I need help on public speaking. I am 14 years old?

Question

I have less then 24 hours to prepare for my speech which i am gonna do tomorrow morning, I am gonna be in front of 13-15 year olds and a boy who i like, I know that 1 thing i can do is picture then in their underwear but i got a bad pic last time. SO i need a diffrent techniques to say it in front with out passing out in front of them. I just want to make it good. I need to get this answered ASAP for anybody to help me. So help please.

Answer 1

Focus on someone in the audience who doesn't intimidate you, someone you know is supportive and friendly. Imagine you are presenting to a group of younger people, not older people. Focus on the content of what you are saying, not who is listening. Imagine you are alone in your room and practicing. Try any of all of these, whatever will work for you. Best of luck with your speech.

Answer 2

Practice you speech tonight. Know your content so you don't have to read off your paper. Set your speech paper up using double spacing. This can be a paper separate from what you must turn in. Your speech paper should be set up comfortable to you, so that, as you make your delivery you can easily find your next points to deliver without reading over already delivered content.

Be there before everyone it is less stressing than walking into a crowded room. If anyone ask if you are nervous answer, " would you be nervous?"

Break the ice with Lil joke, "I was really scared to do this but then I remembered we're all in this together so don't make any faces please." Somebodies will make faces. Pick one, look at them, smile, nod, say, "thanks" and start your speech.

Concentrate on your content, look at foreheads and as you talk slowly move your head from left to right. That movement draws people into your speech and instead of watching you they are listening so don't let the quiet throw you. They are paying attention.

When you finish your report. Thank everyone for listening and nod to your instructor. You will shine!

You have just conquered Public speaking forever!

Answer 3

Become very familiar with your material. This will help you give a relaxed presentation and not fumble with note cards, or read your speech.
Remember that the other students are also nervous and probably more worried about themselves than your speech.
Breathe! Pause during your speech, which will seem more like natural conversation. Make eye contact with the audience. Be yourself, you are just as good (if not better) than any of the kids in your class. In the big scheme of things, a school presentation is a temporary thing and will be done and forgotten in a short time. Best wishes.

Answer 4

1) Use eye contact with each member of the audience in turn.


2) Remember that some people get nervous in audiences too. Put them at their ease.


3) Use visual aids where useful. People like to look at things. Flip charts, overhead projectors and video can all be used to make the presentation more memorable. Too much detail or overly technical information might not be best presented in a visual way however. Keep visuals simple. If you don’t have the use of visuals remember that ‘words paint pictures in the mind'.


4) Consider giving handouts to your audience members. It gives them something to take away and it might be a memory prompt for them when recalling your speech. They can also feel as if you have given them something ‘for free' Too much written material may be off-putting however and you don’t want everyone reading during your presentation, so choose carefully when you give them out.


5) Again, remember that the audience has a responsibility too!


6) Don’t think How can I survive this?, think How can I do this brilliantly?


7) Remember that, as with all things, you need to know where you’re going if you’re going to get there. Rather than I hope I don’t panic, work out how you would like things to be.


8) Vary your voice tonality and speed during your presentation. Convey energy when you need to, and slow down to ‘draw them in close' when it’s appropriate.


9) Repeat the exercise earlier in this section until the thought of public speaking starts to actually let you relax. If you need more help with this see our Self Confidence Trainer. Remember the World needs good communication and if a natural born coward like me can do it you certainly can! :-)


10) Read a good book on excellent presenting. One I use personally is ‘Inspire any Audience' by Tony Jeary. As I mentioned above, it makes for fun and compelling reading, is really well laid out and it motivates you to present excellently.

Answer 5

First off relax, take a deep breath.

Don’t bring your speech to read, instead put notes on index cards, with all the points you want to get in. That will help you from sounding stiff.

You need to know the subject of your speech very well, then practice you speech in front of someone, anyone, even the dog. Then do it again, and again. With one day to prepare try and give it at least three times. If you need to fill so much time, use a stop watch and time yourself, When you are giving the speech to the dog remember you’re going to talk a little faster in front of the class then when you are relaxed so you should be a bit long.

Now when you get up in front of everyone, pick one person out, and give them the speech. I generally pick someone close to the back of the room, that way I’m focused on someone and not staring at someone close.

Take a deep breath, let it out and give you first line. Talk to that person. Use your index cards to remind yourself of the points you want to make.

If you lose your place, take a moment to find it and continue on. Trust me the time you take to find your place again seems much longer than it really is.

If you miss a point that you wanted to get out don’t worry, no-one will notice, except you. That because they don’t know your speech or the points you’re trying to make only you do.

If you just need a little help getting the first line out try this.

After you’ve been call up to give your speech say

“Thank you Mr. (Mrs.)

Today I’m here to talk about …”

Give your speech and when you finish say

“In conclusion I would like to thank you for listening to me.”

Walk back to your desk and breathe again.

By the way if your teacher asks who wants to go first, jump at it. The sooner it’s over the better you’ll feel.

Good Luck.

Answer 6

YAY! You are JUST like me. I've just begun highschool, and everytime a teacher mentions a future presentation or oral go about, I make a subconsiously terrible noise, and end up having the whole class look at me like "What are you doing, idiot?".

Oral presentations are the worse. But what I've found out is that the shy ones have an advantage. We have the pressure on us; And therefore, the drive to do well. We go up there and instead of thinking "Oh yeah. This is nothing. This'll be a breaze," like most NORMAL people think, we go up there and scream to ourselves in our heads something incoherent, like "Jesus Christ, just go up there, think of something amazing, get an A and GET OUT OF HERE!". Not pleasant.

The funny thing is, and something that REALLY shocked me last year, is that my English teacher said that I was the best Public Speaker he'd EVER HAD. I freaked out, quite literally. I didn't believe him-I don't believe him. But I must have done something right, because I wounded up doing...pretty good, actually.

My advice to you is; Freak out. It's perfectly unavoidable. Get up there, doom the people around you to the deepest pit of hell where they'd much rather be while your rambling on about the stupidest thing in the world, and just DO IT! Of course, you have to practice like it's Judgement Day assesment. You have to KNOW your lines. Get up there, smile and just shoot.

It works. Trust me. I know. If I of all people (0 self esteem-0 confidence-0 desire to speak to ANYONE-0 "popularity"-0 guys "liking me) then I KNOW you can too!

While your up there:
1. Make eye contact with everyone, but don't think about it.
2. This sounds simple, but I mean this literally. This is big. FOCUS *ONLY* ON YOUR SPEECH AND BODY LANGUAGE.
3. Take a step towards the audience when you begin.
4. Make sure your speech really does have substance!
5. Don't be afraid to look vulnerable before you begin; It will only scare you more if you're pretending your confident, have everyone worked up for a confident speech, and then go up there and realize that you have no confidence at all! Besides, maybe you're teacher will feel a little bad for you! *wink wink, nudge nudge*

And I know I sound like Benny Hinn here. Sorry about that. But I can totally relate to you. I sincerely wish you luck, with the boy as well.

Answer 7

Talk yourself INTO doing this. You can do it. Don't worry or think about what others think about your speech...their judgements don't matter that much. If you focus on what everyone thinks, you'll get nervous.

Focus on the content of what you want to say, and know your topic well. Confidence in yourself, no matter what your abilities, is the most important thing.

Make sure you have what you want to say written out and well prepared. Make cue cards for yourself for the important talking points. That way, if you do get "lost", you'll be able to keep yourself organized.

Go to this site and look at their tips...they say it much better than me.

Answer 8

If you're going to be speaking from a podium, consider bringing a paperclip up with you. You can fiddle with it and bend it in your hands and it helps to divert some of your nervous energy. If not, then what can help is instead of thinking of everyone being in their underwear, try to focus on your friends (if any are there). Talk to them (look around the room, but mentally direct the speech to them). If friends aren't there, then imagine they are. And here's a tip...when you're looking around at everyone (as you should since it seems more personal to the listener) don't look into their eyes. Instead, look at their foreheads. It seems like you're looking in their eyes (to them) but you don't have to deal with the pressure that comes with looking a person straight in his eyes.
The night before your speech, practice in front of a mirror. When you think you have the right speed and timing, sit your family down and act like they are your audience. It always helps to practice.
Right before you go up to speak, take slow, deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Try to relax. After all, you're probably not the only one that has to go up there with the jitters. And smile...it always helps to smile.

Answer 9

The best way to feel confident is to really know what you are talking about....if you really immerse yourself in the speech then you should forget about what people are thinking about you.
Dont focus directly on their faces but look sort of at the top of their heads...move your focus regularly.
Take deep breaths and make sure you've had a good breakfast and plenty of water. Good luck.

Answer 10

First of all before you go on stage take 3 deep breaths to calm your nerves. Secondly look slightly above every ones head, it creates the impression that you are looking at the audience without having to catch someones eye and get all nervous. Concentrate on the information that you are giving instead of your audience.

Good Luck