2.  Opening your speech  Good eye contact with your audience  The use of notes and visual aids  What to do with your hands  Avoiding filler words - um, ah and like  The importance of recording yourself  Using your voice dynamically  Control nerves, be prepared and be yourself  Closing your speech  Class Activity – Letter Lecture

3.  Address all members of your audience - “Principals, Faculty, Students: Good Evening.”  You have 10 seconds to grab the attention of your audience  Make a bold statement, use humor or self- deprecation, ask a question or quote a famous line from history! Example of a good opening: Bill Gates’ Harvard Commencement

4.  Engage your audience  Make them feel like YOU are talking directly to THEM  Make a short bulleted list of notes in order to avoid reading  If using a visual aid, do not turn your back on your audience

5.  Begin with your hands at your side in order to develop natural hand gestures  Avoid clasping the microphone, podium, both hands together, hands in pockets, crossing arms and hands behind back Example of what NOT to do: Ricky Bobby Hand Interview

6.  Um and ah  Like, uh, and like…  Most people use these frequently without noticing Even the pros do it! Obama “Uh” Count  The best way to overcome this is to record yourself and play it back  Once you are aware, you can focus on improving your speech by speaking slowly  Pause when you are about to use a filler word and then begin your next sentence

7.  In order to keep your audience from falling asleep, vary the pitch, volume and speed of your voice  Once you have written your speech, use different colored highlighters to indicate to yourself when you are going to speak loud and fast, or slow and quiet

8.  Change your focus from worrying about what the audience is thinking to how you can inspire, entertain and educate.  All good public speaking should be based on letting your real personality shine through.  It’s OK to make mistakes! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you aren’t a perfect speaker right away.  Bush-isms Bush-isms

9.  A good closing is as important as a good opening  Make a bold statement, ask for a call to action, etc.  Most importantly, make sure to THANK your audience for their time and attention

10. Practice this speech with your own opening and closing using voice inflection in the body. Example: “Welcome classmates! A, BCD! e, f, g, H? I, jkl - M. NOP! Q, R, S, T, uvw? x. Y, Z. Thank you so much for your attention. Are there any questions?"