Hayley Tierney

Mrs. Godfrey
Honors Leadership
11 October 2019
Public Speaking Notes

[SPECIAL FORCES: BRENT GLEASON]

● Gleason was not prepared at first to speak publically- he didn’t think he was a
“professional” speaker.
● Importance of preparedness.
○ Learned this from being a Navy SEAL.
● Opportunity opened the door for his public speaking.
○ He was asked to speak at a series of keynote presentations during global
leadership meetings.
○ Merrill Lynch (President of Bank of America) invited him.
■ Read some of his articles.
● We all have to speak at one point in our lives, and we should all want to do well at it.
● Public Speaking Tips:
○ Know ​your material, and ​know ​your strengths and weaknesses.
○ Act ​like you’re performing on stage.
○ Appropriate Body Language ​and ​mastery of the material ​are essential to
engaging an audience.
○ Speaking with conviction ​allows the audience to have faith and trust in the
message you’re trying to get across.
■ This includes having both a strong ​introduction ​and ​conclusion​.
○ Don’t read from notes​, helps you stray away from not sounding confident and
mumbling.
○ Maintenance of eye contact ​makes everyone in the audience feel involved.
○ Speaking, listening, responding, adjusting, and adapting ​to your audience is
crucial to creating a natural environment and will encourage the audience to
participate in ​communication​.
○ Pausing ​and leaving room for breathing allows you to pace yourself and avoid
coming off as unprepared or flustered.
○ Humor ​is key to engaging an audience when it is ​appropriate ​and it is ​relevant
to the topic at hand.
○ Audio ​and ​Visual Aids ​help to enhance your presentation. Always have a backup
plan for failed attempts, and know your area in which you are presenting ahead of
time.
 ○ Handouts​, if necessary, are there to give an outline only and should be prepared
ahead of time and handed out at an appropriate time.
○ Stop talking ​when it is appropriate. Know when to stop by using a timer or
simply keeping track of yourself. End the presentation with something the
audience will remember, and leave them with a thank you.

[PUBLIC SPEAKING DOCUMENT- INCOMING FRESHMAN AT MIT]

● Sound is extremely important.
○ Learning when and how to take breathes during a presentation so that it doesn’t
disrupt/break up your story.
○ Speaking posture also helps to control breathing.
■ Don’t slouch, but don’t be rigid/straight.
● Voice makes an impression.
○ Pitch/tone, inflection (changing pitch for emphasis), pace, and
articulation/pronunciation are all important in the impression you make on your
audience.
● Write how you talk and take notes on how you would say things.
○ This makes your speaking more vulnerable and allows you to be more
comfortable with the words on the paper.
○ Give yourself written aural hints that give you direction.
● Always have notes available to avoid rambling.
● Do not attempt to memorize anything, it can lead to mind blanking.
● Mapping and using structure to your advantage is extremely important.
○ Use an outline.
○ Use numbers/count to your advantage.
○ Refer back to the things you mentioned in your speech earlier.
○ Use repetition.
○ Reiterate your major points.
● Be concrete and don’t be afraid to use metaphors.
● Know your audience by doing research beforehand.
● Always be prepared to update your talk as you go.
○ Questions from the audience may diverge your original game plan, so be prepared
for that.
○ Handle disruption by acknowledging it, but not drawing attention to it.