvement.

Self-evaluation is also an important part of skills training. Make sure to evaluate yourself within the context of your assignment or job and the expectations for the speech. Do not get sidetracked by a small delivery error if the expectations for content far outweigh the expectations for delivery. Combine your self-evaluation with the feedback from your instructor, boss, and/or peers to set specific and measurable goals and then assess whether or not you meet them in subsequent speeches. Once you achieve a goal, mark it off your list and use it as a confidence booster. If you do not achieve a goal, figure out why and adjust your strategies to try to meet it in the future.

Physical Relaxation Exercises

Suggestions for managing speaking anxiety typically address its cognitive and behavioral components, while the physical components are left unattended. While we cannot block these natural and instinctual responses, we can engage in physical relaxation exercises to counteract the general physical signs of anxiety caused by cortisol and adrenaline release, which include increased heart rate, trembling, flushing, high blood pressure, and speech disfluency.

Some breathing and stretching exercises release endorphins, which are your body’s natural antidote to stress hormones. Deep breathing is a proven way to release endorphins. It also provides a general sense of relaxation and can be done discretely, even while waiting to speak. In order to get the benefits of deep breathing, you must breathe into your diaphragm. The diaphragm is the muscle below your lungs that helps you breathe and stand up straight, which makes it a good muscle for a speaker to exercise. To start, breathe in slowly through your nose, filling the bottom parts of your lungs up with air. While doing this, your belly should pooch out. Hold the breath for three to five full seconds and then let it out slowly through your mouth. After doing this only a few times, many students report that they can actually feel a flooding of endorphins, which creates a brief “light-headed” feeling. Once you practice and are comfortable with the technique, you can do this before you start your speech, and no one sitting around you will even notice. You might also want to try this technique during other stressful situations. Deep breathing before dealing with an angry customer or loved one, or before taking a test, can help you relax and focus.

Stretching is another way to release endorphins. Very old exercise traditions like yoga, tai chi, and Pilates teach the idea that stretching is a key component of having a healthy mind and spirit. Exercise in general is a good stress reliever, but many of us do not have the time or willpower to do it. However, we can take time to do some stretching. Obviously, it would be distracting for the surrounding audience if a speaker broke into some planking or Pilates just before his or her speech. Simple and discrete stretches can help get the body’s energy moving around, which can make a speaker feel more balanced and relaxed. Our blood and our energy/ stress have a tendency to pool in our legs, especially when we are sitting.

Vocal Warm-Up Exercises

Vocal warm-up exercises are a good way to warm up your face and mouth muscles, which can help prevent some of the fluency issues that occur when speaking. Newscasters, singers, and other professional speakers use vocal warm-ups. I lead my students in vocal exercises before speeches, which also helps lighten the mood. We all stand in a circle and look at each other while we go through our warm-up list. For the first warm-up, we all make a motorboat sound, which makes everybody laugh. The full list of warm-ups follows and contains specific words and exercises designed to warm up different muscles and different aspects of your voice. After going through just a few, you should be able to feel the blood circulating in your face muscles more. It is a surprisingly good workout!

Top Ten Ways to Reduce Speaking Anxiety

Many factors contribute to speaking anxiety. There are also many ways to address it. The following is a list of the top ten ways to reduce speaking anxiety that I developed with my colleagues, which helps review what we have learned.

• Remember, you are not alone. Public speaking anxiety is common, so do not ignore it—confront it.
• Remember, you cannot literally “die of embarrassment.” Audiences are forgiving and understanding.
• Remember, it always feels worse than it looks.
• Take deep breaths. It releases endorphins, which naturally fight the adrenaline that causes anxiety.
• Look the part. Dress professionally to enhance confidence.
• Channel your nervousness into positive energy and motivation.
• Start your outline and research early. Better information = higher confidence.
• Practice and get feedback from a trusted source. (Do not just practice for your cat.)
• Visualize success through positive thinking.
• Prepare, prepare, prepare! Practice is a speaker’s best friend.

9.2 Delivery Methods and Practice Sessions

There are many decisions to make during the speech-making process. Making informed decisions about delivery can help boost your confidence and manage speaking anxiety. In this section, we will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of various delivery methods. We will also learn how to make the most of your practice sessions.

Delivery Methods

Different speaking occasions call for different delivery methods. While it may be acceptable to speak from memory in some situations, lengthy notes may be required in others. The four most common delivery methods are impromptu, manuscript, memorized, and extemporaneous.

Impromptu Delivery

When using impromptu delivery , a speaker has little to no time to prepare for a speech (LibreTexts, 2021). This means there is little time for research, audience analysis, organizing, and practice. For this reason, impromptu speaking often evokes higher degrees of speaking anxiety than other delivery types. Although impromptu speaking arouses anxiety, it is also a good way to build public speaking skills. Using some of the exercises for managing speaking anxiety discussed earlier in this chapter can help a speaker manage the challenges of impromptu speaking (LibreTexts, 2021). Only skilled public speakers with much experience are usually able to “pull off” an impromptu delivery without looking unprepared. Otherwise, a speaker who is very familiar with the subject matter can sometimes be a competent impromptu speaker, because their expertise can compensate for the lack of research and organizing time.

When Mark Twain famously said, “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech,” he was jokingly pointing out the difficulties of giving a good impromptu speech, essentially saying that there is no such thing as a good impromptu speech, as good speeches take time to prepare. We do not always have the luxury of preparation, though. So when speaking impromptu, be brief, stick to what you know, and avoid rambling. Quickly organize your thoughts into an introduction, body, and conclusion. Try to determine three key ideas that will serve as the basis of your main points.

When would impromptu speaking be used? Since we have already started thinking of the similarities between public speaking and conversations, we can clearly see that most of our day-to-day interactions involve impromptu speaking. When your roommate asks you what your plans for the weekend are, you do not pull a few note cards out of your back pocket to prompt your response. This type of conversational impromptu speaking is not anxiety inducing because we are talking about our lives, experiences, or something with which we are familiar. This is also usually the case when we are asked to speak publicly with little to no advance warning.

For example, if you are at a meeting for work and you are representing the public relations department, a colleague may ask you to say a few words about a recent news story involving a public relations misstep of a competing company. In this case, you are being asked to speak on the spot because of your expertise. A competent communicator should anticipate instances like this when they might be asked to speak. Of course, being caught completely off guard or being asked to comment on something unfamiliar to you creates more anxiety. In such cases, do not pretend to know something you do not, as that may come back to hurt you later. You can usually mention that you do not have the necessary background information at that time but will follow up later with your comments.

Manuscript Delivery

Speaking from a written or printed document that contains the entirety of a speech is known as manuscript delivery . Manuscript delivery can be the best choice when a speech has complicated information and/or the contents of the speech are going to be quoted or published (LibreTexts, 2021). Despite the fact that most novice speakers are not going to find themselves in that situation, many are drawn to this delivery method because of the security they feel with having everything they are going to say in front of them. Unfortunately, the security of having every word you want to say at your disposal translates to a poorly delivered and unengaging speech (LibreTexts, 2021). Even with every word written out, speakers can still have fluency hiccups and verbal fillers as they lose their place in the manuscript or trip over their words. The alternative, of course, is that a speaker reads the manuscript the whole time, effectively cutting himself or herself off from the audience. One way to make a manuscript delivery more engaging is to use a teleprompter. Almost all politicians who give televised addresses use them.

To make the delivery seem more natural, print the speech out in a larger-than-typical font, triple-space between lines so you can easily find your place, use heavier-than-normal paper so it is easy to pick up and turn the pages as needed, and use a portfolio so you can carry the manuscript securely.

Memorized Delivery

Completely memorizing a speech and delivering it without notes is known as memorized delivery (LibreTexts, 2021). Some students attempt to memorize their speech because they think it will make them feel more confident if they do not have to look at their notes; however, when their anxiety level spikes at the beginning of their speech and their mind goes blank for a minute, many admit they should have chosen a different delivery method. When using any of the other delivery methods, speakers still need to rely on their memory. An impromptu speaker must recall facts or experiences related to their topic, and speakers using a manuscript want to have some of their content memorized so they do not read their entire speech to their audience. The problem with memorized delivery overall is that it puts too much responsibility on our memory, which we all know from experience is fallible (LibreTexts, 2021).

Even with much practice, our memories can fail. If you do opt to use memorized delivery, make sure you have several “entry points” determined, so you can pick up at spots other than the very beginning of a speech if you lose your place and have to start again. Memorized delivery is very useful for speakers who are going to be moving around during a speech when carrying notes would be burdensome. I only recommend memorized delivery in cases where the speech is short (only one to two minutes), the speech is personal (like a brief toast), or the speech will be repeated numerous times (like a tour guide’s story), and even in these cases, it may be perfectly fine to have notes. Many students think that their anxiety and/or delivery challenges will vanish if they just memorize their speech only to find that they are more anxious and have more problems.

Extemporaneous Delivery

Extemporaneous delivery entails memorizing the overall structure and main points of a speech and then speaking from keyword/key-phrase notes (LibreTexts, 2021). This delivery mode brings together many of the strengths of the previous three methods. Since you only internalize and memorize the main structure of a speech, you do not have to worry as much about the content and delivery seeming stale. Extemporaneous delivery brings in some of the spontaneity of impromptu delivery but still allows a speaker to carefully plan the overall structure of a speech and incorporate supporting materials that include key facts, quotations, and paraphrased information (LibreTexts, 2021). You can also more freely adapt your speech to fit various audiences and occasions, since not every word and sentence is predetermined. This can be especially beneficial when you deliver a speech multiple times.

When preparing a speech that you will deliver extemporaneously, you will want to start practicing your speech early and then continue to practice as you revise your content. Investing quality time and effort into the speech-outlining process helps with extemporaneous delivery. As you put together your outline, you are already doing the work of internalizing the key structure of your speech. Read parts of your outline aloud as you draft them to help ensure they are written in a way that makes sense and is easy for you to deliver.

By the time you complete the formal, full-sentence outline, you should have already internalized much of the key information in your speech. Now, you can begin practicing with the full outline. As you become more comfortable with the content of your full outline, start to convert it into your speaking outline. Take out information that you know well and replace it with a keyword or key phrase that prompts your memory. You will probably want to leave key quotes, facts, and other paraphrased information, including your verbal source citation information, on your delivery outline so you make sure to include it in your speech. Once you’ve converted your full outline into your speaking outline, practice it a few more times, making sure to take some time between each practice session so you don’t inadvertently start to memorize the speech word for word. The final product should be a confident delivery of a well-organized and structured speech that is conversational and adaptable to various audiences and occasions.

Practicing Your Speech

Practicing a speech is essential, and practice sessions can be more or less useful depending on how you approach them (Dlugan, 2008). There are three primary phases to the practice process. In the first phase, you practice as you are working through your ideas and drafting your outline. In the second, you practice for someone and get feedback (Dlugan, 2008). In the third, you put the final changes on the speech.

Start practicing your speech early, as you are working through your ideas, by reading sections aloud as you draft them into your working outline. This will help ensure your speech is fluent and sounds good for the audience. Start to envision the audience while you practice and continue to think about them throughout the practicing process. This will help minimize anxiety when you actually have them sitting in front of you. Once you have completed your research and finished a draft of your outline, you will have already practiced your speech several times, as you were putting it together. Now, you can get feedback on the speech as a whole.

You begin to solicit feedback from a trusted source in the second phase of practicing your speech (Dlugan, 2008). This is the most important phase of practicing, and the one that most speakers do not complete. Beginning speakers may be nervous to practice in front of someone. That is normal. However, review the strategies for managing anxiety discussed earlier in this chapter and try to face that anxiety. After all, you will have to face a full audience when you deliver the speech, so getting used to speaking in front of someone can only help you at this point. Choose someone who will give you constructive feedback on your speech. Before you practice for them, explain the assignment or purpose of the speech. When practicing for a classroom speech, you may even want to give the person the assignment guidelines or a feedback sheet that has some key things for them to look for. Ask them for feedback on content and delivery. Almost anyone is good at evaluating delivery, but it is more difficult to evaluate content. In addition, in most cases, the content of your speech will be account for more of your grade. Also, begin to time your speech at this point, so you can determine if it meets any time limits that you have.

In addition to practicing for a trusted source for feedback, you may want to audio or video record your speech (Dlugan, 2008). This can be useful because it provides an objective record that you can then compare with the feedback you got from your friend and to your own evaluation of your speech. The most important part of this phase is incorporating the feedback you receive into your speech. If you practice for someone, get feedback, and then do not do anything with the feedback, then you have wasted your time and theirs. Use the feedback to assess whether or not you met your speaking goals. Was your thesis supported? Was your specific purpose met? Did your speech conform to any time limits that were set? Based on your answers to these questions, you may need to make some changes to your content or delivery, so do not put this part of practicing off to the last minute. Once the content has been revised as needed, draft your speaking outline and move on to the next phase of practice.

During the third and final phase of practice, you are putting the final changes on your speech. You should be familiar with the content based on your early practice sessions. You have also gotten feedback and incorporated that feedback into the speech. Your practice sessions at this point should pre-create, as much as possible, the conditions in which you will be giving your speech. You should have your speaking outline completed so you can practice with it. It is important to be familiar with the content on your note cards or speaking outline so you will not need to rely on it so much during the actual delivery. You may also want to practice in the type of clothing you will be wearing on speech day. This can be useful if you are wearing something you do not typically wear—a suit for example—so you can see how it might affect your posture, gestures, and overall comfort level.

If possible, at least one practice session in the place you will be giving the speech can be very helpful; especially if it is a room you are not familiar with. Make sure you are practicing with any visual aids or technology you will use so you can be familiar with it and it does not affect your speech fluency. (Dlugan, 2008).Continue to time each practice round. If you are too short or too long, you will need to go back and adjust your content some more. Always adjust your content to fit the time limit; do not try to adjust your delivery. Trying to speed talk or stretch things out to make a speech faster or longer is a mistake that will ultimately hurt your delivery, which will hurt your credibility. The overall purpose of this phase of practicing is to minimize surprises that might throw you off on speech day.

Vocal Delivery

Vocal delivery includes components of speech delivery that relate to your voice. These include rate, volume, pitch, articulation, pronunciation, and fluency. Our voice is important to consider when delivering our speech for two main reasons. First, vocal delivery can help us engage and interest the audience. Second, vocal delivery helps ensure we communicate our ideas clearly.

Speaking for Engagement

We have all had the displeasure of listening to an unengaging speaker. Even though the person may care about his or her topic, an unengaging delivery that does not communicate enthusiasm will translate into a lack of interest for most audience members (Davis, 2021). Although a speaker can be visually engaging by incorporating movement and gestures, a flat or monotone vocal delivery can be sedating or even annoying. Incorporating vocal variety in terms of rate, volume, and pitch is key to being a successful speaker.

Rate of speaking refers to how fast or slow you speak (Barnard, 2018). If you speak too fast, your audience will not be able to absorb the information you present. If you speak too slowly, the audience may lose interest. The key is to vary your rate of speaking in a middle range, staying away from either extreme, in order to keep your audience engaged. In general, a higher rate of speaking signals that a speaker is enthusiastic about his or her topic. Speaking slowly may lead the audience to infer that the speaker is uninterested, uninformed, or unprepared to present his or her own topic. These negative assumptions, whether they are true or not, are likely to hurt the credibility of the speaker (Barnard, 2018). The goal is to speak at a rate that will interest the audience and will effectively convey your information. Speaking at a slow rate throughout a speech would likely bore an audience, but that is not a common occurrence.

Volume refers to how loud or soft your voice is. As with speaking rate, you want to avoid the extremes of being too loud or too soft, but still vary your volume within an acceptable middle range (Packard, 2020). When speaking in a typically sized classroom or office setting that seats about twenty-five people, using a volume a few steps above a typical conversational volume is usually sufficient. When speaking in larger rooms, you will need to project your voice. You may want to look for nonverbal cues from people in the back rows or corners, like leaning forward or straining to hear, to see if you need to adjust your volume more. Obviously, in some settings, a microphone will be necessary so the entire audience can hear you. Like rate, audiences use volume to make a variety of judgments about a speaker. Sometimes, softer speakers are judged as meek (Packard, 2020). This may lead to lowered expectations for the speech or less perceived credibility. Loud speakers may be seen as overbearing or annoying, which can lead audience members to disengage from the speaker and message. Be aware of the volume of your voice and, when in doubt, increase your volume a notch, since beginning speakers are more likely to have an issue of speaking too softly rather than too loudly.

Pitch refers to how high or low a speaker’s voice is. As with other vocal qualities, there are natural variations among people’s vocal pitch. Unlike rate and volume, we have less control over pitch. For example, males generally have lower pitched voices than females. Despite these limitations, each person still has the capability to change their pitch across a range large enough to engage an audience. Changing pitch is a good way to communicate enthusiasm and indicate emphasis or closure (Scotti, 2015). In general, our pitch goes up when we are discussing something exciting. Our pitch goes down slightly when we emphasize a serious or important point. Lowering pitch is also an effective way to signal transitions between sections of your speech or the end of your speech, which cues your audience to applaud and avoids an awkward ending.

Of the vocal components of delivery discussed so far, pitch seems to give beginning speakers the most difficulty. It is as if giving a speech temporarily numbs their ability to vary their pitch. Record yourself practicing your speech to help determine if the amount of pitch variety and enthusiasm you think you convey while speaking actually comes through. Speakers often assume that their pitch is more varied and their delivery more enthusiastic than the audience actually perceives it to be (Scotti, 2015). Many students note this on the self-evaluations they write after viewing their recorded speech.

Vocal Variety

Overall, the lesson to take away from this section on vocal delivery is that variety is key. Vocal variety includes changes in your rate, volume, and pitch that can make you look more prepared, seem more credible, and be able to engage your audience better (Moore, 2015). Employing vocal variety is not something that takes natural ability or advanced skills training. It is something that beginning speakers can start working on immediately and everyone can accomplish. The key is to become aware of how you use your voice when you speak, and the best way to do this is to record yourself (Moore, 2015). We all use vocal variety naturally without thinking about it during our regular conversations, and many of us think that this tendency will translate over to our speaking voices. This is definitely not the case for most beginning speakers. Unlike in your regular conversations, it will take some awareness and practice to use vocal variety in speeches. I encourage students to make this a delivery priority early on. Since it is something anyone can do, improving in this area will add to your speaking confidence, which usually translates into better speeches and better grades further on.

Speaking for Clarity

In order to be an effective speaker, your audience should be able to understand your message and digest the information you present (Rampton, 2021). Audience members will make assumptions about our competence and credibility based on how we speak. As with other aspects of speech delivery, many people are not aware that they have habits of speech that interfere with their message clarity. Since most of our conversations are informal and take place with people we know, many people do not make a concerted effort to articulate every word clearly and pronounce every word correctly (Rampton, 2021). Most of the people we talk to either do not notice our errors or do not correct us if they do notice. Since public speaking is generally more formal than our conversations, we should be more concerned with the clarity of our speech.

Articulation

Articulation refers to the clarity of sounds and words we produce. If someone is articulate, they speak words clearly, and speakers should strive to speak clearly. Poor articulation results when speakers do not speak clearly (Ward, 2020). For example, a person may say dinnt instead of didn’t , gonna instead of going to , wanna instead of want to , or hunnerd instead of hundred . Unawareness and laziness are two common challenges to articulation. As with other aspects of our voice, many people are unaware that they regularly have errors in articulation. Recording yourself speak and then becoming a higher self-monitor are effective ways to improve your articulation. Laziness, on the other hand, requires a little more motivation to address. Some people just get in the habit of not articulating their words well. Both mumbling and slurring are examples of poor articulation. In informal settings, this type of speaking may be acceptable, but in formal settings, it will be evaluated negatively. It will hurt a speaker’s credibility. Perhaps the promise of being judged more favorably is enough to motivate a mumbler to speak more clearly.

When combined with a low volume, poor articulation becomes an even greater problem. Doing vocal warm-ups like the ones listed in Section 10.1 “Managing Public Speaking Anxiety” or tongue twisters can help prime your mouth, lips, and tongue to articulate words more clearly. When you notice that you have trouble articulating a particular word, you can either choose a different word to include in your speech or you can repeat it a few times in a row in the days leading up to your speech to get used to saying it.

Pronunciation

Unlike articulation, which focuses on the clarity of words, pronunciation refers to speaking words correctly, including the proper sounds of the letters and the proper emphasis (Shtern, 2017). Mispronouncing words can damage a speaker’s credibility, especially when the correct pronunciation of a word is commonly known. We all commonly run into words that we are unfamiliar with and therefore may not know how to pronounce. Here are three suggestions when faced with this problem. First, look the word up in an online dictionary. Many dictionaries have a speaker icon with their definitions, and when you click on it, you can hear the correct pronunciation of a word. Some words have more than one pronunciation—for example, Caribbean —so choosing either of the accepted pronunciations is fine. Just remember to use consistently that pronunciation to avoid confusing your audience. If a word does not include an audio pronunciation, you can usually find the phonetic spelling of a word, which is the word spelled out the way it sounds.

Second, there will occasionally be words that you cannot locate in a dictionary. These are typically proper nouns or foreign words. In this case, use the “phone-a-friend” strategy. Call up the people you know who have large vocabularies or are generally smart when it comes to words, and ask them if they know how to pronounce it. If they do, and you find them credible, you are probably safe to take their suggestion.

Third, “fake it ‘til you make it” should only be used as a last resort. If you cannot find the word in a dictionary and your smart friends do not know how to pronounce it, it is likely that your audience will also be unfamiliar with the word. In that case, using your knowledge of how things are typically pronounced, decide on a pronunciation that makes sense and confidently use it during your speech. Most people will not question it. In the event that someone does correct you on your pronunciation, thank him or her for correcting you and adjust your pronunciation.

Fluency refers to the flow of your speaking. To speak with fluency means that your speech flows well and that there are not many interruptions to that flow. Two main disfluencies or problems affect the flow of a speech. Fluency hiccups are unintended pauses in a speech that usually result from forgetting what you were saying, being distracted, or losing your place in your speaking notes. Fluency hiccups are not the same as intended pauses, which are useful for adding emphasis or transitioning between parts of a speech. While speakers should try to minimize fluency hiccups, even experienced speakers need to take an unintended pause sometimes to get their bearings or to recover from an unexpected distraction. Fluency hiccups become a problem when they happen regularly enough to detract from the speaker’s message.

Verbal fillers are words that speakers use to fill in a gap between what they were saying and what they are saying next (Hennessy, 2019). Common verbal fillers include um , uh , ah , er , you know , and like . The best way to minimize verbal fillers is to become a higher self-monitor and realize that you use them. Many students are surprised when they watch the video of their first speech and realize they said “um” thirty times in three minutes. Gaining that awareness is the first step in eliminating verbal fillers, and students make noticeable progress with this between their first and second speeches (Hennessy, 2019). If you do lose your train of thought, having a brief fluency hiccup is better than injecting a verbal filler, because the audience may not even notice the pause or may think it was intentional.

9.3 Physical Delivery

Physical delivery.

Many speakers are more nervous about physical delivery than vocal delivery. Putting our bodies on the line in front of an audience often makes us feel more vulnerable than putting our voice out there. Yet most audiences are not as fixated on our physical delivery as we think they are. Knowing this can help relieve some anxiety, but it does not give us a free pass when it comes to physical delivery. We should still practice for physical delivery that enhances our verbal message. Physical delivery of a speech involves nonverbal communication through the face and eyes, gestures, and body movements.

Physical Delivery and the Face

We tend to look at a person’s face when we are listening to them (Hoffler, 2016). Again, this often makes people feel uncomfortable and contributes to their overall speaking anxiety. Many speakers do not like the feeling of having “all eyes” on them, even though having a room full of people avoiding making eye contact with you would be much more awkward. Remember, it is a good thing for audience members to look at you, because it means they are paying attention and interested. Audiences look toward the face of the speaker for cues about the tone and content of the speech.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions can help bring a speech to life when used by a speaker to communicate emotions and demonstrate enthusiasm for the speech (Hoffler, 2016). As with vocal variety, we tend to use facial expressions naturally and without conscious effort when engaging in day-to-day conversations. Yet many speakers’ expressive faces turn “deadpan” when they stand in front of an audience. Some people naturally have more expressive faces than others do have—think about the actor Jim Carey’s ability to contort his face as an example. However, we can also consciously control and improve on our facial expressions to be speakers that are more effective. As with other components of speech delivery, becoming a higher self-monitor and increasing your awareness of your typical delivery habits can help you understand, control, and improve your delivery. Although you should not only practice your speech in front of a mirror, doing so can help you get an idea of how expressive or unexpressive your face is while delivering your speech.

Facial expressions help set the emotional tone for a speech, and it is important that your facial expressions stay consistent with your message (Hoffler, 2016). In order to set a positive tone before you start speaking, briefly look at the audience and smile. A smile is a simple but powerful facial expression that can communicate friendliness, openness, and confidence. Facial expressions communicate a range of emotions and are associated with various moods or personality traits.

For example, combinations of facial expressions can communicate that a speaker is tired, excited, angry, confused, frustrated, sad, confident, smug, shy, or bored, among other things. Even if you are not bored, for example, a slack face with little animation may lead an audience to think that you are bored with your own speech, which is not likely to motivate them to be interested. So make sure your facial expressions are communicating an emotion, mood, or personality trait that you think your audience will view favorably. Also, make sure your facial expressions match with the content of your speech. When delivering something lighthearted or humorous, a smile, bright eyes, and slightly raised eyebrows will nonverbally enhance your verbal message. When delivering something serious or somber, a furrowed brow, a tighter mouth, and even a slight head nod can enhance that message. If your facial expressions and speech content are not consistent, your audience could become confused by the conflicting messages, which could lead them to question your honesty and credibility.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is an important element of nonverbal communication in all communication settings. Eye contact can also be used to establish credibility and hold your audience’s attention (Barnard, 2017). We often interpret a lack of eye contact to mean that someone is not credible or not competent, and as a public speaker, you do not want your audience thinking either of those things. Eye contact holds attention because an audience member who knows the speaker is making regular eye contact will want to reciprocate that eye contact to show that they are paying attention. This will also help your audience remember the content of your speech better, because acting as if we are paying attention actually leads us to pay attention and better retain information.

Norms for eye contact vary among cultures (Barnard, 2017). Therefore, it may be difficult for speakers from countries that have higher power distances or are more collectivistic to get used to the idea of making direct and sustained eye contact during a speech. In these cases, it is important for the speaker to challenge himself or herself to integrate some of the host culture’s expectations and for the audience to be accommodating and understanding of the cultural differences.

Physical Delivery and the Body

Have you ever gotten dizzy as an audience member because the speaker paced back and forth? Anxiety can lead us to do some strange things with our bodies, like pacing, that we do not normally do, so it is important to consider the important role that your body plays during your speech. We call extra movements caused by anxiety nonverbal adaptors . Most of them manifest as distracting movements or gestures. These nonverbal adaptors, like tapping a foot, wringing hands, playing with a paper clip, twirling hair, jingling change in a pocket, scratching, and many more, can definitely detract from a speaker’s message and credibility. Conversely, a confident posture and purposeful gestures and movement can enhance both.

Posture is the position we assume with our bodies, either intentionally or out of habit. Although people, especially young women, used to be trained in posture, often by having them walk around with books stacked on their heads, you should use a posture that is appropriate for the occasion while still positioning yourself in a way that feels natural. In a formal speaking situation, it is important to have an erect posture that communicates professionalism and credibility (Clayton, 2018). However, a military posture of standing at attention may feel and look unnatural in a typical school or business speech. In informal settings, it may be appropriate to lean on a table or lectern, or even sit among your audience members (Clayton, 2018). Head position is also part of posture. In most speaking situations, it is best to keep your head up, facing your audience. A droopy head does not communicate confidence. Consider the occasion important, as an inappropriate posture can hurt your credibility.

Gestures include arm and hand movements. We all go through a process of internalizing our native culture from childhood. An obvious part of this process is becoming fluent in a language. Perhaps less obvious is the fact that we also become fluent in nonverbal communication, gestures in particular. We all use hand gestures while we speak, but we didn’t ever take a class in matching verbal communication with the appropriate gestures; we just internalized these norms over time based on observation and put them into practice. By this point in your life, you have a whole vocabulary of hand movements and gestures that spontaneously come out while you are speaking. Some of these gestures are emphatic and some are descriptive (Koch, 2007).

Emphatic gestures are the most common hand gestures we use, and they function to emphasize our verbal communication and often relate to the emotions we verbally communicate (Toastmasters International, 2011). Pointing with one finger or all the fingers straight out is an emphatic gesture. We can even bounce that gesture up and down to provide more emphasis. Moving the hand in a circular motion in front of our chest with the fingers spread apart is a common emphatic gesture that shows excitement and often accompanies an increased rate of verbal speaking. We make this gesture more emphatic by using both hands. Descriptive gestures function to illustrate or refer to objects rather than emotions (Toastmasters International, 2011). We use descriptive gestures to indicate the number of something by counting with our fingers or the size, shape, or speed of something. Our hands and arms are often the most reliable and easy-to-use visual aids a speaker can have.

While the best beginning strategy is to gesture naturally, you also want to remain a high self-monitor and take note of your typical patterns of gesturing. If you notice that you naturally gravitate toward one particular gesture, make an effort to vary your gestures more. You also want your gestures to be purposeful, not limp or lifeless.

Sometimes movement of the whole body, instead of just gesturing with hands, is appropriate in a speech. When students are given the freedom to move around, it often ends up becoming floating or pacing, which are both movements that comfort a speaker by expending nervous energy but only serve to distract the audience (Toastmasters International, 2011). Floating refers to speakers who wander aimlessly around, and pacing refers to speakers who walk back and forth in the same path. To prevent floating or pacing, make sure that your movements are purposeful. Many speakers employ the triangle method of body movement where they start in the middle, take a couple steps forward and to the right, then take a couple steps to the left, then return to the center. Obviously, you do not need to do this multiple times in a five- to ten-minute speech, as doing so, just like floating or pacing, tends to make an audience dizzy.

To make your movements appear more natural, time them to coincide with a key point you want to emphasize or a transition between key points. Minimize other movements from the waist down when you are not purposefully moving for emphasis. Speakers sometimes tap or shuffle their feet, rock, or shift their weight back and forth from one leg to the other. Keeping both feet flat on the floor, and still, will help avoid these distracting movements (Toastmasters International, 2011).

Credibility and Physical Delivery

Audience members primarily take in information through visual and auditory channels. Just as the information you present verbally in your speech can add to or subtract from your credibility, nonverbal communication that accompanies your verbal messages affects your credibility.

Professional Dress and Appearance

No matter what professional field you go into, you will need to consider the importance of personal appearance (Caffrey, 2020). Although it may seem petty or shallow to put so much emphasis on dress and appearance, impressions matter, and people make judgments about our personality, competence, and credibility based on how we look. In some cases, you may work somewhere with a clearly laid out policy for personal dress and appearance. In many cases, the suggestion is to follow guidelines for “business casual.”

Despite the increasing popularity of this notion over the past twenty years, people’s understanding of what business casual means is not consistent (Caffrey, 2020). The formal dress codes of the mid-1900s, which required employees to wear suits and dresses, gave way to the trend of business casual dress, which seeks to allow employees to work comfortably while still appearing professional. While most people still dress more formally for job interviews or high-stakes presentations, the day-to-day dress of working professionals varies.

Visual Aids and Delivery

Visual aids play an important role in conveying supporting material to your audience. They also tie to delivery, since using visual aids during a speech usually requires some physical movements. It is important not to let your use of visual aids detract from your credibility (Beqiri, 2018). Many good speeches are derailed by posters that fall over, videos with no sound, and uncooperative PowerPoint presentations.

Figure 9.1: Systematic desensitization can include giving more public speeches, taking communication courses, or imagining public speaking scenarios. William Moreland. 2019. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/GkWP64truqg

Figure 9.2: Vocal warm-up exercises. Andrea Piacquadio. 2020. Pexels license . https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-red-polo-shirt-3779453/

Figure 9.3: Primary phases to the practice process. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 9.4: Three facets of speaking for clarity. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 9.5: Facial expressions set the tone for a speech, and should be consistent with your message. Afif Kusuma. 2021. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/F3dFVKj6q8I

Figure 9.6: To make your movements appear natural, time them to coincide with a key point. Product School. 2019. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/S3hhrqLrgYM

Section 9.1

Allen, M., Hunter, J. E., & Donohue, W. A. (1989). Meta-analysis of self-report data on the effectiveness of public speaking anxiety treatment techniques. Communication Education, 38 (1), 54–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634528909378740

Bodie, G. D. (2010). A racing heart, rattling knees, and ruminative thoughts: Defining, explaining, and treating public speaking anxiety. Communication Education, 59 (1), 70–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634520903443849

Motley, M. T. (2009). COM therapy. In J. A. Daly, J. C. McCroskey, J. Ayres, T. Hopf, and D. M. Ayers Sonandré (Eds.), Avoiding communication: Shyness, reticence, and communication apprehension (pp. 379-400) (3rd ed.). Hampton Press.

Priem, J. S., & Haunani Solomon, D. (2009). Comforting apprehensive communicators: The effects of reappraisal and distraction on cortisol levels among students in a public speaking class. Communication Quarterly, 57 (3), 259-281.

Section 9.2

Barnard, D. (2018, January 20). Average speaking rate and words per minute . https://virtualspeech.com/blog/average-speaking-rate-words-per-minute

Davis, B. (2021, June 1). Why is audience engagement important? https://www.mvorganizing.org/why-is-audience-engagement-important/

Hennessy, C. (2019, March 27). Verbal filler: How to slow the flow . https://www.throughlinegroup.com/2019/03/27/verbal-filler-how-to-slow-the-flow/

LibreTexts. (2021, February 20). Methods of speech delivery . https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Exploring_Public_Speaking_(Barton_and_Tucker)/11%3A_Delivery/11.02%3A_Methods_of_Speech_Delivery

Moore, K. (2015, January 13). Public speaking tips: Use vocal variety like a pro! https://coachkiomi.com/best-public-speaking-tips-use-vocal-variety/

Packard, D. (2020, July 13). Speaking up: How to increase the volume of your voice . https://packardcommunications.com/speaking-up-how-to-increase-the-volume-of-your-voice/

Rampton, J. (2021, July 27). Learning to speak with clarity . https://www.calendar.com/blog/learning-to-speak-with-clarity/

Scotti, S. (2015, December 1). Vocal delivery: Take command of your voice . https://professionallyspeaking.net/vocal-delivery-take-command-of-your-voice-part-one/

Shtern, A. (2017, April 17). The importance of good pronunciation . https://shaneschools.com/en/the-importance-of-good-pronunciation/

Section 9.3

Barnard, D. (2017, October 24). The importance of eye contact during a presentation . https://virtualspeech.com/blog/importance-of-eye-contact-during-a-presentation

Beqiri, G. (2018, June 21). Using visual aids during a presentation or training session . https://virtualspeech.com/blog/visual-aids-presentation

Caffrey, A. (2020, February 25). The importance of personal appearance . http://www.publicspeakingexpert.co.uk/importanceofpersonalappearance.html

Clayton, D. (2018, October 31). The importance of good posture in public speaking . https://simplyamazingtraining.co.uk/blog/good-posture-public-speaking

Hoffler, A. (2016, June 7). Why facial expressions are important in public speaking . https://www.millswyck.com/2016/06/07/the-importance-of-facial-expression/

Koch, A. (2007). Speaking with a purpose (7th ed.). Pearson, 2007.

Toastmasters International. (2011). Gestures: Your body speaks . https://web.mst.edu/~toast/docs/Gestures.pdf

Fear or anxiety experience by a person due to real or perceived communication with another person or persons. This is a fear or anxiety that involves several types of communication not limited to public speaking.

Type of communication apprehension that produces physiological, cognitive, and behavioral reactions in people when faced with a real or imagined presentation

A type of cognitive restructuring that encourages people to think of public speaking as conversation rather than a performance

When a speaker has little or no time to prepare a speech

Speaking from a well written or printed document that contains the entirety of a speech

Completely memorizing a speech and delivering it without notes

Memorizing the overall structure and main points of a speech and then speaking from keyword/key-phrase notes

Refers to how fast or slow you speak

Refers to how loud or soft you speak

Refers to how high or low a speaker’s voice is

Changes in your rate, volume, and pitch that make you sound more prepared and credible

Refers to the clarity of sounds and words you pronounce

Whether you say the words correctly

Refers to the flow of your speaking

Unintended pauses in a speech that usually result from forgetting what you were saying, being distracted, or losing your place in speaking

The umms, uhhs, and other linguistic pauses of conversation

The feelings expressed on a person’s face

The act of looking directly into one another’s eyes

Extra movements caused by anxiety (i.e., tapping your foot, wringing your hands, playing with a paperclip, twirling hair, or scratching)

The position in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting

A movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning

Communication in the Real World Copyright © by Faculty members in the School of Communication Studies, James Madison University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

5 Ways of Delivering Speeches

Understanding Delivery Modes

In this chapter . . .

In this chapter, we will explore the three modes of speech delivery: impromptu, manuscript, and extemporaneous. Each offers unique advantages and potential challenges. An effective public speaker needs to be familiar with each style so they can use the most appropriate mode for any speech occasion.

In writing, there’s only one way of delivering the text: the printed word on a page. Public Speaking, however, gives you different ways to present your text. These are called the delivery modes , or simply, ways of delivering speeches. The three modes are impromptu delivery , manuscript delivery , and extemporaneous delivery . Each of these involves a different relationship between a speech text, on the one hand, and the spoken word, on the other. These are described in detail below.

Impromptu Delivery

Impromptu speaking is a short form speech given with little to no preparation. While being asked to stand in front of an audience and deliver an impromptu speech can be anxiety-producing, it’s important to remember that  impromptu speaking is something most people do without thinking in their daily lives . If you introduce yourself to a group, answer an open-ended question, express an opinion, or tell a story, you’re using impromptu speaking skills. While impromptus can be stressful, the more you do it the easier it becomes.

Preparation for Impromptu Delivery

The difficulty of impromptu speaking is that there is no way to prepare, specifically, for that moment of public speaking. There are, however, some things you can do to stay ready in case you’re called upon to speak unrehearsed.

For one, make sure your speaking instruments (your voice and body) are warmed up, energized, and focused. It could be helpful to employ some of the actor warm-up techniques mentioned earlier as part of an everyday routine. If appropriate to the impromptu speaking situation, you could even ask to briefly step aside and warm yourself up so that you feel relaxed and prepared.

Furthermore, a good rule when brainstorming for an impromptu speech is that your first idea is your best. You can think about impromptu speaking like improvisation: use the “yes, and” rule and trust your instincts. You’ll likely not have time to fully map out the speech, so don’t be too hard on yourself to find the “perfect” thing to say. You should let your opinions and honest thoughts guide your speaking. While it’s easy to look back later and think of approaches you should have used, try to avoid this line of thinking and trust whatever you come up with in the moment.

Finally, as you prepare to speak, remind yourself what your purpose is for your speech. What is it that you hope to achieve by speaking? How do you hope your audience feels by the end? What information is most important to convey? Consider how you’ll end your speech. If you let your purpose guide you, and stay on topic throughout your speech, you’ll often find success.

Delivery of Impromptu Speeches

Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you’re called upon to give an impromptu speech:

• Thank the person for inviting you to speak. Don’t make comments about being unprepared, called upon at the last moment, on the spot, or uneasy.
• Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
• Stay on track. If you can, use a structure, using numbers if possible: “Two main reasons . . .” or “Three parts of our plan. . .” or “Two side effects of this drug. . .” Past, present, and future or East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast are common structures.
• Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
• Stop talking when you are finished (it’s easy to “ramble on” when you don’t have something prepared). If in front of an audience, don’t keep talking as you move back to your seat. Finish clearly and strong.

Impromptu speeches are most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.

Another helpful framing technique for impromptus is to  negate the premise.  This is the deliberate reframing of a given prompt in a way that acknowledges the original but transitions into talking about the topic in a different way than expected. Negating the premise can be an effective rhetorical technique if used carefully and can help you focus your response on a topic that you’re interested in talking about.

If you suddenly run out of things to say in the middle of your speech, be open to  pivoting . Giving another example or story is the easiest way to do this. What’s important is to not panic or allow yourself to ramble aimlessly. No matter what, remember to keep breathing.

Finally, the greatest key to success for improving impromptu speaking is practice. Practice speaking without rehearsal in low-stakes environments if you can (giving a toast at a family dinner, for example). But remember this: no one is expecting the “perfect” speech if you’re called upon to speak impromptu. It’s okay to mess up. As Steven Tyler of the rock band Aerosmith would say: dare to suck. Take a risk and make a bold choice. What is most important is to stay sure of yourself and your knowledge.

Manuscript Delivery

The opposite of an impromptu speech is the manuscript speech. This involves having the complete text of your speech written out on paper or on notecards. You may be reading the speech from a computer or a teleprompter. In some cases, the speaker memorizes this manuscript.

Manuscript delivery  is the word-for-word iteration of a written message. In a manuscript speech, the speaker maintains their attention on the printed page except when using visual aids. The advantage of reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. In some circumstances, this can be extremely important.

Advantages & Disadvantages to Manuscript Delivery

There are many advantages in speaking from a manuscript. Some people find they are less nervous when they have the whole text in front of them. If you get lost or flustered during the speech you can glance down and get back on track. For speakers who struggle with vocalized pauses, it can be easier to know exactly what you want to say so that you’re not searching for the right word. Some people prefer to carefully craft the language of their speech instead of just having a sense of the main point and expounding upon it. Particularly if there are a lot of statistics or quotations, it can be helpful to have the whole passage written out to make sure you not only convey it correctly but frame it in the right context. It’s also easier to rehearse and time a manuscript speech, thus making sure it stays within time limits and isn’t unexpectedly too short or long. For some formal occasions or events that may be emotional for the speaker, such as a funeral, using a manuscript may be the best approach.

There are some disadvantages in delivering a speech from a manuscript. Having a manuscript in front of you often encourages looking down and reading the speech instead of performing it. A lack of eye contact makes the audience feel less engaged. The speech can feel stilted and lacking energy. Some speakers may feel constrained and that they can’t deviate from their script. Furthermore, while some find it easier to find their place with a quick glance down having the full manuscript, others find it difficult to avoid losing their place. If you go off script it can be harder to recover.

Successful Manuscript Delivery

A successful manuscript delivery requires a dynamic performance that includes lots of eye contact, animated vocals, and gestures. This can only be accomplished if you’re very familiar with the manuscript. Delivering a manuscript that you have written but only spoken aloud once before delivery will most often result in stumbling over words and eyes locked to the page. You’ll be reading aloud  at  your audience, instead of speaking  to  them. Remember what it’s like in school when a teacher asks a student to stand up and read something aloud? If the student isn’t familiar with the text, it can be a struggle both for the reader and the audience.

The key to avoiding this problem is to practice your written speech as much as you can, at least five or six times. You want to get so familiar with your speech that you can take your eyes off the page and make frequent eye contact with your audience. When you’re very familiar with your speech, your tone of speaking becomes more conversational. The text flows more smoothly and you begin to sound like a speaker, not a reader. You can enjoy the presentation and your audiences will enjoy it as well.

To improve your skills at manuscript delivery, practice reading written content aloud. This allows you to focus exclusively on delivery instead of worrying about writing a speech first. In particular, reading dialogue or passages from theatre plays, film/television scripts, or books provides material that is intended to be expressive and emotive. The goal is to deliver the content in a way that is accessible, interesting, alive, and engaging for the audience.

To Memorize or Not to Memorize

One way to overcome the problem of reading from the page is to memorize your word-for-word speech. When we see TED Talks, for example, they are usually memorized.

Memorized speaking  is the delivery of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact, and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. However, there are some real and potential costs. Obviously, memorizing a seven-minute speech takes a great deal of time and effort, and if you’re not used to memorizing, it’s difficult to pull off.

For strategies on how to successfully memorize a speech, refer to the “Memorization” section in the chapter “ From Page to Stage .”

Extemporaneous Delivery

Remember the fairy tale about Goldilocks and the Three Bears? One bed is too soft, the other bed is too hard, and finally one is just right? Extemporaneous delivery combines the best of impromptu and manuscript delivery. Like a manuscript speech, the content is very carefully prepared. However, instead of a word-for-word manuscript, the speaker delivers from a carefully crafted outline. Therefore, it has elements of impromptu delivery to it. We call this type of speaking extemporaneous ( the word comes from the Latin  ex tempore,  literally “out of time”).

Extemporaneous delivery  is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes. By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they understand the speech as it progresses. Without all the words on the page to read, you have little choice but to look up and make eye contact with your audience.

For an extemporaneous speech, the speaker uses a carefully prepared outline. We will discuss how to create an effective outline in the chapters on speechwriting.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Extemporaneous Delivery

Speaking extemporaneously has some major advantages. As mentioned above, without having a text to be beholden to it’s much easier to make eye contact and engage with your audience. Extemporaneous speaking also allows flexibility; you’re working from the solid foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or to adapt to your audience, you can do so. Therefore, the audience is more likely to pay better attention to the message. Furthermore, it promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you don’t need to read it. The outline also helps you be aware of main ideas vs. subordinate ones. For many speakers, an extemporaneous approach encourages them to feel more relaxed and to have more fun while speaking. If you’re enjoying presenting your speech the audience will sense that and consequently, they will enjoy it more.

A disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is that it requires substantial rehearsal to achieve the verbal and nonverbal engagement that is required for a good speech. Adequate preparation can’t be achieved the day before you’re scheduled to speak. Be aware that if you want to present an engaging and credible extemporaneous speech, you’ll need to practice many times. Your practice will need to include both the performative elements as well as having a clear sense of the content you’ll cover. As mentioned previously, an extemporaneous speech can also be harder to have consistent and predictable timing. While delivering the speech it’s more likely you’ll wander off on a tangent, struggle to find the words you want, or forget to mention crucial details. Furthermore, if you get lost it may be harder to get yourself back on track.

Successful Extemporaneous Delivery

Like other delivery modes, a dynamic performance on an extemporaneous delivery is one that includes lots of eye contact, animated vocals, and gestures. At the same time, you want a speech that is structured and focused, not disorganized and wandering.

One strategy to succeed in extemporaneous speaking is to begin by writing out a full manuscript of your speech. This allows you to map out all the information that will be covered in each main point and sub-point. This method also gives you a better sense of your timing and flow than starting from just an outline. Another approach is to write out an outline that is less complete than a manuscript but still detailed. This will be used only for preparation; once you have a clear sense of the content you can reduce it down to a streamlined performance outline which you’ll use when delivering the actual speech.

By the time of presentation, an extemporaneous speech becomes a mixture of memorization and improvisation. You’ll need to be familiar enough with your content and structure that you cover everything, and it flows with logical transitions. Simultaneously, you must be willing to make changes and adapt in the moment. Hence, thorough rehearsal is critical. While this approach takes more time, the benefits are worth the extra effort required.

When you’re asked to prepare a speech for almost any occasion except last-minute speeches, you must choose either a manuscript or extemporaneous approach. As you experiment with assorted styles of public speaking, you’ll find you prefer one style of delivery over the other. Extemporaneous speaking can be challenging, especially for beginners, but it’s the preferred method of most experienced public speakers. However, the speaking occasion may dictate which method will be most effective.

Online Delivery

Impromptu, manuscript, and extemporaneous speaking are delivery modes . They describe the relationship between the speaker and the script according to the level of preparation (minutes or weeks) and type of preparation (manuscript or outline). Until now, we have assumed that the medium for the speech is in-person before an audience. Medium means the means or channel through which something is communicated. The written word is a medium. In art, sculpture is a medium. For in-person public speaking, the medium is the stage. For online public speaking, the medium is the camera.

The Online Medium

Public speakers very often communicate via live presentation. However, we also use the medium of recordings, shared through online technology. We see online or recorded speaking in many situations. A potential employer might ask for a short video self-presentation. Perhaps you’re recording a “How-To” video for YouTube. A professor asks you to create a presentation to post to the course website. Or perhaps an organization has solicited proposals via video. Maybe a friend who lives far away is getting married and those who can’t attend send a video toast. While this textbook can’t address all these situations, below are three important elements to executing recorded speeches.

Creating Your Delivery Document

As with an in-person speech, it’s important to consider all the given circumstances of the speech occasion. Why are you speaking? What is the topic? How much time do you have to prepare? How long is this speech? In online speeches, having a sense of your audience is critical. Not only who are they, but where are they? You may be speaking live to people across the country or around the world. If they are in a different time zone it may influence their ability to listen and respond, particularly if it’s early, late, or mealtime. If you’re recording a speech for a later audience, do you know who that audience will be?

As with in-person speeches, different speech circumstances suggest one of three delivery modes: impromptu, extemporaneous, or manuscript. Whether your medium is live or camera, to prepare you must know which of the three delivery modes  you’ll be using. Just because a speech is online does not mean it doesn’t need preparation and a delivery text.

Technical Preparation

To prepare for online speaking, you’ll want to practice using your online tools. To begin, record yourself speaking so you have a sense of the way your voice sounds when mediated. Consider practicing making eye contact with your camera so that you feel comfortable with your desired focal point. In addition, consider how to best set up your speaking space. It may take some experimenting to find the best camera angle and position. Consider lighting when deciding your recording place. Make the lighting as bright as possible and ensure that the light is coming from behind the camera.

You should put some thought into what you’ll be wearing. You’ll want to look appropriate for the occasion. Make sure your outfit looks good on camera and doesn’t clash with your background. In general, keep in mind what your background will look like on-screen. You’ll want a background that isn’t overly distracting to viewers. Furthermore, ensure that there is a place just off-screen where you can have notes and anything else you may need readily at hand. Your recording location should be somewhere quiet and distraction-free.

You should test your camera and microphone to make sure they are working properly, and make sure you have a stable internet connection. But, even when you complete pre-checks of equipment, sometimes technology fails. Therefore, it’s helpful to know how to troubleshoot on the spot. Anticipate potential hiccups and have a plan for how to either fix issues that arise or continue with your presentation.

Vibrant Delivery

The tools for successful public speaking discussed in the rest of this textbook still apply to online speaking, but there are some key differences to consider before entering the virtual space. Online speaking, for example, will not have the same energy of a back-and-forth dialogue between speaker and live audience. If you’re recording without an audience, it might feel like you’re speaking into a void. You must use your power of imagination to keep in mind the audience who will eventually be watching your speech.

It’s important to utilize all your vocal tools, such as projection, enunciation, and vocal variety. Most important is having a high level of energy and enthusiasm reflected in your voice. If your voice communicates your passion for your speech topic, the audience will feel that and be more engaged. Use humor to keep your speech engaging and to raise your own energy level. Some experts recommend standing while giving an online speech because it helps raise your energy level and can better approximate the feeling of presenting in public.

If you’re presenting online to an audience, be sure to start the presentation on time. However, be aware that some participants may sign in late. Likewise, be cognizant about finishing your speech and answering any questions by the scheduled end time. If there are still questions you can direct the audience to reach out to you by your preferred means of communication. You may be able to provide the audience with a recording of the talk in case they want to go back and rewatch something.

Finally, consider ways you can enhance your performance by sharing images on the screen. Be sure you have that technology ready.

Other suggestions from experts include:

• Your anxiety does not go away just because you can’t see everyone in your “web audience.” Be aware of the likelihood of anxiety; it might not hit until you’re “on air.”
• During the question-and-answer period, some participants will question orally through the webcam set-up, while others will use the chat feature. It takes time to type in the chat. Be prepared for pauses.
• Remember the power of transitions. The speaker needs to tie the messages of their slides together.
• Verbal pauses can be helpful. Since one of the things that put audiences to sleep is the continual, non-stop flow of words, a pause can get attention.

As you begin delivering more public speeches you will likely find a preference for one or more of these delivery modes. If you are given a choice, it’s often best to lean into your strengths and to utilize the method you feel most comfortable with. However, the speech occasion may dictate your presentation style. Therefore, it’s important to practice and become comfortable with each mode. In an increasingly technological world online speaking in particular is likely going to be a required method of communication.

Media Attributions

• Delivery Modes and Delivery Document © Mechele Leon is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike) license

Public Speaking as Performance Copyright © 2023 by Mechele Leon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• Games, topic printables & more
• The 4 main speech types
• Example speeches
• Commemorative
• Declamation
• Demonstration
• Informative
• Introduction
• Student Council
• Speech topics
• Poems to read aloud
• How to write a speech
• Using props/visual aids
• Acute anxiety help
• Breathing exercises
• Letting go - free e-course
• Using self-hypnosis
• Delivery overview
• 4 modes of delivery
• How to make cue cards
• How to read a speech
• 9 vocal aspects
• Vocal variety
• Diction/articulation
• Pronunciation
• Speaking rate
• How to use pauses
• Eye contact
• Body language
• Voice image
• Voice health
• Public speaking activities and games
• About me/contact
• Speech delivery
• 4 modes of speech delivery

4 modes of speech delivery | an overview 

Which speech delivery technique is best.

By:  Susan Dugdale  

There are 4 modes (methods) or ways to deliver a speech: to read it from a manuscript word by word, to completely memorize it, as an impromptu, and to give it extemporaneously.

How do you know which mode will be most effective?

The answer depends on how much time you have available, the type of speech you’re giving and, your audience.

Let’s briefly outline each method and their advantages and disadvantages.

What's on this page

An overview of the 4 modes of speech delivery, the pros (advantages) and cons (disadvantages) of each, plus links to examples and further resources.

• extemporaneous

1. Manuscript

One of the most common ways to deliver a speech is to use a manuscript: a word by word document of everything you plan to say from beginning to end. This ensures, when you read it out loud, what you say is exactly what you intend, without deviation.

What is the best way to write a manuscript speech?

As with any type of speech, the best way to start is not with the words but with considering your topic, your audience, how much time you have to speak and the purpose of your speech.

Once you have those clear, then you are ready to begin planning a speech outline: an overview of all the material you want to cover. 

When the outline is completed you’ll use that to write your manuscript.

Click the link for more about the process of preparing a speech outline , with examples. (The page also has a free printable blank speech outline for you to download and use)

And for more about writing a speech, in particular writing oral language, words to be spoken aloud, please see how to write a speech . You’ll find a useful guide covering the principal characteristics of spoken speech. (It is very different from writing an essay!) 

Who regularly delivers a manuscript speech?

Newsreaders, TV personalities, politicians, business leaders and the President! Anybody whose speech is going to be closely scrutinized will use either a manuscript or its electronic equivalent, a teleprompter. These are speeches where the content is significant, perhaps life changing, where facts and figures must be 100% accurate, and where the tone of the language used is important.

What distinguishes a good delivery of a manuscript speech from a poor one, is practice. Some of the greatest public speakers in the world ‘read’ their speeches with so much skill they sound as if they are making up what they’re saying on the spot. The speech comes across as being completely spontaneous and is delivered flawlessly. 

Great public speakers who 'read' their speeches

A famous example is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Winston Churchill. Throughout World War Two (1939-1945) his extraordinary speeches inspired the people he led to persevere in their fight to keep the Nazis out of England in spite of the odds being stacked against them.

To find out more read Winston Churchill's Way With Words - an excellent NPR article, with audio, on how he crafted his speeches. 

And another more recent example is America’s ex-President Barack Obama. 

American Rhetoric has audio and text (pdf) links to his speeches spanning 2002 - 2014. Four are included in a list of 49 of the most important speeches in 21st century America . These are:

• 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
• Commencement Address at Knox College (2005)
• A More Perfect Union (2008)
• Speech at the 'Together We Thrive: Tucson and America' Memorial (2011)

How to deliver a manuscript speech

Print your speech out single sided. Make sure each page is numbered clearly. Use an easily read font like Arial, black ink, and size the font and space the lines so that the text may be read at a glance.

Use a lectern  adjusted for your height  to put your manuscript on. As you finish reading each page turn it over face down and move it to your left. That will help stop you from getting muddled.

Aim for at least one read through aloud before you deliver it.

The more you can practice the better your delivery will be. 

How to read aloud well

Reading aloud well is a skill. Some people are very good at it, and some are ghastly, largely because they’ve had no practice. (And sadly, many who regularly read their speech scripts don’t realize how bad they are to listen to because nobody has told them. Their presentations have been endured, rather than enjoyed for years!)

If you have to regularly read your speeches here’s how to read a speech effectively: 4 good ways to improve how you read aloud . It will help a great deal!

The pros (advantages) for a manuscript speech

The major advantage of using a script is that it ensures the speaker will deliver the right message, the one that’s been prepared, without errors. This is particularly important when presenting complex subject matter.  

Another is that when there's not enough time to rehearse or prepare thoroughly, reading may be the only real option available. Without the safety of a script you may forget large chunks of information, or misremember important material. The script keeps you on track.

A third reason could be that the mere presence of the script is reassuring for nervous or anxious speakers. Even if they do not actually need it, because they’ve prepared well, the script is calming. If they suddenly blank out, they’ll be alright, as they have the script to refer to.

And a fourth is that you can easily back track, return to a point you made several pages earlier, if you need to.

The cons (disadvantages) of manuscript speeches

The main disadvantages of using a manuscript are:

• being anchored to one place . If you are using a full script you need to remain in front of the lectern, or teleprompter in order to read it. You can not move freely as you deliver your speech.
• lack of eye contact with your audience because you need to keep your eyes on your words. When there is very little or no eye contact between a speaker and their audience, the audience switches off because they feel ignored, shut out.  The ability to look at the audience while using notes or a teleprompter helps your audience to listen better, retain more of what they hear, and feel as if they’ve gained more value from your speech. Click the link for more about the importance of using eye contact [including 5 fun activities to teach students how to use eye contact well]
• Using language that doesn’t flow easily when you say it aloud . There are major differences between writing intended for oral language - something to be spoken aloud, and writing something that is intended to be read, like a newspaper article or an essay. For more please see how to write a speech . You’ll find an infographic on the characteristics of spoken language.   Whenever possible, always read your manuscript aloud before you deliver it. It’s much nicer to find typos, missing words, vital information omissions and other glitches (such as words you are not sure how to pronounce correctly), by yourself rather than in public. Another useful thing to do is to run your manuscript through a grammar checker . It may pick up errors you've overlooked.

2. Memorized speech

A memorized speech is one delivered completely from memory. That means: no notes at all. There is just you: the speaker, the speech you recall, word for word, and your audience.

Why choose to memorize a speech?

There are three likely reasons. 

• You want the illusion of a ‘natural’ conversation between yourself and your audience. The presence of a lectern with your manuscript on it, a teleprompter, or a set of cue cards in your hand makes that impossible.
• You want to be able to ‘play’ freely with your delivery: to be able to move, to gesture, as you see fit rather than be tethered to notes.
• You want to make completely sure the words you have written are faithfully delivered to the audience, without any changes at all. That can be vital in comedy.

What type of speech is enhanced through memorization?

A personal speech, for example one sharing childhood stories, a very carefully scripted humorous speech where you absolutely must get the words in the right order for them to work, or an inspirational one prepared especially to move and motivate a particular audience. All of these can be more effective delivered without notes.

There are also declamation speeches . These are in a special category of their own. They are memorized recitations of known speeches: a task set by teachers to have their pupil's fully experience the power of carefully crafted, well delivered oratorical language.    

What type of speeches are NOT suited to memorization?

• Any presentation or speech covering critical information that people will use to make important, and often life-altering, decisions. For instance, a detailed weather report cannot be inaccurate. The information outlining the state government’s strategy for combating poverty, declining employment rates, and climate change needs to be presented in a way the audience can easily follow and be factually correct. Missing bits out or getting them wrong creates confusion.
• Presentations which include large amounts of data : for example, a roundup of a company’s annual performance figures would be very difficult to accurately memorize, as well as being very difficult for an audience to listen to and retain.   
• Lengthy presentations - speeches running over 10 or more minutes in time.     

How to memorize a speech

If you decide to memorize your entire speech, the very first thing you’ll need is lots of time to practice. This is critical. Do not be tempted to minimize how much is required.

To safely commit it to memory you have to go over and over your speech until you can easily say it out loud without hesitation, deviation or repetition. This can take weeks of regular daily practice, particularly if you’ve not done it before. If you haven’t got that time available to you, opt for an extemporized delivery. (See the notes on extemporaneous speeches below.)

Review your speech outline

Having made the decision to memorize, the next thing you need to do is carefully review your speech outline. 

These are questions you’ll want to consider: 

• Are the major points in the right order? Do you have supporting examples for each of them? Are the transitions between each of the points clear? Is there a memorable conclusion? Does the opening or introduction work as a hook to pull the audience in?
• Does the speech have a clear purpose? Does it meet it? Has it been tailored for its intended audience? 

(Click the link for more about preparing a useful speech outline . You’ll find step by step guidelines, examples, and a free printable blank outline template to use.) 

Repeat your speech out loud, a lot!

Once you are satisfied with your outline, it’s time to begin the process of committing it to memory.

This starts with saying your speech out loud multiple times while using your outline. As you do you’ll be listening for bits you need to change in some way. Perhaps the words you’re using aren’t quite right for your audience. Maybe it doesn’t flow as well as you thought it did and you’ll want to swap pieces around. Or it’s too long and needs pruning. 

It’s a repetitive process: make a change. Try it out. If it’s good, keep it and move on to the next section. Repeat until you’ve worked through the entire speech.

An additional tip is for every significant change you make, make a new document, (eg. myspeech v1, myspeech v2, myspeech v3…) or at least track the changes. That way if you decide you want to revert to an earlier version you can. I’ve got at least 10 versions of some of the speeches I’ve written!

The next step is to begin working without the outline. 

The 'see, walk, and talk' method

The method I use is the same one I use as an actor to learn play lines. 

I call it ‘see, walk and talk’. It's a 3 part approach. Each is essential. 

The seeing part is visualization: seeing the words on the page. Seeing the order they come in, and anything else that distinguishes them from the rest. Is it a heading? Is it a number? Is it highlighted? 

The second part is walking. Walking helps a great deal and is an ancient  technique for  memorizing   now backed by science. *

If it’s fine, I walk outside and as I walk, I talk (the third part), repeating out loud  the section I'm trying to recall over and over until I get it right.

If the weather is bad, then I walk inside, around and around a room, or on a treadmill which works just as well.

*   Schmidt-Kassow M, Zink N, Mock J, et al. Treadmill walking during vocabulary encoding improves verbal long-term memory. Behav Brain Funct. 2014;10:24. Published 2014 Jul 12. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-10-24 ) 

'See, walk, talk' in action

Start with the body of your speech, the main points. Your goal is to remember each one, in their correct order.

There are three steps in this process.

• Look at your outline. If it helps highlight the main points, and number them. Take a mental photograph of it.
• Put the outline behind your back. Walk and say out loud as many of the main points you can in their correct order.
• When you find yourself struggling to recall, stop. Look at your outline. Take another mental photo. Put the outline behind your back, and start over again. Walk and talk. 

Repeat until you can run through the entire sequence of main points, and the transitions between them, without hesitation.

Add the subpoints to the main points

The next step is to add the fine points - the subpoints (additional material) and examples to your main points.

Go back to the first main point. Take a mental snapshot of the subpoints and examples. Note carefully the order they come in, and any specialist vocabulary or phrase you wanted to use.

Now walk and talk. Repeat the sequence until you have it as you want it. Then go back to the beginning and repeat the first main point, its supporting material and then the subsequent main points.

Your next part to memorize is the second main point's supporting material. Once you have that down, you go back to the beginning to run the first main point, its sub points, then the second point and its sub points.  Then you are ready to do the third main point in exactly the same way.

Add the conclusion and the beginning

Once you have completed memorizing the body of your speech, add the conclusion and the beginning.   

The pattern is simple. You add a piece, then go back and repeat it all through from the beginning. Each repetition etches it more deeply into your memory.

Please note : you are not working on delivery as you say it out loud. This is purely routine repetition. There is no need for pausing, emphasis, or changes in volume and pace. Think of it as a vanilla performance - plain.  At this stage the bulk of your energy needs to go into remembering, not expression. 

Sort out and memorize the delivery

Delivery is how you say your speech, not what you say.

Once you have the content (what you are saying) reliably remembered, you are free to work on your vocal delivery: how you are going to say it.

Which parts need to be said more slowly? Which parts need to be highlighted through strategic pausing? What can be spoken quickly? Are there bits that need to be treated as asides? Are there ‘voices’ to take on? Perhaps an angry voice? Or a wheedling, whining voice?

How you say your speech directly affects how your audience receives it. If you deliver it like a monotone robot - one speed, one tone, one pitch, one volume, people’s ears will switch off even if the content is interesting to them. Delivery can make all the difference between listening and not listening.

To be effective, your delivery needs to fit both the content and the audience’s needs.

As with memorizing the content, getting the delivery how you want it requires experimentation and then repetition to ensure you’ve got it safely embedded.

Working with a recorder is useful to actually hear what your voice is doing, rather what you think it’s doing. There’s often a very big difference. You’ll hear if you’re going too quickly, pausing too long, not pausing long enough, mispronouncing words, gabbling, or using the same inflection pattern over and over again.

Find out more about the vocal aspects of speech delivery . 

Use a mirror, a video and a test audience

It’s also useful to either work in front of a mirror or video yourself. That will show you where you need to modify your body language. Do you stand straight? Do you gesture appropriately? 

Rinse, and repeat until you feel happy with what you’re doing. And then practice in front of a select test audience, whom you know will give you honest useful feedback. Incorporate what you want from the suggestions you’re given and practice again. And now you should be ready to deliver your speech!

Pros of memorizing your speech

A memorized speech is generally more engaging. If delivered well it creates the illusion of having a conversation with your audience because you are speaking directly to them and you are able to make eye contact freely, as well as move how, and where you want. This creates a more intimate and personal connection.

Cons of memorizing your speech

There are three major disadvantages to memorizing a speech. The biggest is the risk of forgetting something, especially with a longer speech. This can lead to panic which leads to scrabbling around trying to pick up the threads to start again. That can rapidly become a downward spiral which compromises the whole presentation.

Secondly, using a memorized speech can constrain or limit the ideas you express because everything is prepared in advance. It leaves little room for spontaneity: content adjustments and additions made in response to a particular audience’s needs.

And thirdly, a memorized speech can be incredibly boring if the speaker has not worked on delivery. It has a canned quality, lacking immediacy and vitality. It sounds like a switch got flicked on and out it comes: blah, blah, blah … irrespective of the audience.

3. Impromptu

An impromptu speech is, as its name suggests, a speech made without prior planning, organization or rehearsal.

Although it may be based on a brief outline or written prompt, the speaker will often have little or no opportunity for detailed or extensive preparation.

While making an impromptu speech involves little immediate preparation it require significant amounts of prior practice to give one well.

An effective impromptu speech is structured, (beginning, middle, end), and meets the needs of those listening to it. To give a good one requires versatility and flexibility: the ability to adapt and respond easily and appropriately to the unexpected.

The speaker needs to understand how to quickly choose the best format, how to decide on the main points to cover, how to order them, and how to open and close the speech.

And lastly, impromptu speaking requires confidence, and trust in oneself.  

When should an impromptu speech be delivered?

There are many social or work settings where making an impromptu speech is expected, and if done well, very much appreciated.

At a family get together the person who is asked to say a few words to welcome everyone, or make the toast is giving an impromptu speech. At a meeting to discuss current work issues, a sales manager may be asked to outline areas of challenge without prior warning. The response they give is an impromptu speech.

The ability to summon up succinct, structured remarks is highly valued in all areas of life. 

How do you prepare for an impromptu speech?

The essential preparation for impromptu speaking begins out of the spotlight, long before being asked to speak.

For comprehensive step by step guidelines covering how to gain the necessary skills please see:  strategies and templates to succeed at impromptu speaking .

You’ll find tips to get you started, 7 different structural templates to use, suggestions for keeping any nervousness under control, and links to 100s of impromptu speaking topics to use for practice.

Pros of impromptu speeches

The advantages definitely outweigh any disadvantages. 

Although some people have a natural gift for being able to talk freely and spontaneously, it can be learned. It’s a skill, like riding a bike. (But better!) When you’re beginning you fall off a few times, and graze your knees. If you get back on and keep pedaling eventually you stay upright.

Get better at impromptu speaking and you’ll find it will open many doors, leading to a richer and fuller life.  

Don’t settle for silence when you can learn to speak up for yourself, and others.

If you're reluctant to attempt it and put yourself out there, please read this article:  Speaking in business may be your most important skill .

The cons of impromptu speaking

In some contexts and on some subjects it would be unwise to attempt delivering an impromptu speech.

For instance, when asked for an evaluation of business risks associated with Covid-19, or to comment on possible correlations between socio-economic status and educational achievement in the USA, speaking without consulting a broad cross-section of informed specialists would be ill-advised. 

Each situation needs careful consideration. Are you able to talk knowledgeably on the topic you’ve been given? Are you entitled to talk about it?

If you can not speak on the subject being asked of you, say so politely. You can offer to come back with a full response at a later date. Or you can hand the question on to someone who can answer it. Knowing your limits is very useful for maintaining credibility!

Another possible downside is succumbing to fear. It could be fear of finding yourself with nothing to say, of drying up under pressure, or of muddling material in some way. The only really useful antidote to nervousness/fear is practice. Lots, and lots of it. It does get better! 

4. Extemporaneous speaking

An extemporaneous speech is one where the speaker combines the use of notes or cue cards with improvisation. It’s a mix of carefully scripted and sequenced material and impromptu speaking.  

How do you deliver an extemporaneous speech?

An extemporaneous delivery is naturally flowing and conversational. The points to be made will have been carefully outlined. They will be in the correct order, along with their supporting ideas and examples but the exact wording is made up as you go along.

If you give the same speech to different audiences, the words you use may change because every audience responds differently. The result is a speech that is fresh each time it is delivered, because while you are speaking, you are in the moment, speaking off-the-cuff and from the heart. The text is neither memorized, or being read word for word.

Like the first three modes of delivery, this too needs practice, in order to become good at it. 

You’ll need to practice:

• speaking to time to avoid either going on too long or being too brief
• making effective transitions - finding the bridging words to link one main point to the next, or to link one segment of your speech to the following one. For instance the introduction to the body of the speech,  or the body of the speech to the conclusion.
• openings and conclusions.

For more information here's a very useful 'how to' article from The Dept. of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh on oral discourse and extemporaneous delivery .  

The advantages of extemporaneous speeches

An extemporaneous speech is more spontaneous and therefore natural compared to either a manuscript or memorized speech.  The speaker is free to tailor the presentation to the audience, rather than sticking to a set speech. That could include responding to any questions or objections he receives. 

Disadvantages of extemporaneous speeches

There are three main drawbacks to extemporaneous speaking.

The first is becoming stranded; tongue tied and silent because you don't know how to get from one point on your outline or cue cards to the next.  When that happens, the delivery becomes stilted, a stop-start presentation, which in turn can make the speaker feel anxious, which makes recovering the flow more difficult.

A second drawback is misreading the audience, and delivering the speech using either language, (word choices), or humor they find hard to understand or accept.

As an example, a speech littered with ‘corporate speak’ is not going to win me over. I don’t want to hear about ‘core competencies’, ‘going forwards’ , ‘ducks in a row’ or anything ‘scalable’ at all!

And a third is exceeding the time allowance you’d been given. Because you are fleshing it out from your cue cards or outline as you go along it is easy to lose track of time. The cumulative effect of an additional example or two and further comments, quickly soaks it up, leaving you scrambling to finish properly.  

If you are a first time presenter, probably the safer option is to learn how to read a manuscript speech well and gradually build the skills required to give an extemporaneous speech.

speaking out loud 

Subscribe for  FREE weekly alerts about what's new For more see  speaking out loud  

Top 10 popular pages

• Welcome speech
• Demonstration speech topics
• Impromptu speech topic cards
• Thank you quotes
• Impromptu public speaking topics
• Farewell speeches
• Phrases for welcome speeches
• Student council speeches
• Free sample eulogies

From fear to fun in 28 ways

A complete one stop resource to scuttle fear in the best of all possible ways - with laughter.

Useful pages

• Search this site
• About me & Contact
• Blogging Aloud
• Free e-course
• Privacy policy

©Copyright 2006-24 www.write-out-loud.com

Designed and built by Clickstream Designs

9.2 Methods of Speech Delivery

What follows are four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality when giving a speech. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, but you will most likely want to focus on the extemporaneous approach, since that is probably what your instructor will want from you.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and I’m a volunteer with the Homes for the Brave program.” Another example of impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as “What did you think of the movie?” Your response has not been preplanned, and you are constructing your arguments and points as you speak. Even worse, you might find yourself going into a meeting and your boss says, “I want you to talk about the last stage of the project. . .”  and you have no warning.

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.

Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu speech in public:

• Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point or points you want to make.
• Thank the person for inviting you to speak. Do not make comments about being unprepared, called upon at the last moment, on the spot, or uneasy. No one wants to hear that, and it will embarrass others and yourself.
• Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
• Stay on track. Answer the question or prompt as given; resist the temptation to go elsewhere.
• If you can, use a structure, using numbers if possible: “Two main reasons . . .” or “Three parts of our plan. . .” or “Two side effects of this drug. . .” Past, present, and future or East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast are common structures.
• Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
• Stop talking (it is easy to “ramble on” when you don’t have something prepared). If in front of an audience, don’t keep talking as you move back to your seat.

Impromptu speeches are generally most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.

Manuscript Speaking

Manuscript speaking is the word-for-word iteration of a written message. In a manuscript speech, the speaker maintains his or her attention on the printed page except when using visual aids. The advantage to reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. In some circumstances this can be extremely important. For example, reading a statement about your organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact. In reading one word at a time, in order, the only errors would typically be mispronunciation of a word or stumbling over complex sentence structure. A manuscript speech may also be appropriate at a more formal affair (like a funeral), when your speech must be said exactly as written in order to convey the proper emotion or decorum the situation deserves.

However, there are costs involved in manuscript speaking. First, it’s typically an uninteresting way to present. Unless the speaker has rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures (well-known authors often do this for book readings), the presentation tends to be dull. Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script prevents eye contact with the audience. For this kind of “straight” manuscript speech to hold audience attention, the audience must be already interested in the message and speaker before the delivery begins.

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians often read from an autocue device, such as a TelePrompTer, especially when appearing on television, where eye contact with the camera is crucial. With practice, a speaker can achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of speaking extemporaneously and maintaining eye contact while using an autocue device. However, success in this medium depends on two factors: (1) the speaker is already an accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a prepared script, and (2) the speech is written in a style that sounds conversational and in spoken rather than written, edited English, for example, with shorter sentences and clearer transitions.

For the purposes of your public speaking class, you will likely not be allowed to read your speech. Instead, you will be assigned to give an extemporaneous presentation.

Extemporaneous Speaking

Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes. By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech as it progresses. And since you will be graded (to some degree) on establishing and maintaining eye contact with your audience, extemporaneous speaking can be extremely beneficial in that regard. Without all the words on the page to read, you have little choice but to look up and make eye contact with your audience. In some cases, your instructor will require you to prepare strong preparation and speaking (notes) outlines as a foundation for your speech; this topic is addressed in Chapter 6.

Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you don’t need to read it. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally. It also allows flexibility; you are working from the strong foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or to adapt to your audience, you can do so. The outline also helps you be aware of main ideas vs. subordinate ones.

Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before you’re scheduled to speak, so be aware that if you want to present a credibly delivered speech, you will need to practice many times. Because extemporaneous speaking is the style used in the great majority of public speaking situations, most of the information in the subsequent sections of this chapter is targeted toward this kind of speaking.

Memorized Speaking

Memorized speaking is the rote recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses visual aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage.

However, there are some real and potential costs. First, unless you also plan and memorize every vocal cue (the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace), gesture, and facial expression, your presentation will be flat and uninteresting, and even the most fascinating topic will suffer. You might end up speaking in a monotone or a sing-song repetitive delivery pattern. You might also present your speech in a rapid “machine-gun” style that fails to emphasize the most important points.

Second, if you lose your place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. If you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep going. Obviously, memorizing a typical classroom speech takes a great deal of time and effort, and if you aren’t used to memorizing, it is very difficult to pull off. Realistically, you probably will not have the time necessary to give a completely memorized speech. However, if you practice adequately, you will approach the feeling of memorization while still being extemporaneous.

As we said earlier, for the purposes of this class you will use extemporaneous speaking. Many professional speakers who are paid to make speeches use this approach because, while they may largely know what they want to say, they usually make changes and adjustments based on the audience or event. This approach also incorporates most of the benefits of memorized speaking (knowing what you want to say; being very thoroughly rehearsed) and manuscript speaking (having some words in front of you to refer to) without the inherent pitfalls those approaches bring with them.

the presentation of a short message without advance preparation

the word-for-word iteration of a written message

the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes

the rote recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory

the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace

It’s About Them: Public Speaking in the 21st Century Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

43 Methods of Speech Delivery

What follows are four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality when giving a speech. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, but you will most likely want to focus on the extemporaneous approach, since that is probably what your instructor will want from you.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and I’m a volunteer with the Homes for the Brave program.” Another example of impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the movie?” Your response has not been preplanned, and you are constructing your arguments and points as you speak. Even worse, you might find yourself going into a meeting and your boss says, “I want you to talk about the last stage of the project. . . “ and you have no warning.

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.

Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu speech in public:

• Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point or points you want to make.
• Thank the person for inviting you to speak. Do not make comments about being unprepared, called upon at the last moment, on the spot, or uneasy. No one wants to hear that and it will embarrass others and yourself.
• Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
• Stay on track. Answer the question or prompt as given; resist the temptation to go elsewhere.
• If you can, use a structure, using numbers if possible: “Two main reasons . . .” or “Three parts of our plan. . .” or “Two side effects of this drug. . .” Past, present, and future or East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast are common structures.
• Stop talking (it is easy to “ramble on” when you don’t have some- thing prepared). If in front of an audience, don’t keep talking as you move back to your seat.

Impromptu speeches are generally most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.

Manuscript Speaking

Manuscript speaking is the word-for-word iteration of a written message. In a manuscript speech, the speaker maintains his or her attention on the printed page except when using visual aids. The advantage to reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. In some circumstances this can be extremely important. For example, reading a statement about your organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact. In reading one word at a time, in order, the only errors would typically be mispronunciation of a word or stumbling over complex sentence structure. A manuscript speech may also be appropriate at a more formal affair (like a funeral), when your speech must be said exactly as written in order to convey the proper emotion or decorum the situation deserves.

However, there are costs involved in manuscript speaking. First, it’s typically an uninteresting way to present. Unless the speaker has rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures (well-known authors often do this for book readings), the presentation tends to be dull. Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script prevents eye contact with the audience. For this kind of “straight” manuscript speech to hold audience attention, the audience must be already interested in the message and speaker before the delivery begins.

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians often read from an autocue device, such as a TelePrompTer, especially when appearing on television, where eye contact with the camera is crucial. With practice, a speaker can achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of speaking extemporaneously and maintaining eye contact while using an autocue device. However, success in this medium depends on two factors: (1) the speaker is already an accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a prepared script, and (2) the speech is written in a style that sounds con versational and in spoken rather than written, edited English, for example, with shorter sentences and clearer transitions.

For the purposes of your public speaking class, you will not be encouraged to read your speech. Instead, you will be asked to give an extemporaneous presentation.

Extemporaneous Speaking

Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes. By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech as it progresses. And since you will be graded (to some degree) on establishing and maintaining eye contact with your audience, extemporaneous speaking can be extremely beneficial in that regard. Without all the words on the page to read, you have little choice but to look up and make eye contact with your audience. In some cases, your instructor will require you to prepare strong preparation and speaking (notes) outlines as a foundation for your speech; this topic is addressed in Chapter 6.

Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you don’t need to read it. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally. It also allows flexibility; you are working from the strong foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or to adapt to your audience, you can do so. The outline also helps you be aware of main ideas vs. subordinate ones.

The disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is that it in some cases it does not allow for the verbal and the nonverbal preparation that are almost always required for a good speech. Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before you’re scheduled to speak, so be aware that if you want to present a credibly delivered speech, you will need to practice many times. Because extemporaneous speaking is the style used in the great majority of public speaking situations, most of the information in the subsequent sections of this chapter is targeted toward this kind of speaking.

Memorized Speaking

Memorized speaking is the rote recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses visual aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage.

However, there are some real and potential costs. First, unless you also plan and memorize every vocal cue (the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace), gesture, and facial expression, your presentation will be flat and uninteresting, and even the most fascinating topic will suffer. You might end up speaking in a monotone or a sing-song repetitive delivery pattern. You might also present your speech in a rapid “machine-gun” style that fails to emphasize the most important points.

Second, if you lose your place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. If you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep going. Obviously, memorizing a typical seven-minute classroom speech takes a great deal of time and effort, and if you aren’t used to memorizing, it is very difficult to pull off. Realistically, you probably will not have the time necessary to give a completely memorized speech. However, if you practice adequately, you will approach the feeling of memorized while still being extemporaneous.

As we said earlier, for the purposes of this class you will use extemporaneous speaking. Many professional speakers who are paid to make speeches use this approach because, while they may largely know what they want to say, they usually make changes and adjustments based on the audience or event. This approach also incorporates most of the benefits of memorized speaking (knowing what you want to say; being very thoroughly rehearsed) and manuscript speaking (having some words in front of you to refer to) without the inherent pitfalls those approaches bring with them.

the presentation of a short message without advance preparation

the word-for-word iteration of a written message

the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes

the rote recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory

the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace

Exploring Public Speaking Copyright © by Edited by Nicolet College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Shortform Books

The World's Best Book Summaries

Speech Delivery: The Art of Public Speaking

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Talk Like TED" by Carmine Gallo. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here .

What makes a good speech delivery? What can you do to deliver your speech in the most impactful and persuasive way possible?

Speech delivery is how you say the words you’ve prepared. It involves many factors, such as how loudly you speak, the pitch of your speech, and how often you pause between points. 

Here is how to improve your speech delivery, according to Carmine Gallo.

What Is Speech Delivery?

As the name suggests, speech delivery is how you deliver your speech: your tone, your pace, your body language, your demeanor. However, Gallo focuses on the one element of speech delivery that he believes is crucial to success: the speed of your speech. Speak too quickly, and people will struggle to understand what you’re saying. Speak too slowly, and your audience will swiftly become bored. 

So, what speed is “just right”? After analyzing many TED talks, Gallo has concluded that the optimal rate of speech when giving a talk is around 190 words per minute. He argues that this is a conversational speed—for instance, the speed of speech you’d adopt if you were talking to a friend about your favorite TV show. Therefore, it’s a rate of speech that seems both natural and authentic. 

An Exception to the Rule

There are some exceptions to this 190-words-per-minute rule. For instance, it’s acceptable to vary the speed of your speech to reflect the tone or content of what you’re saying. For example, when photographer Lisa Kristine gave a TED talk on modern slavery in 2012, she slowed down her rate of speech when she made the important point that despite slavery being illegal worldwide, it still exists almost everywhere. Making this point slowly added emphasis and gravitas to Kristine’s words. 

Meanwhile, when Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor gave a 2013 TEDxYouth talk on how the brain changes throughout puberty, the rate of her speech delivery increase to 220 words per minute. She decided to speak this quickly to emphasize the swift nature of the brain’s transformation at this time of life.

Confident Body Language

Rehearse holding your body in a way that suggests you’re sure of yourself and your opinions. If you fail to appear confident in your convictions, your audience will trust you and your opinions less. After all, why would they believe or agree with what you’re saying if you don’t seem certain of it yourself?

There are a number of things you can do to exude confidence through body language:

• Stand up straight—don’t slouch.
• Hold your head up high, rather than looking downwards.
• Make frequent eye contact with the audience.
• Resist the urge to fidget—for instance, play with your hair or scratch your nose. 

If you’re not sure which of these confident actions you’re taking already and which you aren’t, video yourself making a speech. Then, watch the video and identify where your problem areas lie. 

Fake It ‘Till You Make It

If you’re already feeling confident about your speech delivery, confident body language will likely come naturally. However, if you’re feeling nervous or insecure, you may doubt your ability to hold your body in a way that’s contradictory to your emotions. 

If you’re in the latter situation, don’t be afraid to “fake it ‘till you make it.” In other words, keep practicing confident body language no matter how insecure you actually feel. Studies have shown that doing so can actually make you feel more confident. Standing in a confident position increases your levels of testosterone —a hormone which, amongst other functions, increases your confidence—while simultaneously reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol. 

Researchers claim the so-called “power pose” is particularly effective at boosting confidence levels. This involves stretching your arms as wide as possible for two minutes.

Don’t Be Boring

As well as ensuring that your body language is confident, you also need to make sure that it’s not too boring. A common mistake that speakers make is staying still and rooted to the same spot for the entirety of their presentation. Such rigidity will make you seem dull and unenthusiastic about your topic. Instead, continually walk around your presentation space or stage, moving from one end to the other. Your constant movement will keep your audience engaged and make you seem more dynamic.  

Hand Gestures

As you speak, don’t simply hide your hands in your pockets. Instead, use gestures to add emphasis to what you’re saying. For example, if you’re talking about how much a problem has grown in size, create a small circle with your hands and expand it. If you want to emphasize that you’ve personally experienced this problem, point at yourself. 

Using hand gestures has a number of benefits: 

• It prevents you from using your hands to fidget, thus helping you to exude confidence. 
• Movement of any kind—including hand movement—makes you more interesting to watch, and therefore grips your audience’s attention.
• Studies have shown that making hand gestures will increase the audience’s confidence in you and what you’re saying.

Four Tips for Using Hand Gestures

Tip #1: Don’t use gestures too often. They’ll lose their impact and may become overly distracting. Only use gestures to punctuate crucial points of your presentation—for example, your main argument, or the conclusion of a story you’re telling. 

Tip #2: Only use gestures that feel comfortable and natural to you. In particular, don’t try to mimic another person’s gesturing style—for example, that of a politician or famous speaker—if it’s out of your comfort zone. The gestures will seem forced and you’ll seem inauthentic. 

Tip 3: Don’t overthink which gestures to use. Settle on those that feel the most natural and appropriate to the situation.

Tip #4: Keep your gestures within the “power sphere.” This is the area of the body from the eyes down to the navel. Placing your hands any lower than the navel suggests a lack of confidence and energy.

The ‘Eager Nonverbal’ Strategy

If you’re struggling to come up with appropriate hand gestures to use in your speech or presentation, consider applying the ‘eager nonverbal’ strategy. This is a three-pronged strategy that involves:

• Using hand movements that are expansive and animated: for example, opening your arms wide with your palms open.
• Using hand movements that project outward, towards the audience: for example, pointing in their direction.
• Leaning your body forward, again towards the audience.

Research has shown that using the eager nonverbal strategy can persuade others to act in the way you desire. For example, in one study, shoppers were more likely to buy candy from salespeople who implemented this strategy than from those who didn’t. In the case of a presentation, using the eager nonverbal strategy may help you to persuade your audience to adopt your idea or agree with your point of view. 

Remember: As noted in the tips above, you should only implement someone else’s gesturing strategy—including the eager nonverbal strategy—if it feels natural and comfortable for you.

———End of Preview———

Like what you just read read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of carmine gallo's "talk like ted" at shortform ..

Here's what you'll find in our full Talk Like TED summary :

• The 9 key principles to good public speaking
• How to apply the public speaking strategies of popular TED talks
• How storytelling enhances your appeal to audiences
• ← Get Rid of Fear and Stop Playing It Safe
• James Clear: What Does It Take to Form a Habit? →

Darya Sinusoid

Darya’s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain/mind/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.

You May Also Like

How to Work With a Yellow Personality Type

Leading With Empathy: Why Listening to Employees Matters

Heart Talks: Creating a Safe Space for Self-Expression

Happiness is Working With Great People: Here’s Why

Perspective-Taking: Psychology’s Solution for Tantrums

Money and Marriage: How to Have the Money Talk

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

10.3 Vocal Delivery

Learning objectives.

• Identify elements of vocal delivery that make a speech more engaging.
• Identify elements of vocal delivery that make a speech clearer.
• Discuss the relationship between vocal delivery and speaker credibility.

Vocal delivery includes components of speech delivery that relate to your voice. These include rate, volume, pitch, articulation, pronunciation, and fluency. Our voice is important to consider when delivering our speech for two main reasons. First, vocal delivery can help us engage and interest the audience. Second, vocal delivery helps ensure that our ideas are communicated clearly.

Speaking for Engagement

We have all had the displeasure of listening to an unengaging speaker. Even though the person may care about his or her topic, an unengaging delivery that doesn’t communicate enthusiasm will translate into a lack of interest for most audience members. Although a speaker can be visually engaging by incorporating movement and gestures, which we will discuss more later, a flat or monotone vocal delivery can be sedating or even annoying. Incorporating vocal variety in terms of rate, volume, and pitch is key to being a successful speaker.

Rate of speaking refers to how fast or slow you speak. If you speak too fast, your audience will not be able to absorb the information you present. If you speak too slowly, the audience may lose interest. The key is to vary your rate of speaking in a middle range, staying away from either extreme, in order to keep your audience engaged. In general, a higher rate of speaking signals that a speaker is enthusiastic about his or her topic. Speaking slowly may lead the audience to infer that the speaker is uninterested, uninformed, or unprepared to present his or her own topic. These negative assumptions, whether they are true or not, are likely to hurt the credibility of the speaker. Having evaluated thousands of speeches, I can say that, in terms of rate, the issue speakers face is speaking too fast. The goal is to speak at a rate that will interest the audience and will effectively convey your information. Speaking at a slow rate throughout a speech would likely bore an audience, but that is not a common occurrence.

Some people naturally speak faster than others, which is fine, but we can all alter our rate of speaking with practice. If you find that you are a naturally fast speaker, make sure that you do not “speed talk” through your speech when practicing it. Even if you try to hold back when actually delivering your speech, you may fall back into your practice routine and speak too fast. You can also include reminders to “slow down” on your speaking outline.

Volume refers to how loud or soft your voice is. As with speaking rate, you want to avoid the extremes of being too loud or too soft, but still vary your volume within an acceptable middle range. When speaking in a typically sized classroom or office setting that seats about twenty-five people, using a volume a few steps above a typical conversational volume is usually sufficient. When speaking in larger rooms, you will need to project your voice. You may want to look for nonverbal cues from people in the back rows or corners, like leaning forward or straining to hear, to see if you need to adjust your volume more. Obviously, in some settings, a microphone will be necessary to be heard by the entire audience. Like rate, audiences use volume to make a variety of judgments about a speaker. Softer speakers are sometimes judged as meek, which may lead to lowered expectations for the speech or less perceived credibility. Loud speakers may be seen as overbearing or annoying, which can lead audience members to disengage from the speaker and message. Be aware of the volume of your voice and, when in doubt, increase your volume a notch, since beginning speakers are more likely to have an issue of speaking too softly rather than too loudly.

Speak a couple steps above your regular volume for speeches that occur in typically sized classrooms or meeting rooms that seat twenty to forty people. A microphone may be necessary for larger groups or rooms.

Speaker at Podium – CC BY 2.0.

Pitch refers to how high or low a speaker’s voice is. As with other vocal qualities, there are natural variations among people’s vocal pitch. Unlike rate and volume, there are more physiological limitations on the control we have over pitch. For example, males generally have lower pitched voices than females. Despite these limitations, each person still has the capability to intentionally change their pitch across a range large enough to engage an audience. Changing pitch is a good way to communicate enthusiasm and indicate emphasis or closure. In general, our pitch goes up when we are discussing something exciting. Our pitch goes down slightly when we emphasize a serious or important point. Lowering pitch is also an effective way to signal transitions between sections of your speech or the end of your speech, which cues your audience to applaud and avoids an awkward ending.

Of the vocal components of delivery discussed so far, pitch seems to give beginning speakers the most difficulty. There is a stark difference between the way I hear students speak before and after class and the way they speak when they get in front of the class. It’s like giving a speech temporarily numbs their ability to vary their pitch. Record yourself practicing your speech to help determine if the amount of pitch variety and enthusiasm you think you convey while speaking actually comes through. Speakers often assume that their pitch is more varied and their delivery more enthusiastic than the audience actually perceives it to be. Many of my students note this on the self-evaluations they write after viewing their recorded speech.

Vocal Variety

Overall, the lesson to take away from this section on vocal delivery is that variety is key. Vocal variety includes changes in your rate, volume, and pitch that can make you look more prepared, seem more credible, and be able to engage your audience better. Employing vocal variety is not something that takes natural ability or advanced skills training. It is something that beginning speakers can start working on immediately and everyone can accomplish. The key is to become aware of how you use your voice when you speak, and the best way to do this is to record yourself. We all use vocal variety naturally without thinking about it during our regular conversations, and many of us think that this tendency will translate over to our speaking voices. This is definitely not the case for most beginning speakers. Unlike in your regular conversations, it will take some awareness and practice to use vocal variety in speeches. I encourage students to make this a delivery priority early on. Since it’s something anyone can do, improving in this area will add to your speaking confidence, which usually translates into better speeches and better grades further on.

Speaking for Clarity

In order to be an effective speaker, your audience should be able to understand your message and digest the information you present. Audience members will make assumptions about our competence and credibility based on how we speak. As with other aspects of speech delivery, many people are not aware that they have habits of speech that interfere with their message clarity. Since most of our conversations are informal and take place with people we know, many people don’t make a concerted effort to articulate every word clearly and pronounce every word correctly, and most of the people we talk to either don’t notice our errors or don’t correct us if they do notice. Since public speaking is generally more formal than our conversations, we should be more concerned with the clarity of our speech.

Articulation

Articulation refers to the clarity of sounds and words we produce. If someone is articulate, they speak words clearly, and speakers should strive to speak clearly. Poor articulation results when speakers do not speak clearly. For example, a person may say dinnt instead of didn’t , gonna instead of going to , wanna instead of want to , or hunnerd instead of hundred . Unawareness and laziness are two common challenges to articulation. As with other aspects of our voice, many people are unaware that they regularly have errors in articulation. Recording yourself speak and then becoming a higher self-monitor are effective ways to improve your articulation. Laziness, on the other hand, requires a little more motivation to address. Some people just get in the habit of not articulating their words well. I’m sure we all know someone who mumbles when they speak or slurs their words together. From my experience, this is a problem that I’ve noticed more among men than women. Both mumbling and slurring are examples of poor articulation. In more informal settings, this type of speaking may be acceptable, but in formal settings, it will be negatively evaluated, which will hurt a speaker’s credibility. Perhaps the promise of being judged more favorably, which may help a person become more successful, is enough to motivate a mumbler to speak more clearly.

When combined with a low volume, poor articulation becomes an even greater problem. Doing vocal warm-ups like the ones listed in Section 10.1 “Managing Public Speaking Anxiety” or tongue twisters can help prime your mouth, lips, and tongue to articulate words more clearly. When you notice that you have trouble articulating a particular word, you can either choose a different word to include in your speech or you can repeat it a few times in a row in the days leading up to your speech to get used to saying it.

Pronunciation

Unlike articulation, which focuses on the clarity of words, pronunciation refers to speaking words correctly, including the proper sounds of the letters and the proper emphasis. Mispronouncing words can damage a speaker’s credibility, especially when the correct pronunciation of a word is commonly known. I have actually heard someone, presenting on the topic of pronunciation, mispronounce the word pronunciation , saying “pro-NOUN-ciation” instead of “pro-NUN-ciation.” In such a case, it would not be unwarranted for the audience to question the speaker’s expertise on the subject.

We all commonly run into words that we are unfamiliar with and therefore may not know how to pronounce. I offer my students three suggestions when faced with this problem. The first is to look the word up in an online dictionary. Many dictionaries have a speaker icon with their definitions, and when you click on it, you can hear the correct pronunciation of a word. Some words have more than one pronunciation—for example, Caribbean —so choosing either of the accepted pronunciations is fine. Just remember to consistently use that pronunciation to avoid confusing your audience. If a word doesn’t include an audio pronunciation, you can usually find the phonetic spelling of a word, which is the word spelled out the way it sounds. There will occasionally be words that you can’t locate in a dictionary. These are typically proper nouns or foreign words. In this case, I suggest the “phone-a-friend” strategy. Call up the people you know who have large vocabularies or are generally smart when it comes to words, and ask them if they know how to pronounce it. If they do, and you find them credible, you’re probably safe to take their suggestion. The third option is to “fake it ‘til you make it” and should only be used as a last resort. If you can’t find the word in a dictionary and your smart friends don’t know how to pronounce it, it’s likely that your audience will also be unfamiliar with the word. In that case, using your knowledge of how things are typically pronounced, decide on a pronunciation that makes sense and confidently use it during your speech. Most people will not question it. In the event that someone does correct you on your pronunciation, thank him or her for correcting you and adjust your pronunciation.

Fluency refers to the flow of your speaking. To speak with fluency means that your speech flows well and that there are not many interruptions to that flow. There are two main disfluencies, or problems that affect the flow of a speech. Fluency hiccups are unintended pauses in a speech that usually result from forgetting what you were saying, being distracted, or losing your place in your speaking notes. Fluency hiccups are not the same as intended pauses, which are useful for adding emphasis or transitioning between parts of a speech. While speakers should try to minimize fluency hiccups, even experienced speakers need to take an unintended pause sometimes to get their bearings or to recover from an unexpected distraction. Fluency hiccups become a problem when they happen regularly enough to detract from the speaker’s message.

Verbal fillers are words that speakers use to fill in a gap between what they were saying and what they’re saying next. Common verbal fillers include um , uh , ah , er , you know , and like . The best way to minimize verbal fillers is to become a higher self-monitor and realize that you use them. Many students are surprised when they watch the video of their first speech and realize they said “um” thirty times in three minutes. Gaining that awareness is the first step in eliminating verbal fillers, and students make noticeable progress with this between their first and second speeches. If you do lose your train of thought, having a brief fluency hiccup is better than injecting a verbal filler, because the audience may not even notice the pause or may think it was intentional.

Common Causes of Fluency Hiccups

• Lack of preparation. Effective practice sessions are the best way to prevent fluency hiccups.
• Not writing for speaking. If you write your speech the way you’ve been taught to write papers, you will have fluency hiccups. You must translate the written words into something easier for you to present orally. To do this, read your speech aloud and edit as you write to make sure your speech is easy for you to speak.
• A poorly prepared speaking outline. Whether it is on paper or note cards, sloppy writing, unorganized bullet points, or incomplete/insufficient information on a speaking outline leads to fluency hiccups.
• Distractions. Audience members and the external environment are unpredictable. Hopefully audience members will be polite and will silence their phones, avoid talking while the speaker is presenting, and avoid moving excessively. There could also be external noise that comes through a door or window. A speaker can also be distracted by internal noise such as thinking about other things.

“Getting Plugged In”

Delivering Presentations Online

As many people and organizations are trying to do more with smaller budgets, and new software becomes available, online presentations are becoming more common. Whether using a Webinar format, a WebEx, Skype, FaceTime, Elluminate Live, or some other program, the live, face-to-face audience is now mediated through a computer screen. Despite this change in format, many of the same basic principles of public speaking apply when speaking to people virtually. Yet many business professionals seem to forget the best practices of public speaking when presenting online or don’t get that they apply in both settings. The website TheVirtualPresenter.com offers many tips for presenting online that we’ve covered in this book, including be audience focused, have engaging delivery, and use visual aids effectively (Courville, 2012). Yet speakers need to think about some of these things differently when presenting online. We have natural ways to engage an audience when presenting face-to-face, but since many online presentations are only one-way in terms of video, speakers have to rely on technology like audience polls, live chat, or options for audience members to virtually raise their hand when they have a question to get feedback while speaking. Also, in some formats, the audience can only see the presenter’s computer desktop or slide show, which pulls attention away from physical delivery and makes vocal delivery and visual aids more important. Extemporaneous delivery and vocal variety are still key when presenting online. Reading from your slides or having a monotone voice will likely not make a favorable impression on your audience. The lesson to take away is that presenting online requires the same skills as presenting in person, so don’t let the change in format lead you to make mistakes that will make you a less effective speaker.

• Have you ever presented online or been an audience member for an online presentation? If so, describe your experience and compare it to face-to-face speaking.
• What are some of the key differences between presenting online and presenting in person that a speaker should consider?
• How might online presentations play into your future career goals? What types of presentations do you think you would give? What could you do to ensure the presentations are effective?

Key Takeaways

• Speakers should use vocal variety, which is changes in rate, volume, and pitch, to make a speech more engaging.
• Speakers should use proper articulation and pronunciation to make their message clear.
• Interruptions to the fluency of a speech, including fluency hiccups and verbal fillers, detract from the speaker’s message and can lessen a speaker’s credibility.
• Record yourself practicing your speech. How does your speech sound in terms of vocal variety? Cite specific examples.
• Listen to your recorded speech again. How would you evaluate your articulation and pronunciation? Cite specific examples.
• Over the course of a day, take note of verbal fillers that you tend to use. List them here so you can be a higher self-monitor and begin to notice and lessen your use of them.

Courville, R., “Delivery,” TheVirtualPresenter.com, accessed November 5, 2012, http://thevirtualpresenter.com/category/delivery .

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Speak Like a Pro: The Ultimate Guide to Flawless Speech Delivery Techniques Revealed!

Eloquence Everly

As an affiliate, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links on this website from Amazon and other third parties.

Implementing  effective speech delivery  techniques is essential to captivate and engage your audience. By following these techniques, you can improve your public speaking skills and deliver persuasive and engaging presentations.

Key Takeaways:

• Thoroughly prepare and practice your speech before delivering it.
• Create a distraction-free  presentation environment  with proper lighting and visibility.
• Pay attention to your  personal appearance  and maintain good  body language  during the speech.
• Focus on  vocal delivery  strategies such as clear  enunciation , appropriate  loudness and speed , and  variations in speed and force .
• Utilize effective  body language  by maintaining  eye contact , using  gestures and movement  naturally, and avoiding distracting mannerisms.

Preparation for Speech Delivery

Before delivering a speech, thorough preparation is essential. By taking the time to prepare, you can ensure a smooth and confident delivery that captivates your audience . Here are some key aspects to consider:

• Create a Well-Organized Set of Notes: To guide you during your presentation, create a clear and concise set of notes. This will help you stay on track and ensure you cover all your key points. Structure your notes in a logical manner, using headings and bullet points for easy reference.
• Engage in Ample Practice: Practice makes perfect, so dedicate time to rehearse your speech. Familiarize yourself with the content, flow, and timing of your presentation. Practice in front of a mirror, friends, or colleagues to receive feedback and make necessary improvements.
• Prepare the  Presentation Environment : The environment in which you deliver your speech can greatly impact its effectiveness. Consider factors such as lighting, visibility, and distractions. Ensure that the room is well-lit and that your audience can see and hear you clearly. Eliminate any distractions or potential interruptions.
• Test and Have a Backup Plan for  Audiovisual Equipment : If you will be using  audiovisual equipment , such as a microphone or projector, it is crucial to test them beforehand. Check for any technical issues and have a backup plan in case of equipment failure. This will help you avoid any disruptions and allow for a seamless delivery.

By adequately preparing your speech, notes, and the  presentation environment , you can set yourself up for success and deliver a confident and impactful presentation to your audience.

Personal Appearance and Body Language

When delivering a speech, your  personal appearance  and  body language  significantly impact the impression you make on your audience. Here are some key tips to ensure you project confidence and professionalism:

Dress Appropriately

Choose attire that is suitable for the occasion and reflects your respect for the audience and the topic. Ensure your outfit is clean, well-fitted, and comfortable. Avoid wearing hats or caps that can obstruct your face and hinder your nonverbal communication.

Maintain Good Posture

Stand or sit up straight, with your shoulders back and chin parallel to the ground. This posture exudes confidence and engages your audience . Remember to distribute your weight evenly and avoid excessive shifting or fidgeting.

Eye Contact

Maintaining  eye contact  is crucial for establishing connection and credibility with your audience. Look directly at individuals while speaking, making an effort to engage different parts of the room. Avoid constantly referring to notes or reading from a script, as this can diminish the impact of your message.

Avoid Distracting Mannerisms

Be mindful of your body language throughout your speech. Minimize excessive hand movements, pacing, or other distracting mannerisms that can detract from your message. Focus on conveying confidence and clarity through calm and composed  gestures .

By paying attention to your  personal appearance  and body language, you can enhance your speech delivery and effectively engage your audience .

Vocal Delivery Strategies

Your  vocal delivery  plays a crucial role in how your speech is received by the audience. By implementing effective vocal techniques, you can enhance the impact of your message and maintain audience attention. Let’s explore some strategies to improve your  vocal delivery :

Enunciation and Clarity

Clear  enunciation  is vital for effective communication. Ensure that you pronounce your words distinctly and avoid mumbling or garbling. By articulating each word clearly, you enhance the audience’s understanding and engagement with your speech.

Appropriate Loudness and Speed

Adjusting your volume and speed based on the audience, venue, and topic is crucial for effective vocal delivery. Speak loudly enough to be heard, but avoid being overly loud or shouting. Similarly, vary your speed to maintain audience interest and emphasize key points, but avoid speaking too quickly or too slowly.

Variations in Speed, Inflections, and Force

Utilizing variations in speed, inflections, and force adds depth and meaning to your speech. By emphasizing certain words or phrases, you can convey the significance and emotion behind them. Adjusting the pace of your speech can create anticipation or highlight important information. Use this technique strategically to enhance your message and keep your audience engaged.

Minimize Filler Words

Filler words such as “um,” “uh,” and “like” can detract from the impact and clarity of your delivery. Minimize their use to ensure a smooth and impactful presentation. Pausing briefly instead of using filler words can also add emphasis and facilitate better understanding.

“Clear and confident vocal delivery is essential for engaging your audience. Enunciate your words with clarity, speak at an appropriate  loudness and speed , utilize  variations in speed and force , and minimize the use of filler words. These strategies will help you captivate your audience and effectively convey your message.”

Now that you have learned about effective vocal delivery strategies, let’s move on to exploring the importance of body language in speech delivery.

Effective Use of Body Language

When delivering a speech, your body language can greatly impact how your message is received by the audience. By mastering the art of body language , you can effectively communicate your ideas and captivate your listeners.

Maintaining Eye Contact

One of the most important aspects of body language is maintaining eye contact with your audience. This establishes a connection between you and your listeners, making them feel engaged and involved in your speech. Avoid excessively reading from notes, as this can hinder eye contact and create a barrier between you and your audience. Instead, glance at your notes discreetly when necessary and focus on making eye contact with individuals throughout the room.

Using Gestures and Movement

“Gestures, in my opinion, are the most powerful tool we have in becoming an effective communicator.” – Andrea Foy

Gestures and movement  can add depth and emphasis to your speech. Use them naturally to illustrate concepts, reinforce transitions between ideas, and highlight key points. However, it’s important to be mindful of using  gestures  in a controlled and purposeful manner. Avoid excessive or distracting movements that can draw attention away from your message. Instead, use  gestures and movement  to enhance your delivery and engage your audience.

Show Enthusiasm and Commitment

When delivering a speech, it’s vital to demonstrate interest and passion in your topic. Show enthusiasm through your body language, such as by smiling, using facial expressions that reflect your emotions, and maintaining an open and confident posture. This not only captures the audience’s attention but also conveys your commitment to the subject matter, making your speech more compelling and memorable.

Avoiding Distracting Mannerisms

While  gestures  and  movement  are important, it’s crucial to avoid distracting or aimless mannerisms that can detract from your message. Be aware of any nervous habits, such as fidgeting, excessive hand movements, or aimless shifting of weight. These mannerisms can undermine your credibility and divert the audience’s attention from your speech. Practice self-awareness and aim for body language that is purposeful, controlled, and complementary to your message.

Improving Verbal Delivery

When delivering a speech, your verbal delivery plays a crucial role in engaging your audience. To ensure your message reaches every corner of the room, focus on the following aspects:

• Projection :  Speak with enough volume to reach people in the back of the room. This will ensure clear communication and prevent your words from getting lost in the space.
• Comfortable Rate :  Speak at a pace that allows your audience to comprehend and absorb your message. Pausing occasionally not only helps you catch your breath but also gives the listeners time to process the information.
• Clear Articulation :  Enunciate your words clearly to facilitate understanding. Avoid mumbling or rushing through your sentences, as this can make it difficult for your audience to follow along.
• Vocal Habits :  Pay attention to any vocal habits that may distract your listeners. Eliminate vocalized pauses like “um” or “uh” and work on maintaining a steady volume throughout your speech. Avoid speaking more softly at the end of sentences, as it can diminish the impact of your message.

Sample Table: Comparing Verbal Delivery Techniques

By focusing on  projection ,  comfortable rate ,  clear articulation , and eliminating distracting  vocal habits , you can deliver a speech that captivates your audience and ensures effective communication.

Enhancing Nonverbal Delivery

Nonverbal delivery plays a crucial role in enhancing your overall speech delivery and making a lasting impact on your audience. By utilizing effective eye contact,  movement , gestures, and an  unobtrusive use of notes , you can captivate and engage your listeners. These nonverbal elements add depth and authenticity to your speech, helping to convey your message effectively.

Eye Contact:  Making eye contact with individuals in your audience establishes a connection and shows that you are genuinely interested in their presence. Avoid excessive reading from notes, as it can break the eye contact and lessen your impact. Instead, actively engage with your audience, scanning the room and making meaningful eye contact with different individuals throughout your speech.

Movement:  Movement on stage or in front of your audience can help you control nervousness and create visual interest. Utilize the space around you, taking purposeful steps and making slight changes in position to capture the attention of your listeners. Movement should be natural and deliberate, enhancing your message rather than distracting from it.

Gestures:  Gestures and arm movements can add emphasis and clarify your spoken words. Use them to reinforce key points, illustrate concepts, and enhance the overall impact of your speech. Effective gestures appear natural and are synchronized with the rhythm and flow of your speech, engaging your audience on a visual level and reinforcing the meaning of your words.

Unobtrusive Use of Notes:  While it is common to use notes during a speech to stay on track and remember important points, it is essential to use them unobtrusively. Ensure that your notes are legible and well-organized, allowing you to find the information you need without causing distractions. Place your notes discreetly or use a small podium or lectern to hold them, allowing for seamless transitions and maintaining the focus on your delivery.

Avoid any distracting mannerisms or gestures that detract from your communication. Practice incorporating these nonverbal elements into your delivery to create a powerful and engaging speech that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Managing Nervousness and Overcoming Challenges

Nervousness is a common experience when delivering a speech. However, it’s important to remember that you are not alone in feeling this way. Chances are, many members of your audience are also experiencing nerves. The good news is that most signs of nervousness are invisible to the audience, so you can stay calm and composed even if you’re feeling a bit jittery.

Embrace nervousness  as it can actually be a valuable tool in enhancing your speech delivery. It can make you more alert, animated, and enthusiastic about your topic. Instead of trying to suppress it, harness that nervous energy and channel it into your presentation. When you embrace your nerves, you can turn them into a positive force that adds authenticity and passion to your speech.

Handling mistakes  is another important aspect of  managing nervousness . It’s natural to feel flustered if you make a mistake or lose your place during your speech. However, it’s crucial to remember that these slip-ups happen to everyone at some point. Instead of panicking, take a moment to collect yourself, take a deep breath, and calmly continue from where you left off. Most importantly, don’t dwell on the mistake or draw attention to it. Keep your focus on delivering your message effectively.

By embracing and  managing nervousness , you can transform it from a potential obstacle into a catalyst for a powerful and engaging presentation. Embrace the nerves, handle mistakes gracefully, and let your genuine enthusiasm shine through.

Mastering  effective speech delivery  techniques is essential for becoming a confident and persuasive speaker. By implementing these techniques, such as thorough preparation, proper personal appearance, and effective vocal and nonverbal delivery strategies, you can captivate your audience and deliver impactful presentations.

Preparing well before your speech, organizing your notes, and creating a suitable environment are all crucial steps in ensuring an effective delivery. Your personal appearance and body language contribute greatly to the overall impression you make on your audience. Maintaining eye contact, using gestures and movement, and speaking with clear articulation and appropriate  variations in speed and force  all enhance your communication.

While it is natural to feel nervous before delivering a speech, embracing this nervousness can actually help enhance your delivery. Remember, you are not alone in experiencing nerves, and most signs of nervousness are invisible to the audience. Embrace the energy that nerves bring and use it to your advantage, channeling it into a more animated and enthusiastic performance.

By following these  effective speech delivery  techniques, you can confidently communicate your ideas and engage your audience in a persuasive and impactful manner. Remember to always strive for clear and effective communication, and never hesitate to seek further opportunities for growth and improvement in your public speaking skills .

What are some effective speech delivery techniques?

Implementing effective  speech delivery techniques  involves thorough preparation, proper personal appearance, vocal and nonverbal delivery strategies, and  managing nervousness .

How important is speech preparation for effective delivery?

Speech preparation  is crucial for effective delivery. Creating well-organized notes, practicing, and preparing the presentation environment and  audiovisual equipment  are essential steps.

How does personal appearance and body language impact speech delivery?

Personal appearance, such as appropriate dressing and tidy hair, and positive body language help to engage the audience. Standing or sitting up straight, making eye contact, and avoiding distracting mannerisms are key aspects.

What are some vocal delivery strategies for effective speech delivery?

Enunciating clearly, speaking with appropriate loudness and speed, using variations in speed and inflections, and minimizing filler words are important strategies for vocal delivery.

How can body language enhance speech delivery?

Maintaining eye contact, using gestures and movement naturally, and displaying enthusiasm through body language can enhance the impact of your speech.

What are some tips for improving verbal delivery in a speech?

Projecting your voice, speaking at a comfortable rate, articulating words clearly, and eliminating vocal habits are key tips to improve verbal delivery.

How can nonverbal delivery support speech delivery?

Making eye contact with the audience, using movement and gestures, and using notes unobtrusively can make your speech more engaging and effective.

How can one manage nervousness during speech delivery?

Managing nervousness  can be achieved by realizing that it’s common, remaining calm and composed, using nervous energy to enhance your delivery, and embracing mistakes as learning opportunities.

What are the key takeaways for effective speech delivery?

By implementing effective  speech delivery techniques , one can become a confident and persuasive speaker. Thorough preparation, proper personal appearance, vocal and nonverbal delivery strategies, and managing nervousness are key components.

About the author

Latest Posts

Understanding what audio-visual communication is?

In today’s digital age, audio-visual communication has become an indispensable part of our lives. Whether it’s in business presentations, educational settings, or entertainment experiences, audio-visual technology plays a crucial role in conveying information effectively. But what exactly is audio visual […]

Unlock Benefits of Visual Communication Now

Visual communication is more than just a treat for the eyes. It is a powerful tool that organizations can utilize to enhance internal communication, engage employees, and foster a deeper understanding of information. By incorporating visual elements into your communication […]

10 Examples of Visual Communication

Visual communication is a powerful tool that enhances comprehension and engagement through the use of graphics. By effectively conveying messages through various mediums, visual communication captivates viewers and leaves a lasting impact. In this article, we will explore 10 examples […]

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons
• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Periodic Table
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

14.3: Speech Delivery- Body Language and Voice

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 106495

• Lisa Coleman, Thomas King, & William Turner
• Southwest Tennessee Community College

Learning Objectives

• Explain the role of facial expressions and eye contact in speech delivery.
• Explain the role of posture, gestures, and movement in speech delivery.
• Explain the connection between personal appearance and credibility in speech delivery.
• Explain the connection between visual aids and speech delivery.
• Identify elements of vocal delivery that make a speech more engaging.
• Identify elements of vocal delivery that make a speech clearer.
• Discuss the relationship between vocal delivery and speaker credibility.

The interplay between the verbal and nonverbal components of your speech can either bring the message vividly to life or confuse or bore the audience. Therefore, it is best that you neither overdramatize your speech delivery behaviors nor downplay them. This is a balance achieved through rehearsal, trial and error, and experience. One way to think of this is in terms of the Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Goldilocks Paradigm: you don’t want to overdo the delivery because you might distract your audience by looking hyper or overly animated. Conversely, someone whose delivery is too understated (meaning they don’t move their hands or feet at all) looks unnatural and uncomfortable, which can also distract. Just like Goldilocks, you want a delivery that is “just right.” This middle ground between too much and too little is a much more natural approach to public speaking delivery. This natural approach will be covered in more detail in the following sections where we discuss specific aspects of your delivery and what you need to think about while actually giving your speech.

Nonverbal Delivery

Many speakers are more nervous about physical delivery than vocal delivery. Putting our bodies on the line in front of an audience often makes us feel more vulnerable than putting our voice out there. Yet most audiences are not as fixated on our physical delivery as we think they are. Knowing this can help relieve some anxiety, but it doesn’t give us a free pass when it comes to physical delivery. We should still practice for physical delivery that enhances our verbal message. Audience members primarily take in information through their eyes and ears. Beyond the actual words of your speech, the nonverbal communication that accompanies your verbal messages affects your credibility.

Gestures are any arm and hand movements used during your speech . We all use hand gestures while we speak, but we didn’t even take a class in matching verbal communication with the appropriate gestures; we have just internalized these norms over time based on observation and put them into practice. By this point in your life, you have a whole vocabulary of hand movements and gestures that spontaneously come out while you’re speaking. Some of these gestures are emphatic and some are descriptive (Koch, 2007).

Emphatic gestures are the most common hand gestures we use, and they function to emphasize our verbal communication and often relate to the emotions we verbally communicate . Pointing with one finger or all the fingers straight out is an emphatic gesture. We can even bounce that gesture up and down to provide more emphasis. Moving the hand in a circular motion in front of our chest with the fingers spread apart is a common emphatic gesture that shows excitement and often accompanies an increased rate of verbal speaking. We make this gesture more emphatic by using both hands. Descriptive gestures function to illustrate or refer to objects rather than emotions. We use descriptive gestures to indicate the number of something by counting with our fingers or the size, shape, or speed of something . Our hands and arms are often the most reliable and easy-to-use visual aids a speaker can have. While it can be beneficial to plan a key gesture or two in advance, it is generally best to gesture spontaneously in a speech, just as you would during a regular conversation.

It may sound funny, but due to speech anxiety, we have seen more than one student unknowingly incorporate “jazz hands” (shaking your hands at your sides with fingers opened wide) at various points in their speech. While certainly an extreme example, this and behaviors like it can easily become distracting. At the other end of the scale, people who don’t know what to do with their hands or use the “too little” sometimes hold their arms stiffly at their sides, behind their backs, or in their pockets, all of which can also look unnatural and distracting.

However, with all that said, if you have nothing else to do with your hands, such as meaningful gestures, the default position for them is to be resting gently on the sides of the lectern (see Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\)). You don’t want to grip the lectern tightly, but resting them on the edges keeps them in a position to move your notes on if you need to or use them to gesture. As stated above, you want to practice this way beforehand so you are used to speaking this way when you come to class.

Sometimes the movement of the whole body, instead of just gesturing with hands, is appropriate in a speech. Just like your hands, a lot of nervous energy is going to try to work its way out of your body through your feet. On the “too much” end, this is most common when people start “dancing” behind the lectern Another variation is twisting feet around each other or the lower leg. On the other end are those who put their feet together, lock their knees, and never move from that position. Both of these options look unnatural, and therefore will prove to be distracting to your audience. Locking your knees can also lead to loss of oxygen in your brain, not a good state to be in because it can cause you to faint.

The default position for your feet, then, is to have them shoulder-width apart with your knees slightly bent (see Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\)). Again, you want to look and feel natural, so it is fine to adjust your weight or move out from behind the lectern, but constant motion (or perpetual stillness) will not lead to a good overall delivery.

These two sections on gestures and feet mention “energy.” Public speakers need to look energetic—not hyperactive, but engaged and upbeat about communicating their message. Slumping, low and unvarying pitch and rate, and lack of gestures telegraph “I don’t care” to an audience.

There is a very simple rule when it comes to what you should bring with you to the lectern when you give your speech: Only bring to the lectern what you absolutely need to give the speech . Anything else you have with you will only serve as a distraction for both you and the audience. For the purposes of this class, the only objects you should need to give your speech are whatever materials you are speaking from, and possibly a visual aid if you are using one. Beyond that, don’t bring pens, laptops, phones, lucky charms, or notebooks with you to the lectern. These extra items can ultimately become a distraction themselves when they fall off the lectern or get in your way. Some students like to bring their electronic tablet, laptop computer, or cell phone with them, but there are some obvious disadvantages to these items, especially if you don’t turn the ringer on your cell phone off. Cell phones are not usually large enough to serve as presentation notes; we’ve seen students squint and hold the phone up to their faces.

Not only do you need to be aware of what you bring with you, but you should also be aware of what you have on your person as well. Sometimes, in the course of dressing for a speech, we can overlook simple issues that can cause problems while speaking. Some of these can include:

• Jewelry that ‘jingles’ when you move, such as heavy bracelets;
• Uncomfortable shoes or shoes that you are not used to (don’t make speech day the first time you try wearing high heels);
• Anything with fringe, zippers, or things hanging off it. They might become irresistible to play with while speaking;
• For those with longer hair, remember that you will be looking down at your notes and then looking back up. Don’t be forced to “fix” your hair or tuck it behind your ear every time you look up. Use a barrette, hairband, or some other method to keep your hair totally out of your face so that the audience can see your eyes and you won’t have to adjust your hair constantly. It can be very distracting to an audience to watch a speaker pull hair from his face after every sentence.

The Lectern and Posture

Extra movements caused by anxiety are called nonverbal adaptors , and most of them manifest as distracting movements or gestures. These nonverbal adaptors, like tapping a foot, wringing hands, playing with a paper clip, twirling hair, jingling change in a pocket, scratching, and many more, can definitely detract from a speaker’s message and credibility. Conversely, a confident posture and purposeful gestures and movement can enhance both.

A lectern is a tool for you to use that should ultimately make your speech easier to give, and you need to use it that way. On the “too much” end, some people want to trick their audience into thinking they are not nervous by leaning on the podium in a relaxed manner, sometimes going so far as to actually begin tipping the podium forward. Your lectern is NOT part of your skeletal system, to prop you up, so don’t do this. On the “too little” end are those who are afraid to touch it, worried that they will use it incorrectly or somehow knock it over (you won’t!).

As always, you want the “Goldilocks” middle ground. Just rest your notes and hands on it, but don’t lean on the lectern or “hug” it. Practicing with a lectern (or something similar to a lectern) will eliminate most of your fears about using it.

Posture is the position we assume with our bodies, either intentionally or out of habit . The lectern use is related to posture. Most of us let gravity pull us down. One of the muscle memory tricks of public speaking is to roll your shoulders back. Along with making your shoulder muscles feel better, doing so with feet apart and knees bent, rolling your shoulders back will lead to a more credible physical presence—you’ll look taller and more energetic. You’ll also feel better, and you’ll have a larger lung capacity for breathing to support your tone and volume. In a formal speaking situation, it’s important to have an erect posture that communicates professionalism and credibility. However, a military posture of standing at attention may feel and look unnatural in a typical school or business speech. In informal settings, it may be appropriate to lean on a table or lectern, or even sit among your audience members.

Facial Expressions

Remember, it’s a good thing for audience members to look at you because it means they’re paying attention and interested. Audiences look for f acial expressions  of the speaker, or  cues about the tone and content of the speech seen on the face . Facial expressions can help bring a speech to life when used by a speaker to communicate emotions and demonstrate enthusiasm for the speech. We tend to use facial expressions naturally and without conscious effort when engaging in day-to-day conversations. Yet many speakers’ expressive faces turn “deadpan” when they stand in front of an audience. Some people naturally have more expressive faces than others—think about the actor Jim Carey’s ability to contort his face as an example. But we can also consciously control and improve on our facial expressions to be more effective speakers. As with other components of speech delivery, becoming a higher self-monitor and increasing your awareness of your typical delivery habits can help you understand, control, and improve your delivery. Although you shouldn’t only practice your speech in front of a mirror, doing so can help you get an idea of how expressive or unexpressive your face is while delivering your speech. 

Facial expressions help set the emotional tone for a speech, and it is important that your facial expressions stay consistent with your message. In order to set a positive tone before you start speaking, briefly look at the audience and smile. A smile is a simple but powerful facial expression that can communicate friendliness, openness, and confidence. Facial expressions communicate a range of emotions and are also associated with various moods or personality traits. For example, combinations of facial expressions can communicate that a speaker is tired, excited, angry, confused, frustrated, sad, confident, smug, shy, or bored, among other things. Even if you aren’t bored, for example, a slack face with little animation may lead an audience to think that you are bored with your own speech, which isn’t likely to motivate them to be interested. So make sure your facial expressions are communicating an emotion, mood, or personality trait that you think your audience will view favorably. Also, make sure your facial expressions match the content of your speech. When delivering something lighthearted or humorous, a smile, bright eyes, and slightly raised eyebrows will nonverbally enhance your verbal message. When delivering something serious or somber, a furrowed brow, a tighter mouth, and even a slight head nod can enhance that message. If your facial expressions and speech content are not consistent, your audience could become confused by the conflicting messages, which could lead them to question your honesty and credibility.

“Getting Competent”: Improving Facial Expressions

My very first semester teaching, I was required by my supervisor to record myself teaching and evaluate what I saw. I was surprised by how serious I looked while teaching. My stern, expressionless face was due to my anxiety about being a beginning teacher and my determination to make sure I covered the content for the day. I didn’t realize that it was also making me miss opportunities to communicate how happy I was to be teaching and how passionate I was about the content. I just assumed those things would come through in my delivery. I was wrong. The best way to get an idea of the facial expressions you use while speaking is to record your speech using a computer’s webcam, much like you would look at and talk to the computer when using Skype or another video-chat program. The first time you try this, minimize the video window once you’ve started recording so you don’t get distracted by watching yourself. Once you’ve recorded the video, watch the playback and take notes on your facial expressions. Answer the following questions:

• Did anything surprise you? Were you as expressive as you thought you were?
• What facial expressions did you use throughout the speech?
• Where did your facial expressions match with the content of your speech? Where did your facial expressions not match with the content of your speech?
• Where could you include more facial expressions to enhance your content and/or delivery?

You can also have a friend watch the video and give you feedback on your facial expressions to see if your assessment matches with theirs. Once you’ve assessed your video, re-record your speech and try to improve your facial expressions and delivery. Revisit the previous questions to see if you improved.

Eye Contact

We tend to look at a person’s face when we are listening to them. Again, this often makes people feel uncomfortable and contributes to their overall speaking anxiety. Many speakers don’t like the feeling of having “all eyes” on them, even though having a room full of people avoiding making eye contact with you would be much more awkward.

As we’ve said consistently throughout this book, your audience is the single biggest factor that influences every aspect of your speech. And since eye contact is how you establish and maintain a rapport with your audience during your speech, it is an extremely important element of your delivery. Your professor may or may not indicate a standard for how much eye contact you need during the speech, such as 50%, but he or she will absolutely want to see you making an effort to engage your audience by looking directly at them. Eye contact has the power to make people feel welcome/unwelcome, comfortable/uncomfortable, listened to / ignored, and so on. As a speaker, eye contact can also be used to establish credibility and hold your audience’s attention. We often interpret a lack of eye contact to mean that someone is not credible or not competent, and as a public speaker, you don’t want your audience thinking either of those things.

What is important to note here is that you want to establish genuine eye contact with your audience and not “fake” eye contact. There have been a lot of techniques generated for “faking” eye contact, and none of them look natural. For example, these are not good ideas:

• Three points on the back wall – You may have heard that instead of making eye contact, you can just pick three points on the back wall and look at those. What ends up happening, though, is you look like you are staring off into space and your audience will spend the majority of your speech trying to figure out what you are looking at. To avoid this, look around the entire room, including the front, back, left, and right sides of the space.
• The swimming method – This happens when someone is reading his or her speech and looks up quickly and briefly to try to make it seem like they are making eye contact, not unlike a swimmer who pops his head out of the water for a breath before going back under. Eye contact is more than just physically moving your head; it is about looking at your audience and establishing a connection. In general, your eye contact should last at least five seconds at a time and should be with individuals throughout the room.
• The stare down – Since you will, to some degree, be graded on your eye contact, some students think (either consciously or not), that the best way to ensure they get credit for establishing eye contact is to always and exclusively look directly at their professor. While we certainly appreciate the attention, we want to see that you are establishing eye contact with your entire audience, not just one person. Also, this behavior is uncomfortable for the instructor.

Eye contact holds attention because an audience member who knows the speaker is making regular eye contact will want to reciprocate that eye contact to show that they are paying attention. This will also help your audience remember the content of your speech better because acting like we’re paying attention actually leads us to pay attention and better retain information.

Norms for eye contact vary among cultures. Therefore it may be difficult for speakers from countries that have higher power distances or are more collectivistic to get used to the idea of making direct and sustained eye contact during a speech. In these cases, it is important for the speaker to challenge himself or herself to integrate some of the host culture’s expectations and for the audience to be accommodating and understanding of the cultural differences.

Tips for Having Effective Eye Contact

• Once in front of the audience, establish eye contact before you speak.
• Make slow and deliberate eye contact, sweeping through the whole audience from left to right.
• Despite what high school speech teachers or others might have told you, do not look over the audience’s heads, at the back wall, or the clock. Unless you are in a huge auditorium, it will just look to the audience like you are looking over their heads.
• Do not just make eye contact with one or a few people that you know or that look friendly. Also, do not just make eye contact with your instructor or boss. Even if it’s comforting for you as the speaker, it is usually awkward for the audience member.
• Try to memorize your opening and closing lines so you can make full eye contact with the audience. This will strengthen the opening and closing of your speech and help you make a connection with the audience.

Personal Appearance

Looking like a credible and prepared public speaker will make you feel more like one and will make your audience more likely to perceive you as such. This applies to all speaking contexts: academic, professional, and personal. Although the standards for appropriate personal appearance vary between contexts, meeting them is key. You may have experienced a time when your vocal and physical delivery suffered because you were not “dressed the part.” "Dressing the part" makes you feel more confident, which will come through in your delivery. Ideally, you should also be comfortable in the clothes you’re wearing. If the clothes are dressy, professional, and nice but ill-fitting, then the effect isn’t the same. Avoid clothes that are too tight or too loose. "Looking the part" is just as important as "dressing the part," so make sure you are cleaned and groomed in a way that’s appropriate for the occasion. The following “Getting Real” box goes into more detail about professional dress in a variety of contexts.

“Getting Real”: Professional Dress and Appearance

No matter what professional field you go into, you will need to consider the importance of personal appearance. Although it may seem petty or shallow to put so much emphasis on dress and appearance, impressions matter, and people make judgments about our personality, competence, and credibility based on how we look. In some cases, you may work somewhere with a clearly laid out policy for personal dress and appearance. In many cases, the suggestion is to follow guidelines for “business casual.” Despite the increasing popularity of this notion over the past twenty years, people’s understanding of what business casual means is not consistent (Cullen, 2008). The formal dress codes of the mid-1900s, which required employees to wear suits and dresses, gave way to the trend of business casual dress, which seeks to allow employees to work comfortably while still appearing professional (Heathfield, S. M., 2012). While most people still dress more formally for job interviews or high-stakes presentations, the day-to-day dress of working professionals varies. Here are some tips for maintaining “business casual” dress and appearance:

• Things to generally avoid. Jeans, hats, flip-flops, exposed underwear, exposed stomachs, athletic wear, heavy cologne/perfume, and chewing gum.
• General dress guidelines for men. Dress pants or khaki pants, button-up shirt or collared polo/golf shirt tucked in with belt, and dress shoes; jacket and/or tie are optional.
• General dress guidelines for women. Dress pants or skirt, blouse or dress shirt, dress, and closed-toe dress shoes; jacket is optional.
• Finishing touches. Make sure shoes are neat and polished, not scuffed or dirty; clothes should be pressed, not wrinkled; make sure fingernails are clean and trimmed/groomed; and remove any lint, dog hair, and so on from clothing.

Obviously, these are general guidelines and there may be exceptions. It’s always a good idea to see if your place of business has a dress code, or at least guidelines. If you are uncertain whether or not something is appropriate, most people recommend to air on the side of caution and choose something else. While consultants and professionals usually recommend sticking to dark colors such as black, navy, and charcoal and/or light colors such as white, khaki, and tan, it is OK to add something that expresses your identity and makes you stand out, like a splash of color or a nice accessory like a watch, eyeglasses, or a briefcase. In fact, in the current competitive job market, employers want to see that you are serious about the position, can fit in with the culture of the organization, and are confident in who you are (Verner, 2008).

• What do you think is the best practice to follow when dressing for a job interview?
• In what professional presentations would you want to dress formally? Business casual? Casual?
• Aside from the examples listed previously, what are some other things to generally avoid, in terms of dress and appearance, when trying to present yourself as a credible and competent communicator/speaker?
• In what ways do you think you can conform to business-casual expectations while still preserving your individuality?

Verbal Delivery

Vocal delivery includes components of speech delivery that relate to your voice. Incorporating vocal variety in terms of volume, pitch, rate, and pauses is key to being a successful speaker. Our voice is important to consider when delivering our speech for two main reasons. First, vocal delivery can help us engage and interest the audience. Second, vocal delivery helps ensure that our ideas are communicated clearly. We have all had the displeasure of listening to an unengaging speaker. Even though the person may care about his or her topic, an unengaging delivery that doesn’t communicate enthusiasm will translate into a lack of interest for most audience members. Although a speaker can be visually engaging by incorporating movement and gestures, a flat or monotone vocal delivery can be sedating or even annoying.

Volume refers to the relative softness or loudness of your voice . Like most of the other issues we’ve discussed in this section, the proper volume for a given speaking engagement usually falls on the scale in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Goldilocks Paradigm of Delivery. If you speak too softly (“too little” volume), your audience will struggle to hear and understand you and may give up trying to listen. If you speak with “too much” volume, your audience may feel that you are yelling at them, or at least feel uncomfortable with you shouting. The volume you use should fit the size of the audience and the room.

When speaking in a typically sized classroom or office setting that seats about twenty-five people, using a volume a few steps above a typical conversational volume is usually sufficient. When speaking in larger rooms, you will need to project your voice. You may want to look for nonverbal cues from people in the back rows or corners, like leaning forward or straining to hear, to see if you need to adjust your volume more. Obviously, in some settings, a microphone will be necessary to be heard by the entire audience. Softer speakers are sometimes judged as meek, which may lead to lowered expectations for the speech or less perceived credibility. Louder speakers may be seen as overbearing or annoying, which can lead audience members to disengage from the speaker and message. Be aware of the volume of your voice and, when in doubt, increase your volume a notch, since beginning speakers are more likely to have an issue of speaking too softly rather than too loudly.

Public speaking relies on the voice for interest, credibility, audibility, and clarity. The British Prime Minister of the 19th century was quoted saying, “There is no greater index of character so sure as the voice.” While that seems exaggerated today, a public speaker at any level cannot ignore the energy, loudness, and clarity in their voice. There are four steps to voice production: breathing (produced by the lungs, which are largely responsible for the vocal characteristic of volume); phonation (the production of the sound in the vocal folds, which close and vibrate to produce sound for speaking as the air is exhaled over them; phonation creates pitch); resonation (a type of amplification of the sound in the larynx, oral cavity, and nasal cavity, which creates the characteristic of quality); and articulation, which produces the sounds of language others can understand and is responsible for rate and for being understood.

The visual in Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\) shows a cutaway of these parts of the anatomy. Your instructor may give you more directions on maximizing the power of your voice to achieve more variety and power. In section 11.6 we include a vocal exercise for doing so. We have all listened to a low-energy, monotone, monorate speaker and know how hard it is, so you should pay attention to your recording, perhaps by closing your eyes and just listening, to see if your voice is flat and lifeless.

Pitch  is  the relative highness or lowness of your voice , and like everything, you can have too much or too little (with regard to the variation of it). Too much pitch variation occurs when people “sing” their speeches, and their voices oscillate between very high pitched and very low pitched. While uncommon, this is sometimes attributed to nerves. More common is too little variation in pitch , which is known as being monotone .

Delivering a speech in a monotone manner is usually caused by reading too much; generally, the speaker’s focus is on saying the words correctly (because they have not practiced). They forget to speak normally to show their interest in the topic, as we would in everyday conversation. Changing our pitch is a good way to communicate enthusiasm and indicate emphasis or closure. In general, our pitch goes up when we are discussing something exciting. Our pitch goes down slightly when we emphasize a serious or important point. Lowering the pitch is also an effective way to signal transitions between sections of your speech or the end of your speech, which cues your audience to applaud and avoids an awkward ending.

For most people, changing pitch isn’t a major issue, but if you think it might be for you, ask the people in your practice audience what they think. You can also record yourself practicing your speech to help determine if the amount of pitch variety and enthusiasm you think you convey while speaking actually comes through. Generally, if we are interested in and passionate about communicating our thoughts, we are not likely to be monotone. We are rarely monotone when talking to friends and family about matters of importance to us, so pick topics you care about.

The rate of speaking refers to how fast or slow you speak . Too little rate (i.e. speaking too slowly) will make it sound like you may not fully know your speech or what you are talking about, and will ultimately cost you some credibility with your audience. It may also result in the audience being bored and lose focus on what you are saying. Speaking slowly may lead the audience to infer that the speaker is uninterested, uninformed, or unprepared to present his or her own topic. These negative assumptions, whether they are true or not, are likely to hurt the credibility of the speaker. Rate is one reason you should try to record yourself, even if just audio on your phone, beforehand and be mindful of time when you practice. Your voice’s rate will affect the time it takes to give the speech.

By contrast, too much rate (i.e. speaking too fast) can be overly taxing on an audience’s ability to keep up with and digest what you are saying. It sometimes helps to imagine that your speech is a jog or run that you and your friends (the audience) are taking together. You (as the speaker) are setting the pace based on how quickly you speak. If you start sprinting, it may be too difficult for your audience to keep up and they may give up halfway through. Some people naturally speak faster than others, which is fine, but we can all alter our rate of speaking with practice. If you find that you are a naturally fast speaker, make sure that you do not “speed talk” through your speech when practicing it. As always, recording and timing your speech during practice helps. You can also include reminders to “slow down” on your speaking outline.

You especially will want to maintain a good, deliberate rate at the beginning of your speech because your audience will be getting used to your voice. We have all called a business where the person answering the phone mumbles the name of the business in a rushed way. We aren’t sure if we called the right number. Since the introduction is designed to get the audience’s attention and interest in your speech, you will want to focus on clear delivery there. Regulating rate is another reason why video-recording yourself can be so helpful because we often do not realize how fast we speak.

The common misconception for public speaking students is that pausing during your speech is bad, but that isn’t necessarily true. You pause in normal conversations, so you shouldn’t be afraid of pausing while speaking. This is especially true if you are making a particularly important point or want for a statement to have a more powerful impact: you will want to give the audience a moment to digest what you have said.

For example, consider the following statement: “Because of issues like pollution and overpopulation, in 50 years the earth’s natural resources will be so depleted that it will become difficult for most people to obtain enough food to survive.” Following a statement like this, you want to give your audience just a brief moment to fully consider what you are saying. Hopefully, they will think something along the lines of What if I’m still alive then? or  What will my children do ? and become more interested in hearing what you have to say

Of course, there is such a thing as pausing too much, both in terms of frequency and length. Someone who pauses too often (after each sentence) may come off seeming like they don’t know their speech very well. Someone who pauses too long (more than a few seconds), runs the risk of the audience feeling uncomfortable or, even worse becoming distracted or letting their attention wander. We are capable of processing words more quickly than anyone can speak clearly, which is one of the reasons listening is difficult. Pauses should be controlled to maintain the attention of the audience.

Vocalized pauses

At various points during your speech, you may find yourself in need of a brief moment to collect your thoughts or prepare for the next section of your speech. At those moments, you will be pausing, but we don’t always like to let people know that we’re pausing. So what many of us do in an attempt to “trick” the audience is fill in those pauses with sounds so that it appears that we haven’t actually paused. These are known as vocalized pauses , or sometimes “fillers.” Another term for them is “nonfluencies.”

Everyone uses vocalized pauses to some degree, but not everyone’s vocalized pauses are problematic. This obviously becomes an issue when the vocalized pauses become distracting due to their overuse. We have little doubt that you can remember a time when you were speaking to someone who said the word “like” after every three words and you became focused on it. One of your authors remembers attending a wedding and (inadvertently) began counting the number of times the best man said “like” during his toast (22 was the final count). The most common vocalized pause is “uh,” but then there are others. Can you think of any?

The bad news here is that there is no quick fix for getting rid of your vocalized pauses. They are so ingrained into all of our speech patterns that getting rid of them is a challenge. However, there is a two-step process you can employ to begin eliminating them. First, you need to identify what your particular vocalized pause is. Do you say “um,” “well,” or “now” before each sentence? Do you finish each thought with, “you know?” Do you use “like” before every adjective (as in “he was like so unhappy”)?

After figuring out what your vocalized pause is, the second step is to carefully and meticulously try to catch yourself when you say it. If you hear yourself saying “uh,” remind yourself, I need to try to not say that. Catching yourself and being aware of how often you use vocalized pauses will help you begin the process of reducing your dependence on them and hopefully get rid of them completely. If you do lose your train of thought, having a brief silent pause is better than injecting a vocalized pause, because the audience may not even notice the pause or may think it was intentional.

Common Causes of Vocalized Pauses

• Lack of preparation. Effective practice sessions are the best way to prevent these.
• Not writing for speaking. If you write your speech the way you’ve been taught to write papers, you will have these vocalized pauses. You must translate the written words into something easier for you to present orally. To do this, read your speech aloud and edit as you write to make sure your speech is easy for you to speak.
• A poorly prepared speaking outline. Whether it is on paper or note cards, sloppy writing, unorganized bullet points, or incomplete/insufficient information on a speaking outline leads to these.
• Distractions. Audience members and the external environment are unpredictable. Hopefully, audience members will be polite and will silence their phones, avoid talking while the speaker is presenting, and avoid moving excessively. There could also be external noise that comes through a door or window. A speaker can also be distracted by internal noise such as thinking about other things.

Vocal Variety

Overall, the lesson to take away from this section on vocal delivery is that variety is key. Vocal variety includes changes in your rate, volume, and pitch that can make you look more prepared, seem more credible, and be able to engage your audience better. Employing vocal variety is not something that takes natural ability or advanced skills training. It is something that beginning speakers can start working on immediately and everyone can accomplish. The key is to become aware of how you use your voice when you speak, and the best way to do this is to record yourself. We all use vocal variety naturally without thinking about it during our regular conversations, and many of us think that this tendency will translate over to our speaking voices. This is definitely not the case for most beginning speakers. Unlike in your regular conversations, it will take some awareness and practice to use vocal variety in speeches. Since it’s something anyone can do, improving in this area will add to your speaking confidence, which usually translates into better speeches and better grades further on.

Articulation

Articulation refers to the clarity of sounds and words we produce . If someone is articulate, they speak words clearly, and speakers should strive to speak clearly. Poor articulation results when speakers do not speak clearly. For example, a person may say dinnt instead of didn’t , gonna instead of going to , wanna instead of want to , or hunnerd instead of hundred . Unawareness and laziness are two common challenges to articulation. As with other aspects of our voice, many people are unaware that they regularly have errors in articulation. Recording yourself speak and then becoming a higher self-monitor are effective ways to improve your articulation. Laziness, on the other hand, requires a little more motivation to address. Some people just get in the habit of not articulating their words well. Both mumbling and slurring are examples of poor articulation. In more informal settings, this type of speaking may be acceptable, but in a formal setting, it will be negatively received, which will hurt a speaker’s credibility. Perhaps the promise of being judged more favorably, which may help a person become more successful, is enough to motivate a mumbler to speak more clearly.

When combined with a low volume, poor articulation becomes an even greater problem. When you notice that you have trouble articulating a particular word, you can either choose a different word to include in your speech or you can repeat it a few times in a row in the days leading up to your speech to get used to saying it.

Pronunciation

Unlike articulation, which focuses on the clarity of words, pronunciation refers to speaking words correctly, including the proper sounds of the letters and the proper emphasis . Mispronouncing words can damage a speaker’s credibility, especially when the correct pronunciation of a word is commonly known. I have actually heard someone, presenting on the topic of pronunciation, mispronounce the word pronunciation , saying “pro-NOUN-ciation” instead of “pro-NUN-ciation.” In such a case, it would not be unwarranted for the audience to question the speaker’s expertise on the subject.

We all commonly run into words that we are unfamiliar with and therefore may not know how to pronounce. Here are three suggestions when faced with this problem. The first is to look the word up in an online dictionary. Many dictionaries have a speaker icon with their definitions, and when you click on it, you can hear the correct pronunciation of a word. Some words have more than one pronunciation—for example, Caribbean —so choosing either of the accepted pronunciations is fine. Just remember to consistently use that pronunciation to avoid confusing your audience. If a word doesn’t include audio pronunciation, you can usually find the phonetic spelling of a word, which is the word spelled out the way it sounds. There will occasionally be words that you can’t locate in a dictionary. These are typically proper nouns or foreign words. In this case, you can “phone-a-friend.” Call up the people you know who have large vocabularies or are generally smart when it comes to words, and ask them if they know how to pronounce them. If they do, and you find them credible, you’re probably safe to take their suggestion. The third option is to “fake it ‘til you make it” and should only be used as a last resort. If you can’t find the word in a dictionary and your smart friends don’t know how to pronounce it, it’s likely that your audience will also be unfamiliar with the word. In that case, using your knowledge of how things are typically pronounced, decide on a pronunciation that makes sense and confidently use it during your speech. Most people will not question it. In the event that someone does correct you on your pronunciation, thank him or her for correcting you and adjust your pronunciation.

The ten items listed above represent the major delivery issues you will want to be aware of when giving a speech, but it is by no means an exhaustive list. There is, however, one final piece of delivery advice we would like to offer. We know that no matter how hard you practice and how diligent you are in preparing for your speech, you are most likely going to mess up some aspect of your speech when you give it in class, at least a little. That’s normal. Everyone does it. The key is to not make a big deal about it or let the audience know you messed up. Odds are that they will never even realize your mistake if you don’t tell them there was a mistake. Saying something like “I can’t believe I messed that up” or “Can I start over?” just telegraphs to the audience your mistake. In fact, you have most likely never heard a perfect speech delivered in your life. It is likely that you just didn’t realize that the speaker missed a line or briefly forgot what they wanted to say.

As has been the driving maxim of this chapter, this means that you need to

Practice your speech beforehand, at home or elsewhere, the way you will give it in class .

Since you know you are likely going to make some sort of mistake in class, use your practice time at home to work on how you will deal with those mistakes. If you say a word incorrectly or start reading the wrong sentence, don’t go back and begin that section anew. That’s not what you would do in class, so just correct yourself and move on. If you practice dealing with your mistakes at home, you will be better prepared for the inevitable errors that will find their way into your speech in class.

A final thought on practice. We have all heard, “Practice makes perfect.” That is not always true. Practice makes permanent; the actions become habitual. If you practice incorrectly, your performance will be incorrect. Be sure your practice is correct.

Key Takeaways

• Facial expressions help communicate emotions and enthusiasm while speaking. Make sure that facial expressions are consistent with the content being presented. Record yourself practicing your speech in order to evaluate your use of facial expressions.
• Eye contact helps establish credibility and keep your audience’s attention while you’re speaking.
• Posture should be comfortable and appropriate for the speaking occasion.
• Emphatic and descriptive gestures enhance the verbal content of our speech. Gestures should appear spontaneous but be purposeful.
• Movements from the waist down should be purposefully used to emphasize a point or as a transition during a speech.
• Audience members will make assumptions about your competence and credibility based on dress and personal appearance. Make sure your outer presentation of self is appropriate for the occasion and for the impression you are trying to project.
• Visual aids can add to your speech but can also interfere with your delivery and negatively affect your credibility if not used effectively.
• Speakers should use vocal variety, which is changes in rate, volume, and pitch, to make a speech more engaging.
• Speakers should use proper articulation and pronunciation to make their message clear.
• Interruptions to the fluency of a speech, including fluency hiccups and verbal fillers, detract from the speaker’s message and can lessen a speaker’s credibility.
• Identify three goals related to delivery that you would like to accomplish in this course. What strategies/tips can you use to help achieve these goals?
• What nonverbal adaptors have you noticed that others use while speaking? Are you aware of any nonverbal adaptors that you have used? If so, what are they?
• Getting integrated: Identify some steps that speakers can take to ensure that their dress and physical appearance enhance their credibility. How might expectations for the dress and physical appearance vary from context to context (academic, professional, personal, and civic)?
• Record yourself practicing your speech. How does your speech sound in terms of vocal variety? Cite specific examples.
• Listen to your recorded speech again. How would you evaluate your articulation and pronunciation? Cite specific examples.
• Over the course of a day, take note of verbal fillers that you tend to use. List them here so you can be a higher self-monitor and begin to notice and lessen your use of them.

Cullen, L. T., “What (Not) to Wear to Work,” Time , June 9, 2008, 49.

Heathfield, S. M., “Dress for Success: A Business Casual Dress Code,” About.com , accessed February 7, 2012, http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/a/dress_code.htm .

Koch, A., Speaking with a Purpose , 7th ed. (Boston, MA: Pearson, 2007), 105.

Verner, A., “Interview? Ditch the Navy Suit,” The Globe and Mail , December 15, 2008, L1.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Speech Delivery

To this point, much of the content of this text has focused on speech  preparation.   All of these “behind the scenes” steps are critical to your success as a speaker.  However, preparation is only a part of the speech process.  At some point you must deliver the speech!  As we discuss in the following chapters, speech delivery is a skill and, much like any skill, can be learned and improved with time and practice.

Once you have prepared, it’s time to deliver your speech and finally, reflect on your performance. Only with reflection of our practice and performance do we improve.

Principles of Public Speaking Copyright © 2022 by Katie Gruber is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

12 Delivery: A Recipe for Great Speaking

Megan orcholski, university of wisconsin-milwaukee, learning objectives.

• Understand the importance of delivery and its impact on public speaking.
• Learn what tools create delivery and have a basic understanding of how to use them.
• Be better prepared to deliver a speech!

Imagine you go to a restaurant and order a dish that sounds delicious.  When they bring you the food, it is cooked without care, unseasoned, and slopped onto your plate. It doesn’t look or taste very good. You’re hungry, so you eat it. It still has nutritional value, but you don’t enjoy it. You probably won’t remember this meal, and if you do, you will probably only remember how bad it was. When food is cooked, there is a lot of thought that goes into how the person eating the food (the audience) will feel when they eat it. Delivery is similar, as it is the vehicle for how an audience consumes a speech. The audience will get the speech whether it’s perfectly seasoned or thrown together without care. You have the opportunity as a speaker to make your content and performance appetizing to your audience!

Delivery can be thought of as the “icing on the cake,” but let’s break that down. Can you eat cake without icing? Sure. But icing is intended to complement the cake, make it look pretty, and taste better. Similarly, bad delivery can call attention to itself or make the cake worse. As a good friend of mine says, excellent delivery can enhance the content and make it taste sweeter.

Delivery is not always valued as an essential part of presentations by speakers. For example, have you ever had a teacher who was incredibly boring, didn’t look at you, or stumbled through their lectures? You, as the audience, probably wished they had practiced their delivery. To an audience, delivery is important. It can be the difference between an audience tolerating what you are saying and an audience really understanding, enjoying, and remembering your content.

Often, speakers in my class treat delivery like a magical talent that some people are lucky enough to have and others don’t. However, delivery skills can be learned by practice. Imagine speaking to someone who says, “I’m bad at downhill skiing.” You may reply, “Do you ski a lot?” or “Have you taken any lessons?” If someone does not practice and learn basic skills, they cannot expect to do well at a skill like skiing. Speaking is also a skill. It is something which you can practice, train, and improve. Yes, there are certainly some individuals for whom strong delivery seems to come naturally, but anyone can be an effective presenter if they are willing to practice. You do not have to like public speaking to be good at it. So get ready to get great at gifting your messages to audiences!

How to Effectively Use Your Voice

Vocalics also known as paralanguage, refers to the pieces of oral communication which convey meaning beyond the words. Have you heard the proverb, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it?” Vocalics is referring to the “how.” There are five distinct vocalics: volume, pitch, rate, articulation, and pronunciation. The first three (volume, pitch, and rate)  are nonverbal components that are present in both oral and verbal communication. Oral, referring to the mouth, can be any sound or noise. Let’s say your blowing air out of your lips, making a loud sigh or humming, you are still using volume, pitch, and rate even though you aren’t saying words. Volume, pitch, and rate work nonverbally or in connection with the words to create meaning. The final two vocalics, articulation and pronunciation, are only present in verbal communication, as they address how words are formed and emphasized.

Vocalics , also known as paralanguage, refers to the pieces of oral communication which convey meaning beyond the words.

Think of vocalics as the basic ingredients of delivery. By learning how to utilize them, you can make unlimited types of delivery dishes. Having an understanding of how vocalics work and the main things they communicate will allow you to have more control over how you are communicating with your audience.

Volume has to do with how loud, or soft, something is. This is probably a pretty familiar concept, but you may not have thought deeply about how volume functions as a communication tool. Volume is associated with power and control. When a person gets louder, it is often because they want to be heard. Imagine a child who is trying to get the attention of busy adults or a customer trying to get the attention of a server at a crowded restaurant. Increasing volume is a way for a speaker to direct focus to themselves. However, the relationship between volume and power is more complicated. Being louder does not necessarily translate to more power. Instead, volume can work in complex ways to create meaning. Sure, getting louder or yelling can communicate importance or control, but so too can a drop in volume. For example, when parents are trying to get children to do something, the indication of it getting serious is often when they go from yelling to talking in a soft, controlled, serious manner. I knew as a child that it was when my parents got very quiet was when I was actually in big trouble!

Try It: Talk to Grandma

For a lot of people, an appropriate volume is a huge problem. Even when they think they are loud enough, it can still be a struggle to hear them well enough to easily understand what they are saying. If you have seen the movie Sister Act , think about the scene where Whoopi Goldberg’s character uses visualization to get the young singer to be loud enough and find her voice. Visualization may work for you too. Start by visualizing an older relative or friend who doesn’t hear very well. Imagine they are coming to see you speak. They will want to be able to hear you. In your head, place them behind the last row of the audience. If you are always making sure they can hear you from behind the last person, your volume should be adequate for the size of the audience and space.

When using volume as a tool of communication, speakers must consider projection. When you are speaking for an audience, you want to be loud enough to be heard. This volume often requires speakers to adjust how they project sound and focus their sound towards a target. [i] If you have had any music or theater training, you probably already understand the basics of focusing and directing your sound. You will want to have strong breath support to properly project. This breath support can be achieved by making sure you are not breathing shallowly with your shoulders, but rather pulling air all the way down to your diaphragm or about two inches below your belly button.

To get louder, people often use the throat and increase how hard the vocal cords are working, but this can strain the voice and also produce a stressed sound. A better way to achieve increased projection is to pull in a lot of air using your diaphragm so that more air can flow over your vocal cords. Your breath support will help you be able to control your volume.

Finally, you will want to focus your projection or have motivation in your volume. We do this all the time, like when we are at a sporting event and cheering your favorite player or when you are at a loud party and want to have a conversation with one person. [ii] You will adjust your volume to match your speaking situation. In these cases, the direction of your projection helps aid your volume in communicating intention and meaning. Use changes in volume meaningfully and deliberately to focus communication, emphasize ideas, or make yourself heard.

Try It: Using your Diaphragm

Breath support is crucial for projecting your voice without straining your vocal cords.  To make sure you are breathing deeply enough, place your hand below your belly button.  When you fill yourself with air, your hand should rise.  To start, try laying down.  This technique can help you to breathe deeply and relax.  You can also see your hand move!  If you find that your shoulders or chest are moving, you are probably not breathing deeply enough.  To help, visualize that you are pulling from your toes.  Your toes are not part of the breathing process, but thinking about drawing from your whole body can help deepen your breath.

Pitch deals with where your voice is resonating on the musical scale. If you start humming, a musician would be able to match the tone of your hum on their musical instrument. All of us have a pitch we naturally tend to. Our pitch is based on both the make-up of our body, specifically the length of one’s vocal folds and size of the vocal tract, and our socialization. Pitch is determined by how much your vocal folds are vibrating.  Vibrating fast at a high cycle produces a higher pitch, whereas fewer vibrations create a lower pitch. [i]  While our biology determines our abilities and range, a person may also vary or control their pitch based on cultural and social roles.   Pitch is often used to communicate gender, as the physiological makeup is connected to sex. Female voices are, on average, about an octave higher than male voices. This claim is a generalization and can vary based on the individual. But this idea was demonstrated on a daily basis before everyone had a cell phone and the main phone used was a house phone. If a person unfamiliar with the house called, they had to rely solely on a person’s pitch to determine gender and age. Many of us, who grew up with a house phone, have a story of being mistaken for someone else in the household or being labeled with a gender we don’t identify with. Though our bodies may limit our pitch, we do have the ability to utilize pitch variation to give meaning to our words.

As with the other vocalics, pitch gets more interesting when it changes. Intonation  refers to how your pitch rises and falls, creating vocal variety. When pitch rises, the voice communicates uncertainty or indecisiveness. This can be seen when we ask questions. However, some people tend to go up at the end of their sentences even when it is not a question. [ii] For example, imagine saying the phrase “I like your shirt” to a friend. Try it right now with your tone going up at the end. Now say it with your tone staying the same or coming down. Your intonation drastically changes the meaning.

Intonation refers to how your pitch rises and falls, creating vocal variety.

As a speaker, you want to be careful you are not communicating hesitancy or uncertainty when you intend to communicate confidence. Similarly, the dropping of pitch communicates certainty or finality. An example of this is in the Wizard of Oz when the Winkie guards are marching outside of the Wicked Witch’s castle. You can hear them sing, “O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah!” [iii] Not only can you hear them change their intonation throughout the song, but their pitch lowers at the end of the phrase, creating finality to what may otherwise be meaningless sounds.

Try It: Play Around

Speakers do not tend to use as much vocal variety as they are capable of because they are not aware of how much variation they could have. One way to explore pitch is to specifically practice trying different tonal changes when you are speaking. First, to warm up, make noise all the way up and down the tonal scale. Start by making a high pitch and then falling to as low as you can comfortably go. Then go back up. (If you have a piano, you can plunk out notes or do scales). Once you’ve established your range, then pick a line or two in your speech, use the Pledge of Allegiance, or anything else you know very well. Try to speak those sentences in at least ten different ways. Each time, change your tone to play with how you could say the line or phrase. Pay attention to how your tone will impact the audience’s understanding of what you are saying. Focusing on your impact can be especially important on the last line of an argument or the end of the speech. Working to bring your pitch up in the middle of the sentence and dropping it at the end for finality can help you finish strong.

At its most basic, rate deals with speed, specifically how quickly or how slowly the words are spoken. This speed not only deals with the sounds within a word, but also the spaces between words. The speed at which words are spoken is connected to perceptions of emotional control. A fast rate is associated with uncontrolled or extreme emotion, whereas a slow rate is associated with controlled emotion. Think of an excited child trying to tell you a story. Their quick pace may sound frantic or frenzied. Now contrast that with how President Obama spoke during his public speeches. He typically has a very deliberate pace that communicated his command of the situation. You will want to pay attention to your rate in general, but you are also able to vary your rate to communicate meaning. For example, when you have something that is very important, slowing down the rate can help the point come across as important to the audience.

Speaking too quickly is a common problem, but you can train yourself to speak slower. Unfortunately, trying to “be slower!” doesn’t usually help. One tip is to think of putting little tiny spacers between your words. This way, it is easier to be understood, even at a fast pace. It’s like a friendship bracelet–if you put all of the beautiful, glamorous beads together, it looks gaudy. So, you separate them by clear or white spacer beads, making the beauty easier to look at and more fluid. By giving your words tiny spaces around them, your articulation will be stronger, and your words will be easier to understand. Some students also benefit from simply writing “pause” or “breath” on their note cards. These words can remind you to slow your rate, even if you are nervous during your speech.

Pacing can be an effective way of creating meaning and allowing your audience to absorb those meanings. A well-placed pause or giving more time to an explanation can help your audience understand and retain the information you are telling them. Your speaking rate is especially important because your audience is trying to mentally digest what you are saying. They cannot control the speed with which they receive the information, but you can help your audience have time to absorb and process information by being conscious of your rate.

Speakers often throw out information without much thought to the speed or pacing. Think about spoon-feeding a baby. Baby’s don’t have much control over how fast they receive their food. If you feed them too fast, they will cough and choke, and baby food will potentially come out their nose! When you feed a baby, you adjust your speech based on how long it takes the baby to taste, swallow, and enjoy the food. You want to do the same thing with your audience. Pay attention to how they are reacting and how they are absorbing the information. Observation is especially important during transitions of points or topics. Have you ever fed a baby a bite of peas and then a bite of bananas? It’s hilarious. The baby makes weird funny faces because their expectations were violated—they were expecting peas and got bananas instead. When you switch food, you often take a pause, maybe give the baby a sip of water. You want them to know you are moving to a different food. Similarly, a speaker should utilize their delivery to lead the audience from one point to the next. By paying attention to your pacing, your audience will be able to retain and remember more of your information.

Try It: Object Toss

One way to help you with your pacing is to picture your words as tangible objects going toward your audience. To practice this, get a bowl of cotton balls, pennies, scarves, or other lightweight objects. While you are practicing your speech, toss the objects toward a pretend audience (a blanket works great for this). However, you have to toss and speak at the same pace! This action shows a speaker very quickly how fast they are going. Now, one potential risk of this exercise is that you may start to find a rhythm with your tossing that may lull you into an unnatural speaking rhythm. You want your rate to sound natural and conversational, so once you get the pace under control, stop physically tossing and work to speak at that comfortable pace.

Articulation and Pronunciation

Articulation deals with how the words come out of your mouth, specifically how the words are shaped. Pronunciation is articulation combined with cultural influences to create ways of saying words that are identifiable to specific regions or groups of people. While two separate concepts, they often work in tandem when we are dealing with language. As a speaker, you want to make sure the audience can understand you. Paying attention to how you form your words can help you avoid mumbling or slurring your words together.

Pronunciation is grounded in culture and expectations can vary depending on your audience and specific speaking context. A dialect, which refers to how a person or group specifically forms their words and arranges their grammar, may impact how you are communicating with your audience. You may want to be aware if the audience has a similar or different dialect than you. For example, if you grew up in the Midwest, you may refer to Pepsi as “pop” with the o sounding more like an a. Whereas, those in the south would refer to it as a “coke” with a long o sound. And then there is the rest of the nation who say “soda.”  People often forget they have a dialect and will sometimes view other dialects as inferior. But everyone has a dialect that delineates from ethnic heritage as well as regional locations. Being aware of dialect is important in public speaking because parts of your dialect may not be familiar to a group who uses a different one. You may end up using a term common to you, but unfamiliar to your audience. You may also pronounce a word in a way that the audience wouldn’t understand. By being aware of these issues, you can address them in your presentation if necessary.

Try It: All it Takes is a Pencil

If you are struggling with articulation or worried you are mumbling, a pencil can help your mouth realize how it’s forming words. Put the pencil in your mouth horizontally, and bite down on it. Say your speech with the pencil in your mouth until your words can be completely understood. Once you are understandable, pull the pencil out of your mouth WHILE YOU ARE TALKING. You should be able to feel the difference. This exercise can help train the muscles how to properly enunciate.

Vocal Variety

While there are different vocalics, they function together to create meaning and vocal variety . Be aware of how volume, pitch, rate, articulation, and pronunciation are working together in your speech to communicate to the audience. What does it do to a sentence when you get quieter, slow down, and drop your pitch all at the same time? How about getting louder, speeding up, and raising your pitch all while over articulating? These tools are excellent for helping to craft meaning beyond your words. Being aware of how they interact with each other can increase your ability to utilize them for making meaning when you are speaking.

Types of Vocalics

Volume has to do with how loud, or soft, something is.

Pitch deals  with where your voice is resonating on the musical scale.

Rate deals with speed, specifically how quickly or how slowly the words are spoken.

Articulation deals with how the words come out of your mouth, specifically how the words are shaped.

Pronunciation is grounded in culture and expectations can vary depending on your audience and specific speaking context.

Vocal variety is when there are different vocalics being used, and they function together to create meaning.

How to Effectively Use your Body

To develop strong delivery skills, speakers need to realize the extent of the body’s power. Your body is an incredibly complex tool that is continuously making meaning. To start to understand this, do some people watching. What can you determine about a person based on the way they stand or how they move? Do you know how they are feeling based on their facial expressions? Beginning speakers are often quick to take their body for granted and not consciously employ choices of movement or expression. To better understand the tools of physical delivery, we will discuss kinesics and the multiple parts of nonverbal communication. Then, we will discuss proxemics or your body in relation to other objects, before ending with a discussion of appearance.

Similar to the vocalics, your body movements add to the words you are saying.  Kinesics refers to how the body is interpreted as nonverbal communication and how physical movements are able to communicate on their own. Think about how often you move your body and what those movements signal to those around you. From popping your hip and crossing your arms to communicate impatience to a late friend, waving at a neighbor as you pass by, or even initiating a hug to a loved one, the movement of our bodies transmits meaning to those observing us. The significance of kinesics is heightened in a public speaking context because of the specific nature and focus of the presentation.

Kinesics refers to how the body is interpreted as nonverbal communication and how physical movements are able to communicate on their own.

Most of us have a basic understanding of posture , even if just from being told to “stand up straight” as a kid. However, posture is more than just standing up straight. It deals with the arrangement of your bones and muscles so that each area is allowed to do its job to its best ability. Good posture allows your body to support and control its structure without unnecessary tension in your frame or strain in the muscles. [i]

To think about your posture as a speaker, it’s helpful to think of the ranges in which your body could arrange itself. The first range is contraction to expansion. How broad are you letting your shoulders expand? How much space are you allowing your arms to take up? The amount of space you take up communicates to the audience. The next range is withdrawal and approach.  Are you leaning forward or sinking back as you speak? When you move in your speech, is it toward or away from the audience? While this happens while walking, withdrawal and approach can also be communicated while standing. Think of how a lean forward communicates advancement whereas leaning back tends to communicate moving away.

Finally, general body orientation, or where all of your parts are in relationship to each other, is important. A neutral body posture is when both feet are flat on the floor, weight is balanced, arms hang gently, and muscles are relaxed. A neutral body posture is not the way most people tend to stand. Many people pop their hip or cross their legs. These stances do not provide a strong foundation to pull breath and initiate movement. As with all of the other components of delivery, there is not an ultimate right or wrong way to stand. Rather, thinking about your stance in relation to your message and audience is the most important consideration.

Try It: Roll it Up and Pull the String

Walk around a mall for a bit and you will be amazed by the popped hips, crossed legs, leaning, and general disregard for a balanced and strong posture. However, when you’re giving a speech, you want your body to look powerful and confident. Instead of forcing your body into an unnatural position, help your body find perfect posture on its own. Stand up straight and find balance with your weight equally distributed between both legs. Picture your spine as building blocks and, starting at your head, roll your spine down block by block until you are comfortably doubled over (do not stretch beyond your capabilities). Here, breathe deeply a few times. As you breathe, feel your back rise and fall with the inhale and exhale. Then slowly, block by block, roll back up until your head is gently floating on tip of your neck. Picture a string connected to your spine that comes out of the top of your head. By gently “pulling” that string at the end, your body should naturally lift into the correct posture. You don’t want to be tense. It may help to think “Bones up, Muscles down.”

While all of the pieces of our body are important for communicating, our arms and hands are arguably the most moveable and versatile. They can help enhance the emotional impact of your verbal message. Gestures are when our arms and hands use their different types of movements to create emphasis, meaning, and symbols. Two of the most well-known categories are emblems and illustrators. Understanding emblems and illustrators can help you know more about how your gestures are communicating. An emblem happens when the body creates something which can be interpreted as a verbal word or phrase. For example, holding your index finger and your middle finger into a “V” with the other fingers closed can be interpreted as the peace sign or the number 2. To be an emblem, Steven R. Brydon and Michael D. Scott argue a gesture must do three things: [i]

• It must have specific meaning for the audience members.
• It must be used intentionally by the speaker to purposely generate meaning.
• It must be easily translated into a few words.

Emblems are very specific to the context. For example, signaling to a train or truck driver by making a fist with a bent elbow and pumping it up and down means “honk your horn.” But that same gesture after scoring a goal in a soccer game can mean “YES!”

Emblems are also very connected to culture. Because of this, you will want to be aware of what meaning you are communicating with your emblem. For example, most of us know that connecting your thumb and index finger into a circle with your other fingers flared up means okay in the United States. However, if you did the same gesture in Japan it means “money” and in France, it means “zero” or “worthless.”

Illustrators are similar to emblems, but instead of being directly translated, they aid the verbal messages and are more generalized meanings. For example, you can describe how big or small an object is, but it is even more effective to also show with your hands. The visualization is aided because of how your motions connect to what you are saying. To demonstrate the importance of illustrators, attempt to give directions or describe something specific without using your hands. It’s very difficult to do!

Types of Gestures

An emblem happens when  the body creates something which can be interpreted as a verbal word or phrase.

Illustrators are similar to emblems, but instead of being directly translated, they aid the verbal messages and are more generalized meanings.

Facial Expressions

Faces are fantastic places for expression and communication.  Facial expressions are when a speaker uses their face to communicate. The face is often completely forgotten as a communicative space. Speakers should be very aware of their face to both increase their communication and prevent sending unintentional messages to the audience. When thinking about facial expressions, it’s important to avoid a blank or unexpressive face. You also don’t want to rely on one facial expression the whole time. Like your vocal tone, your face helps convey meaning. You want it to match your topic and change with the specific information in your speech.  Smiling, for example, is incredibly underused. Many speakers get nervous about speaking and forget the elemental power of a smile. Obviously, there are times and topics for which a smile would not be the appropriate facial expression. But just as we do in conversations with our friends, do not be afraid to use your face to help communicate.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is important for establishing a connection and communicating with the audience.  Eye contact is when the speaker meaningfully connects to the audience with their eyes. The first step to utilizing eye contact is to know your information well enough to be able to speak while making eye contact. This step may seem like common sense, but it can be incredibly difficult to do. Most beginning speakers rely very heavily on their notes or manuscript. I have often told students that I’m jealous of the podium or notecard because it gets all their attention! It may seem scary to look up at the audience, but sustained eye contact has the power to make you feel both physically and emotionally closer to each other. [i] In Western culture, eye contact works to establish a connection, communicate confidence, and affirm credibility.

Once you’re able to look up at the audience, it is important to practice looking directly in the eyes of the audience members. You cannot fake eye contact! If you can see your audience, they will know whether you are actually looking at them or if you are looking over the top of their heads. [ii]  Direct eye contact is especially important if it is a smaller audience. If it is a larger audience or if you are on a lighted stage and can’t see the individuals in the audience, you will still want to direct your energy at specific spots to make it feel personal.  There is no set time for how long to hold eye contact, as it is another variable which changes with the situation and circumstances.  However, most speakers think they are holding their eye contact for longer than they are.  Audiences gain a tremendous amount of energy and connection through eye contact, so making sure you are holding your eye contact for a significant amount of time is important.

Try It: Holding Eye Contact

One of my favorite mentors from college does this activity in class to show how really effective eye contact should make you feel. He will look at someone and say “Hi! You are my favorite. You are the only person I care about in this room. All these other people don’t mean anything to me. I have to look over there for a minute, but I’ll be right back…don’t forget you’re my favorite!” Then he looks to the next person and says, “Hi! You’re my favorite. You’re the only person I care about in this room…” After three or four people you understand how eye contact can make you feel like you are important and being spoken to at the individual level.[1]  To practice eye contact, rehearse in front of objects with eyes. Obviously, a practice audience is the best. But if you don’t have one, you can use stuffed animals, pictures, posters, or anything that has eyes you can connect with. Set a few up around the room and practice playing connect the dots with your eyes while you speak. This will help you practice moving your attention from person to person instead of glancing at the wall, the clock, the floor on your way from one individual to another.

Make your Movement Matter

To make choices about your movement, you first need to be conscious of your body while speaking. I once watched a student twirl the lanyard from the keys in his pocket for most of his speech. When he saw the video, he was shocked because he had no memory of what his hands were doing during the speech. The brain is complicated and tricky. You need to train your brain to recognize and control what your body is doing while you speak. This training is comparable to a basketball player doing layups over and over or a baseball player practicing their swing. You want to know the movements so well that your muscle memory takes over while you are speaking. Many people will either not move at all or move for no particular reason.

Remember, movement helps aid in the communication process. In the same way, you are carefully selecting your words, you also want to choose your movements. If you don’t have a justified reason to move, you do not need to move. Save your energy for when the movement aids your message. One visualization that helps me is picturing my body as full of energy. That energy has to be used for certain things, such as making a sound to say the words, thinking about what comes next, and moving my head to have good eye contact. Sometimes the body does things that waste energy. Many people have ineffective habits, such as crossing legs, leaning on the podium, or pacing. Personally, I sway. If left to my own devices, I would sway the entire time I teach a course. Which would be incredibly distracting and unnecessary, not to mention tiring. So, I employ body consciousness to focus that energy into my words instead of wasting it swaying. This consciousness can take a lot of practice and mental energy. However, by employing body control and making conscious movements, you can increase your audience connection and enhance your topic.

Parts of Kinesics 

Posture is the arrangement of your bones and muscles so that each area of the body is allowed to do its job to its best ability.

Gestures are when our arms and hands use their different types of movements to create emphasis, meaning, and symbols.

Facial expressions are when a speaker uses their face to communicate.

Eye contact is when the speaker meaningfully connects to the audience with their eyes.

Proxemics deals with space and location, specifically with how close humans are to each other. There is certainly a physical aspect to how bodies move together in spaces.  There is also a cultural connection to proxemics. Think about how you are around certain people. You probably have a specific comfortable distance you usually stand away from people, and that distance most likely varies based on who the other person is. You may also have that one friend who has no personal space and will talk very close to you.

Proxemics deals with space and location, specifically with how close humans are to each other.

Proxemics is important in public speaking. If a podium or table is in the room, you will need to make a choice whether to stand behind, in front, or move the object out of the way. You do not want to be too far away from our audience, as a connection with the audience is important. However, you also don’t want to be too close, potentially making your audience uncomfortable or cutting off eye contact to parts of your audience. If you choose to move during your speech, pay attention when you are moving away and when you are moving toward them. Increasing or decreasing your distance during specific parts of your speech can enhance your message.

How you look matters, but I often find my students oversimplify this idea. There isn’t one way to look or appear. My students frequently ask if they have to “dress up” for their speeches. I point out that appearance doesn’t appear anywhere in my grading rubric, but appearance impacts a speaker’s ethos. It is more important that you are thinking critically about your speaking appearance than relying on one way to always look.

When you have to speak in public, consider the details of the situation. Is there anything specific you should wear to the occasion? How will your clothing communicate? Will it interact with your meaning? In an advanced public speaking course I taught, an experienced public speaker who showed up to every speech day in a full suit and pantyhose. This student was a self-proclaimed nerd and a huge Trekkie, so for a humorous speech assignment, she chose the topic of Star Trek. In the feedback session, a classmate said, “it’s too bad you don’t have a Star Trek uniform. That would have really added to your speech.” The student’s face fell—of course she owned a uniform! But, it had never occurred to her to wear it because she was so used to dressing up for speeches. For her final speech, she wore her Star Trek uniform and noted how it was the first public speech she’d ever given in anything other than a suit, citing that as part of her growth. As long as you are critically thinking about your appearance during a speech, you will be able to make conscious choices about what to wear.

Types of Preparation and Delivery

There are four styles of delivery that tend to be most useful for public speaking: manuscript, memory, impromptu, and extemporaneous.

Speaking from a Manuscript

In my experience, speaking from a manuscript is the type of delivery people tend to want to try. I have had students say it makes them feel more safe and comfortable to have every word planned out. That is an advantage of speaking from a manuscript. Manuscript speaking should be used in cases where getting the exact words correct are very important. In cases of intense or emotional speaking, a manuscript can also be the best delivery method. I had the opportunity to give my father’s eulogy when I was 21. This was an instance when I choose to use a manuscript in order to have a very well-constructed speech in an emotional time. There may be formal contexts where a manuscript would be preferred or follows the norms of the occasion. Former President Obama is an excellent example of someone who employs manuscript speaking in emotional times like after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. A manuscript allowed the president to be comforting even in the face of tragedy.

If you plan to speak from a manuscript, you need to be aware of the challenges this type of speaking creates.  Effectively speaking from a manuscript is harder than most people anticipate. Remember, the words are only part of the issue. As we have seen in this chapter, there are so many other components that go into delivery. Reading from a manuscript often causes speakers to talk very fast and not look up enough to connect with the audience. Because of this, manuscript speaking often leads to an uninteresting or disconnected performance. But, this does not mean manuscript delivery can’t be done well. Delivery from a manuscript can be effective with a significant amount of time and practice.

Speaking from Memory

There are some instances that may benefit from a memorized speech . For example, you may find yourself in a situation where memorization is required, such a speaking contest. You may find times you don’t want to use notes, such as at a wedding giving a toast. Memorization can be very beneficial, especially if the speech is short or the material is very familiar to you.  First, memorization is the method that allows for the most audience connection. Since you don’t notes or a script to look at, you can engage your body, face, and eyes with the audience the entire time. Practicing your material thoroughly can put the speaker at ease.

But, like manuscript speaking, people greatly underestimate how much work it takes to speak from memory effectively. Different people have varying abilities when it comes to memorizing, but it almost always takes longer to memorize than people anticipate. You can’t just memorize the words, but rather you must know the material deeply in order to confidently speak from memory. Additionally, while the payoff can be great, so is the risk. Even with a lot of practice, speaking from memory may increase nerves and there is always a chance of a forgetting the material.  Even if a speaker is well rehearsed, blanking in the moment is possible. You will want to practice blanking and know how to handle it if it happens. Finally, you will need to work hard to speak in the moment. While this method does allow you the most freedom with your voice and body in the moment, it is common to sound over-rehearsed or on autopilot. Make sure you are staying in the moment by really talking to your audience instead of at them.

Try It: Tips for Memorizing

• The more you can do to help your brain remember, the easier it will be to learn your speech. One way to help is to color-code your script by point. If your intro is one color, your first point is a different color and so on, it will help your brain remember the pieces of your speech. Another way to help is to stand in the places you plan to give each point. If you plan to move, placing your color-coded part in that place to help you associate the words with the space can be very effective. This process mimics how Greek orators memorized long stories and passages. They would walk, associating the ideas with where they were.
• Combine content memorization with word for word memorization. Use your outline to memorize the flow of ideas, the main points and where they go. Then, if you mess up or forget the individual words in a spot, you will be able to default to talking about the main ideas or jumping to the next part you remember.
• Practice in multiple contexts. Moving contexts will help your brain recall in many different circumstances. If you only ever practice in the car, your body will not be used to standing to deliver. Practicing in multiple spaces and for actual people can help increase the trustworthiness of the memory recall.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking happens when a person has little or no time to prepare for the speaking situation. You may be thinking that this mode of delivery sounds terrifying, but you actually already practice impromptu speaking quite often. Anytime someone asks you for a short introduction about yourself, you speak to a group about yourself for a few minutes; or, when someone asks what you thought of the movie you just saw and you give a detailed answer, you are employing impromptu speaking. This method is not one that should be chosen for a speech you have time to or are required to prepare. Instead, think of this more as a skill or a recognition of circumstance to improve your speaking in these moments.

One key to impromptu speaking is to practice active listening. If you are in a meeting or a class where you know you may be called on to share your thoughts, intensely listening to what is happening and mentally engaging in the ideas will help you formulate your answer if someone asks you to talk. Anticipating impromptu opportunities can always be helpful in mentally preparing. I have been to several funerals and memorials where they open up the floor for people to share memories or say a few words. In these cases, I start thinking about what I want to say in advance by going over the order of my brief message in my head. In some cases, you may even want to jot down a few quick notes to help you stay focused.

Extemporaneous Speaking

The definition of extemporaneous speaking is to speak from limited notes. Extemporaneous speaking often gets confused with impromptu or off-the-cuff speaking, with people assuming you don’t have to prepare much before the speech. But, extemporaneous speaking is actually an engaged process that forces you to do a lot of research, organizing, and writing before you actively practice your delivery. There are several advantages of extemporaneous speaking. First, you are prepared but flexible in the moment. This level of preparation can prevent you from sounding robotic and encourage you to react to your specific audience in the speaking moment. Second, this type of speaking allows you opportunities to connect with the audience while not having to rely on your memory recall to know every word. Finally, you can adapt to your audience and the situation. If the audience laughs or reacts really well to something, you can mention it or add a reaction. If you are running out of time, you can make adjustments quickly to make sure you get out the most important information with the remaining speaking time.

The main disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is that most people are not familiar with this process and it takes some getting used to. Beginning speakers, even if they are attempting extemporaneous speaking, will often make outlines with too many details and not practice enough which usually turns into reading a script. The process for practicing a strong extemporaneous speech can feel very different than other types of speaking methods. Instead of spending the majority of the time crafting each word, you need to practice talking. This practice can feel non-intuitive to writers or people who want their speech to sound perfect. Instead of writing every word, you want to craft a strong outline to use while you speak. Then, you want to stand up and practice it. I will say that again so you really believe me—stand up and try it!! Do not wait until you think you have everything perfect. You will run out of time, as it will never be perfect. And, practicing will help you make your outline stronger. Strengthening your outline with help you speak better in the moment. Go back and forth until you think you have a strong grasp on the concepts and can speak from your notes in the strong way you practiced.

This type of delivery is often the most effective and the one you will probably utilize the most beyond speaking classes. I highly encourage you to learn this skill and to practice it.  You want to have a grasp of all of the styles of delivery. If you are in a class, that is a great place to practice extemporaneous speaking and get better at it. That way you understand and can use the multiple methods of delivering speeches. Extemporaneous speaking is often the most employed style in prepared speeches. It is what you will likely use in your job or at events you’ve been asked to speak. Learning how to do it well will be incredibly useful.

Remember, the most important thing is to choose the method that fits you and the situation best. You may also want to consider your strengthens and weaknesses as a speaker. The more you are critically thinking about the speech and it’s circumstances, the better qualified you are to make choices about how to best get your message to the audience.

Delivery and Audience Connection

You are not a tv.

Many speakers suffer from what I have termed “the TV effect.” Have you ever noticed your TV doesn’t care about you? If you are watching it and you have to leave to get a snack, the TV just keeps on playing. It doesn’t wait, and it doesn’t pause. Or, you laugh out loud at something in a show. The TV doesn’t pause for your laughter or even recognize you have laughed. At times, speakers act this way. They are nervous and just want to get the speech done. So, they get up and go! However, the brilliance of performance is how we can adjust in the moment and react to what is happening in our current situation. Your speaking is enhanced by the audiences’ reactions, the space you are speaking in, and how you are performing in the moment. Keep working to utilize the tools in this chapter to enhance your delivery during live performances.

You are not a train

The fear of doing something “wrong” often prevents speakers from achieving an audience connection. They are afraid they will mess up. I’ve even seen speakers ask to “start over” as if I am in control of them. Speakers often act like they are a train on train tracks. When it’s time to go, they go! They are chugging along, not looking up, not pausing, not paying attention to the audience, because they are afraid they will mess up and fall off the tracks. If a train is disturbed in its route, it doesn’t have a lot of options. It can go forward, backward, or just fall over. You are not on train tracks. Rather, you are in a field on a fairly trampled path. You have crafted the way to go but may veer off for one reason or another. If that happens, pick some berries, and find a way back to the path. Your audience may think that’s part of the journey or might be pleasantly surprised by the detour.

You are a tour guide!

Remember, your speech is a new destination where your audience has never been, and you are their tour guide. If you throw them onto the bus, hit the gas at 100 miles an hour, and never point out the sights, they are not going to enjoy the tour. You have the power to make it enjoyable for them. Help them onto the bus. Make sure they are comfortable. Connect with them. Go at a decent pace for them, so they don’t feel like you’re going to “crash.” Remember, that pace might be different than you want to go as the driver. Have you ever ridden with someone who is driving just a little too fast? They know they are in control because they are driving. But, the passenger does not necessarily feel comfortable. Adjust your pace with the audience in mind. Point out the important parts of your speech using emphasis. Make sure they can hear you. By being a good tour guide, your audience will definitely enjoy the trip!

Being yourself

When learning how to speak, speakers often fall into a few delivery traps when they are trying to deliver the speech “correctly.” They rely on reading or ignore their audience. Even when they conquer some of these basic delivery strategies, they still revert back and sound like a generic speaker. They fall into vocal patterns and don’t choose the pacing for their material or audience. They sound fine on the surface, but they don’t sound like themselves. In an attempt to do the speech “right,” speakers end up not actually being effective because they are not making conscious choices with themselves and the audience in mind.

Even if you are nervous, keep working to channel the verbal and physical qualities that are unique to you. Audiences want personality. Do not be afraid to let yours come through. You do not need to sound scripted or robotic to be an effective speaker. In fact, most people prefer someone who they can tell is a person beyond the confines of the speaking moment. One thing that can help you relax into being your engaging self is to think of yourself as an audience member. What do you enjoy? How do you want to be talked to? If you don’t enjoy monotone speaking (and few do), then work to have vocal variety. If you don’t want to work to hear and understand the words, work to be loud enough.  If you prefer someone who is smiling, connected and engaging you, then work to be that person! You have the power to be entertaining! It takes practice, but you are capable of engaging the audience as yourself.

Audience participation

It is tempting to think of a speech as a speaker standing in front of an audience dumping information on them. But, as we have learned in this chapter, delivering a speech is an interactive performance that involves both the speaker and the audience. The level of audience participation may vary based on the speech and situation. For example, there may be times you ask questions to the audience that you actually want them to answer. Make sure you are patient and give them enough time to answer, as they may be used to answering a speaker’s questions.

Regulators ,  or gestures that control the flow of interaction can be used here. This may involve head nodding or moving your arms in a way to encourage your audience to participate. You may even find yourself in situations where there is a question and answer session as part of your speaking opportunity. The more you know about your topic, the more at ease you will be during this period. It is common to fear that an audience member might ask a question and you don’t know the answer. If this happens, there is no need to fake your way through an answer. Just explain how you don’t have that specific information and potentially discuss where they could find it.

Regulators  are gestures that control the flow of interaction.

Actively listening to the question posed will help you formulate an answer. Don’t be afraid to be short and sweet. Often by that time, the audience has sat through your whole speech. While there are certainly times and occasions for drawn-out answers and discussions, be aware of how long you take to answer. They may be looking for a short supplement to what you already covered.

You have the power!

In the end, remember you are in charge of your vocal and physical choices as a speaker. It doesn’t always feel that way, but with practice and exercises, you will gain more awareness of what your voice and body are doing during a speech. Then, you will be able to make conscious choices to control them in order to make your speech more impactful. By working on delivery alongside the construction of your speech, you ensure your audience with be engaged and listening to you. Your practicing will help get your audience interested in your topic, retain what you are saying, and think deeply about your concepts.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2017 by Josh Miller; Marnie Lawler-Mcdonough; Megan Orcholski; Kristin Woodward; Lisa Roth; and Emily Mueller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

19.7 Spotlight on … Delivery/Public Speaking

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Implement various technologies effectively to address an audience, matching the capacities of each to the rhetorical situation.
• Apply conventions of speech delivery, such as voice control, gestures, and posture.
• Identify and show awareness of cultural considerations.

Think of a speech you have seen or heard, either in person, on television, or online. Was the speech delivered well, or was it poorly executed? What aspects of the performance make you say that? Both good and poor delivery of a speech can affect the audience’s opinion of the speaker and the topic. Poor delivery may be so distracting that even the message of a well-organized script with strong information is lost to the audience.

Speaking Genres: Spoken Word, Pulpit, YouTube, Podcast, Social Media

The world today offers many new (and old) delivery methods for script writing. While the traditional presidential address or commencement speech on a stage in front of a crowd of people is unlikely to disappear, newer script delivery methods are now available, including many that involve technology. From YouTube , which allows anyone to upload videos, to podcasts, which provide a platform for anyone, celebrities and noncelebrities alike, to produce a radio-like program, it seems that people are finding new ways to use technology to enhance communication. Free resources such as YouTube Studio and the extension TubeBuddy can be a good starting place to learn to create these types of media.

Voice Control

Whether the method is old or new, delivering communication in the speaking genre relies not only on words but also on the way those words are delivered. Remember that voice and tone are important in establishing a bond with your audience, helping them feel connected to your message, creating engagement, and facilitating comprehension. Vocal delivery includes these aspects of speech:

• Rate of speech refers to how fast or slow you speak. You must speak slowly enough to be understood but not so slowly that you sound unnatural and bore your audience. In addition, you can vary your rate, speeding up or slowing down to increase tension, emphasize a point, or create a dramatic effect.
• Volume refers to how loudly or softly you speak. As with rate, you do not want to be too loud or too soft. Too soft, and your speech will be difficult or impossible to hear, even with amplification; too loud, and it will be distracting or even painful for the audience. Ideally, you should project your voice, speaking from the diaphragm, according to the size and location of the audience and the acoustics of the room. You can also use volume for effect; you might use a softer voice to describe a tender moment between mother and child or a louder voice to emphatically discuss an injustice.
• Pitch refers to how high or low a speaker’s voice is to listeners. A person’s vocal pitch is unique to that person, and unlike the control a speaker has over rate and volume, some physical limitations exist on the extent to which individuals can vary pitch. Although men generally have lower-pitched voices than women, speakers can vary their pitch for emphasis. For example, you probably raise your pitch naturally at the end of a question. Changing pitch can also communicate enthusiasm or indicate transition or closure.
• Articulation refers to how clearly a person produces sounds. Clarity of voice is important in speech; it determines how well your audience understands what you are saying. Poor articulation can hamper the effect of your script and even cause your audience to feel disconnected from both you and your message. In general, articulation during a presentation before an audience tends to be more pronounced and dramatic than everyday communication with individuals or small groups. When presenting a script, avoid slurring and mumbling. While these may be acceptable in informal communication, in presented speech they can obscure your message.
• Fluency refers to the flow of speech. Speaking with fluency is similar to reading with fluency. It’s not about how fast you can speak, but how fluid and meaningful your speech is. While inserting pauses for dramatic effect is perfectly acceptable, these are noticeably different from awkward pauses that result from forgetting a point, losing your place, or becoming distracted. Practicing your speech can greatly reduce fluency issues. A word on verbal fillers , those pesky words or sounds used to fill a gap or fluency glitch: utterances such as um , ah , and like detract from the fluency of your speech, distract the audience from your point, and can even reduce your credibility. Again, practice can help reduce their occurrence, and self-awareness can help you speak with more fluency.

Gestures and Expressions

Beyond vocal delivery, consider also physical delivery variables such as gestures and facial expressions . While not all speech affords audiences the ability to see the speaker, in-person, online, and other forms of speech do. Gestures and facial expressions can both add to and detract from effective script delivery, as they can help demonstrate emotion and enthusiasm for the topic. Both have the ability to emphasize points, enhance tone, and engage audiences.

Eye contact is another form of nonverbal, physical communication that builds community, communicates comfort, and establishes credibility. Eye contact also can help hold an audience’s attention during a speech. It is advisable to begin your speech by establishing eye contact with the audience. One idea is to memorize your opening and closing statements to allow you to maintain consistent eye contact during these important sections of the script and strengthen your connection with the audience.

Although natural engagement through gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact can help an audience relate to a presenter and even help establish community and trust, these actions also can distract audiences from the content of the script if not used purposefully. In general, as with most delivery elements, variation and a happy medium between “too much” and “too little” are key to an effective presentation. Some presenters naturally have more expressive faces, but all people can learn to control and use facial expressions and gestures consciously to become more effective speakers. Practicing your speech in front of a mirror will allow you to monitor, plan, and practice these aspects of physical delivery.

Posture and Movement

Other physical delivery considerations include posture and movement. Posture is the position of the body. If you have ever been pestered to “stand up straight,” you were being instructed on your posture. The most important consideration for posture during a speech is that you look relaxed and natural. You don’t want to be slumped over and leaning on the podium or lectern, but you also don’t want a stiff, unnatural posture that makes you look stilted or uncomfortable. In many speeches, the speaker’s posture is upright as they stand behind a podium or at a microphone, but this is not always the case. Less formal occasions and audiences may call for movement of the whole body. If this informality fits your speech, you will need to balance movement with the other delivery variables. This kind of balance can be challenging. You won’t want to wander aimlessly around the stage or pace back and forth on the same path. Nor will you want to shuffle your feet, rock, or shift your weight back and forth. Instead, as with every other aspect of delivery, you will want your movements to be purposeful, with the intention of connecting with or influencing your audience. Time your movements to occur at key points or transitions in the script.

Cultural Considerations

Don’t forget to reflect on cultural considerations that relate to your topic and/or audience. Cultural awareness is important in any aspect of writing, but it can have an immediate impact on a speech, as the audience will react to your words, gestures, vocal techniques, and topic in real time. Elements that speakers don’t always think about—including gestures, glances, and changes in tone and inflection—can vary in effectiveness and even politeness in many cultures. Consideration for cultural cues may include the following:

• Paralanguage : voiced cultural considerations, including tone, language, and even accent.
• Kinesics : body movements and gestures that may include facial expressions. Often part of a person’s subconscious, kinesics can be interpreted in various ways by members of different cultures. Body language can include posture, facial expressions (smiling or frowning), and even displays of affection.
• Proxemics : interpersonal space that regulates intimacy. Proxemics might indicate how close to an audience a speaker is located, whether the speaker moves around, and even how the speaker greets the audience.
• Chronemics : use of time. Chronemics refers to the duration of a script.
• Appearance : clothing and physical appearance. The presentation of appearance is a subtle form of communication that can indicate the speaker’s identity and can be specific to cultures.

Stage Directions

You can think proactively about ways to enhance the delivery of your script, including vocal techniques, body awareness, and cultural considerations. Within the draft of your script, create stage directions . An integral part of performances such as plays and films, stage directions can be as simple as writing in a pause for dramatic effect or as complicated as describing where and how to walk, what facial expressions to make, or how to react to audience feedback.

Look at this example from the beginning of the student sample. Stage directions are enclosed in parentheses and bolded.

student sample text Several years ago, I sat in the waiting area of a major airport, trying to ignore the constant yapping of a small dog cuddled on the lap of a fellow passenger. An airline rep approached the woman and asked the only two questions allowed by law. (high-pitched voice with a formal tone) “Is that a service animal? (pause) What service does it provide for you?” end student sample text

student sample text (bold, defiant, self-righteous tone) “Yes. It keeps me from having panic attacks,” the woman said defiantly, and the airline employee retreated. (move two steps to the left for emphasis) end student sample text

student sample text Shortly after that, another passenger arrived at the gate. (spoken with authority) She gripped the high, stiff handle on the harness of a Labrador retriever that wore a vest emblazoned with the words “The Seeing Eye.” (speed up speech and dynamic of voice for dramatic effect) Without warning, the smaller dog launched itself from its owner’s lap, snarling and snapping at the guide dog. (move two steps back to indicate transition) end student sample text

Now it’s your turn. Using the principle illustrated above, create stage directions for your script. Then, practice using them by presenting your script to a peer reviewer, such as a friend, family member, or classmate. Also consider recording yourself practicing your script. Listen to the recording to evaluate it for delivery, fluency, and vocal fillers. Remember that writing is recursive: you can make changes based on what works and what doesn’t after you implement your stage directions. You can even ask your audience for feedback to improve your delivery.

Podcast Publication

If possible, work with your instructor and classmates to put together a single podcast or a series of podcasts according to the subject areas of the presentations. The purpose of these podcasts should be to invite and encourage other students to get involved in important causes. Work with relevant student organizations on campus to produce and publicize the podcasts for maximum impact. There are many free resources for creating podcasts, including Apple’s GarageBand and Audacity .

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/writing-guide/pages/1-unit-introduction

• Authors: Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Maria Jerskey, featuring Toby Fulwiler
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Writing Guide with Handbook
• Publication date: Dec 21, 2021
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/writing-guide/pages/1-unit-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/writing-guide/pages/19-7-spotlight-on-delivery-public-speaking

© Dec 19, 2023 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

Press ESC to close

Mastering Effective Speech Delivery: From Practice to Performance

Start this journey! Dive into the amazing world of effective speech delivery. Find out the secrets of how to engage an audience. Transform practice into incredible performances!

Connect with the audience from the start. Get their attention with interesting opening lines and stories. This sets the stage for a remarkable speech.

Understand body language and vocal projection. Use facial expressions, gestures, and tone to emphasize your message. Show confidence and be authoritative.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is a shining example of great communication. King inspired millions with his passion and words. It’s proof of the potential of effective speech.

To be a masterful speaker, practice storytelling, connecting with an audience, and using body language. Draw inspiration from great orators. Embrace your inner orator! Make a lasting impact with your words.

Importance of Effective Speech Delivery

Delivering a speech effectively is essential for capturing the audience’s attention and getting your message across. Here are 4 key reasons why:

• Engagement: Deliver your speech in an engaging way and your listeners will stay hooked until the end. This ensures that your message resonates with them.
• Clarity: Delivery makes your speech clearer. This helps people understand your words and the main points of your message.
• Persuasion: Good delivery has a persuasive effect. Use the right tone, gestures, and body language to establish a connection with the audience and sway them towards your viewpoint.
• Rapport-building: Effective delivery builds a rapport between you and the audience. Your confident demeanor builds trust and engagement.

It is also important to remember that delivery requires practice and preparation. Pay attention to vocal variety, pacing, enunciation, body posture, and gestures.

Take Tony Robbins as an example – he once gave an inspiring speech that changed the lives of many. His passion filled every word and the crowd was entranced. By delivering the speech with such passion and conviction, Tony Robbins inspired and empowered the audience, leaving a lasting impact on their lives.

Preparing for Speech Delivery

Maximize potential as a speaker and successfully convey your message with this 6-step guide on prepared speech delivery . Follow these steps:

• Determine the purpose and select the topic .
• Research for relevant information and supportive evidence .
• Create an outline, using headings and subheadings .
• Craft an attention-grabbing intro and clearly state the purpose .
• Follow with a coherent presentation of main points and examples .
• Incorporate visuals like slides or props to enhance understanding .
• Lastly, practice delivery techniques like pacing, modulation, body language, and eye contact . Get feedback from others to refine further.

Don’t forget to refine language for the target audience. Look to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for inspiration – a powerful, passionate, and compelling speech that captivated the audience and started a movement.

Practicing Speech Delivery

Learn the art of speech delivery with this 6-step guide !

• Prep : Research & gather info. Organize thoughts and make an outline.
• Warm-up : Do vocal exercises like breathing, tongue twisters & scales.
• Memorize : Get key points down. Practice without notes or prompts.
• Body Language : Check your facial expressions, gestures & posture in a mirror.
• Rehearse : Keep increasing the speed & emphasize important words.
• Feedback : Get constructive criticism from trusted people. Join a club to practice.

Remember, each individual has a unique style. Embrace it & stay open to learning opportunities.

True History: Winston Churchill was a master of speech delivery . His powerful speeches during WWII motivated & inspired the UK. He was meticulous in his prep & used rhetorical devices to great effect. His speech delivery had a major impact on history.

Techniques for Effective Speech Delivery

Speech delivery is key to captivating your audience and getting your message across. To master the skill, here are three techniques to enhance it:

• Body Language: Move and gesture purposefully to engage the audience. Use hand and facial expressions to emphasize points and convey emotions. Stand tall and keep an open posture.
• Vocal Range and Tone: Vary your pitch, volume, and tone. Pause for emphasis and modulate your voice for a dynamic flow.
• Eye Contact: Establish eye contact with your audience to build trust. Look at individuals or small groups. Make your speech personal and persuasive.

Remember, successful speech delivery goes beyond words. To perfect it, rehearse in front of a mirror or record yourself. Practice makes perfect!

Also Read: Find Your Passion: A Path to Self-Discovery and Fulfillment

Overcoming Nervousness

Nerves can trip up even the most eloquent speakers, but with a few effective strategies, you can conquer them. Preparing is key. Invest time in practicing your speech and knowing it backwards and forwards. This will build confidence and reduce nervousness.

Visualize success too. Imagine you’re delivering an awesome speech to a captivated audience. This exercise helps create positive thoughts and boosts your assurance.

Controlled breathing is invaluable for fighting nerves. Slow, deep breaths can soothe the mind and relax the body. Taking care of yourself – like getting enough sleep, eating well and exercising – also helps reduce anxiety.

Let me share an inspiring story. A young executive was set to give a presentation to lots of industry experts. Despite feeling jittery beforehand, she practiced and rehearsed her speech. On the day, she focused on visualizing success and took deep breaths for inner calmness. As she spoke confidently and connected with the audience, her nerves vanished. By using these strategies, she conquered her nerves and gave an outstanding performance.

As this tale shows, conquering nervousness isn’t impossible. With dedication, visualization exercises, controlled breathing and self-care – anyone can beat their anxiety and speak confidently. Remember everyone gets nervous sometimes – how we manage it makes us stand out as confident speakers.

Tips for Captivating the Audience

To captivate your listeners , you need effective speech delivery! Here are some tips to try:

• Be personal: Relate to the audience with anecdotes or experiences.
• Use body language: Use gestures, facial expressions, and posture to make your message more impactful.
• Tell stories: Storytelling adds emotion and helps the audience understand your message better.
• Use visual aids: Slides or props can add visual interest and comprehension to your speech.
• Pause for emphasis: Pauses give time to reflect, create suspense, and highlight important points.

Adapt your speech to meet the needs of your listeners. And don’t forget the power of humor! Incorporate tasteful humor at appropriate moments to keep engagement high.

Did you know? Visuals can increase information retention in the audience by a whopping 400%!

Also Read: Top 100 Commonly Used A to Z Phrasal Verbs for English Fluency

For great speech delivery, it’s important to practice and plan. Engage the audience with body language, vocal variation, and clear pronunciation . Incorporate visuals and tech to boost the impact of the speech. Adapt to the audience’s needs and interests to keep their attention. Remember that practice makes perfect!

To make it unique, include storytelling techniques to engage the audience emotionally. Use rhetorical devices like similes and metaphors . Also, adjust pacing and rhythm for emphasis.

We recall an inspiring incident involving Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, inspired millions. His voice and powerful message advocating for racial equality captivated the audience. His ability to connect emotionally, through vivid language and imagery, showcases the power of effective speech delivery. Know More – The Fluent Life

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What are some tips for effective speech delivery? A: Some tips for effective speech delivery include practicing beforehand, using body language and gestures, speaking clearly and confidently, and engaging the audience through eye contact.

Q2: How can I improve my speaking voice for better speech delivery? A: To improve your speaking voice, you can try exercises like breathing techniques, vocal warm-ups, and speaking with proper posture. It is also helpful to listen to and mimic good speakers to develop your own style.

Q3: How do I overcome nervousness when delivering a speech?| A: To overcome nervousness when delivering a speech , you can prepare well in advance, practice in front of a mirror or with a supportive audience, focus on your message rather than your fear, and use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.

Q4: What are some common mistakes to avoid during speech delivery? A: Some common mistakes to avoid during speech delivery include speaking too fast or too slow, using excessive filler words like um or uh, reading directly from notes instead of engaging with the audience, and lacking enthusiasm or energy in delivery.

Q5: How can I keep the audience engaged during my speech? A: To keep the audience engaged during your speech, you can use storytelling, humor, visual aids, rhetorical questions, and interactive elements like asking for volunteers or involving the audience in small activities. It is also important to maintain a confident and enthusiastic delivery.

Q6: What are effective ways to conclude a speech for a strong impact?

A: Effective ways to conclude a speech for a strong impact include summarizing key points, providing a memorable closing statement or call-to-action, using inspirational quotes or stories, and leaving the audience with a thought-provoking question or idea to ponder upon.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Share Article:

You might also like

Public Speaking for Social Impact: A Strong Tool

Public Speaking in Digital Age: Webinars and Online Conferences

Public Speaking Ethics: Principles of Responsible Communication

Other stories, building confidence in public speaking: be successful speaker, effective audience engagement techniques: keep them interested.

My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

Speech Delivery

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

In this article:

Types of Speech Delivery

Aspects of physical delivery.

There are four primary types of speech delivery: Manuscript, Memorized, Impromptu, and Extemporaneous.

Memorized , like it sounds, involves committing your entire speech to memory. Once again, this sounds great. But, practically speaking, who has time to memorize even a short speech? And like a manuscript speech, you can’t adapt to feedback from the audience.

An Impromptu speech is one that you are asked to deliver with little or no preparation. Chances are, that if you’re on this site, impromptu speeches aren’t what you are expected to deliver.

Finally, the Extemporaneous speech is a speech delivered with some prepared structure, such as notes or an outline, but is otherwise delivered off-the-cuff. In most cases, this is going to be your best choice. The notes allow you to structure your speech, without handcuffing you in the event that your audience needs you to adapt. Also, you will sound more natural and conversational, and this will help hold audience attention.

There are six aspects of physical delivery that will be covered in this section: voice use, facial expressions, eye contact, gesturing, and movement.

Can We Write Your Speech?

Get your audience blown away with help from a professional speechwriter. Free proofreading and copy-editing included.

Effective voice use involves several elements. Naturally, one of the most important aspects is volume. As a speaker, you must be loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room, but not so loud that you sound unnatural or bossy. Monitor the nonverbal feedback of audience members in the back of the room, if they are leaning forward or concentrating abnormally hard, you may need to speak up. It is also necessary to vary the pitch, rate, and tone of your voice to avoid sounding monotonous. We’ve all experienced the agony of listening to a monotonous-voiced speaker. This doesn’t mean that you need to be extremely flamboyant or obnoxious. Overall, you should just strive for a casual, conversational voice.

Your audience gathers a lot of information from your facial expressions . If your facial expressions and your spoken words conflict, the audience is likely to believe your face. So make sure that your facial expressions mesh with the feelings and ideas being expressed. Basically, a good rule of thumb for facial expressions (as well as gestures) is to do what comes naturally. There is no need to be overly theatrical with your facial expressions in a speech. And remember, if it’s at all appropriate, you can’t go wrong with a smile.

The simple rule on eye contact is this: The more, the better. A good strategy for eye contact is to make brief (a beat or two) eye contact with members of the audience in one section of the audience and then move to another section. Ideally, you should be making eye contact with someone whenever words are being spoken in your speech. Beware of this trap: People naturally tend to focus their eye contact on the person that is giving them the best nonverbal feedback (smiling, nodding, etc.). If you find yourself focusing too much on this person, work on moving to others.

One of the most common questions that people have about public speaking is: What do I do with my hands? The quick and easy answer is: Whatever comes naturally (unless clutching the podium is what comes naturally). The key to good gesturing is variety, which most of us have in our everyday gestures.

The final aspect of physical delivery is movement . If you are positioned behind a podium, your movements are obviously going to be restricted. But if you are not using a podium, feel free to walk to different parts of the stage as you deliver your speech. This keeps different parts of the audience involved and adds variety. Don’t just wander in place, though. If your feet move, go somewhere.

Visual Aids

Speech Anxiety

Leave a Comment

I accept the Privacy Policy

Reach out to us for sponsorship opportunities

Vivamus integer non suscipit taciti mus etiam at primis tempor sagittis euismod libero facilisi.

© 2024 My Speech Class