Any Public Speakers Here?

[Kristi]

I am going to be in the Miss Wheelchair SD pageant in April and I have to have a 3 minute speech on the platform I am choosing. I am doing it on how horrible accessible seating is and what people can do to advocate to make it better. Whether it's with city hall or having to file an ADA complaint.

The idea of public speaking makes me want to puke and pass out. I'd rather stick needles in my eyes. That's how badly I hate it.

Does anyone have any public speaking tips? I'm headed to the library tomorrow to pick up some books to prepare for the interview and public speaking.

My new wheelchair rep would also like me to join his team and go public speak around the midwest. The more I do it the easier it will get that's for sure.

I'm a confident, assertive woman, but not when you stick a mic in front of my face. Any tips on how to get over my fear.

I'll be working on my speech this week. I know I need to pretty much memorize it, open with a good line, etc. Oiy Vey!

If I win then I go onto Nationals in California and I get to do it all over again. With that I will get to have fundraisers with my friends to raise money for my entry fee of $1500!! Yikes! That will be fun to do that if I get that far.

I keep telling myself it's a good opportunity and it will look good on my resume. If i pass out and crack my head open from it --- oh well!

 

[suspenceman]

I'm a pretty decent public speaker. I can get a crowd laughing and that always makes me relax. All of my speeches that i've made, be it a class that I teach, attend, my brothers wedding, speech class....the key is to make them laugh at first.

Have your intro basically memorized to the T, but after that and you get the crowd warmed up things will start sliding off of your tongue, and your knee's wont buckle!

As many times as i've stood up in front of 10 people to 200 people, I still get the shakes and sick feeling in my stomach haha.

The topic of your speech sounds very interesting! Having just had foot surgery and not been able to walk around that great, it has surprised me how pitiful the disability parking is at the college I go to (that has 35k students). Our basketball arena isn't at all disability accessible AT ALL!

But back to your original intent of the post. Flash cards seem sophomoric, i would have a sheet of paper that has 4-5 bullet points with maybe a sentence at each one just so you can glance at it.

Remember to make them laugh!

 

[peplaw06]

I speak in front of smaller audiences for sure, but still get those nerves that I get in front of the few big audiences I've spoken in front of.

It may sound simplistic, but my best tip is to breathe. I ALWAYS start off talking really fast, and it gets your adrenaline running, and that's when you get more nervous. I've found that I just have to make myself take a breath more often.

There's a tendency to think that if you're not constantly talking, that there's this dead air and it's awkward. But people will hardly notice it, I promise. Also, I'll take a bottle of water (or a stiff drink if it's a toast lol). Sipping from that lets you collect your thoughts, and it's also not awkward to have that pause at all.

 

[bbgun]

Just try to imagine Bob naked. It also works if you need your stomach pumped.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Does Bob saying "Yes your honor I won't go near that pre school again" count?

 

[JD_KaPow]

Prepare and practice. If possible, practice it in front of a group. As others said, have your opening down cold and remember to breathe.

Also, remember that the audience is on your side. They're not out there listening for every mistake - they want to like you and learn from you.

Finally, the hardest thing to do for a novice speaker: speak slowly. The natural reaction is to rush through your speech. Make yourself slow down - it will sound a lot better and help you remember to touch on every point you want to make. Practice can help with this too.

 

[YosemiteSam]

What I do is pretend there are only 3-4 people there and think of them as friends I hang out with. Then just talk to them about a subject I know!

 

[Hostile]

I am a good editor and a fair public speaker. I'll help with whatever you ask of me.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Just try to imagine Bob naked. It also works if you need your stomach pumped.

yeah, if a sculpted body is a turn off

Does Bob saying "Yes your honor I won't go near that pre school again" count?

whatevs

I know you got an extra stash of candy next to your regular stash of candy to lure the kiddies

 

[ethiostar]

I agree with what some have said. Having a good sense of humor is a great asset for public speaking. Poking fun at yourself always helps. But i wouldn't advise preparing a joke all that much though. The problem is that if for some reason the crowd doesn't find it funny, it becomes very awkward to get passed it.

Relax, be professional about it if the occasion calls for it but don't take yourself all too seriously (notice i said yourself NOT the subject matter). If for some reason you stumble a bit, have fun with it and don't let it throw you off your game. If you get too uptight about it, the crowd will sense that and they will feel awkward about the situation too.

More than anything, remember, you almost never sound or look nearly as nervous as you feel/think when you're standing there talking. I've addressed an audience several times and i can hear my voice breaking, feel my palms sweeting, and my hands shaking only later to be told how confident i was and to be showered with complements about what an outstanding job I did.

Also, although i agree that you should have a very good grasp of the topic that you will speak on and know what you what to say about it, I wouldn't recommend memorizing it so much that you sound robotic on the stage. If it helps jot down some notes (maybe in bullet format) to keep you on track and so that you can remember to touch on everything you want to talk about.

I hope that helps.

I'm sure you will get different types of advice from different people. People have different styles and some approaches are more appropriate for certain personalities and occasions. Its a matter of picking one that fits you and the the audience you will address.

Good luck but I'm sure you'll do an outstanding job.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

Remember that they want to hear what you have to say, always helped me atleast.

Don't think to hard on what your saying, that is when you make a mistake like slur a word or something.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

yeah, if a sculpted body is a turn off



whatevs

I know you got an extra stash of candy next to your regular stash of candy to lure the kiddies

why is everyone mean to poor ol' bob.

 

[Kristi]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will definitely use them!

One of the former Miss Wheelchairs is helping me through this process too. I told her my platform and she likes it and what I wanted to do with it. I want to talk about my accomplishment of winning my first ADA case. She suggested not talking about ADA complaints like it was a bad thing. I convinced her people need to know about them and that my intent is not to get money, it is to fix it so it's right and everyone can enjoy it. .

Hostile - thanks. When I get it written I'll have you go over it. I'll be sending it to a few people to critique.

suspenceman - it really OPENS your eyes to what people with disabilities go through doesn't it? How OLD is the bball building? If it was built pre-1990 then it doesn't have to be up to code unless they made other renovations since it was built then they have to make it accessible.

Do you have a handicap placard for your car? How many times have you NEEDED a spot when someone without a disability takes it or there is a shopping cart in it? That's my biggest pet peeve. Next time y'all go to the store count how many shopping carts are in the HC spots. I can't move a cart very well -- it's taller than me.

I just went out to a bar tonight and there wasn't ONE handicap spot. That's not only illegal, but I had to illegally park and block someone in. The owner and my friend said they would pay my ticket if I got fined. I wanted to leave and go somewhere else. 20 years of ADA and people don't have a clue.

I'm not sure how humorous it will be guys. I want to be serious about my topic because far too many people in MY city and a lot of other cities don't have a clue. I want to talk about how our city and state officials need to be better educated on ADA Laws. A couple of summers ago I got dropped down the stairs at a club who refused to fix their elevator because it cost too much. I went in circles with SIX different people at city hall on what was supposed to be done. I asked the Fire Marshall what people with disabilities were supposed to do if there was a fire with stairs being at all exits areas and he said I don't know. WTH!

Stricter penalties against architects who design the buildings wrong. I have a current case ongoing right now and the architect has been sued by ADA and PVA (Paralyzed Vets) and the DOJ SIX times, now me a seventh. He promised to make any future buildings accessible or face jail time. The brand new 90 Million dollar put the only wheelchair seating in the very last row at the top. Yep, nosebleed seats.

There's a lot of tax payer money in these new facilities and then to build em wrong when the rules are every where. If my case ever gets settled they are going to eventually have to jack hammer a bunch of seating out to accommodate line of sight regulations which are supposed to be on ALL levels. Not just one, ALL of em. I would hope the architect will have to eat the cost and pay for the renovations. And if Sioux Falls ever gets a new events center you can guarantee that architect won't be building the new one here. I will be at every meeting if need be and be the biggest pain in his butt.

Pretty much have enough material to cover -- just need to put it in speech form and have it 3 minutes long. uke:

 

[Bob Sacamano]

why is everyone mean to poor ol' bob.

jealousy

 

[SaltwaterServr]

Remember that they want to hear what you have to say, always helped me atleast.

Don't think to hard on what your saying, that is when you make a mistake like slur a word or something.

x2. At Texas Tech, I walked into the Biology underground lecture hall to give a speech to the class of 20-25 classmates on a new management strategy for urban lakes in the Lubbock area.

Uh, there were 350 people including a half dozen folks from Texas Parks and Wildlife. My professor had been so enamored with our work on the project that he forwarded it to a few other professors and the local TP&W office.

I remember taking off my duster and hat and asking what the hell were all these people here for. Doc said, "they're here to hear what you have to say on the final findings of the project".

Somehow knowing they were all interested in what I and John had to say made it like I was just having a conversation with them, rather than speaking to a faceless nameless horde.

 

[Yeagermeister]

jealousy

 

[Hoofbite]

Does Bob saying "Yes your honor I won't go near that pre school again" count?

Haha.......

I was gonna ask about imagining the audience naked and thought that Bob might attend and immediately threw that idea out the window.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Haha.......

I was gonna ask about imagining the audience naked and thought that Bob might attend and immediately threw that idea out the window.

Dude.....I haven't had breakfast yet

 

[big dog cowboy]

jealousy

I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

 

[peplaw06]

Dude.....I haven't had breakfast yet

You're lucky. You would have lost it like me.