Craig

Great post.

I especially like how you have pointed out that a lot of presenters will spend a lot of time researching but won’t ever get around to actually practicing the presentation. This often leads to long, obtuse, and rambling presentations.

Practice truly does make perfect.

I had a baseball coach in high school who said, ?You play the way that you practice.? Naturally, practicing public speaking will help.

What most people forget though is that it is equally important to practice non-verbal delivery skills as well. It is important to do so as practicing your non-verbal skills will help cement them in your muscle memory. If you do not practice that way, you are less likely to meet with success.

Another important thing to keep in mind when practicing public speaking is that the presenter shouldn?t stop in their practice sessions. They need to learn how to deal with mistakes during public speaking, so they must practice it like they would in front of an audience. Then they will be more adept at reacting and thinking on their feet.

There is no substitute for practicing a presentation on your feet before you deliver it. Mark Twain said it best, ?It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.?

Thanks for the post!

I have just checked it out – looks pretty cool – I like the bright colours.

Don’t you think that we should learn mind-mapping in school – it is such a powerful tool.

I used it to pass my honours degree – I managed to reduce 500 page text books to a few simple mindmaps.

Craig

(here is Jason’s map http://prohumorist.com/?p=50)

Just thought I’d let you know that I’ve posted the mind map of my speech on my blog. It was a very quickly drawn Mind Map, but please do come on over and provide me with your feedback.

Cheers,
Jason

you’re absolutely right. I think that Mind Mapping can certainly help to create a speech quickly or allow you to take more time over it.

I’m going to put my mind map on my blog pretty soon and I’ll try to remember to give you a shout when I do!

Cheers
Jason

Mindmapping is one of the most under-rated and under-used creativity techniques. I quote agree with you in that you really can write a speech in a few minutes by creating a simple mindmap outlining the structure.

Of course I am not suggesting that ALL speeches should be written in a few minutes, but it does happen from time to time that a speech needs to be written in a very short time, and the mindmap is perfect for that.

When there is more time, the mindmap is a great tool to create the initial drafts of a speech.

Craig

I really like this post. that’s a really good way to remember the stages for developing a speech.

I recently made a post about structuring speeches will time is against you. It involved me using a handwritten mind map for the dual purpose of structuring and memorization.

Cheers,
Jason