Speech Contest Planning

Make sure you have adequately prepared for your speech before the contest.

If you are going to be in a speech contest, make sure you are adequately prepared. To plan your speech, you will need to find out the rules for the competition. You should find a topic that is going to be interesting and not controversial. When you have your speech outline, you have to practice, over and over again. During a speech contest, it helps if you know your speech without looking at index cards or notes.

Instructions

1. Present your speech to some friends and family. Once you have your speech topic and outline put together, invite four or five people over to critique your presentation. Make sure you have people that will give you honest feedback so you can make adjustments and amendments to your speech for the better.

2. Ask for feedback concerning different aspects of the speech. Get feedback from everyone concerning your voice inflection, hand gestures, body movements and eye contact. Make sure you have the right voice inflection at the right time. You should not speak in a monotone voice throughout the speech. During the speech, you want to use your hands but you don’t want to overdo it. Your body movements should be smooth and natural and make you look relaxed and not uptight. Your eye contact should flow across the room. At some point, you should make sure you make eye contact with everyone. Try not to stare at anyone.

3. Go to the speech site and practice. It helps if you can practice at the site where the contest will actually take place. Practicing at the site helps you warm up and get used to the venue. The closer you come to replicating the exact contest conditions, the more comfortable and prepared you will be. Your confidence will increase significantly from this process.

4. Continue to practice on a regular basis until the day of the competition. You can never practice enough. Go through your entire speech from start to finish at least 40 or 50 times, if not more. Continue practicing until you are relaxed and confident during the presentation. Get a good night's sleep the night before the competition. See if you can deliver your speech in the order that makes you the most comfortable. Some people like to give their speech first and some like to be the last participant to present their speech. Try to select the order that makes you feel the most comfortable.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask for ways to improve your speech.

• Find ways to inject humor into your speech (if applicable). People can really connect with you when you have a sense of humor.

• Involve the audience in your speech. You will really be able to build rapport with this process.

• You may consider joining a toastmaster club, which helps those looking to improve their public speaking skills. To gain the most advantage from a club of this sort, you will need to join at least six months prior to the contest.

References

• Toastmasters International; Speech Contests FAQ