To memorize or not memorize. That’s a common question public speaking coach and veteran public relations executive Rosemary Ravinal hears from her clients.
“It’s not wise to memorize a speech,” she advises. “Yet sometimes it’s necessary to remember some parts of your talk or presentation, but straight memorization will often backfire.”
Here are several techniques to consider to prepare and deliver speeches with confidence.
By Rosemary Ravinal
Have you ever watched a speaker go blank in the middle of a speech? It is likely they lost their place in the memory stream. Don’t let that happen to you.
In a previous column, I wrote about the ancient Greek Loci and memory palace methods, whereby you associate bits of information with an imaginary location in a house or other physical place. Using that philosophy, here are some more techniques to consider when preparing and delivering speeches.
I do offer a word of caution: memorization of text should not be literal, as you may sound like a robot. Aim to commit to memory only what is essential to your message. Focus on the structure and flow of concepts and ideas that will inspire and transform your audience.
Repetition
Repeat key messages, terminology, or data points multiple times to reinforce the information in your memory. Research suggests that we need to see and hear information five to seven times for it to transition to memory. We tend to forget what we learn quickly. However, each time you repeat something, you reset the clock on the forgetting curve, making it more likely that you will retain the information in the long term.
Don’t just read the information you want to remember silently. Say it aloud. When you read and speak, you’re processing it visually and acoustically. This dual mental “encoding” enhances retention. Similarly, it takes five to seven exposures of your content to your audience before it begins to sink in and moves to long-term memory. This means that you should repeat vital information that number of times in your speech or presentation to drive home your big idea.
Chunking
Break your speech into smaller chunks or sections and focus on remembering one at a time. Once you’ve mastered each section, you can connect them smoothly. If you’re a visual thinker like me, try writing your chunks on post-it notes and arranging them on a wall or a board where you can view and move them around easily. You can color code your chunks and rearrange them to create transitions and flow for your content. Assigning colors and placement on your display surface will help you remember them based on their location, too.
Chunking is a wonderful way to create your content as well by organizing ideas logically and helping your audience follow along. It breaks down complex information into digestible pieces instead of mere isolated facts. Steve Jobs’ legendary commencement speech at Stanford is an excellent example of the chunking method.
Visualization
You can create mental images for key ideas in your speech and recall information more easily. For example, if your talk includes a point about growth, you might imagine a tree growing from a seed. Mind maps are useful visualization techniques, too. A mind map could be a diagram or a drawing resembling a graphic recording or visual notetaking of a meeting with illustrations and callouts capturing the main points.
You can also imagine yourself moving through different sections of your speech as if you were walking through the rooms in a house (Loci and memory palace methods). Each room represents a section, and visualizing this journey helps you remember the structure and sequence of your speech.
Mnemonics
Use mnemonic devices like acronyms, acrostics, or rhymes to remember crucial points. For example, when I give talks about virtual executive presence, I use the ASSET acronym to explain the five indispensable elements to convey credibility and trust on Zoom: appearance, staging, styling, energy, and technology.
An acrostic involves forming a sentence or phrase where each initial letter represents an item or concept you need to remember. The trick is to create a catchy phrase that makes the associated items easier to recall.
I advise that you record yourself rehearsing and to practice in front of people unrelated to your work. Practice diligently and often. Then, set a date and time to stop rehearsing. Perhaps the night before the big day. Stop thinking about it and affirm that you have done your best and then visualize success.
Contact Rosemary Ravinal for details on public speaking training programs or one-on-one coaching services in any of the following areas, in both English and Spanish:
-
Public Speaking
-
Media Readiness
-
Presentation Skills
