TL;DR, I offered and promised in the Post Request Thread a guide to the four highest value tips I know for doing public speaking. Here they are, with explanations below:
- Fortissimo! Don't apologize for talking
- Know the first and last line of your comment before you open your mouth
- Think about speeches/comments as having a narrative arc
- Look for additional emotional tones to layer on the content
“I have only one word of advice to give you”“Give already”“That word is fortissimo… it’s Italian for loud. When in doubt, shout, that’s what I’m telling you.”“I should shout? Everyone will hear for sure how bad I am.”“But, my dear brother, if you sing loud and clear, it will be easier on the audience. You’re making it doubly hard on them. Hard to listen to and hard to hear.”
- Thesis
- Evidence 1
- Evidence 2
- Evidence 3
- Thesis restated
X is the main guy; he wants to do:Y is the bad guy; he wants to do:they meet at Z and all L breaks loose.If they don’t resolve Q, then R starts and if they do it’s L squared.
Ever notice how you always X when you'd really like to Y? So did I! I tried Z and it turned out to work, but I wasn't sure why! I poked around in the literature and found A,B, and C, which caused me to tweak my solution to Z' and now I Y all the time, and you can too!
Frustration: [Ever notice how you always X when you'd really like to Y?] Shared identity, all of us looking at the frustration together: [So did I!] I tried Z and it turned out to work, but pleased but perplexed: [I wasn't sure why!] I poked around in the literature and surprise, but increasing feeling of catharsis: [found A,B, and C, which caused me to tweak my solution to Z'] and triumph: [now I Y all the time], return of fellow feeling and pleasure at sharing something cool: [and you can too!]
But there's more you can add. One friend of mine was explaining a counterintuitive study in a fairly matter of fact way, but it was a lot more enjoyable and memorable to hear about if she shared her surprise at how it turned out. A lot of the time, it's simplest to just make sure you're letting your honest reactions to what you're saying come across.
But, if you're not sure what those are, or want to explore other options, you can try dividing what you're saying into beats. (Beats is a phrase used in theatre for subdivisions within scenes. In one conversation or story, the dominant emotional tone can change, and that transition is the start of a new beat). So, try dividing up your notes or your outline into sections and just experiment with the dominant tone for the section. Here's a reworking of the emotional beats in my teaching outline:
Sadness, regret: [Ever notice how you always X when you'd really like to Y?] Shame shared as vulnerability: [So did I!] I tried Z and it turned out to work, but tentative, a little uncertain: [I wasn't sure why!] I poked around in the literature and feeling of tinkering and assembly: [found A,B, and C, which caused me to tweak my solution to Z'] and peace, tranquility: [now I Y all the time], warmth, joy: [and you can too!]
Try looking at this list of some possible emotional tones, and see what it's like when you using them as you talk through your outline. Try reading wrong tones to a friend, to notice why they're wrong or to catch yourself if you were unnecessarily restricting your options. Sometimes tone can change a number of times in one passage (as in this marked up example), just pay attention to what prompts the shift. You can try picking a speech or a sentence that already exists, and reading it deliberately with different tones each time to get some practise and comfort using them.
So, if you work on these tips, people will be more comfortable listening to what you say (1), you'll open and close strongly (2), with a narrative arc that keeps you on track and makes your points memorable (3), and enough emotional variation to keep your audience engaged with you and your content (4). Huzzah!
Which reminds me of another tip: avoid repeating "y'know" and filler tics like those over & over. (David Cross, i'm looking at you.)