Where are you giving your speech?
Author: NiamhWhere are you giving your speech? Professional speakers usually give their speeches in venues that are professionally equipped. And soundproofed. For the speaker who is giving a eulogy for the death of a friend or the incoming President of a sporting organisation that may not be the case. So if you are giving a speech in less formal surroundings it is a good idea to check the venue first.
A church will usually have a microphone system but if you are speaking at a funeral home or a graveside this won’t be the case and your eulogy will have to be delivered in a loud, clear voice. Your venue may be beside a motor racing track or a nosy factory? If so, your speech could be drowned out by the sound of the engines racing or machines working and you will have to allow for the fact when speaking. Does the microphone work? It’s too late to discover it doesn’t when you start your talk. Practise using it and ask someone to check that they can hear you from the end of the room.
If you are speaking at your mother’s birthday or your grandson’s Bar M mitzvah the party may be held at home. If so you will probably not have a microphone at all and you should practise throwing your voice so that your wonderful toast can be heard by all present. Another tip would be to arrange beforehand for a little stand of some sort. When people gather around the table where the birthday cake is placed for instance you may not be seen by those in the back of the crowd. That is, of course, unless you are seven feet tall!
Even professional speakers can have problems with venues. If they are opening a business conference in a hotel for instance the room may be beside where the beer crates are unloaded and that’s a very noisy procedure. Alternatively, there may be a wedding in another room with a band belting out tunes. You need to be sure too that you won’t be interrupted while giving your speech so arrange for dishes to be cleared away before you begin. So whatever the occasion or wherever the speech is being given check out the venue first. That way you can be sure of getting your message across.
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