First, let’s adjust your mindset a bit; then we’ll be able to lighten the load a lot. There are two things you should keep in mind as you prepare your speech that will make preparation a joy rather than a burden. Once we learn to base our planning on these we will take a very different path from the method of writing out every word then delivering every sentence from memory exactly as it is written down. So here’s the big “secret”: The audience doesn’t know what you’re going to say. They don’t care if you use the exact words you practice with, as long as they get your meaning. Therefore, there is no point in planning every word of the speech precisely. Yes, punchlines, legal formulas, definitions, and quotes better be right, but other than that you just need to be sure you get across your meaning. I have had students use this plan to learn a speech. When they spoke they would sometimes substitute one word for another but then backtrack to correct themselves. It might go something like this: “If you’re going to start a business it might be wise to consult a lawyer, I mean an attorney”, which sounds awkward. It also lets the audience know that you are focused on the words rather than their meaning. This can be a signal that you are merely repeating phrases you don’t understand. So let’s get you into something bit more comfortable, and practical.
Alright, you say, my old method may have been hard, but at least it was a method. Now you tell me not to use it. What have you got? So glad you asked. I use the preparation period as the time I memorize my speech. And here’s another secret: I DON’T memorize my speech. I memorize parts of it. Here’s how it works.
First, I come up with one sentence that is the main point of my talk, my thesis, you could say. I do this before any other prep because if I don’t know what my point is I can hardly decide what to use during planning, can I? This should be something that can be stated in one sentence. This is the guiding idea of our presentation so it should make a nice summary. There is the first thing I memorize – my point. One sentence. You can do that. Try it now with some topic you’d like to speak on, and write it down. Now. Before you forget or start making excuses.
Next, as you gather your thoughts and your materials you will begin to decide what your main points will be. Maybe they need to go in a specific order, but that’s a different blog post. Right now we just know that we’ve come up with three or four supporting points or arguments that will make up your talk. Each of those points should have a couple of key words in them. Find those keywords. They are your next assignment. Once you have picked them out of the lineup, so to speak, You will have an quick time keeping them in mind.
Here’s a real-life example. I once gave a talk to several hundred young people. I was told the topic was to be friendship. The main idea of the talk was that there were some specific ways to chose friends. The three points I made were there are people you it is good to be friends with, people it is not wise to be friends with, and people who need you to be their friend. I boiled these sentences down to the keywords should, shouldn’t, and need. If you are counting with me you know I have memorized one sentence and three keywords. If I really know the meaning of my message this should take me very far. I wrote these keywords on a 3x5” note card with a Sharpie in letters so large I could read them three feet away with my glasses off, which I ended up doing because I move around when I speak. But I didn’t really need the card, because it was easy to remember my thoughts. I simply wrapped up my keywords in similar sentences like “there are people you should be friends with”, and “there are the ones you shouldn’t be friends with.”
So there you have a great start on learning your material. Get a clear message first, know the ideas behind it. If the topic already has meaning for you the keywords should be enough to bring out your message as it does mine.
This is a good stopping point for this blog. Obviously there is more to building a speech, but remember, this blog is about memorizing one. We are attacking the biggest source of fears first.
And besides, you haven’t done you homework, have you? I want you to pick two or three topics, sum up a message in one sentence, then write several other sentences to support that message. Once that’s all written down for one topic, see how quickly you can recall your topic sentence and you keywords. Turn your paper over and try to say them out loud.
If you put complete sentences together from your recall of the keywords you will have given a short speech!
Let me know in the comments of any questions or snags that come up as you work through this method this week.
