Public Speaking
Sound Natural
An effective presentation, preserves many of the best qualities of conversation. It sounds natural and spontaneous, yet it has a depth, coherence, and quality that are not normally found in social conversation. The best way to approach this ideal of improved conversation is to present your speech extemporaneously. An extemporaneous presentation is careful prepared and practiced but not written out or memorized. If you write out your speech, you will be tempted either to memorize it word for word or to read it to your audience. Reading or memorizing usually results in a stilted presentation.
DO NOT READ YOUR SPEECH! That defeats the purpose of public communication because it robs the audience of its chance to participate in the creation of ideas. Audience contact is more important than exact wording. The only parts of a speech that should be memorized are the introduction, the conclusion, and a few other critical phrases or sentences, such as the wording of main points or the punch lines of humorous stories.