One of my favorite classes in college was a public speaking course I took in my senior year. In truth, I took it to fulfill a requirement, because it seemed like an easy ‘A’ – and it was (I finished the midterm in about fifteen minutes and missed one or two questions). However, I really enjoyed the class and got a lot out of it.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are frequently blessed (that’s the right word, right?) with the opportunity to present talks in Sacrament meeting. I would like to share a few suggestions that I learned from my public speaking class, along with some I picked up in a teacher development class a few years back.
1. Don’t write out your entire talk. When you write your entire talk verbatim, you get distracted if you don’t recite it exactly. You get flustered when you use your place. Instead, go back to that old high school outline trick. I like to write out my first sentence (so when I get supernervous, I have a jumping off point), and then my main points. On a side note, if you have any direct quotes, write them in their entirety, as well as the source.
I should also note that writing your talk as an outline gives you a little more flexibility. Therefore, if the Spirit prompts you to include something at the last minute, or you want to reference a talk or point made before you reached the stand, it is easier to inject.
2. Write your scriptures in your talk. A lot of people get distracted and lose their place looking up quotes from their quads. Even when you have them bookmarked, flipping to them still takes time and pretty much ensures you lose your pace and rhythm, two things that you have to recover before you can move on. Furthermore, I would challenge you to cite scriptures the same way the General Conference speakers do. Have you ever noticed that they don’t say, “In 2 Nephi 2:13….”? Instead, they give us general terms. “As Lehi talked to his son, Jacob….” If they specify, they leave it at the chapter. One thing I learned in my teacher development class was the reason: they don’t want their listeners distracted, trying to locate the specific verse. They want us to pay attention to the talk itself.
3. Use note cards. Most people I’ve seen write our their talk (or print it from the computer) on an 8×11 page or three. When you look up at the audience, you lose your place. But when you use note cards and an outline form, it’s easy to cycle through them. One caveat, however: number the cards. That way, if you drop them, they are easy to reorganize.
4. Look at the audience. Although gazing out at a large crowd can be nerve-wracking, glancing around can help your listeners take more from your speech. It reduces the robot-sounding read-through and will encourage listeners to ponder what they are hearing.
5. Practice, practice, practice. One ‘problem’ with using an outline form is that it pretty much requires you to practice delivering your talk at least once, and preferably several times – sad news for the Saturday night procrastinators. However, practicing will make your delivery easier, and will also give you more confidence. Since it requires preparation, it also makes it easier for the Lord to help and prompt you.
6. Pray about your talk. Don’t just pray before you prepare it; pray before you deliver it. The Lord will be glad to help and direct you, if you just give Him the opportunity.
Please note that these are all technical points, not spiritual ones. However, I hope that they will help improve the mechanical portion of the talk, leaving you free to develop the spiritual side.
Now, since a counselor in the branch presidency just called and invited me to give a talk, I suppose I should go prepare!
Recommended Reading:
Primary Time: Five Easy Topics for Talks