Homework Help: Oral Presentations

Posted by TP on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 8:48am.

I've got an upcoming speech to prepare, and my teacher has hardly given any preparation time and I'm the type of person who is very conservative and quiet. I'm afriad of being boring with my speech because our teacher has told us to make it interesting, and make it funny, when the whole idea is talk about a special occasion where you might use the speech, like a funeral, award acceptance, birthdays etc. Using humour in an speech is something that would not be something I expect to do because I usually get the work done the best I can, but also the sheer fact the the joke you use won't be funny. I really HATE speeches because I'm not a public speaker, and even if I do, I'm very shy about it, but to include humour somehow would be really hard. Is there any advice you could give, or something I could read?

Oral Presentations - SraJMcGin, Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 9:49am
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. If you can think of an incident that was funny to you, it will be funny to your audience. Here are some sites to help you:

1. http://www.squaresail.com/auh.html

2. http://blog.jvf.com/2008/05/07/public-speaking-success-enhance-a-speech-with-humor/

3. http://www.humorpower.com/blog/2006/12/opening-a-speech-with-humor/

4. http://marketing.about.com/od/publicrelation1/a/speechhumor.htm

5. (part II of #4): http://marketing.about.com/od/publicrelation1/a/speechhumor.htm

If you find it most difficult to speak in front of a group, some drama classes can be very helpful. The "secret" is to look at someone's ear because they think you are making eye contact but instead y our focus is not there. Don't be afraid to actually have a good time while speaking because that carries to the audience. Good luck and practice with your family so it gets easier.

Sra
Oral Presentations - GuruBlue, Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 11:57am
Also..... practice!!! Give the speech to your mirror. Give the speech to your dog! Both of those will make you more confident. If you can convince him, and if you have one, give the speech to your brother. Instead of just talking....if you are telling of an incident, use the voices of the people and have them relay the incident as it happened. DONT TRY TO BE FUNNY! As Sra Joan said, if you found the incident funny, so will other people. By the way, 90% of the population feels the same way about public speaking. More people are afraid in that situation than are afraid of snakes... You are not alone! Good luck! This is an important learning experience and the next time will not be as hard. If you think about it, let us know how it goes.
Oral Presentations - PsyDAG, Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 12:23pm
You have already received some excellent information. Although I may be repeating some recommendations from your other sources, I hope it will reinforce what they say.

Speaking in front of groups is one of the greatest fears that most people have. You are not alone. As a speaker myself, I still find myself nervous when I give a particular talk for the first time.

One of the things that makes it easier for me is to realize that I don't need to be "perfect." I can be human and make a few mistakes. I often use my mistakes as a source of humor.

Audiences become more involved — less bored — with the speech, if they can participate in some way. Minimally, you can have them vote on some multiple-choice question. However, you need to be sure that those who give a particular response do not feel ridiculed for their decision.

Here is another article about communicating:

http://www.members.cox.net/dagershaw/lol/MessageAcross.html

I hope this helps a little more. Thanks for asking.
Oral Presentations - bella, Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 5:31am
i'm the same as u but i did my speech by just relaxing and pretending im facing a bunch of dolls or something i really like

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