Why ‘deliver a message’ is a better goal than ‘give a speech’

“Just hearing someone say ‘make a speech’ makes me nervous – whether or not I’m the one doing the speech or not.”  A participant made this remark at a recent workshop I conducted. Does hearing the words ‘make a speech’ make you nervous? If it does I suggest you routinely replace ‘make a speech’ with the words, ‘deliver a spoken message’.

What are the benefits of doing this? 1. Delivering a spoken message is audience focused. It’s about the audience getting your message. It’s not about you and your ‘speech’. 2. Focusing on delivering your message will help you omit needless words and sharpen your mind when planning for your live delivery. 3. The word ‘speech’ can conjure up memories of fear from your youth – for example, the fear you might have felt when you had to deliver a speech at school. Delivering a spoken message doesn’t have the negative emotional baggage of ‘making a speech’.

In addition, the words ‘do a presentation’ can produce fear and nervousness. If the words ‘do a presentation’ make you fearful, also replace that phrase with the ‘deliver a spoken message’ phrase.

The ‘how to apply’ for this post: Intentionally think of any speaking you’ll do in front of a group, as simply ‘delivering a spoken message’. When you hear the words ‘make a speech’ or ‘do a presentation’ – in your mind, replace those words with ‘deliver a spoken message’.