Speechmaking Essentials: Pace,Poise and Polish.

If someone were to ask you how many Ps there are in speechmaking, you'd be forgiven for thinking that there is only one. Strictly speaking, of course, you'd be right. But if you intend to make a speech, you had better remember that there are, in fact, three Ps in speechmaking - Pace, Poise and Polish.

And if you can incorporate these three Ps into your speechmaking, you will be certain of making a good impression on just about any audience you may come across.

Pace. This is a 'make or break' P. Get this wrong and your audience will either be bored to tears and will be struggling to hide their yawns from you OR they will be nudging their close neighbour to ask whether he heard what you said because they missed it.

Have you ever had the misfortune of listening to a speech made by a slow speaker? If you have, you'll already appreciate just how tedious a slow delivery can be. Even the most interesting topic will be made boring by a slow drawl and your audience will be itching to scream "Speed it up Buddy - I want to be home by Midnight!"

Delivering your speech too slowly is guaranteed to make even the most generous audience lose their concentration and their patience.

If you pitch your pace too fast, on the other hand, listening to you will become too much like hard work and many people in your audience will simply lose the thread of what you are saying. Your job as a speaker is to make the audiences' task of listening to your speech as easy as possible and you should be trying as hard as you possibly can to alloow your audience the luxury of simply relaxing and letting your words seep effortlessly into their minds.

Speak slowly enough for your audience to absorb what you are saying yet fast enough to prevent your delivery from becoming tedious. Learn to vary your pace throughout your presentation so that your delivery remains interesting to those listening to it.

Poise. Most speakers only focus on the subject matter of their speeches and work long and hard on the actual construction of their speech. Hours are spent collecting information, arranging it into the correct sequence, choosing the most appropriate opening and closing words and making sure that the rhythm and flow of their delivery is just right.

And of course, all that work is essential if you are to give an excellent speech. But the effort doesn't stop there. How you present yourself is just as important as how you present your words.

Run through this checklist immediately before you step out in front of your audience:

1. Is your clothing presentable, clean, appropriate and arranged correctly? 2. Is your hair neatly combed? 3. Does your body language convey the right impression?

Always bear in mind that your audience will start forming their opinion of you from the first moment that they see you and long before you have a chance to woo them with your words. Your poise - that is, the visual impression given to the audience - will influence their first impression of you and that is something that you must pay great attention to .

Make sure that your impression is a positive one.

Polish. This is what will make a good speech great! It is also the thing that will enable you to rid yourself of any pre-speech nerves. Thorough preparation is the key to most things in life and speaking in public is no exception.

Make time to rehearse your speech in front of a mirror, or better still, in front of your family or friends. Make sure that you become very familiar with the content of your speech. Practice until you find the most effective style of delivery and think about the incorporation of suitable gestures. Spend time on anything that you feel needs to be practised until it becomes second nature.

Closely scrutinise your stage outfit and pay detailed attention to your posture. How you stand will certainly display any outward signs of tension you may be feeling so don't lean, don't hunch, don't slouch and don't allow yourself lose concentration. Polish your performance until it gleams! In spite of all these efforts, you must strive to appear relaxed, confident and in control at all times - even if you don't feel it.

By remembering the three Ps in 'speechmaking' - Pace, Poise and Polish, any audience will be enthralled, entertained and enraptured by your performance - guaranteed!

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