When to memorize (and when not to) when speaking in public

I am not a proponent of memorization in public speaking, except for your opening and possibly your closing. Because the opening is the hardest part of the delivery, I recommend memorizing the first 3-4 lines. If there was ever a time I wanted you to be flawless and smooth, then is it. It will build your confidence and make the rest of your delivery much easier to control.

[You may want to memorize your closing as well, but that aspect of your delivery does not concern me as much as having a very strong impact when you first begin.]

I recently read an article by Tom Antion describing how to learn your presentation without relying on notes. Essentially, his advice was to memorize each little piece of information, going over it over and over again, until you knew it by heart. I couldn’t disagree more.

There are several reasons why I don’t advise memorizing the body of your speech or presentation:

1. If you memorize your entire presentation, without flashcards or any kind of visual aid, and forget where you are, then you are lost. Without an aid to jog your memory, it will probably be very difficult for you to find your place again. This is one of the reasons why public speaking is such a fear: the possibility of forgetting your material.

2. With a memorized presentation, there is a good chance that it will sound from memory or memorized in which you will speak. did not your audience a to them.

3. Your goal when speaking in public is to communicate with Your Audience If you’re performing a memorized performance, you’re not communicating, you’re performing. One of the strengths of dynamic public speakers is their ability to react to their audience. If you were reciting a memorized message, then you would be unable to add an additional anecdote or ‘change it’ so to speak. Good speakers will vary their presentations based on how their audience responds to them.

The body of your presentation is where you provide information for your audience, much like you are someone giving a lecture, or trying to call your listeners to some kind of action; that is, buy something, believe something, or agree with you, the speaker. If he hopes to change the minds of the people he addresses or to teach them something new, then he should treat them as if he were having a conversation in his living room.

Let me ask you, when was the last time you delivered a memorized performance to the people sitting in your living room?