Development

• Decide what you want the audience to remember. Then make it very clear in the speech sthat neffort is required by the audience tfind a theme or make connections between various parts of your speech.
• Develop a small variety of points to convey your purpose. Feel free to share a personal anecdote or famous quote, but not 10 of them. You want people to think, “I love the quote she used about X!” and not “Wow, how many quotes do you think she fit in those 3 minutes?” 
• Organize for clarity and to build interest. Keep in mind that the audience isn’t looking at your notes, so consider cuing the transitions or significant points verbally. For example “In addition to X, I urge you to also remember Y” or “Perhaps the most important thing I can say to my fellow future alumni is…”
• Provide cohesion by linking the opening and closing segments. Whether you open with a vivid image or a funny quote, refer back to it (or at least the meaning of it) when you close so that the audience experiences a sense of tidy completion.  
• Balance formality and personality. Consider the level of formality appropriate for the occasion when selecting the general theme or even specific vocabulary. Remember you can be serious and still smile, move naturally and even look like you are having a good time!
• Find the right format for your notes. If you write every word tread or memorize verbatim, you risk sounding rote and unnatural. However, if you don’t have enough notes, you risk botching a punch line or fumbling to remember what point comes next. When practicing, try at least 3 versions of notes. Consider bullet points to separate sections of your speech—some may have the exact wording you want to use (typically the opening acknowledgments, transitions, specific quotes or statistics) and others just keywords to remind you of a story you know so well that you don’t need it written out. Videotape yourself practicing so you can evaluate how the various types of notes influence your eye contact, naturalness, and overall fluency of the speech. 

Delivery

• Relax your mind and body.
  • Focus on what you WANT to happen. Ignore or replace immediately thoughts of what you’re afraid will happen by instead visualizing what you want to happen. Study that image in your mind until you can do it comfortably and automatically in reality.
  • Take cleansing breaths (breathe in through your nose for the count of 5, then out through your mouth with lips barely open for another count of 5. Repeat.) Deep, steady breathing improves voice quality and calms the nervous system.
  • Stand with good posture for two reasons: 1. Physiologically, your voice sounds the best when your body is supporting it with aligned, stable posture. 2. Psychologically, it tells your audience that you are ready and capable.
• Appear and sound in control.
  • Make and maintain eye contact with people throughout the audience. It may be tempting to glance around without honestly connecting with the people out there looking at you, but - if you really look - you may find in their eyes a genuine interest and connection that feels quite encouraging as you progress through your speech.
  • Move your face and body naturally. Get comfortable and own your space behind the microphone. Use hand gestures, facial expressions and vocal variety temphasize your points or build momentum in a story.
  • Articulate clearly and smoothly. Mumbling and gravely voice quality can quickly deter an audience. Usually both can be avoided by increasing your volume. Without tensing your neck and shoulder muscles, imagine a loud strong voice coming from your gut, soaring out of your mouth, and landing squarely on the back wall.
  • Bring the message to life by varying your rate, volume, and pitch. Why not just give the audience a transcript of your speech? Because the glory of an oral presentation is in the effects of vocal variety. The audience will connect with your message if they connect with you. Share yourself with them by letting all your thoughts and emotions manifest in your voice. 
• Engage with the audience.
  • Talk WITH the audience, not AT them. Watch the audience’s faces and expressions to help you feel connected with them in two-way communication rather than simply reciting some words you wrote down.  Occasionally look at a few specific people you know in the audience and pretend you are really talking with them personally.
  • Transform nervous energy into a sense of excitement and joy. While you maybe able to reduce anxiety with good preparation and practice, it will not go away completely. Accept this fact and call it “excitement” rather than “nerves”. Everyone loves a speaker who looks excited tbe there; if you are energetic the audience will follow your lead and be excited with you.