The speech is perfect, written by an expert. What can go wrong?
1 The speaker storms off because the presenter has forgotten the speaker's name.
2 The speaker forgets to take the written speech.
3 The speaker/presenter reads the wrong speech.
4 The slides or video don't work.
5 The spelling and grammar are wrong.
6 The subject is too technical for the audience.
7 The speaker has too little time for the whole speech.
8 The speaker is asked to continue speaking but has no more to say.
9 The speaker can't understand the speech, nor pronounce the words.
10 The speaker doesn't know what is funny, and reads it all monotone so everybody falls asleep.
1 I saw this happen in Singapore. The sponsor of the book was embarrassed and everybody was embarrassed. Solution: The speaker should be prepared to explain who he/or she is/is not.
a) The presenter thinks you are somebody else more famous. (I am constantly mistaken for the actress Angela Lansbury. At a big conference it can happen three times a day. Or three times an hour. My planned and often repeated answers are always positive. For example, I'm not related to the actress, but she does wonderful publicity for our name.) If the introduction to the speaker, including the named and credentials, are written into the start of the speech, the words can be dropped, shortened, or included in full. The speech might include words such as : "My full name is ...... but you can call me ..... As Bill/name so kindly informed you, I have ...."
2 The best man often forgets the speech because there are so many other things to think about, such as the ring, venue, ushers, timing.
Also the best man might keep the wedding speech in his everyday suit to rehearse it, then on the big day he changes into a special hired outfit.
a) If you rehearse the speech with the speaker, even if the text is left at home, the speaker should remember most of it. Ideally, the speech message should be clear, with the start linked to the ending, and every idea linked to the next, and a prop as a reminder of the theme.
b) Have two copies of the speech, one in the everyday outfit or briefcase, a second copy in the suit worn on the day. A third copy could be with an assistant, or on the fridge door at home so you can phone home for a reminder.
c) A copy of the speech can be placed in an email sent to your mobile phone and accessible from the internet from any terminal.
3 You might have more than one speech in your pocket. The Mayor of Harrow told members of Harrovian Speakers Club that he often had three speeches in his pocket because he would make three visits in a day, perhaps to a primary school in the morning, a secondary school in the afternoon, and to adults in the evening. He kept all three speeches in his pocket in the order in which he was giving them. After he gave the first speech, he moved the text to the back of the pocket so the next speech was on top, and so on.
Another speech mishap occurred at a UN meeting. The Portuguese speaker gave his speech and went back to his seat leaving his speech on the lectern. The Indian speaker stood up, saw the speech, and started reading it. The listeners were puzzled to hear him start to talk enthusiastically about Portugal, in the same words as the previous speaker, delighted to see so many Portuguese speakers. At first it might have sounded as if he was simply paying a courtesy to the previous speaker. But it soon became clear that he was reading the wrong speech.
Solutions:
a) Know your own speech and memorise the opening.
b) Have a colour code such as a green border round your speech. That way you will not forget it, you will not leave it behind, and nobody else will read out your speech.
4 a) speaker, probably highly paid, stormed off stage angrily when he was supposed to be praising a product, but the visuals did not work.
b) I went to a Toastmasters meeting in Singapore where the president of the club was going to show colour slides of his exotic fish. He was disheartened when the visuals did not appear. I was embarrassed because I was the honoured supposedly expert guest supposed to evaluate him glowingly.
The solution is to always have print out posters as backup.
Have printed text to the slides as backup.
Memorise your speech and give it as if the slides are not working.
Find something funny to say in case the slides don't work.
The audience are looking forward to the slides/visual and to hearing you. As a courtesy to both the organisers and the paying public, you should keep everybody happy. Don't blame the staff. Blame the technology, or fate.
5 Spelling and grammar: I went to a presentation on grammar. (This happens at most meetings of Toastmasters International.) The slides instructing the audience on grammar were full of mistakes.
a) Do a spellcheck.
b) Ask a native speaker to check.
c) Get a second person to check. When I worked as a sub-editor at IPC, as many as 8 people would check every piece of copy before it was approved - in some cases, the sub-editor, a second sub-editor, the chief sub-editor, the features editor's assistant, the features editor, the original writer of the article, the magazine editor, the group editor in chief.
6 Experts often argue that everybody in the audience will understand the technical terms. You still need them in a glossary in the handout and on the slides. Why? Firstly, because if you mutter, people won't hear. At least if the long words are on the slide, people can read. Latecomers will also be able to read a summary. Foreign nationals may know the words but not understand your pronunciation.
Experts? The VIP may bring along a wife or student son who dare not ask for an explanation. Every company has somebody who has just joined as a junior.
Sometimes the head of the company has been transferred in from a different business because of their expertise in finance.
The technical bod who is running the computer - will he or she know when you have changed subject and need a new slide, or that the slide on the screen behind you is the previous or next subject?
What about the reporter from the local paper? Will you get the much needed publicity?
If you fall ill, or get delayed at the airport, will your VIP substitute know all the technical terms?
If you lose the slides and have to describe them to the laboratory, will they be able to find the slides easily? You tell them you have lost 20 or 30 slides on annealing. They reply 'We have twenty slides on the box which fell on the floor. My assistants are looking. All they can say is, do they have a blue border?'
7 Write two versions. In the longer one, draw a red line under the place where you can stop if running out of time.
8 I gave a speech with a great punchline. The chairman whispered to me, "The ladies in the kitchen say the tea is not yet ready. Please talk for another five minutes."
I managed to find another anecdote. But I didn't have a second punchline. Have an extra anecdote and a second punchline, or one you can repeat.
9 Write pronunciations in brackets in another colour or typeface.
10 Mark pauses in blue. Underline or use capitals for words to emphasise. use up and down diagonals to indicate voice going up or down at the end of the sentence. Underline the last sentence so the speaker knows where to end and the audience knows when to clap.
1 The speaker storms off because the presenter has forgotten the speaker's name.
2 The speaker forgets to take the written speech.
3 The speaker/presenter reads the wrong speech.
4 The slides or video don't work.
5 The spelling and grammar are wrong.
6 The subject is too technical for the audience.
7 The speaker has too little time for the whole speech.
8 The speaker is asked to continue speaking but has no more to say.
9 The speaker can't understand the speech, nor pronounce the words.
10 The speaker doesn't know what is funny, and reads it all monotone so everybody falls asleep.
1 I saw this happen in Singapore. The sponsor of the book was embarrassed and everybody was embarrassed. Solution: The speaker should be prepared to explain who he/or she is/is not.
a) The presenter thinks you are somebody else more famous. (I am constantly mistaken for the actress Angela Lansbury. At a big conference it can happen three times a day. Or three times an hour. My planned and often repeated answers are always positive. For example, I'm not related to the actress, but she does wonderful publicity for our name.) If the introduction to the speaker, including the named and credentials, are written into the start of the speech, the words can be dropped, shortened, or included in full. The speech might include words such as : "My full name is ...... but you can call me ..... As Bill/name so kindly informed you, I have ...."
2 The best man often forgets the speech because there are so many other things to think about, such as the ring, venue, ushers, timing.
Also the best man might keep the wedding speech in his everyday suit to rehearse it, then on the big day he changes into a special hired outfit.
a) If you rehearse the speech with the speaker, even if the text is left at home, the speaker should remember most of it. Ideally, the speech message should be clear, with the start linked to the ending, and every idea linked to the next, and a prop as a reminder of the theme.
b) Have two copies of the speech, one in the everyday outfit or briefcase, a second copy in the suit worn on the day. A third copy could be with an assistant, or on the fridge door at home so you can phone home for a reminder.
c) A copy of the speech can be placed in an email sent to your mobile phone and accessible from the internet from any terminal.
3 You might have more than one speech in your pocket. The Mayor of Harrow told members of Harrovian Speakers Club that he often had three speeches in his pocket because he would make three visits in a day, perhaps to a primary school in the morning, a secondary school in the afternoon, and to adults in the evening. He kept all three speeches in his pocket in the order in which he was giving them. After he gave the first speech, he moved the text to the back of the pocket so the next speech was on top, and so on.
Another speech mishap occurred at a UN meeting. The Portuguese speaker gave his speech and went back to his seat leaving his speech on the lectern. The Indian speaker stood up, saw the speech, and started reading it. The listeners were puzzled to hear him start to talk enthusiastically about Portugal, in the same words as the previous speaker, delighted to see so many Portuguese speakers. At first it might have sounded as if he was simply paying a courtesy to the previous speaker. But it soon became clear that he was reading the wrong speech.
Solutions:
a) Know your own speech and memorise the opening.
b) Have a colour code such as a green border round your speech. That way you will not forget it, you will not leave it behind, and nobody else will read out your speech.
4 a) speaker, probably highly paid, stormed off stage angrily when he was supposed to be praising a product, but the visuals did not work.
b) I went to a Toastmasters meeting in Singapore where the president of the club was going to show colour slides of his exotic fish. He was disheartened when the visuals did not appear. I was embarrassed because I was the honoured supposedly expert guest supposed to evaluate him glowingly.
The solution is to always have print out posters as backup.
Have printed text to the slides as backup.
Memorise your speech and give it as if the slides are not working.
Find something funny to say in case the slides don't work.
The audience are looking forward to the slides/visual and to hearing you. As a courtesy to both the organisers and the paying public, you should keep everybody happy. Don't blame the staff. Blame the technology, or fate.
5 Spelling and grammar: I went to a presentation on grammar. (This happens at most meetings of Toastmasters International.) The slides instructing the audience on grammar were full of mistakes.
a) Do a spellcheck.
b) Ask a native speaker to check.
c) Get a second person to check. When I worked as a sub-editor at IPC, as many as 8 people would check every piece of copy before it was approved - in some cases, the sub-editor, a second sub-editor, the chief sub-editor, the features editor's assistant, the features editor, the original writer of the article, the magazine editor, the group editor in chief.
6 Experts often argue that everybody in the audience will understand the technical terms. You still need them in a glossary in the handout and on the slides. Why? Firstly, because if you mutter, people won't hear. At least if the long words are on the slide, people can read. Latecomers will also be able to read a summary. Foreign nationals may know the words but not understand your pronunciation.
Experts? The VIP may bring along a wife or student son who dare not ask for an explanation. Every company has somebody who has just joined as a junior.
Sometimes the head of the company has been transferred in from a different business because of their expertise in finance.
The technical bod who is running the computer - will he or she know when you have changed subject and need a new slide, or that the slide on the screen behind you is the previous or next subject?
What about the reporter from the local paper? Will you get the much needed publicity?
If you fall ill, or get delayed at the airport, will your VIP substitute know all the technical terms?
If you lose the slides and have to describe them to the laboratory, will they be able to find the slides easily? You tell them you have lost 20 or 30 slides on annealing. They reply 'We have twenty slides on the box which fell on the floor. My assistants are looking. All they can say is, do they have a blue border?'
7 Write two versions. In the longer one, draw a red line under the place where you can stop if running out of time.
8 I gave a speech with a great punchline. The chairman whispered to me, "The ladies in the kitchen say the tea is not yet ready. Please talk for another five minutes."
I managed to find another anecdote. But I didn't have a second punchline. Have an extra anecdote and a second punchline, or one you can repeat.
9 Write pronunciations in brackets in another colour or typeface.
10 Mark pauses in blue. Underline or use capitals for words to emphasise. use up and down diagonals to indicate voice going up or down at the end of the sentence. Underline the last sentence so the speaker knows where to end and the audience knows when to clap.
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