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After the Speech

Most advice about making an effective speech emphasizes the preparation you do before your presentation begins. But if you speak often, what you do after the speech can help you become a more effective speaker.

As soon as possible after the speech, write down impressions of how you felt it went. Answer at least two questions about the speech: What was the best part? What part of the speech could you improve the next time?

Some of your best ideas will come to you as you are speaking. Write them down as soon as the speech is over so you can be prepared to use those lines or ideas next time.

Think about the peaks and valleys in the speech. Consider when the audience seemed to listen best and when the audience seemed restless and disinterested. Write down your reactions while they are fresh in your mind.

Talk to someone about the speech within the first day after your presentation. As you summarize your speech to a friend or colleague, you'll remember best what you talked about and you might discover a better way of telling a story or making a point.

Keep track of the stories you tell and case studies you include so you won't repeat yourself if you speak to that audience again. In addition, keep records of how long you spoke, what you wore, key people you met, and anything unusual about the speaking context.

Occasionally, review your records of individual speeches and look for trends in your speaking that you might not have noticed before. When you speak to a group again, this information will be the basis for your audience analysis. This is especially important if you speak frequently within your company and your audience will be made up of listeners who have heard you before. You don't want to develop a reputation for telling the same stories over and over.

If the group has speaker evaluations, ask that a copy of the summary be sent to you. Look for patterns in the comments. If one person said you talked too slowly, it may be a personal preference and you don't need to give much consideration to the critique. If four or five people made that comment, however, then you might want to consider changing your pace for the next speech.

Certainly your main concern should be with your preparation before the speech. However, don't underestimate the value of analyzing the speech after the audience has left the room.

Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, is a professor of speech communication at Northern Kentucky University. He works with organizations that want to speak and listen more effectively to increase personal and professional performance. You can find out more at http://www.sboyd.com.