{"id":7742,"date":"2018-07-17T15:50:12","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T22:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=7742"},"modified":"2019-05-06T05:07:37","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T13:07:37","slug":"memorize-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/17\/memorize-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Memorize a Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"

Giving a good speech is a kind of paradoxical task.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the one hand, nobody likes a reader. If you\u2019re looking down at your notes, or worse, simply reading off the slideshow, you seem unengaged and unprepared.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, the speech should feel natural. Good speakers sound as if the words just came to them in a conversation, even though they probably practiced it thousands of times.<\/span><\/p>\n

For an interesting dissection of this, consider this analysis of how the comedian Louis C.K. tells a joke<\/a>. The delivery is so casual that you feel like you\u2019re overhearing him chatting with a friend in a bar. Yet the timing is so perfect you know that he did this dozens, if not hundreds, of times to get it right.<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s the paradox: you need to memorize a speech, without seeming like you memorized it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, there\u2019s a method for doing this, that is useful to learn. <\/span><\/p>\n

Should You Even Try To Memorize?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before I jump into the method, I want to address a first complaint\u2014that memorizing a speech isn\u2019t the thing you should do. That memorization will make your delivery robotic.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s some truth to this. Over-reliance on verbatim memorization can lead to an artificial sounding speech<\/span>. However, I\u2019ve learned that this is more a symptom of memorizing the speech, in the wrong way, than an issue with memorizing per se<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Good speakers aren\u2019t entirely rigid. There should be some flexibility to your speech, particularly if there\u2019s a chance you might get interrupted or need to change direction based on the reaction from your audience. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, memorization, in some form or another, is essential. If the speech isn\u2019t in memory, then it needs to be in your cue cards or slideshow, and then you\u2019re back to reading. So most critiques of memorizing speeches are merely critiques of memorizing in a particularly inflexible, verbatim way. The way I\u2019ll teach you avoids this problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Step-by-Step Process to Memorize a Speech<\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Write Out the Speech<\/span><\/h3>\n

The first step is to write out your speech. There\u2019s two ways you can do this. The first is simply to write it out exactly how you want to say it. If you\u2019re comfortable as a writer, or you are trying to script out a presentation quite precisely, this can work. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, most people are more familiar with talking than writing, so it\u2019s often better to write out the speech as an outline, instead of as a full script.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Rehearse the Speech, With Your Script\/Outline<\/span><\/h3>\n

Next, you want to try saying your speech out loud, with your script. At this stage, it\u2019s okay to read it. You simply want to know how it sounds as a speech before you start the work of trying to memorize it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Very often, when you start reading your speech aloud, you\u2019ll recognize parts that need to change. This is a sculpting process, where you delete, add or reorder large chunks to make it sound better.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you wrote out a complete script, you\u2019ll need to do this several times to edit the script to make it sound more natural. If you\u2019ve written a lot of speeches, this is easier. However, writing and speaking differ in many ways, so if you just go straight to memorizing a fully written speech you will probably sound a bit off.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you only wrote an outline, this stage is where you end up creating the speech. It will probably take several times just to figure out what you want to say, so this process can sometimes be longer. The advantage of going from outline, as opposed to full script, is that you don\u2019t have the residue of the written script influencing how you deliver it. If you need to appear more casual or spontaneous, this is especially helpful. Less so if you\u2019re doing a formal presentation.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Memorize, Big to Small<\/span><\/h3>\n

The key to memorizing a speech is to memorize it hierarchically. You want to start with the broad chunks, then specific paragraphs, phrases, and finally, specific intonation and timing with words.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s two reasons to do it this way. The most obvious is that, aside from professional speakers, few people will hit the last stage and memorize the tiny details. Instead, the speech will be \u201cgood enough\u201d when you\u2019ve memorized the broad content of certain paragraphs, and are still loose enough to switch the delivery a little bit.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second reason is that this gives you maximum practice at the more zoomed out level of your speech. This means you\u2019ll have memorized this part the best, and will be able to fall back on it if you misremember a lower-level detail. <\/span><\/p>\n

I once was presenting with a team, and one of our team members had the bad habit of skipping over small paragraphs or sections, like a record skipping over part of a song. For us it was a nuisance. But for the audience, he was skipping out parts of the logical sequence of the speech. Suddenly, our beautifully crafted presentation didn\u2019t make any sense since we omitted a key part of the presentation. Memorizing hierarchically solves this problem by giving you the ability to remember the gist, even if you forget the parts.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Start with the Big Chunks<\/span><\/h3>\n

The first place to start is with the biggest chunks. These should be the logical and rhetorical content of your speech. The broad strokes of what you\u2019re trying to talk about.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re giving a sales presentation, this might be, \u201cDescribing the problem,\u201d \u201cWhat our product is,\u201d and, \u201cHow to buy it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The first way to memorize this is simply to write out what these main points are on the page and then, covering them up, try to recall them. Spend a few minutes doing this and then try delivering your speech, focusing on the broad points, without worrying too much whether you get the exact delivery right.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Move to the Small Points<\/span><\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019ve convinced yourself that the big chunks are 100% memorized (which shouldn\u2019t take too long), then you want to move to the smaller points. These are not sentences, but they represent the meaning of what you want to say with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Depending on the speech there will be a lot more of these. I recommend expanding your bullets for your big chunks to represent each idea with one or two key words. This is considerably briefer than a full script, but it may actually be more detailed than your original outline\u2014since you\u2019ll have one point every sentence or two, whereas your original outline might have only included the big chunks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quiz yourself to memorize these points. I often like to tie them to the big chunks. So I could ask myself, \u201cWhat are the points for \u2014 ‘Describing the problem\u2019?\u201d I would then proceed to recall from memory all the points I want to make and then check my list. Did I get them all right?<\/span><\/p>\n

This can take a bit more work, so it\u2019s useful to do a mixture of memorizing via this quizzing and actually practicing the speech. The reason to do some self-quizzing, instead of just rehearsing the speech, is that we\u2019re trying to memorize the speech content first. Whereas, if you only rehearse the speech verbatim, it\u2019s very easy to get stuck on memorizing the literal words of the speech but losing track of the broader structure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your goal here should be perfect recall of all the points. If I ask you, what are the points for chunk X of the speech, you should be able to flawlessly tell me what they all are. If you can\u2019t, or you have to stop and think for more than two seconds, you don\u2019t know it well enough. Keep quizzing yourself and you\u2019ll have it memorized soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Memorize the Delivery<\/span><\/h3>\n

Now, hopefully, you\u2019ve memorized the big chunks of your speech and all the points you need to make in each chunk. Since you\u2019ve done it in this order, the overall structure of the speech should be deepest in your memory, followed by the points to be made and only finally some of the ways in which you are trying to say those points.<\/span><\/p>\n

For many speeches, this is enough. You can simply go out and deliver your presentation, knowing that even if you change how you deliver it, the content will remain the same. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, good speakers often go a step further. They rehearse it top-to-bottom a number of times so they can start making microscopic changes to the order of words, sentences, even timing and intonation.<\/span><\/p>\n

One example of such a tweak. If I\u2019m giving a speech, I might start to overuse a word too much. If I were giving this article as a speech, loosely, I might say the word \u201cmemorize\u201d over and over again. In this phase of rehearsing a speech, I could make sure that sometimes I say \u201cmemorize\u201d and sometimes I say \u201cremember\u201d and other times \u201crehearse\u201d so as to give variety in my performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jokes and comedy depend a lot on timing and delivery. So if you\u2019re trying to write a speech that intends to be funny, this step is often difficult to skip since you need to have not only the right content, but the right delivery to make the speech work.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Deliver the Speech<\/span><\/h3>\n

Finally, you need to actually give the speech.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although now we’re onto performance not rehearsal, it\u2019s important here to remember to focus on the high-level chunks and points, not the words and delivery in your mind at this stage. Focus on what you want to say, and the \u201chow\u201d of your delivery will simply come out however you practiced it most before.<\/span><\/p>\n

This step is important for a couple reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, it gives you maximal flexibility. If you get interrupted, someone asks a question or you flub and forget a word, you\u2019ve remembered the meaning not the syntax. This means it\u2019s easier to get back onto a logically coherent path, rather than trying to spit out sentences in the wrong order.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, it will feel the most natural. What makes someone feel natural in their delivery of a speech is that they are feeling the content of the speech as if it was coming to them right now. When you memorize the words, the semantics of the speech can get buried, and you can end up delivering it in a way you would never do in a conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you did do the sixth step, mastering the delivery, then whatever was best practiced will be the groove to which the record needle of your mind sticks to. Focusing on the content, not the delivery, is important here to seem natural. Think about what you want to say and the right way to say it will come out automatically because of your practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Bother With Memorizing a Speech?<\/span><\/h2>\n

I don\u2019t memorize every presentation I have to give. If I know I have multiple takes (say I\u2019m recording a video) very often what gets recorded are the takes I do as I\u2019m trying to figure out what to say.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, if I\u2019m delivering a longer talk then I may aim for improvising around the structure of the talk, without trying to master some element of the delivery. Longer speeches, obviously, take longer to memorize, so there may be somewhere when the cost-benefit of memorizing is no longer being reached.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, often in your life you\u2019ll have to deliver a speech where the stakes are high and there are no do-overs. In this instance, knowing how to properly memorize a speech, so you can say it exactly, without sounding robotic, is a useful skill to develop.<\/span><\/p>\n

The nice thing about this process is that it goes in order of priority. So the question usually isn\u2019t, \u201cshould I use this approach to memorize a speech?\u201d but, \u201chow far should I go for this particular speech?\u201d. You may finish after early rehearsals, or memorizing the points, or even go so far as to perfect the timing of tiny nuances in your body language or tone of voice for particular words and phrases. This same process applies throughout.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Giving a good speech is a kind of paradoxical task. On the one hand, nobody likes a reader. If you\u2019re looking down at your notes, or worse, simply reading off the slideshow, you seem unengaged and unprepared. On the other hand, the speech should feel natural. Good speakers sound as if the words just came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[683],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-nc-career","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Memorize a Speech - Scott H Young<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How do we memorize a speech and why should we bother at all? 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