How to Prepare for a Speech in 1 Hour – Toastmasters speech by Geoff Peters August 2013

Geoff from geoffmobile.com gives a speech on how to prepare for a speech in 1 hour.

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Given to Best Run Toastmasters Club in Vancouver BC Canada in August 2013.

How to Prepare for a Speech in 1 Hour
Let’s say that you have 60 minutes to prepare a speech. Your boss just asked you to say a few words at the upcoming company meeting, and you need to get something together. How do you do it?
In this speech I will give some tips on how to prepare for a speech.
4 step process:
Write down your speech
Read it aloud
Make changes
Record and listen back to your speech
WRMR
1. Write down your speech:
-If you are short on time, don’t stress out, just start typing anything that comes to mind for your speech. Don’t worry if it is not organized or even polished. The objective is to type as fast as you can and get a flow of ideas going on to the paper. You will edit later, so at this point, don’t edit or restrict your ideas or mind. Just let anything that comes to mind appear on the paper. Once you’ve got everything written down that you can think of, start organizing the content into the main points or ideas. See if there is a natural flow to the ideas. In a few minutes, you can come up with a written out speech that looks good on paper. Many people would think they are done at this point, and they can just read it at the meeting. But this is not the best way to prepare. Instead lets go on to the next step which is:
2. Read it aloud
Read your speech aloud, with a stopwatch timing yourself. See how long it takes to get through the content. If you are talking quickly, you will need to allow more time when you actually give the speech, as it is better to be early than over time.
3. Make Changes: You will notice that some parts of your speech seem too wordy or unnecessary, so cross them out! Start feeling the flow of the language as you speak it. Edit out anything that does not contribute to your theme or message that you want to convey.
4. Record and listen to your speech. Now that you’ve made changes to your speech on paper, read it once more aloud, but this time use your iPhone or tape recorder and make an audio recording of your speech, while reading the paper. Then listen back to this audio recording on repeat while you are walking or driving to where you will be giving your speech.
Conclusion
So: WRMR — Write down, Read Aloud, Make Changes, and Record / Listen.
That is a process that works for me when I am preparing for a speech in a short time. Hopefully this gives you some ideas for the next time that you will be giving a speech.
I have found that Toastmasters has given me a good chance to practice giving speeches, so that when I need to give an important speech I will be ready.

Technical notes:
Filmed with Sony WX50

Thanks for Watching!!!
Cheers,
Geoff

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