Lutheran World Relief
Speakers Bureau

Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for
Public Speaking
700 LIGHT STREET | BALTIMORE, MD 21230 | LWR.ORG | 1-800-LWR-LWR-2
TO OTHERS, THROUGH OTHERS.
Speaking from the Heart for LWR
Prepared for and in honor of the fabulous and hard working
members of LWR’s Speakers Bureau.
LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 2 Thank You!

On Behalf of the Lutheran World Relief Speakers Bureau, let me be the first to thank you
for taking the time to review these “Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking.”

As I’ve taught public speaking to countless college students, activists, church members,
CEOs and friends — one thing has remained constant—everyone, no matter how much or
how little experience they’ve had with public speaking, is usually looking for two things: 1)
the magic formula that will automatically and easily make them a public speaking star;
and/or 2) a tip or trick that will wipe out the nerves they feel each time they get ready to
speak in public.

Unfortunately, there is no “magic formula” for becoming a fabulous public speaker and
there certainly isn’t one tip or trick that can erase public speaking anxiety.

I can offer you a guaranteed, long-term formula for public speaking success that will help

Dear Gracious God, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation
of my heart be acceptable to you, because you are my mighty rock
and protector.

(Psalms 19:14, taken from the RSVP and CEV versions of the Holy Bible) Lutheran World Relief’s Vision:

Empowered by God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ, we envi-
sion a world in which each person and every generation lives in
justice, dignity and peace. Lutheran World Relief’s Mission:

Lutheran World Relief works with partners in 35 countries to help
people grow food, improve health, strengthen communities, end
conflict, build livelihoods, and recover from disasters. With people
in the U.S., we work for justice for those we serve.

Lutheran World Relief’s Core Values:

•
Faith is active in love.
•
God gives all people dignity.
•
We serve with partners.
•

mat, volume — are all necessary, but they are useless if your heart is in the wrong place
when you produce and speak them. Speaking without heart is like playing the piano without
feeling. You might be able to read music, play from memory, and put your fingers on the
right keys — but, if your heart isn’t in it, voices won’t start singing, feet won’t tap and spirits
will not be moved. LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 5

Paul on Speaking from the Heart

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in
all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of
your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore,
the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you. Acts 17:22-23

In the four sermons that Luke records in the books of Acts, Peter, Stephen, and Paul all
practiced the Law of Connection, which says that you must touch a heart before you ask for
a hand. Paul’s sermon recorded in Acts 17 is a masterpiece. Paul connected brilliantly with
people from a different culture, showing he understood both Greek society and human
needs.

Notice how a master communicator connected with his audience. Here are Paul’s “rules”
for making connections:

•
He began with affirmation.
1. Speaker Commitment.

2. Well-defined/narrowed topic.

3. Clear sense of purpose.

4. Audience involvement.

5. Substantive development.

6. Structure and design.

7. Skillful language usage.

8. Effective presentation.

9. Ethical considerations.

LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 7

Message Outline Questions

What do you want as an end result? (Communication outcome)

With whom do you want to communicate? (Target audience)

What are the self-interests of your audience? (Needs/concerns/interests)


=Clear
=Concise
=Connected - to where people are emotionally, to the things your target audience
cares about, to what is important to them and not important to us.
=Contrasting - why is this course of action better than the alternative? Make it con-
crete, not abstract.
=Credible - your audience must believe what you say in a way that is connected to
them.
=Consistent

In hostile situations or when someone wants to get you “off message” you need to know
your ABCs:

A
cknowledge
(their question)

Bridge
(build a bridge to your key message)

Connect
(highlight your key message)
LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 9

Oral vs. Written Language

“A speech is not merely an essay standing on its hind legs…”

In comparison with written language, oral language is or uses:


behind every great speech, is a great writer. The following steps will guide you to prepar-
ing and writing your own "great" speech.
1. Select a Topic - come up with several topics and choose the best one
2. Determine the Specific Purpose and Write a Thesis Statement - What is your
purpose? Is it to inform, describe, demonstrate, show, explain, give insight, edu-
cate, ease pain, or support a cause? Is it to persuade, convince, prove, petition,
change, stress, or motivate? Or is it to merely entertain and make someone
laugh? Do you have a power statement?
3. Analyze the Audience and the Occasion -
a. Audience: What do they know about the topic? What interest do they
have in the topic? What is their attitude towards your chosen topic?
b. Occasion - What is the reason for the deliverance of the speech?
4. Find the Material to be spoken - Is it something you already know about? Is it
something that you have to research? Do you need to interview anyone?
5. Organize the Speech -
a. Attention - you need to find an attention grabber
b. Goodwill - you want to leave the audience with a feeling of benevolence
c. Motivation - motivate to action
6. Word the Speech - Prepare an outline and then fill in the outline. Try to follow one
train of thought. DO NOT WRITE THE SPEECH OUT WORD FOR WORD. Use an out-
line that has phrases for each entry.
7. Practice the Delivery - Try to have the speech memorized in your head, but do not
speak as though it were memorized. You want to be able to sound as though you
are having a conversation with the audience.
8. Deliver the Speech - If you find that talking in front of people without props causes
you to hyperventilate, consider preparing props that reflect your speech.
LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 11

How to Prepare, Practice and Deliver a Great Speech
Tip 1- Write and rewrite the outline of your speech until it sounds exactly right to your own

Tip 10- Remember to be an appreciative speaker and to thank the person or persons who
asked you to give the speech. Also remember to thank the audience for listening.

LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 12

Build a Relationship with Your Audience and Deliver a Successful
Presentation.

With public speaking, success is determined by your audience, not by you. That means
you need to engage your audience - to build a relationship with them - often in less than
an hour. You need to focus on delivering to them what they want to hear in a way that
they want to hear it. Here are some tips to assist you in successfully delivering presenta-
tions by building strong, sincere relationships with your audience.

Get to Know Them
If you don't know to whom you are speaking, you will have a hard time building a relation-
ship with them. Know as much as you can about your audience before preparing your
presentation. If you are giving a canned presentation, make sure it is customized for each
audience. If it is not focused to hit the target audience, it may significantly miss meeting
your objectives.

Understand at least a little about the audience's age, race, gender, education level, ori-
gin, preferences, political leanings, leisure time activities, social habits, etc. This will really
help you as you start to weave stories, anecdotes or metaphors into your presentation
and will ensure that you avoid any content that could be inappropriate.

Expectations. Know what your audience expects from you. Is there a precedent? Have you
spoken to them before? What is your reputation with the audience? Is there something
specific that is on their minds that must be addressed to ensure that they receive your
communication?

points in your presentation. And speaking with enough volume will ensure that all mem-
bers of the audience hear you regardless of where they are sitting.

Global Etiquette. In the global village, we are more and more often giving presentations to
people who come from different countries and have differing language fluency. Be careful
not to use expressions, examples, or metaphors that would only be understood by people
in your native country. I remember listening to a keynote speech at a European Environ-
mental Conference, and the American speaker opened with a story about Dunkin Donuts
and bagels. He lost about 90% of his audience right from the onset. If you really want to
connect with your audience, speak in a way that they will truly understand.

Read Their Feedback. The audience will give you the clues you need to help you to deliver
an effective presentation. Pay attention to what they are telling you with their body lan-
guage so that you can keep them engaged throughout your performance. The audience
may be providing feedback in a few areas:

Frequency of Message. If you feel that your audience is not getting the message, repeat
your key points in different ways to ensure they are understood. Remember the old rule of
public speaking: tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what
you told them. The audience is more likely to remember the beginning of your speech, the
closing and items that are repeated. So, if you think they are a bit confused, take the time
to repeat key messages.

Speed. You are running the show. But the audience sets the pace. They will give you clues
if you are going too fast or too slow. So pay attention and adjust your pace accordingly.

Duration. As Dorothy Sarnoff says "Make sure you have finished speaking before your au-
dience has finished listening." It is always a good idea to leave them wanting more. So,
finish early and leave extra time for Q&A.



To sum up, with what expectations or prejudices will their brains be filled as they prepare
to listen
to me?
LWR: Tips, Tools, and General Guidance for Public Speaking, Page 15

Think like an audience member.

Ask yourself the following questions. “Can I spot a phony?” “What are my expectations of how a
person should sound and act?” “What makes me enjoy watching/listening to someone?” “What
makes me uncomfortable when watching/listening to a speaker?”

Almost all audiences are alike. Though there are differences that affect the behavior of a specific
audience, human nature means that some things will always be the same. What you respond to
will be similar to what others are likely to respond to. Think about what you expect in a speaker,
and become that. Similarly, avoid public speaking habits that drive you up a wall.

1.
The main thing an audience wants and expects from you is to give them something they
didn’t have before they heard you speak.

2. Audiences want you to be you. Don’t try to behave differently than you would anywhere
else, except to filter out swear words or incendiary language you would only use in private
settings.

3. They want to hear and see the truth. Don’t lie to them, it’ll come back to bite you later.

4. Use a vocabulary suitable to you. Your own vocabulary will be fine; don’t try and sound
like the Oxford dictionary. Audiences know when you’re putting on airs.