2 DEVELOPING YOUR FIRST SPEECH

WHY PREPARE?

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For beginning speakers, preparation is crucial. The more rigorously you prepare your speech, the more likely you’ll avoid three common problems that inexperienced public speakers typically encounter:

Leaving too little time for planning and practicing. Students who wait until the last minute to develop their speeches usually deliver weaker addresses than their better-prepared classmates. Why? If you put off your assignment until just before the due date, you can’t plan or practice your presentation. And without a plan or sufficient practice, you risk losing track of your thoughts while delivering your speech.
Focusing on length rather than quality. Beginners sometimes focus more on meeting time requirements than on developing their ideas. They write down the first thoughts that come to mind or simply insert chunks of researched material. They don’t consider what information might be most interesting, useful, or convincing to their listeners, nor do they try to organize their ideas in a way that their audience can easily follow. The result? A disjointed, lackluster presentation.
Failing to follow the assignment. A speech may impress a classroom full of beginning speakers if it’s delivered well and includes interesting details. Yet it will not succeed if it fails to meet your instructor’s assignment regarding such matters as which topics are acceptable, how the speech should be organized, and how many sources are required. Make sure to clarify such expectations before preparing your speech.

Fortunately, you don’t have to succumb to these challenges. This chapter introduces steps of the speechmaking process that will help you avoid these stumbling blocks and deliver a successful speech.