How to Read Your Notes When Speaking

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You accept to give a voice communication, and you wonder how you can give it without staring at a piece of newspaper. Rather than memorize the words, you can use notes. Notes are easy to make. First, write and refine your speech. Pick out keywords that correspond the chief ideas of your speech and write them on notecards. Finish filling out the notecards with important talking points. Proficient notes brand y'all sound natural equally a speaker while having a safety net in case you get lost.

1. 1

   Write your speech. Earlier you can create constructive speech notes, you must make your voice communication as practiced equally possible. Construct an opening that will captivate the audience. Organize the important details of your topic into paragraphs with transitions between each paragraph. Terminate with a memorable closing statement.^[1]

   • This is a typhoon. Pay attention to word option and judgement structure. Make information technology as good as possible, but retrieve that you'll exist able to fix whatsoever mistakes earlier you brand your notes.
   • Get all of your ideas on paper. Information technology doesn't affair if they're crazy, inspiring, or weird. You accept a chance to perfect what doesn't piece of work later on.^[2]

2. 2

   Read the speech aloud. Sit down down in a serenity place and read the speech to yourself. Observe any areas where you can brand adjustments. Pay attention to the flow. Ideas in your voice communication demand to follow a logical gild and take supporting evidence. Locate whatever stumbling blocks and spots that don't transition well.^[3]

   • It'due south a good idea to time yourself while you practise this. That way, you lot'll know when you need to cut down your speech's length.
   • Learn transitional phrases to assist your voice communication flow naturally.^[4]

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3. 3

   Edit the speech. Go back and correct the bug you found during reading. Rearrange the society of ideas so that the speech flows smoothly from beginning to end. Change out difficult or complicated words for simpler alternatives. Your speech should have an piece of cake, pleasant rhythm for your audience.^[five]

   • Highlight things that worked from your outset draft and areas that you desire to keep that demand to be reworded.

4. 4

   Get assistance from people you trust. Read your speech aloud once more. Friends and family members can listen and give you advice. This is a adept fashion to test the audio of the speech every bit well as practice public speaking. Accept them point out the parts you demand to improve.

   • Tape your own spoken language and heed to the phrases and pacing. Mind for whatsoever awkward phrases and try to smooth them out in the side by side draft.
   • If yous know someone who'due south given a public spoken communication before, inquire them to heed. They will take more than feel and will be less biased.

5. v

   Break down your speech into keywords. One time your spoken language feels polished, first translating it into notes. Become through your speech and pick out key phrases. You can use highlighters to mark them. Each keyword represents a new thought in your speech communication. These keywords will exist included in your notes, so make certain they're memorable.^[6]

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1. 1

   Select i idea per note card. Your notes serve as an outline. Avoid writing out large chunks of your speech. Instead, choose the keywords you highlighted earlier. These keywords correspond specific topics that come up up in your speech. Limit yourself to one memorable keyword per notecard.^[7]

   • For instance, you are speaking about the life of a politician. You can employ the give-and-take "Military" to testify yourself when it's time to talk about their armed services experience.
   • Images can also assistance solidify the order of your voice communication. Visualize uniformed soldiers marching in unison and you won't forget you demand to talk about military training.
   • Write out the first words of your transition sentences to help keep yourself on track.

2. 2

   Marker your notes with timing details. Some speeches have fourth dimension limits. You can time out your speech and so you know when yous need to go to sure points. When your timing is off, yous'll know yous need to change your footstep or eliminate some speaking points. Also include related reminders, such every bit directions to smile, exhale, or use a prop at certain points.

   • For instance, if you need to introduce your second idea at the three minute marking, write three minutes on the carte du jour containing that thought.

3. 3

   Write the words legibly. Conspicuously-written words are easy to read when you lot glance downwardly at your notecards. That's why it's important to proceed your notes uncluttered. Make the keywords big most the top of your notes. Keep plenty of white infinite around the words. The white infinite causes them to stand out, which makes them easier to read.^[8]

   • Write the words in a pen that's legible to y'all. Black or blueish ink works best.
   • If you have bad handwriting, you tin can type out your notes. Cut and gum them onto your notes or print them directly past using the "Size" option in the "Print Layout" tab.

4. iv

   Include brief details under the keywords. Follow the keywords with the details y'all need to express in your spoken communication. Create bullet points or numbering beneath the words. Shorten the details equally much as y'all can. These words should besides be as large and legible as you can make them.

   • For example, write out "honor" or "Purple Middle" to remind yourself to mention the awards someone earned in service.

5. 5

   Write out data that needs to be exact. This includes statistics, quotations, and name pronunciations. If they are important to your speech, they're worth writing out. You may need to write them on a split up notecard. This ensures they're legible, merely make sure you lot indicate when you need to read them.

   • For instance, write down "75% laissez passer" if yous need to inform your audition how many people pass a class.

6. 6

   Color-lawmaking your notes with highlights. Get a couple of dissimilar highlighting markers from a general shop. Assign each color a purpose. For instance, green can exist for primary ideas. Pink can be for supporting examples. Yellow can be for examples. Orange can exist for quotations or transitions. These colors are useful for keeping your thoughts in order.

   • Customize the color lawmaking to whatever works best for you.
   • This works best if yous color code while you do your speech, but information technology could be distracting or disruptive by the time y'all requite the speech.

7. 7

   Number the notes. Go dorsum and go all your cards in their final order. In 1 of the corners, mark the cards or pages with the number club. The keyword that comes upwards starting time in your speech should be number one. Number the rest of the cards so that you'll be able to avoid mixing them up.

   • You can also bind the cards together. Employ a drill or pigsty punch on the upper left corner of the notes. Loop a string through them. They'll exist easy to flip and can't be mixed up.
   • However, make sure the flipping of the notecards is non distracting to the audience.

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1. 1

   Rehearse the full spoken communication. Go ahead and recite your speech until yous recall all the important parts. You don't need to memorize every word of the speech. The crucial points you need to convey to the audience are what yous should know past middle. Read the voice communication aloud, focusing on controlling your speech and movements so you lot audio natural.^[9]

   • Memorizing a speech discussion-for-word is unhelpful considering the audience can tell that you're reciting a script. Only utilize memorization and scripted words if you're painting a moving-picture show with your words or you need to tell a joke with comedic timing.

2. ii

   Do the speech communication with your notes. Put aside your script and pick upward your notes. Endeavor to deliver your speech. This fourth dimension, employ your notes when you get stuck. Continue to adjust your oral communication patterns and movements to brand them sound natural.^[10]

   • Because you are using a minimal outline, your speech volition sound a little dissimilar every time. However, it'll also sound more natural.

3. three

   Master your voice communication. Rehearse the spoken communication until you know what to exercise and feel comfortable referring to your notes. You tin ask your friends and family to listen again. They'll be impressed with how well you perform. You'll also feel more than confident because you're prepared.^[11]

   • You lot can time yourself once more while giving the voice communication so you know exactly how long information technology is rather than making a guess. Information technology tin can show you when you're going off-script too much. Continue in mind when yous give the speech, you're leap to talk faster and the speech communication will exist shorter.

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Add New Question

• Question

  What if I have phase fright?

  

  The Caprine animal Show

  Community Answer

  Practise with a smaller group (like friends and family unit), and and then work your way upwardly to bigger and ameliorate things.

• Question

  How many notation cards can I have?

  

  As many every bit you lot need. There'south usually no limit. It depends on how long your speech communication is and how much of it you can remember without notes.

• Question

  Will people retrieve I'm lazy for bringing notes and not having memorized it?

  

  People volition actually think you're organized and prepared if you merely bring notes, as you are then seen as confident. However, effort to do the speech from memory, referring only to the notes as needed.

• Question

  How do only words allow yous to trigger your heed? I'm used to writing out my whole speech on cards.

  

  Practice your speech communication a lot. It should go to the point where you basically have it memorized, and when you blank out, you take a fundamental phrase or word to go you back on track.

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Video

• Try to have 3 main points in the middle of your speech so the audience remembers information technology well. You can dorsum these points up with farther information or quotes.

• Enquiry proper name pronunciations before writing your speech communication.

• Look at your card chop-chop and smoothly. Keep your thumb next to the line on your note carte and then you don't lose your place.

• Try to continue your notes small and out of the manner. You'll do better if you move and gesture a lilliputian rather than shuffle papers or stare at notes.

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• When using visual aids, make them thin and with few words. Visual aids are supposed to exist for the audition.

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Things You'll Need

• Blue or black pen
• Colored highlighters
• Index cards

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Commodity Summary 10

Public speaking can exist scary, just using notes tin increment your confidence and get in a little easier. To prepare notes for public speaking, begin by writing your speech. In one case you've written the start draft, read the speech out loud and make any necessary changes so information technology sounds smooth. When you lot're happy with your voice communication, translate information technology into notes by highlighting keywords to mark where each new idea begins. Then, write ane keyword per notecard. Brand sure your writing is articulate so you can read information technology easily as you speak! If you need to remember specific details or statistics, include these on your notecards. For example, you could write "75%" in your notes if y'all need to tell the audience how many people pass a class. When y'all've finished making your notes, number each one to avoid getting them mixed upwardly. For more data from our Public Speaking co-author, similar how to practise your voice communication, read on!

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