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5 MAGIC KEYS TO CREATING ANY SPEECH!

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With or Without Notes?      

      It's sort of like "To be or not to be, that is the question." If Shakespeare had been a speaker's coach, Hamlet might have asked, "To use notes or not to use notes, what is the answer?"

      There's a lot of speaker's envy going around these days directed toward those few individuals (and they really are very few) who seem to be able to get up in front of a crowd and be brilliant, funny, exciting, organized and uplifting all off the top of their heads, without a note in sight. It's so irritating to the rest of us who don't feel comfortable without preparing, planning, writing out and transferring to 3x5 notecards almost every word we plan to say. It's not that we don't know our material. It's more a case of just not feeling comfortable without our blankie, or the equivalent thereof.

      Okay, that's an exaggeration. 99% of us have outgrown our blankies and all the other crutches we needed to maneuver our way through childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. Still, if truth be told, we often feel like a scared kid again when we have to speak in front of a group. That's when we cling to our notes with a death grip and pray we can get through our talk without forgetting to look at them.

      What do those super-confident, super-human beings who make it look so effortless know that we don't? Like the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion in 'The Wizard of Oz,' we've all got a brain, a heart, and the courage to use both. So why do we get flustered, anxious, confused and lightheaded when we try to speak off the cuff?

      (By the way, do you know where the expression 'off the cuff' comes from? It's an old, pre-teleprompter, professional speaker's trick: they would write key words and phrases on the cuffs of their sleeves and slyly look at them at key moments during their talk. Politicians, preachers, leaders of all kinds did this. They got very smooth at it and most audiences never noticed. There's all kinds of magic in speaking, if you know the tricks.)

      Let's tell the truth. There are very few people who have the innate ability to quickly think on their feet, organize in their heads while they're speaking, and make it look so easy we wonder why we can't do that. However, before you give them too much credit, remember that this is not the first time they ever stood in front of a group. They've done this many times before, in many places, from childhood up until the very day you happen to be in the audience. They've said these things before, or they've heard someone else say them and they have a really good memory. They're comfortable in front of a crowd partly because they have developed confidence over the years, partly because they're saying the same things they've said over and over again in different contexts. Just because it's the first time you're hearing it doesn't mean they've never said it before.

      Is this a skill that can be learned? Yes. Is it really doable? Depends on the speaker. Is it important to make the effort? That's a judgment call. You get to decide for yourself.

      Many speakers say they don't look at their notes while they're speaking, but they don't feel comfortable unless they have them handy. It's sort of like the fire alarm box: you usually don't need to use it, but you're grateful it's there when you do.

      Why use notes when you speak? They'll keep you organized and on point. If you go off on a tangent, they'll pull you back in line. If you leave something out, they'll remind you. If you have too much material and too little time, they'll tell you quickly which points to leave out in order to fit the most important ones in. They'll give you 'thinking time'; when you're not sure what to say next, taking a deep breath and consulting your notes is a sure-fire solution. If you get nervous mid-speech, breathing and looking at your notes for a moment or two will give you time to calm down, focus and get back on track. If you have an important quote, a big finish, or a particular call to action that you want to say in a specific manner, you'll have it right there at hand so you can't make a mistake or forget.

      Most important of all, the audience doesn't care whether you're using notes or not. It's a non-issue. They came to hear what you have to say. Your message is your gift to them, and you want your message to land. The audience will be so happy to take home the information you gave them, they'll never remember whether or not you used notes. If it doesn't bother them, why should it bother you?