Giving speeches

[Count]

So, I know that kind of thread is not new and maybe has been around here dozens of times, but please let me have my own. ;)
The thing is in about three weeks I'll have to give a speech lasting for about 20 minutes to half an hour. I've given speeches so far, but really not that long. So I happen to be a little more nervous than usual. My problem is that I start struggling with my speech after a while. Maybe the first 2 or 5 minutes go well, but after that I get into trouble because it seems as if I lose control over my vocal chords or something. Then my voice and flow of speech start sounding embarrassing. I was told that I shall concentrate on the sound of my voice, so I'll try that.
How do you manage your speeches in college or university?

[btomcik]

I gave a speech a few years back to a little over 100 of my engineering/construction colleagues about a construction project I helped manage. The speech was 45 minutes. My bosses were there, along with professional engineers and a lot of people I've had contact with over the years. A lot of pressure to do well, I thought.

I was on Zoloft at the time to help with my anxiety which helped with my stuttering as I wasn't as nervous. But needless to say, I was still damn nervous and my rehearsal on the speech went very poorly.

The speech was at a hotel and before hand I went to the hotel bar and had a couple beers to take the edge off.

The speech went great. There were times I stuttered but I think most people considered it to be part of normal public speaking. I was very proud of myself and what I accomplished.

I found that being well-prepared on the topic at hand and what you're going to talk about helps, and for me anyway, in the speech and in other areas, concentrating on what I'm talking about (NOT concentrating on my speech) helps me talk better.

So with that being said, concentrate and think about the topic at hand and not on how you're talking (easier said than done, I know but try). If needed, have a beer ahead of time! :)

Good luck.

[Silent]

The speech was at a hotel and before hand I went to the hotel bar and had a couple beers to take the edge off.
Nothing aggravates my stutter more than alcohol. It renders me totally mute.

My advice to Count: get enough sleep, eat a light breakfast, arrive early.

[Derek181]

iam in the same situation as you. iam in college and i have to give a presentation to quite a few poeple at the end of this year. what am i going to do to prepare, probably just practice my fluency skills and go in there and stutter. its my last day in the program so i dont care if i tottally bomb it. the funny thing is my partner is a guy who cant speak english very well and stutters as a result of not being fluent in english, so it should be an interesting sight. but i think i will do pretty well, i dont stutter severely or anything. what do you think of opening up your speech with telling them that you stutter?

[Count]

what do you think of opening up your speech with telling them that you stutter?

I supposed that someone here would advice me this. But it's something I just can't do. I don't know why. I think the people must have a hearing impediment if they actually cannot hear my stuttering.

[Count]

If needed, have a beer ahead of time! :)


:D Yes, maybe I will.

get enough sleep

I already discovered that less sleep makes my speech worse. Enough sleep is maybe the best advice. Thx.

[Derek181]

yah iknow what you mean about how hard it is telling an audience straight up that you stutter. although if someone else brings it up i have no problem telling them and even joking about it a bit. but i just cant seem to bring it up randomly. but its one of my goals, to try and start letting people kknow hey i stutter and especially being open when iam talking slow and they are thinking wtf is wrong with this guy. this is my second year in college and in my first year i talked extremely slow and i think i scared off quite a few people. now in my second year quite a few people avoid me and i get the impression they dont like me. i should have been honest in the beginning and explained to them why i was talking that way.

[Loriner925]

I have to do a presentation infront of my Pyschology class in less than 3 weeks... I'm nervous already and can't wait until I get it over with... I might just take 15mg of Valium and have 3-4 shots of Vodka to help me calm down... I have no other choice, I'm a closet stutterer, no one knows that I stutter in that class...

[Atro]

Beer is the ultimate solution for me, it does not entirely make me fluent but helps a lot. Once I made a mistake and didnt take any beer, it was for my thesis presentation. and boy, oh boy, it went sooooooooooooooooooooooooo wrong.
since then I hold a beer in my hand even right before the speech.

[stutterpress]

So, I know that kind of thread is not new and maybe has been around here dozens of times, but please let me have my own. ;)
The thing is in about three weeks I'll have to give a speech lasting for about 20 minutes to half an hour. I've given speeches so far, but really not that long. So I happen to be a little more nervous than usual. My problem is that I start struggling with my speech after a while. Maybe the first 2 or 5 minutes go well, but after that I get into trouble because it seems as if I lose control over my vocal chords or something. Then my voice and flow of speech start sounding embarrassing. I was told that I shall concentrate on the sound of my voice, so I'll try that.
How do you manage your speeches in college or university?

My speech therapist gave us advice about not leaning onto our left hand side. When we stand, we tend to lean to a side, the pressure applied is on the right or the left foot. The pressure should be on the right hand side and not the left. You'll feel much more comfortable doing so. :)

As for the speech, take occasional pauses, get into a flow of speech. I'd say you could introduce yourself and mention the fact that you stutter, I think revealing the fact that you stutter would grasp more attention, but it has a downfall, if the more attention would make you even more nervous or you would stutter freely. It really depends on you.

But again I'd say, take occasional pauses, grow into the sentence, articulate, go slow, nobodys in a hurry. Take a deep breath before every sentence.

Use HAND GESTURES, yes you can use gestures, it helps in times where you're stuck or feel like you're getting a block. Lower and heighten your voice with your hand gestures.

Tapping technique, the idea of this technique is to distract your mind, try to maintain your rate of speech with taps. With every tap, you should say a word. Or counting the taps also works.

My therapist suggested making a mouth with your hand and opening and closing it as you speak. The hand should never stop talking. The idea is to distract your mind from the stutter.

All in all, I think you'll do great. Just be confident, it doesn't matter if you stutter. All that matters is the content of your speech, not how you say it.

Good success!