How to Practice a Speech from Home
The following chapter is from the Speaking Wizard ebook.
When we think of public speaking, we think of a task that is surrounded by a boatload of people.
But want to know a secret?
Most of public speaking happens solo.
The few stages of public speaking include:
- Creating the speech.
- Practicing the speech
- Fine-tuning the speech.
- Delivering the speech.
From 1-3, you are solo (unless you are getting feedback from an evaluator).
For 4, you are around people when delivering your speech.
The great news about this is that you can practice public speaking from the comfort of your own home.
All you need is YOU + a feedback system.
‘A feedback system? That sounds scary!’
Not really, it’s just a platform that allows you to see yourself.
There are 2 types of feedback systems:
◊ Mirror
◊ Camera
You can speak in front of either one of these feedback systems.
In terms of practicing, I like the camera more than the mirror.
The mirror makes you more of a thinker.
You are trying to focus on how you look & and deliver the speech.
Sure, this allows you to adjust your moves quicker.
But the only problem is that you are trying to do 2 things at once:
- Speaking AND analyzing body language.
The camera is my choice because it allows you to just focus on speaking when you’re in speaking mode.
And then when you watch it back, you are simply in analyzing mode.
No multitasking & dividing up your brain bandwidth.
So, in order to practice from home, you need yourself & a feedback system (mirror or camera).
Those are the tools.
With that being said, why is a feedback system important?
It’s important because it allows you to iron out your body language.
A large reason that you have speech anxiety is because you think that you look ugly while speaking.
When you can see yourself, a lot of your doubt begins to melt away.
During the practice session, this is where you are polishing up your speech.
In the last section, we talked about how to create your speech.
We talked about brainstorming & formatting your speech with an opener, middle & end.
But during the last chapter, we said that your speech was not solidified.
Instead, it seemed very blurry.
In the practicing section, you are meant to take the speech from:
Blurry -> Crystal Clear
Get rid of words which do not move your BIG idea forward.
If certain concepts need to be added, then add them.
Move around ideas as you see fit.
You will notice that your speech is getting more polished after each take.
You don’t have to recite your speech verbatim like a robot.
Just keep your mind primed for the big ideas.
Around this section, you can decide whether or not you need index cards.
But I recommend practicing in a way where if your index cards were lost on speech day, you’ll still be good.
Make yourself independent.
Go thru the speech until it goes from blurry to crystal clear.
In this section, you are refining the content of your talk & recording (or using a mirror).
Get the Full Speaking Wizard Book here!
– ArmaniTalks 
