Speech delivery is a matter of nonverbal communication. It is based on how you use your voice and body to convey the message expressed by your words. You can't make a good speech without having something to say, but you also need to know how to say it. Rather than calling attention to itself, effective delivery conveys the speaker's ideas clearly, engagingly, and without distracting the audience. There are four basic methods of delivering a speech: reading verbatim from a manuscript, reciting a memorized text, speaking impromptu, and speaking extemporaneously. The last of these—speaking extemporaneously—is the method you probably will use for classroom speeches and for most speeches outside the classroom. When speaking extemporaneously, you will have a brief set of notes or a speaking outline. You will choose the exact wording of your speech at the moment of delivery. To use your voice effectively you should work on controlling your volume, pitch, rate, pauses, vocal variety, pronunciation, articulation, and dialect. Volume is the relative loudness of your voice, and pitch is the relative highness or lowness. Rate refers to the speed at which you talk. Pauses, when carefully timed, can add great impact to your speech, but you should avoid vocalized pauses ("er," "um," and the like). Vocal variety refers to changes in volume, pitch, rate, and pauses, and is crucial to making your voice lively and animated. Most of us speak casually in everyday conversation, but for public speaking you should be sure to pronounce words correctly and to articulate them distinctly. You should also avoid heavy use of dialect in situations where the audience does not share the dialect or will find it inappropriate to the occasion. Posture, personal appearance, facial expression, gestures, and eye contact also affect the way listeners respond to speakers. You can do little to change your face or body, but you can dress and groom appropriately for the situation at hand. You can also learn to control gestures and bodily movements so they enhance your message, rather than distract from it. Making eye contact with listeners is one of the quickest ways to establish a communicative bond with them. You should practice all these aspects of delivery along with the words of your speech. Start your practice sessions early so you will have plenty of time to gain command of the speech and its presentation. If your speech includes a question-and-answer session, you will need to prepare for that as well, since it can have a strong impact on the audience's final impression. Anticipate the most likely questions, prepare answers to them, and practice delivering those answers. Once the question-and-answer period is underway, listen carefully to the questions, approach them positively, and respond to them briefly, graciously, and straightforwardly. Direct your answers to the full audience, rather than to the questioner alone, and make sure to end the session in a timely fashion.
