Access the essential membership for Modern Managers
Being asked to say a few words or make a speech is a nerve-wracking experience for most people, even those who do it on a regular basis. When you have only a short space of time in which to prepare, it can be even worse.
Examples of occasions requiring a speech in front of an audience include: talking at a colleague’s leaving-do, thanking your team for their efforts/contribution, making an after-dinner toast or introducing a speaker at an event.
The following guidance will help you develop a simple strategy that can be quickly applied to any speech, particularly when you don’t have much time for preparation. Keep the four sections in mind and use this template the next time you find yourself making a speech.
1. The Introduction
An introduction is required for almost all communications and is a useful way of clearing your head and helping you to think through what it is you want and need to say.
Introductions are used to help you set the scene for your audience, so you need to point out:
- who you are (introduce yourself)
- why you are speaking (the purpose of your words)
- how you feel about the topic/person you are speaking about (summing up the topic/person in a few words)
An introduction to a colleague’s leaving presentation could take the following format:
When I was asked, as Chloe’s manager, to make this presentation to her, I simply didn’t know where to begin. I mean, how do you properly go about acknowledging someone who has done so much for the company in such a short space of time?
In this brief introduction, the speaker has introduced themselves (Chloe’s manager), outlined the purpose of the speech (acknowledging Chloe’s achievements with the company), and highlighted how they feel about her (done so much in a short space of time).
Introductions should be brief – just enough to grab everyone’s attention and set the scene.
2. The Issues
In this part of your preparation, you should try to pick out any difficulties or problems posed by the topic. Is there:
- too much to say (e.g. she’s done so much)
- too little time (e.g. she’s got a plane to catch in an hour)
- too much emotion (e.g. she’s been a valued colleague and a very dear friend and I’ll miss her smile each morning)
This should be a seamless follow-on from what you have said in your introduction.
Taking the leaving presentation as an example again, you might say something like this:
The difficulty I realized I was faced with was how to fit everything she’s done for us, and the memories we have of her time here into just a few words. I can see she’s embarrassed at all this attention and the temptation is to make her sweat it out. After all, she’s embarrassed all of us on so many occasions with her practical jokes. However, the champagne beckons and I know I won’t beat it in the fight for your attention, so I’ll keep it brief.
3. Overcoming the Issues
At this point, you should list a range of options for tackling the difficulties you have identified. For example, you may want to cover:
- how you picked out the main points of what you are going to say (Did you consult colleagues, select the points made by the daily newspaper, or choose the issues topped by a recent poll?)
- why you finally selected the points you did
Continuing with the leaving presentation, an example of this in practice is:
In tackling this difficulty, I had the ingenious idea of asking her fellow team members – some would say ‘partners in crime’ – to get a true picture of the lady in question. However, most of what I heard can’t be repeated before the 9pm watershed. That said, there was a consistency in the words I heard from everyone in the company. Words like ‘a joy to work with’, ‘someone who always made my day brighter’, ‘nothing was ever too much trouble’, ‘a shoulder to cry on’, ‘diligent, thorough and truly professional’, ‘takes her work but not herself seriously.’
4. Resolving the Issues
This is the part where you try to bring everything together and bring a resolution to your speech. Depending on the topic, this resolution may consist of a series of questions or some advice or instructions. Think about:
- how best to sum up what has been said
- how to capture what hasn’t been said
- the message you want your audience to take away
Here is an effective way of closing the speech:
Chloe, all that remains to be said is that we are all sad to see you go – sad for ourselves, you understand, not for you, because we know you are going on to bigger and better things. Your presence around the office (and especially at the office parties) will be sorely missed. Good luck with everything you do. I’m sure you’ll impress your new employers and colleagues the way you have us. I’m going to leave you now with one final instruction: please accept this gift as a token of the high regard in which you are held. You’ll be missed.
This simple, four-step strategy will help you prepare when next asked to say a few words. It might alleviate the nerves that a lack of preparation can induce and help you to look confident and professional.
