Public speaking and speeches.

I have a public speaking class and I have to say a short speech about myself in a creative way. Speaking in front of the crowd makes me anxious but I have to face my fears right? So yeah, could you maybe suggest a creative way to present my speech? Bringing an object and relating it to myself seems a little dull and I can't think of anything else.

Practice practice practice.

Practicing for a speech is often less about the words themselves than practicing how you are going to feel giving it. When you practice, don’t just recite the words, stand up, gesture, and make eye contact with your imaginary audience. Practice with your body and your emotions, not just the recitation.

Practice also means giving the speech in different voices. Pretend that you are a coach shouting out the most inspiring speech of your players’ lives. Then give your speech like it’s a death soliloquy in a cheesy drama. Keep picking different characters and moods; it will help with the jitters (and the memorization).

Change your stances, don’t just practice how you will present yourself to the crowd and practice how you won’t present yourself. People often report that they were giving a speech, suddenly realized that they had ___ed, and then they fell apart. They caught themselves with their tongue out or wiggling their foot or fiddling with their hair or they hear their voice crack or get a hitch in their throat. Then they got embarrassed and the whole presentation went to the dogs. Practice maintaining your concentration when things are awkward and when you are awkward.

In this case, an object might be good for you because it’s something to do with your hands. Think about it, whether you bring something along or not is fine, but try to look at it as an option rather than a question that must be answered correctly or you face being “dull”. Don’t worry about reinventing the wheel and changing how speeches are given for all time; instead, make choices that will help you be confident, even comfortable.

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