SPEECH CONTEST USEFUL TIPS

Are you entering the speech contest this year? If yes, then good for you! But if you are still not convince whether to join a contest or not, just read my recent post about why you should join a speech contest. Read Here

Whatever you decide, here are some speech contest tips and stage tips that I wish to share with you. These are based on my humble experience when I was competing for speech contests for Toastmasters. However, these tips are general tips which will also be useful in any speech contest, not only apply to Toastmasters. These tips are about what you need to do before the contest, during and after the contest.  I hope it can be a great help to you in any way :)

BEFORE THE CONTEST

The Preparation

In anything we do in life, preparation is very important. Speech contest is no exception to the rule. By being well-prepared, you can control you nervousness and have more self-confidence. Preparation makes things easier and ensures everything runs smoothly. 

Let say you are going for hiking at the Grand Canyon National Park, Tour du Mont Blanc or even your backyard, you need preparation. Can you imagine going hiking without your trail shoes, a compass, water, food, first aid kit and multi-purpose tool? You will definitely be in serious trouble!

Don’t worry. It will not be a life-threatening situation if you are unprepared during a contest. Most probably you will only forget your speech, speak longer than you should and deliver a speech with less impact. Still, you don’t want that to happen do you?

So how do you prepare for your speech contest?

Firstly, you must prepare a good speech.

1) Find out about the speech requirements for the contest. If you can, get some information about the marking schemes. It will be very useful for you to see how you can get more marks. Find out about the contest rules, for example the time allocated for the contestants to deliver a speech. Other than that, find out who will be competing with you. At least you know what to expect and what you should do to get ready.

2) Write your speech many times until you are fully satisfied. Your ideas may not come all at once. So take your time to evaluate your speech and continue to find ways to improve your speech drafts. Get opinions and suggestions from others.

Please get feedback from your mentor, teachers, or friends with experience in public speaking. If you know anyone who competed in speech contests before, ask for their advice. You will be competing against good speakers. Some of them might have been competing for many times. Therefore, you must find what makes your speech stand out from the rest. 
  

3)Make sure your speech is well-organised; opening, points (3 at least) and conclusions. Add in strong messages into your speech. Great message gives value to your speech. Inject some humour and interesting stories into your speech. If it is a humorous speech contest, by all means make them laugh out loud. If it is an inspiring speech, touches their hearts and they will remember your speech forever.

Secondly, you must be prepared for speech delivery.

1) Practice, practice and practice. Practice makes perfect. Well, of course nothing is perfect. You know what I mean. If you practice a lot, the possibilities of making mistakes during the contest can be minimise. Practice delivering your speech in front of the mirror, record your voice on tape and listen to yourself. Ask people you trust to watch you practice and get their opinions. Do not forget to time your speech within the time given to you during the contest. Take into considerations of the pause, applause and laughter.

2) Learn your speech by heart like the back of your hand. However, I suggest that you do not rely too much on memorising your script. This is because if you happen to forget your words during the speech, (which can happen), you will not know what to do. Remember the points of your speech and you will be safe. You can use your own words to explain your points and continue with your speech until you can recall your original script.

3) Take care of your health before the contest. Please do not lose your voice while practising. This happened to me twice. I sounded very husky at first until I completely lost my voice. Luckily my next contest was 2 weeks away which gave me just enough time to recover. Drink lots of water and do not strain your voice. Give your voice some time to rest.

Do not go out dancing in the rain and catch cold. Take vitamins and get some exercise. Exercising is actually good to reduce anxiety and stress. Many contestants take this for granted. Maybe they feel that it is unnecessary because there will be no running and jumping involved. The truth is, in order to perform well on stage, you need to be fit and possess a good stamina. Otherwise, you will look tired and has little energy to speak.

ON THE DAY OF THE CONTEST

Before The Contest Starts

Yes, I know. On the day on the contest you will be so excited. But no matter how worried and anxious you are, please do not neglect your sleep. Please get a good night sleep before the contest. If you don’t sleep well, you will be sleepy and tired. Remember you need to be focus, alert and be able to think clearly during the contest. You must have enough sleep.

1) Arrive early at the venue of the contest. If you can, arrive there before anyone else. If you arrive early, you will have time to look around and do last minute preparation. You will be calmer and more focus. If you arrive late, you might be distracted, nervous and unprepared.

2) Once you have arrived at the place, go up on the stage and feel the stage. The stage is the where you should put your energy. It is where you will be standing tall and talk to your audience. Move around. Look at the empty seats. Visualise what will happen later and imagine your audience and your judges seating there looking at you.

Take a deep breath. Practice how you are going to come up on stage and where you are going to stand. Take time to plan how you are going to move on the stage and know where the timing lights are. (If they are using any) Familiarise yourself with the place. If you plan to use some props during the speech, then this is the time to try out.

3) Stay calm, relax and take a deep breath. You are not alone. Other contestants are nervous too. Take time to remember your speech and your points. Talk to the others to overcome your nerves. If you need to practice, go somewhere quiet as long as you can hear any announcement. Or at least let the organisers know where you are.

4) Be alert for any announcement. Find out any information on contest; any other rules you should know about, what time the contest will start, how many contestants will be competing on that day and when your turn is. Usually, there will be someone who will give briefing to the contestants. Do not forget to test the microphones if you are using any. You might consider wearing a jacket or pants with pockets or anything suitable if you are using the headsets and lapel microphones.    

DURING THE CONTEST

Once the contest has started, take a deep breath again. Relax. Wait until your name is called. Focus on your speech and try not to feel intimidate by other contestant’s performance. Yes, it is easier said than done. If you feel stress listening to other contestants before you, then wait outside until it is your turn. But you need to confirm with the organisers first whether you are allowed to do that or not.

1) Before you go up on stage, take your time to look at the audience. It helps you to be ready. If you see some eyes looking at you before you go up the stage, smile at them. It will give you peace of mind and help you relax. When you finally go up on stage, smile to your audience again no matter how nervous you are. It will release positive vibes between you and your audience. Trust me, it works!

2) Please be alert of the time given to you. Do not speak longer than you should. If you are not careful, you might be disqualified because of this. Keep your eye contact with your audience. Remember to move with purpose. Make sure your voice is clear enough. Control your breathing especially if you are using the microphone. If the microphone is not working, just continue with a loud clear voice.

3) Please remain calm if you forget your speech. Just remember your points and continue from there. Some might not even notice your mistakes. Do not say ‘sorry’ when you forget what you want to say. Remember your points and you will be fine. 

4) Focus on delivering the message of the speech instead of winning the contest. Sometimes when you try hard to win, you will be under a lot of stress. You will be so frustrated even if you forget one line of your speech. The audience can actually feel what you are feeling. You should be enjoying yourself on stage and they will enjoy listening to your speech. Be enthusiastic and give your very best.

AFTER THE CONTEST

The first thing you need to do after you finish your speech is to relax and wait for the results. Congratulate yourself whether you win the contest or not. Congratulate others who are the winners. And the last thing you need to do is take many photos!

The Most Useful Lessons of All…

It takes great courage for anyone to be up there on stage to compete in a speech contest. It takes hard work, determination and passion to be able to do what you do. Contesting is not all about winning. I know winning can be wonderful but the most important thing is gaining the experience. You will be better each time you compete. I can assure you that.

If you win a speech contest, cherish that moment and make it a motivation for you to keep on learning. But if you do not win, do not feel bad. Yes, it can be heart-breaking. I learned this the hard way. It’s a long story. Maybe I will share it with you in another post?

The best achievement is actually joining a contest. The best achievement is going up the stage and delivers your speech with the great message you have to offer. And to be able to do all these you need to have courage to challenge yourself. Now this is your true victory. It is never about the trophy.

Just do your best, give your best and be your best.

One day, you are going to look back and say, “Yes. I was on that stage and the memories were priceless”

Written By: Intan Salwana Anis
@2018 Public Speaking Is Cool. All Rights Reserved.