{"id":1000,"date":"2025-08-18T18:53:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T23:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/speakingcenter\/?page_id=1000"},"modified":"2026-06-02T19:57:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T00:57:26","slug":"speaking-tips","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/speakingcenter\/speaking-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Speaking Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Concerned about how to prepare and deliver a great speech?\u00a0Follow these tips to become a more dynamic, yet natural, speaker.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Managing Speech Anxiety<\/h3>\n

Speech anxiety is something that every public speaker has encountered. Remember that you are not alone! Anybody who has given a speech knows exactly how you feel. For some tips and tricks on how to manage speech anxiety, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Selecting a Speech Topic<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re struggling to select your topic, you are not alone! Topic selection<\/span> can be one of the most challenging aspects of public speaking. Go through this quick list to spark some great ideas!<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Draw on your own personal experiences.<\/span> We all have a unique story… what are some of the things that make up yours? Do you have any unusual experiences? Special knowledge? What do you<\/em> care about?<\/p>\n

2) Familiarize yourself with news and current events.<\/span> Scroll through the news for a bit and see what pulls you in. Any controversial or ethical issues that spark a passion in you? This could make for a great speech topic! *use the number on your student ID to gain access to any of these links: MSNBC<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> FOX<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>CNN<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>NPR<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Issues and Controversies database<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

3) Brainstorming is your best friend!<\/span> Word association and idea mapping are great ways to narrow down a topic!<\/p>\n

Now that you’ve chosen a topic, make sure it fits these goals:<\/h4>\n
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  1. Is this topic important to you? Your enjoyment level while creating and delivering your speech relies greatly on how much you care about your topic.<\/li>\n
  2. Is this topic relevant to your audience? To ensure your audience pays attention and learns something, choose a topic that you can frame as relevant to them.<\/li>\n
  3. Is this topic unique? Make sure your speech has some element of creativity! Avoid basic and over-saturated topics. If you have a general or basic topic, it can be easily heightened with fresh or new claims.<\/li>\n
  4. Is this topic realistic for the prompt and time constraints? Double check that your claim fits within the speech prompt. Then, be sure you have adequate speaking time to give your claim body and evidence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    Citing Sources<\/h3>\n

    Learning how to deliver verbal citations is a big part of what we do here in COMM120. Each speech you give will require a certain number of credible sources to be verbally cited. If you need reminding of which parts to say out-loud on speech day, refer to the following list!<\/span><\/p>\n

    When verbally citing, you need to be sure to include these <\/span>four<\/b> things\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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    1. Author<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Date<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Article Title<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Publication Title\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For more citation tips, click here!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      It’s important to know how to communicate well<\/span>. Watch this short talk by Katherine Hampsten to understand why.<\/strong><\/p>\n