Public speaking in front of your entire class can seem scary, especially if you're an introvert. And the fact that you may have to answer an unseen question about your topic after your speech may be even more intimidating. There's so much you need to think about such as your topic, making sure you're within the time limit, tone, pacing and so much more! 

Here at Studyclix, we've collated a few tips to help you ace your English oral presentation.

So the first thing you are going to do in regard to this SAC is choosing your topic. It can be quite overwhelming being able to choose to speak about anything in the newspaper over the past year, just because there are so many options! A good way to narrow it down is before even looking in the paper, think of topics you are interested in such as hobbies, TV shows, movies, celebrities, etc. Once you have found a topic that you're interested in, it becomes a lot easier to look in the newspaper for good articles to base your speech on. Say for example you know you want to write a speech about fashion, it's very easy to search on Google for newspaper articles relating to fashion. It will save you time by knowing exactly what topics you are looking for in the newspaper. 

Make sure you choose a topic that you are interested in. You have to put in a lot of time researching and putting together your speech so it would be a huge shame to write it on a topic that you don't care about. You also may be asked some questions at the end of your speech by your teacher so you need to make sure you have enough background knowledge to answer those questions confidently. If you write a speech on a topic that you aren't interested in, it will show in the way you present your speech. You will actually perform a lot better preparing a speech about a topic you are invested in which will lead to a better SAC mark. Don't worry about doing a topic that seems intellectual like politics (if you aren't interested in it), some of the best speeches are ones about the most basic ideas such as hobbies or music. 

Also, try to dig a bit deeper than the most topical articles because you want to make your speech stand out. When I completed my oral presentation, almost half of my class wrote speeches about the ban on single-use plastic bags. Even though these issues are important, you will simply blend in if you write about the same topic that everyone else will be writing about. If you are interested in a very topical issue, try to write your speech from a different angle or a viewpoint that is not so often heard. For example, instead of writing simply about the ban on single-use plastic bags, you could write about Australia being a lever for change with this new law and create a speech about Australia being very environmentally aware.   

Here are a few ideas for what you could write your speech about. Please note there are thousands of other options you could write yours about and these are only some suggestions.

Also, don't forget to find an Australian newspaper article (within the past year) that matches these topics if you are interested in them. Another tip is if you are interested in an issue that is not in Australia, that's not a problem! Just try and find an Australian article about the topic. 

Basically, you want to do all your research prior to writing your speech. You will probably end up doing too much research which in the end is a good thing (so then if you get any random questions asked to you after your speech, you will have an answer). Just try to find all the information possible about the topic even if you don't think it's particularly necessary. Keep track of all the websites you source information off to put on your bibliography at the back of your statement of intention (more about this below). I'd also recommend if it's an Australian issue to look at the Australiasian Legal Information Institute for laws relating to whatever topic you're speaking about. It's better to find an excess of information than struggling to find information. The goal is to be able to write your speech pretty easily without having to go onto any new websites because you should have all the information sourced. 

Every school has different rules for how long your speech should be and the specific requirements. At my school, my speech had to be 4 minutes with a 30-second leeway at either end.

I'd recommend your introduction being very short - about 30-45 seconds. It's really just an opening and something you would prefer to brush over. In an introduction, I'd include an opening greeting, mention your topic, summary of the topic, and a one-sentence summary of your contention. 

Your body paragraphs should take around 2-2.5 minutes which will be the largest chunk of your speech. I split my paragraphs up into legal, reasoning, and emotion. Depending on your topic, you will have different body paragraphs to me. 

Lastly, your conclusion should be about 30 seconds where you would suggest a solution to the problem and then end with a closing greeting. 

As soon as you have written your speech, I'd recommend saying it a few times out loud to make sure everything flows. Often the way how you write in a normal English essay may sound weird in a speech so it's important to ensure it sounds right for an oral presentation.

Once it all sounds right, print it out and stick the speech onto cue cards. Make the text a bit larger than normal so then when you are saying your speech, you're able to quickly glance down and find where you're up to with minimal effort. You want to ensure you get a lot of practice saying your speech aloud with your cue cards because it will simulate the way you will say it in front of your class. It will also allow you to know exactly when to turn to a new cue card, where to hold your cue cards, and hopefully enable you to use your cue cards less and less (to ensure you have good eye contact). 

Once you have gotten the flow of the speech, try practising in front of family members a few times just so then you become more comfortable saying it in front of an audience. This is particularly important for those of you that aren't used to public speaking. 

Honestly, the way how you present your speech is arguably more important than the speech itself. If you seem confident and knowledgeable then the content becomes more convincing to the audience which will increase your grades. 

To appear confident, speak with conviction! Speak loudly and with a strong voice. Change your tone at various points in your speech to emphasise different words or points you are making. This will keep the audience engaged which is the goal! 

Use hand gestures to make the speech seem more natural. It seems very awkward when people say their speeches with their hands beside their side or holding the cue cards right in front of them the entire time. It is very natural for people to talk with hand gestures in normal conversations and it usually is an indicator that people know what they're talking about, therefore you should incorporate it in your speech. Obviously don't do any over the top hand gestures but when practising your speech, test out different hand gestures and you will see, certain ones will come more naturally to you than others. 

Try to make as much eye contact as possible and look at your cue cards as little as possible. You really should have your speech 80-90% memorised so you should only need to look down at your cue cards at the beginning or end of every paragraph (only for a split second). When you spend your time reading off your cue cards, it looks like it's the first time you're reading your speech and that you aren't well prepared. It is important to make eye contact with people in the room as if you're having a conversation with them. 

Everyone's statements of intention are going to be completely different because they are about different topics. On your statement of intention, I'd suggest writing about why you chose the topic you did and different elements in your speech that helped you relate the topic to the audience. Even though you don't need to give in a bibliography, I'd recommend casually sticking it to the back of your statement of intention just to show your teacher exactly how much work you have put in. It's just a subtle way to show off which may lead to better marks. 

We hope these tips are useful to you and you can implement them into your oral presentation SAC. Just remember, even though public speaking can be scary, it's only 4 minutes of your life and really, nothing that bad can happen. 

If you have any questions or worries, don't hesitate to contact us!

The Studyclix Team