Cerry
Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2007
- Messages
- 222
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2008
The music is a grey area. It can be great, or it can totally detract from what you're trying to say. And sometimes, it's just plain inappropriate. If you are in a situation where it would be appropriate (like a speech on a famous musician), then it might be OK to use it, but it would have to be background music, which won't distract people (never had it happen in a speech, but I've had people start playing percussion on their desk, or have impromptu singalongs while I'm trying to give a singing performances, and it's really distracting for both me and the audience). Obscure stuff is also a no go, because people are likely to sit there trying to work out what the music is, rather than listening to you.
The rule on no palm cards is shit - it's much more professional to use palm cards than an A4 sheet. However, if that's the case, you have to deal with it.
I've been told by several adjuticators that memorising a speech is actually a bad idea. You should never go for word-for-word memorisation, because it becomes very obvious, and if you lose your place, then you'll probably freak out, and the whole thing falls apart. However, you should know what you're talking about. The best way to do a speech is to have enough of an idea of what you're saying so that you can work from just a few notes, that will trigger your memory, and have any important statistics, dates etc written down, because they're the things you're most likely to forget if you're nervous. If you were doing a speech on elephants, then your notes would be something like
*African, Indian
*Trunks - drinking and bathing
*Gestation period __ months
*Poaching
*Elephants in popular culture
When you're trying to learn your speech, practising is the best way to go. Start off with your speech in front of you. Read it once or twice, then try to do it from memory. Write down a note about anything you forget, and try to say the speech just from these notes. You'll find that you'll have to look at your notes for some things every time, and those are the most important things to have on your page of notes. There are some things that will sink in after the 2nd or 3rd run through, and they're the things you cut from your notes if you can't fit everything on one page. Once you've got your notes finalised, then either make a video of yourself giving the speech, and watch it back, or if you can't do that, then practise in front of a mirror with a tape recorder, watch yourself in the mirror as you speak, and listen to the recording afterwards. You'll be amazed how many little habits, like swaying on the spot, or fiddling with your clothes you'll find, and how easy they are to fix once you know about them. You'll probably also find dodgy spots in the speech you hadn't noticed before, which you can then focus on.
If you're in front of the class giving your speech and forget something, then don't panic, just slow down, and think about what you're saying. Most of the time, you can work it out with just a tiny pause, and people in the audience won't even notice. If worst comes to worst, ad lib until you get your thoughts together, or just skip the bit you don't know all together.
Hope that's helped, even if it is a bit long and rambly
The rule on no palm cards is shit - it's much more professional to use palm cards than an A4 sheet. However, if that's the case, you have to deal with it.
I've been told by several adjuticators that memorising a speech is actually a bad idea. You should never go for word-for-word memorisation, because it becomes very obvious, and if you lose your place, then you'll probably freak out, and the whole thing falls apart. However, you should know what you're talking about. The best way to do a speech is to have enough of an idea of what you're saying so that you can work from just a few notes, that will trigger your memory, and have any important statistics, dates etc written down, because they're the things you're most likely to forget if you're nervous. If you were doing a speech on elephants, then your notes would be something like
*African, Indian
*Trunks - drinking and bathing
*Gestation period __ months
*Poaching
*Elephants in popular culture
When you're trying to learn your speech, practising is the best way to go. Start off with your speech in front of you. Read it once or twice, then try to do it from memory. Write down a note about anything you forget, and try to say the speech just from these notes. You'll find that you'll have to look at your notes for some things every time, and those are the most important things to have on your page of notes. There are some things that will sink in after the 2nd or 3rd run through, and they're the things you cut from your notes if you can't fit everything on one page. Once you've got your notes finalised, then either make a video of yourself giving the speech, and watch it back, or if you can't do that, then practise in front of a mirror with a tape recorder, watch yourself in the mirror as you speak, and listen to the recording afterwards. You'll be amazed how many little habits, like swaying on the spot, or fiddling with your clothes you'll find, and how easy they are to fix once you know about them. You'll probably also find dodgy spots in the speech you hadn't noticed before, which you can then focus on.
If you're in front of the class giving your speech and forget something, then don't panic, just slow down, and think about what you're saying. Most of the time, you can work it out with just a tiny pause, and people in the audience won't even notice. If worst comes to worst, ad lib until you get your thoughts together, or just skip the bit you don't know all together.
Hope that's helped, even if it is a bit long and rambly
ohh no!
