 Well, we've arrived at the topic for public speaking where everybody thinks we're probably going to start and spend most of our time And that is delivery Many people think of delivery as the great obstacle is a great challenge in public speaking And as we've found there are lots of other things that come into consideration before we get to delivery However, now that we're here, let's talk about how delivery is important how we can Maximize our impact through delivery and and use delivery most effectively as public speakers So to start let's talk about the different delivery styles that there are Just very quickly first you have manuscript style Which is where you just type out every word every word that you're going to say is there on a piece of paper And that's nice to have it in front of you You can you can work with that but manuscript speaking can come off a little stiff And and you can be bound to that What if you get into it and your audience isn't isn't buying what you're selling and you need to make some Adjustments you can't do that with a manuscript speech. You are locked in so Manuscript speaking can be effective in formal occasions where language is critically important just the exact appropriate language is really important But otherwise it can be a little confining and a little tough to deliver Effectively, you also have memorized speech, which is all the same You know kind of advantages but and challenges of manuscript speaking except you add in the layer of having to memorize it You don't have any notes there in front of you And this is traditionally it was the way that the speeches were expected to be delivered They were expected to be memorized and but that's just not the case anymore Again unless there's some specific reason that you need to memorize a speech It's not something that is necessarily expected in public speaking at this point to memorize the speech Word for word and deliver it in that way. You can really get tricky with you know You get in the middle of your speech and all of a sudden you can't remember what the next word is Well, you're not gonna be able to remember the one after that or the one after that You're gonna be really hung up. So it can be a real challenge Maybe necessary in some occasions, but if it's not I would necessarily recommend it Another type of delivery style is impromptu. This is where you know, you're sitting in a meeting and your boss says Hey, what do you think about this? And so hopefully you come up with some sort of somewhat organized thought that you can provide but you're really looking at something pretty limited You're not gonna get into, you know, 15 different points probably and things if you haven't prepared those These are speeches that are just kind of off the cuff. They happen fairly regularly Remember in these instances, we want to keep it fairly limited keep it short keep it sweet and and then keep it moving as much as possible Most speeches these days are given in what's called extemporaneous format That means you've done preparation extensive preparation just like you would for a manuscript or memorized speech This is fully prepared thoroughly prepared and then you're delivering it from a limited set of notes Not a full mania script and it's not memorized You have the notes there in front of you if you wish but really focusing on bullet points, right and and not having everything written out but the the the script is there really in the outline is there really just to prompt your memory in case something comes up and Causes you to forget or you get hung up somewhere That's when you would use those notes But really it's just there as a guide and for some people like me who tend to get a little off track at times Extemporaneous speaking those notes are really important for keeping me Within the context of what I'm talking about and keeping me from following one of those rabbit trails off into a different topic That really that outline and those speaking notes really keep me zeroed in on this is what I'm talking about This is where I'm going next don't get off on that. They all these other different subjects and things Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. They all have their challenges But most except most speaking today is done in an extemporaneous fashion It just presents so many different advantages first of all does emphasize that preparation and require that preparation Which is really important as a public speaker But it also gives you the freedom if I get into a speech and it's extemporaneous And I see that something I'm doing is not working I can make those adjustments and still stay within the framework of what I'm talking about But I have the flexibility then I'm not locked in to this particular language or this particular order As I would be with a manuscript or memorized speech and yet it's much much more prepared than an impromptu speech, right? I have a full understanding of what it is that I'm talking about and I've had a chance to really put some thought into Everything that I want to say and find supporting materials and so forth So extemporaneous really provides the the best of all of those worlds when it's an option So but those are just some of the different delivering delivery styles that you may come across as a speaker Now when we talk about the categories of delivery We're going to talk about delivery in two different fashions one vocal delivery and then physical delivery meaning the elements of our body But let's start with vocal delivery because often it's not what you say, but how you say it and sometimes people think well That's not really delivery. That's your words, right? That's language. No, that's that's not verbal communication verbal communication is the language that you choose which is really important But everything else is non-verbal communication as we'll see So I have some tips for you for vocal delivery that I want to talk about more delivering a speech These are some things to keep in mind when we're talking about how we use our voice First of all, we want to use vocal variety right including things like volume How loudly we're gonna speak we don't want to shout so loud that we you don't really drive the audience insane But we have to speak loudly enough that the audience can hear us So we have to determine based on our context and things. What's the appropriate volume and also? What am I sharing if I'm you know sharing something really passionate? Maybe I'm gonna get a little louder when I talk about it as opposed to if I really want to draw the audience in in an intimate way Maybe I drop my voice drop my volume a little bit force them in so we need to think about things like volume When it comes to vocal variety, we also want to think about pitch if you're a musician You know pitch is the different notes, right different notes on the scale When we think about a piano for example pitch would be the notes up and down the different keys that those represent Not how loudly we're banging them or how softly we're banging them or how fast or anything like that But just the different notes themselves If we don't have pitch and variety in our pitch as public speakers Then we become very monotone and sound like a computer or sound like Ben Stein in the Ferris Bueller movie Bueller Bueller, right? We don't want that we want now have variety in our pitch that gives interest to the audience and makes it more Easily accessible and easy for them to listen more pleasing to their ear We do need to think about rate though. How fast are we speaking? Are we we want to speak at a fast rate a fact a rate that's fast enough that we don't bore the audience? Right, we don't lose them in that way, but we want to avoid the mistake of speaking too quickly as well Which is a common thing for beginning public speakers nerves get a hold of you that adrenaline kicks in and you speak a little faster Then you think you might be so we need to take a step back and talk a little bit slower Then we think we might otherwise that'll give it time for the audience to have ideas sink in and things but we don't want to go so slowly that The audience loses interest right and loses attention We got to find that balance and again, what are we talking about to whom are we speaking these are all factors in there But we got to pick the appropriate rate as far as vocal variety and then pauses You know, sometimes you think the public speaking is all about speaking and language and so forth Sometimes a good pause Can have great effect pause can do a variety of things and when you pause before and after giving a quotation It separates that quotation. Let's the audience know that that's the part of what you're saying That's a quotation and we give a little pause there. We can take a dramatic pause To really allow an idea time to sink in To let the audience think about that right we can take just a beat not a really long pause We don't want it to get awkward or uncomfortable But we can use pause and we can use silence to great effect The other thing as we'll talk about in a few minutes that we want to avoid though Is during pauses if we have to take a pause and maybe it's not a planned one We don't need to fill feel the need to fill every pause either That's where you get a lot of the vocal fillers like When people are trying to they're pausing because they're trying to think of what they want to say next But they're uncomfortable with that silence. So they've used those vocal fillers We need to avoid that we need to just you know again We don't want it to be too extended where it gets uncomfortable or awkward, but it's okay to have some pause in there That's not a problem. It can be very effective for a speaker So we need to think about vocal variety when we're thinking about vocal delivery Some other things with vocal variety and vocal delivery to keep in mind. Sorry first. We want to match Emotion and enthusiasm with the message and think about what it is. We're talking about and our Vocal delivery our rate our pitch our volume and things should match our message if we're talking about something Serious and somber then our voice should probably not be quite as loud And should be drawn back a little bit, right? But if we're passionate about something We're gonna speak loudly and we're gonna use lots of vocal variety right to get that message across we need to match Emotion and enthusiasm with the message using our voice We want to be sure that we're properly pronouncing words This can be difficult when you're dealing with names and things like that Our names of places that have different pronunciation that can be a challenge But are just difficult words in general and so we have a couple of options here first and foremost we can practice We can figure out how to say that word and we can practice it until we get comfortable with it until we're confident that we can pronounce it correctly Right, or if it's if it's an option if it's not a proper name or name of a place If there's a substitute we can use for that word then swap it out and use something different But whatever we're doing we need to pronounce those words correctly and and regardless of the situation We need to pronounce them confidently, you know, even if we're not a hundred percent certain Go ahead and say it confidently and somebody will correct you or or whatever, but we need to really focus on pronouncing words correctly We want to properly articulate our words. We want to speak in a way that's clear for the audience We want to use our mouths a little more inform those words with our mouths and Articulate it well so the audience can easily understand it and shouldn't have to Really work to hear the words that we're saying or to understand the words that we're saying We need to remember the impact of dialects and by dialects. We mean not just accents, but also we can talk about language in terms of using Words that are appropriate for that audience and so forth, but but we do need to keep in mind the importance of dialects both both Accents and things like that and also, you know language that's going to be appropriate for a particular audience in terms of understanding Okay, now that we've talked about vocal delivery a little bit how we use our voice Let's talk about our body. Let's talk about the role that our body plays through physical delivery in a speech So a few tips for physical delivery as a speaker first. You should make eye contact Now again, you don't want to make it weird You don't want to just stare at one person the entire time and make that strange But you should have your eyes on the audience more than you don't in essence It's okay to glance at your notes, but you shouldn't have your head buried your notes You shouldn't be staring at your visual aid or your presentation line You shouldn't be looking at the ceiling or at the floor Most of your eye contact should be on the audience and it should be kind of scanning around You don't find a couple of pairs of friendly eyes in the audience in different areas of the room and move between those you don't have to Necessarily make eye contact with every single person But you should be scanning the room and giving the impression that you are making eye contact and that's important for a couple reasons It's important for a connection with the audience and so forth But it's also important for indicating the on to the audience that you are prepared And that you know what you're talking about it this dresses confidence and then the audience can have confidence in you So eye contact is really important for a lot of different reasons You also want to dress appropriately now this gentleman looks great He's dressed really well and that could be really appropriate for that speech You want to dress appropriately for whatever occasion it is you're speaking if it's a formal occasion Then yeah, wear your suit if it's less formal then maybe don't wear a suit Maybe wear something nice though, but you need to whatever you're wearing ought to enhance your speech I mean if nothing else then the audience should forget what you're wearing shouldn't notice what you're wearing Yep, you know at worst they should not notice what you're wearing at best It should somehow complement or work into what you're speaking on now if you're giving a speech on welding Then yeah, you can wear your welding gear that kind of that would be appropriate for that type of speech But if you're if you're giving a speech on something else if you're giving a speech on you know How to change a tire then you're welding you're wearing that's not going to be as appropriate, right? So dress appropriately for that speech Stand confidently In the audience is going to read into your confidence level if you're not confident in what you're saying Then why is the audience going to be confident in having any belief in that or you know really taking it in retaining it and Understanding it. Why are they going to put that effort in if you're not confident? So you need to stand confidently and at the very least you can fake it until you make it, right? You stand confidently regardless of what your own internal level of confidence is You ought to be displaying that confidence externally and outwardly by standing confidently You want to gesture naturally within reason right if you're somebody who talks with your hands Don't feel like you have to shove them in your pocket because when you're speaking It's just going to be a struggle to not use them But if you're somebody who doesn't really speak with your hands, we don't gesture a lot Don't feel like you have to work those into your speech somehow if it's not a natural thing for you again Our premise here our real goal is to avoid distraction So if you speak with your hand speak with your hands as long as it doesn't distract the audience Don't be like the weatherman and weather person on TV You know flashing your arms all over the place and big gestures and things But feel free to gesture naturally or feel free to gesture not as much if that's what's natural for you But it should be a natural thing again as long as it does not distract the audience from your message Move freely if you have the opportunity if you're not tied to a podium You have a microphone or you're not using a microphone. You can move around That can help you Distribute and disperse some of that nervous energy that may have built up that can be good again as long as we're avoiding Distraction, you don't want to pace quickly back and forth or do things that are gonna distract the audience in that way But you should feel free to to move around in front of the audience move freely as you would otherwise And finally maybe most importantly remember to smile I mean again unless you are giving a eulogy or talking about something very serious and somber Remember to smile the audience loves a speaker smiles that they can it can really lighten the room and Help the audience warm to you. So don't forget to smile and make that part of your physical delivery as well Okay, we've talked about physical delivery and vocal delivery now specifically. There are a couple other Just a little tidbits that I wanted to share with you starting with the need to as I mentioned before eliminate distractions There's these are really about eliminating distractions and these are some basic public-speakings You know do's and don'ts really don'ts that'll help you avoid distraction because again We want the audience to be focused on your message So these are things that are just gonna get in the way of that. So first of all, no gum if you're speaking in public Please get rid of the gum. I'm a gum chewer. I love gum I chew gum I like hard candy and things but when you're speaking it really gets in the way of articulation It can become a real distraction with the noise and you see it and it's just not good. So get rid of the gum Don't wear a hat again. I empathize here I wear hats 90% of the time when I'm not, you know at work or teaching or speaking or whatever But it's just not a good look unless again, it's part of what you're talking about and somehow enhances your speech Get rid of the hat. It doesn't send a sense of formality It doesn't give the audience confidence in you or or help them Believe in you. So you just have to get rid of the hat for while you're speaking Avoid t-shirts and other things that have graphics on them or words on them, right? I'm sure that while I've been talking you've been reading this shirt, which is funny. It's a great shirt I love it. I love dinosaurs. I love t-rexes and it's it's hilarious, but That's not helping you understand my message in the sense of as a speaker again Won't you focus on the message not what's written on my t-shirt? Avoid fidgeting, you know, and this is easier said than done A lot of us have a little nervous ticks or nervous habits when we're speaking the nerves get the better of us We may play with our hair. We may rub our wrists We may roll the ring on our finger or do some you know play when I'm speaking I know I have to remove everything from my pockets. I take the change out of my pockets If I have any I take my keys out of my pocket I take everything out of my pockets because my instinct is gonna be to put my hand in there and jangle them around a little bit And that's not great. That's a fidget too so as we Grow as speakers we can start to focus more on these types of things and say okay What is it that I'm doing and make a conscientious effort to avoid those things and to take steps to do that again? I know that's an issue for me So I take everything out of my pockets before I speak before I teach before I'm in front of a group of any kind I get rid of the Ability to do that as much as possible and then I also find ways to put that in front of I'll make notes as well or you know Make eye contact or don't Rub your hands together or whatever it is whatever I have a tendency to do I'll put it in my notes as a reminder So we need to do our best to avoid fidgeting if possible We want to avoid dancing swaying or pacing generally look like we have to go to the bathroom or whatever We just again those are distractions. The audience is going to be lulled in by that. It's okay to move But don't move in such a way that gives the impression. We are You know in some sort of trance or or that we're dancing or again Like a small child that we have to use the bathroom with the pp dance or whatever Just try and avoid those types of things And as I mentioned before we want to avoid Vocal fillers as much as possible These are things that come up when we're not sure what we want to say next and that happens Especially an extemporary speaking and impromptu speaking and that's okay It's okay to take a second to look at your notes and think what is it that I wanted to say next What we don't need to do during that time is say, um All that does is draw attention to the fact that we're looking at our notes or whatever The audience understands that we're gonna maybe look at our notes every once in a while Take take a pause to gather our thoughts or whatever But we don't need to draw attention to that So all these things together are ways that we're going to work to eliminate distraction to keep the focus on our message Another thing we need to do is adapt to the location or the situation Not one type of delivery is going to be appropriate in every situation So we need to adapt to what's happening including things like what's the number of audience members If we have a smaller scale audience or a larger scale audience, that's going to affect how loudly we need to speak It's going to affect, you know, how much we need to emphasize articulation It's going to affect the kind of presentational aids we use and all kinds of things like that Right, but we need to adapt to the number of audience members as best as as best as possible Adapt to the size of the room Again, we can move freely But there's a difference in speaking in front of a classroom In, you know, if you're in a college classroom or something like that in front of a small classroom like that As opposed to speaking to a large auditorium Right and people in a large auditorium we need to adapt to those situations adapt our delivery style to those situations We need to adapt to things like the seating arrangement How are people seated? I mean I've given lots of speeches after dinner where people are Round tables and so some of them have their backs to you and some of them are still eating and things But so that affects what I can do with the audience how I address the audience how I move around the room All those types of things So we need to understand hopefully in advance But if not then even in the moment that there's an adaptation that takes place based on the seating arrangement then What's the technology available? What type of technology are we using are we using a computer laptop or computer that's provided a desktop that's there in the room or something Are we using any type of computer? Are we using some of these presentation? Softwares powerpoint google slides prezzy whatever it is. Are we using something like that? We need to adapt to are we using a microphone? And if so, what kind is it a lavalier microphone? Is it a handheld microphone? I mean those are things we need to be able to adapt to if we're speaking to a larger audience and using a microphone Are we using a podium? I mentioned this before we need to adapt to If we're going to be tied to one spot and not able to move freely and understand that When we're using a podium if there's only one microphone and it's a it's a pretty basic microphone That even when we take a step back or move our heads, right? That's going to affect the ability of the audience to hear us So we need to understand when we're at a podium. There are certain things we need to adapt to in that regard Heaven forbid we're using a whiteboard. Hopefully that's not the case Because the whiteboards cause you to turn your back on the audience and all kinds of stuff that we talked about in the Presentational aids video, but but if we are how do we adapt to that? I mean, you know There's all kinds of things we have to adapt to in speaking situations So we just need to be prepared That what we can control is our content and hopefully we're removing some of those distractions and and being as prepared as possible And then we make adjustments as we go So in summary in a nutshell here to wrap things up in a nutshell on delivery We want to be natural as much as possible on delivery should be as natural as possible as conversational as possible It should be enthusiastic We should be excited about what we're talking about and so we we should be enthusiastic in our delivery We should be confident. We need to relay that confidence to the audience And whether we feel that way or not we should be relaying that confidence to the audience we need to be direct and and and again establish that confidence with the audience by by By expressing ourselves clearly as though we are Fully prepared and hopefully we are fully prepared and a big part of that will be We need to practice Delivery improves with practice the more we know our information the more we know We want to say the more we've practiced it the more those words have actually come out of our mouth On a regular basis Then the better off we're we're going to be so practicing and rehearsing Will will will enhance your delivery dramatically. I promise you If you have questions about delivery or anything else related to public speaking fees, please feel free to email me Love to hear from you. Otherwise in the meantime I hope that you will take these delivery notes to heart and continue to improve as a public speaker by focusing on your delivery