tutoria-Nachhilfe-Wiki

In order to truly succeed holding a speech on whatever topic or subject, it is necessary to be conscious of two major points. Both of them are essential for receiving applause from the audience and good marks from the jury or teacher. Furthermore it makes a difference whether you undertake to hold a speech before an audience as a single person or develop some concept that is due to examination and will additionaly be presented to an audience.

• Go at lengths at working out the topic, setting up the structure, choosing the contents and examples. The focus is set on analysis.

• Talk to the audience about your analysis in a lively, convincing, thrilling manner. Don´t be nervous and upset, keep in mind the audience actually wants to be informed by you as well as “entertained” by you, not actually to be made fall asleep. The focus is set on communication.

How to prepare oneself for a lecture

1. Prepare your analysis in English (resp. in the same language you´ll hold your lecture, so you´ll get yourself tight on the subject and simultaneously on the words you will use.)
2. Do not read out your written concept to the audience. Make a “road map” about what you will transport to the listeners by extracting the structure and major points of your analysis. This road map is a task of its own and requires yet another kind of preparation. Do not write down all the sentences you intent to speak.
3. Speak frankly to your audience and don´t be anxious about making mistakes in speaking English. Imagine you hold a speech in your native tongue – you would surely not expect your grammar to be perfect, would you?
4. Find suitable examples for your theses and information in order to make quite clear what you want to say. Help your listeners achieve a mental state in which they can easily learn and think.
5. Be concise in lecturing, don´t talk too long (twenty minutes are plenty enough for most topics), avoid repetitions and articulate strongly and accurately.
6. Stimulate the audience by starting with an example and finishing the same way – instead of an example you may as well use a quote, an allegory, even a joke. Remember the so called “primary-recency-effect”^; you´ll win the listeners’ sympathy and consent by starting and ending your lecture in a good way.
7. Use suitable media such as overhead projector, flip charts, boards, pattern etc.
8. Remind non verbal communication effects like mimics and gestures. Keep eye contact with your audience, maybe with just one or a few persons, move or even walk about or turn, in short: do not give the impression of being stuck onto one single spot. Smile at people, be good-humoured and positive, emphasize your words and the information you give by using your hands and arms. Simply be yourself, do not try to be any more or less.
9. In the end you do not necessarily have to say thanks to your audience for their attention; provided your speech has been interesting and worth being listened to, the audience has to thank you by ways of applause and agreeing.
10. Be proud of yourself and satisfied if you have been successful. Even if you have not, regard your failure a chance for learning rather as a reason to be deeply disappointed.; it will not be the last lecture you have the chance to hold.