Preparing public speaking is one of the key responsibilities of a PR manager. Often, texts have to be prepared not only for the speakers of the organization, but also for their own reports. Therefore, this skill needs to be honed and improved throughout the career, especially since a successful public speaking can improve an organization's reputation more effectively than dozens of publications in the media.
Training
It is important to find out in a timely manner about the event where a public appearance is planned in order to have time to collect all the initial information:
- Who will be in the hall: social level, average education level of those present, loyalty to the speaker and the company he represents;
- Technical characteristics: the time limit for the presentation, who will speak before and after the speaker, the general theme of the event, whether questions from the audience are expected;
- What tasks do the organizers assign to the speaker's speech: answers to what questions the audience wants to hear.
Writing technique
Having decided on the general information, the speechwriter (the person who writes the speech for the speaker) should form the backbone of the speech. It, like any text material, must include the canon - the introduction, the main part, the conclusion. Even a three-minute greeting should be built along this hierarchy.
The introduction should include a greeting, a short introduction to the organization and the person. Depending on the topic of the speech, it is permissible to "put in the mouth" of the speaker a few words about what the organization is doing, what results have been achieved, what plans are for the current period, as well as at the current event.
It is ethical to start your speech by greeting the audience and the event organizer: “Dear Sirs! Dear presiding officer (full name) . If middle names are not used in journalism, then speeches provide for a business appeal - Ivan Ivanov, Ivan Ivanovich. In public speeches, addressing by surname is not allowed. Depending on the level of the event, you can use the address Mr. - Mr. Ivanov, etc.
The main part should consist of disclosing the topic of the speech. So, the central part of the welcome speech is the mention of joint work with the organizers of the event, the main milestones of interaction and the results. For the report, the main part is the disclosure of the topic, etc.
In the final part, the speaker should thank the audience for their attention, express hopes for fruitful work at the event, and address the audience with a key message.
Speaker features
Any speaker has his own characteristics of public speaking. This can be a characteristic tightening of vowels in moments of confusion, stuttering during excitement, heavy breathing when pronouncing difficult words, etc. A speechwriter should know the speaker's weaknesses better than himself and take them into account when preparing a speech.
The style of public speaking is strikingly different from the preparation of a press release or other documentary texts. Sentences should be as short and simple as possible. Practice shows that by ear the audience is able to perceive a sentence consisting of no more than 12 words. The intonation of their pronunciation should be intuitively guessed by the speaker. To understand whether the sentence is built correctly, the speechwriter must pronounce each written word himself when preparing the text.
The task of the speechwriter is to hide the weaknesses of the speaker and use the strengths. For example, if the speaker has a certain charisma and knows how to communicate with the audience, you can allow some appropriate and delicate jokes in the speech. There should not be many of them and one is enough for a short speech. It is also important to remember that only experienced speakers can competently present jokes in public speaking.
Printed text
The text should be presented to the speaker as early as possible so that he can make his own adjustments and conduct several rehearsals. Even the most experienced performer should not neglect rehearsals, which should certainly be done out loud.
In the text, it is important to write all numerical expressions in words: instead of "3, 5" should be written "three point five tenths." This will make the speaker easier to understand.
The printed font must be at least 14 point size with one and a half line space. This will allow the presenter (or the speechwriter himself) to put down intonation signs in the form of arrows to give expressiveness and thoughtfulness to the speech.
It is important to use stress when writing difficult words. If the text editor does not allow serifs, then the stressed vowel should be highlighted in bold.
The semantic breakdown into paragraphs is of particular importance for the text. They should be small, strictly separated by intellectual emphasis.
