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A note on notes - ESU's guidance for speakers(7) |
Earlier we advised you to use a few clear key words as your speaking notes, rather than writing out your whole speech or trying to memorise it in its entirety. One advantage of speaking from notes and constructing each of your individual sentences afresh each time you
speak is that the speech retains a sense of novelty and reality – it is all too easy for the audience to get the impression, if you are reciting for the tenth time, perhaps, a speech you know off by heart, that your engagement is with your memory and your words, rather than with them. So be sure what each of your
points is going to be, and know your introduction and conclusion very well, but don’t over-rehearse the main body of your speech to such an extent that you lose that vital connection with it or begin to become bored by it.
Remember, it’s all about getting and keeping credibility!
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Reproduced by permission from the Centre for Speech and Debate of ESU (The English-Speaking Union)
Competition Handbook 2007
©The English-Speaking Union
http://www.esu.org/page.asp? p=1633
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