Let's Work and Learn - Speech Techniques PDF

# Let's Work and Learn ## Exercise Think of a song that you have memorized by heart. This song may have created a great impact on you and inspired you to see life positively or helped you get up after a failure. Choose a stanza, chorus, or refrain-whatever is most important to you. Deliver the li...

# Let's Work and Learn ## Exercise Think of a song that you have memorized by heart. This song may have created a great impact on you and inspired you to see life positively or helped you get up after a failure. Choose a stanza, chorus, or refrain-whatever is most important to you. Deliver the lines in class as if they were part of a speech. Make sure to vary the volume, rate, and pitch of your voice when delivering the excerpt. Focus on appropriate facial expressions and gestures during the delivery. ### Key Takeaways A memorized speech requires you to commit the speech to memory so that you do not bring your notes when delivering it. As with the manuscript speech, you also run the risk of sounding mechanical during a memorized delivery. For this reason, keep your memorized speech short, and work harder on your facial expressions and the tone of your voice. ## When to Memorize a Speech Although keeping a speech in memory is needed only on very rare occasions, memorizing a speech can help you achieve a smooth and effortless delivery. You do not need to focus on notes or a manuscript. You can concentrate on maintaining eye contact with your audience, establishing rapport, and interacting with your audience. A memorized speech works best for formal events where you are asked to introduce a guest, accept an award, make a toast, deliver a eulogy, give a tribute, and the like. Since memorizing can be very tough and mechanical, keep the speech short when possible. ## Disadvantages of the Memorized Speech 1. You might forget what you are supposed to say. Long pauses can create a very awkward moment between you and your audience. 2. You might memorize the speech mechanically. This can result in a very unnatural delivery. 3. You might focus on merely remembering content. Consequently, groping for the right words might make you look uptight and stiff. 4. You might be too tied up in remembering your script. This gives you no chance to pay attention and respond to audience feedback. ## Advantages of Delivering a Memorized Speech 1. You do not need notes anymore. Since the speech is memorized, you do not have to worry about when to read and when to glance at your audience. 2. You can plan gestures, facial expressions, and movements. When you know the speech by heart, it is easier for you to work on nonverbal communication 3. You can concentrate on visual aids and props. A memorized speech helps you focus more on your props, if you have any. 4. You become more confident. If you know that you have committed the speech to memory, you would not be anxious about running out of words or not knowing what to say. ## Tips for Memorizing a Speech 1. Break it down. You cannot memorize a speech in one sitting. If your speech has four paragraphs, you should focus on one paragraph at a time. Once you have memorized the first paragraph, focus on the next one. 2. Build it up. After memorizing the speech in snippets, you need to put them together. Recite the first paragraph and move on to the second. After this, recite the first and second paragraphs and move on to the third. The next thing you know, you have completed your speech. 3. Speak out. Try verbalizing your speech as you memorize it. Hearing yourself speak the words aids memory retention. 4. Identify keys. Identify a key point in every paragraph. Even if you miss out on some of the words in the actual speech delivery, you can easily expound on the key points. 5. Have a break. After memorizing some parts of your speech, take a break for some hours or for a day. After this, recite your speech. This would test how well you can recall what you think you have memorized. 6. Record and listen. Record yourself delivering the speech and listen to it over and over again. Like a song, the speech gets stuck in your head. 7. Use note cards. Write one key point on one note card. Bring these note cards wherever you go and take them out whenever you have extra time to memorize, especially during idle times of the day. ## Exercise II Identify the following as good or bad topics for a memorized speech. Write G for good and B for bad. 1. The Origin of the Calendar - **G** 2. First Day High: Stepping into College - **G** 3. Bitter Sweet: A Retirement Speech - **G** 4. The First Woman Chemist - **G** 5. Love and Beyond: A Wedding Toast - **G** 6. How COVID-19 Scared the World - **G** 7. Ode to a Pet - **G** 8. How to Spot Fake News - **G** 9. KDrama and Its Impact to Pinoy Gen Zs - **G** 10. Vaccines - **G**