Speaking to the Ear (II)

• Clarity

Clarify the message you want to get across. Whenever you prepare a speech, ask yourself: “What do I want the audience to know, to do, or to feel?” Can you state your message in one sentence? If not, chances are that you are not clear about the message yourself.

Develop a clear and engaging structure. A thoughtfully crafted speech will lead your audience step by step from the beginning to the end. Grab them with your opening, involve them in the development, and move them into action with your closing. Repeat important points whenever necessary.

Deliver with clarity. Give each spot of your stage a meaning, be it different points, different objects, or different chronological orders in your speech. Move with a purpose. Moving around on the stage aimlessly will only bring confusion and distraction to your audience.

• Descriptive Words & Rhetorical Devices

Your audience will remember better when they are engaged with more senses. Use words that appeal to your audience’s senses, helping them see, hear, feel, taste and smell.

Select words that fire up your audience’s imagination and help them visualize what you are saying.

Adopt action verbs and active voice. They paint pictures in your audience’s mind. They convey action and emotions, and help you drive ideas home.

Incorporate rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices, like simile, metaphor, alliteration, and triads, make ideas sound more pleasing and easier for your audience to remember.

Last point to end this Speaking to the Ear series, make sure read out loud your speech to your friends and ask them to listen to anything that gets them stuck or seek questions from them. Then rewrite your speech until you and your friends are on the same page.

Also read: Speaking to the Ear (I)