Page 262 - Use Your Memory

21 Memory System for
Speeches, Jokes, Dramatic Parts,
Poems, Articles and Books

Speeches
The best way to start approaching the memorisation of speeches is
to realise that in 90 per cent of cases they do not need to be
completely memorised. Realisation of this fact will instantaneous-
ly help you overcome most of the major problems experienced by
those who approach speech writing and speech making as a
memory function:
1 The enormous amount of time wasted in preparing a speech
for memorisation. The average time taken for the preparation and
presentation of a one-hour speech is, in total, one week. This
wasted time is spent writing and rewriting the speech again and
again to make it appropriate for memorisation. The remainder of
the wasted time is spent trying to ram the speech into the memory
by constant repetition.
2 The mental pressure and stress caused.
3 The physical stress resulting from item 2.
4 The relatively stilted presentation that results from a word-
for-word memorised presentation.
5 The boredom experienced by the audience who will 'sense'
that what they are being given is lineally memorised and rigid, and
not spontaneous and immediately relevant to them.
6 The aura of stress in both the speaker and the audience, both
of whom wait with apprehension for those horrible gaps and
pauses that occur when something has been forgotten.
7 The lack of eye contact between the speaker and the audience
because the speaker is 'looking inward' at the rigidly memorised
material and not outward to the audience.
The secret of making a good speech is not to remember the entire
speech word for word, but the main Key Words of your speech.
The entire process of preparation and memory/presentation can
be made both enjoyable and easy if you follow these simple steps:
1 Generally research the topic about which you are going to
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