Public Speaking - How to Speak Without Notes

Public speaking is a scary concept for many people, though many have learnt the art of public speaking. I am still learning this art, but after 12 years of preaching, speaking in front of Rotary Clubs, school classrooms, etc, I have learnt some tips on communicating along the way!

This post is about speaking without notes. Now, to clarify, if you are a nervous public speaker, then this may seem like a huge jump for you, and speaking without notes may seem like too big a jump. If so, go have a coffee, and read a different post. Check out this one on tips on communicating effectively. Though, if you're willing to take a dive into this style of communication, then read on.

Communicating to a crowd without notes can have many benefits. Before I offer some tips on how to arrive at the point of ditching the notes, let me explain the benefits of not using them:

• Your eyes are more likely to be focused towards the listening audience, and not the notes
• There is a certain level of freedom that you can feel
• People are not distracted as much by shuffling with notes and nervously holding on to a pulpit/podium
• The listening audience generally sense you are more knowledgeable about your topic and more confident.
• The listening audience are more engaged. (I sense this to be generally true when you speak without notes, as you are 'eye-balling' the crowd more - you are not hiding behind the podium).

Generally speaking, the benefits then of public speaking is a more engaged crowd. A crowd that is actively listening. (Of course you can still communicate without notes and still be absolutely terrible!)

So how do you speak to a crowd with no notes?

Here are some tips I have personally found helpful to engage in public speaking without notes:

• Study your subject matter extensively. If it's preaching, then read up on the Scriptures, Biblical Commentaries, books by credible authors, etc. This takes time, but if you want to arrive at communicating with freedom, then you need to know your content!
• Not only study your subject matter, but learn it. There's a difference.
• Write out the presentation/sermon/talk in full. Some times people skip this step, and I have skipped this step at times. I find when I do skip the discipline of writing out what I want to communicate in full, I do not speak with as much clarity and depth if I then choose to use no notes.
• Once you have written out your message in full, break it down into points. You can keep a copy of the fully written piece and open a new document. You are now on the way to public speaking without notes! Make sure the points spark in your mind the content that is connected to that point.
• All you have to do now, is memorize the points and you can communicate without notes!

If you choose to engage in public speaking, for whatever reason (and for me, it's to preach about Christ and the hope he gives), then you need to honour your listeners with the best. Sometimes people speak with fully written notes and bore everyone to death, and sometimes people speak without notes and have not done the ground work, and so it lacks depth and focus.

This all being said, you can speak well and inspire the listeners with notes. 

Though, there have been times I have invested in learning the material, writing it out extensively, shortening the message into points and then memorizing the points, and I must say, I have sensed a little adrenaline rush and freedom in speaking without being tied to the pulpit.

Public speaking is a privilege. Listeners deserve our best. 

God help us learn the art of public speaking!

Tips on How to Communicate Effectively - You don't speak German Cat to a Polish Mouse.

This is for all communicators. Politicians, preachers, teachers, business leaders, parents, corner shop owners, PHD recipients, mangers, and even for all the 14 year olds that are doing their first oral presentation!

I love to preach. Though most of all, I love to preach when people are listening. Further still, I love to preach, when people are listening, engaged and willing to respond to the message that is being shared. See one of my little pet hates, or frustrations, is when I communicate in a way that fails to evoke a response. I think to myself - why am I bothering? What is the point of communicating something that is not being heard?

Over the last 12 years I have spoken to various size crowds, and have learnt some things along the way. There are times I think to myself - 'YES! That was it! That really connected!' and of course there are other times I have said, 'WHY do I evennnn bother! Even I was falling asleep at one point!'

So, here are some tips on communication, or rather, tips on how to communicate effectively:

• Know your audience - I have shared stories of Youth Groups with old people that fall on deaf ears, and I have spoken deep theological truths to young people who sit there and say, 'Huh?' The method of communication should change depending on your audience. What is interesting is that currently where I preach/communicate (Palmerston Salvation Army, NT, Australia), I am speaking to 0-90 year olds, with all the age ranges in between. I have learnt that it IS possible to engage everyone from the 7 year olds, to the youth, to the young adults, to the baby boomers, to the 80 year olds. It can be done!
• Inspire your audience - Surely this is dead simple? I wish every communicator knew how to inspire their listeners! Sadly, many don't know! I don't always get it right, but let me add some thoughts to the mix. Whatever you are communicating, it should inspire; it is irrelevant at this point what the content of the message is, but what you are saying should positively grab the listeners ear and hook them in. On an aside note, one of the main reasons Australians are very despondent now about politics, is because every public speaker is dead boring!! Folks, you CAN make governmental policy exciting, if you think it through a little more, and attempt to engage the audience with the message.
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• Be creative! Recently I spoke about the book of Philippians (from the Bible), and to intro the book, I had two people up the front to guess the answer to some questions. Now two of the questions were: "Who wrote the book of Philippians?" (Answer: Paul) "To what place was the book of Philippians written?" (Answer: Philippi) To help with the answers to the questions I had some products up the front to provide clues. The first clue, was a 'PAUL'S iced coffee' (A Northern Territory Australia thing). The second set of clues were a packet of Philidelphia Cheese and a Meat Pie (Phili - pie...). Anyway, the play on words was interactive, all age appropriate, and simply a creative way to engage people with what otherwise may have been a boring beginning to a series of a book of the Bible. Be creative! Don't send the listeners to sleep! "Good morning, today I am going to speak to you about the book of Philippians. This book was written by... zzzzzzzz...." I do want to add something here. Some think that being creative dilutes the importance and/or depth of the message being spoken, and I believe this to be a false paradigm. Creativity need not dilute the message, and can and usely does in fact strengthen the message, and strengthen the intellectual engagement with the content of what is spoken.
• Ebb and Flow on Depth - This is something I have learnt about communication over the last few years, and this is most appropriate when you have a wide range of age groups present. Let me explain. In the context I am in, I have people in my congregation who are wanting to know the epistemological underpinnings of God's salvific purposes and others who are just there to hang out with their girlfriend. You understand the dilemma this poses for a communicator? Well, I think you need to tell a story and engage the crowd, then maybe go deeper for a minute, then come back out again and lighten the mood, then you might flow back into a deeper thought, and then you come back up for some lighter air. Do you understand what I mean? The depth of what you are communicating ebbs and flows. This is of course related to your context. If you are receiving a prestigous award for Physics, you may just go for a dive into the depth of scientific knowledge, and stay there for a while. BUT, I would say, that even with key note addresses like those, the audience is always appreciative of the occasional joke, or light-hearted remark. So I say again, ebb and flow on depth.
• Understand the context - I have briefly mentioned this idea, and it is very important. I love to use humour to engage the crowd, as it lightens the mood and seems to engage the listeners. Humour is greatly effective, but is not always the best communication tool in the toolkit! Take for example, I have found it a nice challenge and a privelege when I am able to lead the ANZAC Day services in my region, where 700 people gather for a Dawn Service to pay their respects to defence force personnel, both past and present... Humour generally does NOT work in this context!! Understand the context, and use humour, stories, charts, graphs, YouTube, reports, flip charts, handouts, Powerpoint AS it is appropriate for your context. Can I say, the occasional short YouTube clip in a business meeting, can help break the ice and save everyone from business nausea.
• Know your Content - It is much easier to communicate well, when you know your material. If you are preaching a sermon; know your Scripture back to front. If you are politician; know your policy back to front. A businessman? Know your core business back to front. An entrepreneur? Know your product back to front. A teacher? Know your curriculum back to front. You get the point. You should be spending time connecting your audience with your content, not spending your time playing brain games attempting to remember your content.
• Speak to evoke a Response - If what you have to communicate is worthwhile, then surely you are hoping to create a response from those listening? Is it harsh to say that too many people communicate with no expectation of a response? Whether you are selling your business to investors, or preaching a sermon to a congregation, the ability to evoke a response is vital. Now, how do you do that? You speak stories/narratives that delve into the deepest parts of the human heart. If you are speaking to a crowd about vacuums it may be that the vacuum makes cleaning more efficient and thus allows you to spend more time with the family (the later being what creates an emotional response). Learning to communicate so as to evoke a positive response to the message being spoken, is something I want to learn more and more of in the future!

Thanks for letting me share some tips on communication. I will no doubt learn many more tips along the way and you may have some thoughts you want to post on to the site.