Probably the #1 worst way to prepare for a speech or presentation is to just memorize everything by reading a pile of cue cards - rote memorization. Using cue cards is fine in some situations. However, you will always look more professional and credible if you don't need them. Read on for some memory methods to remember your next speech and why memorization might not be a great approach.
Do you remember the last time you had to memorize lines? Was it the script for a school play. This has certainly happened to me. And even though I couldn't remember the exact words, I could remember the flow of the story and could ad lib to make up a few words. I've even forgotten song lyrics half way through singing in a school musical - very embarrassing. But the music helped me remember what to sing. You have probably had similar experiences and might have been anxious ever since.
Reconsider your approach. Do you really want to just memorize a load of words? If you would like to speak naturally and remember what to say, try using one of the methods below.
A) Use the Journey Method for Memorizing your Speech
Using a journey to help you remember a speech is one of the best tools you can use, according to David Thomas, a memory expert. Here are the steps:
Break your talk into sections
Choose 10-15 key words that will trigger your memories - trigger words
As you say your speech or presentation, imagine a journey around your home. (Your home is a familiar place and you know where everything is.)
Design 10 stations around your home
Place a vivid object as a trigger at each station, eg you go home and enter the living room to find a gleaming gold trophy full of money (recall the story of winning a competition or meeting a high sales target). Then you enter the dining room to find the next trigger object for the next part of the speech or presentation.
Visualize a strong / colourful / emotional trigger to represent an event or aspect of what you want to say - vivid triggers will help you remember
Practice and rehearse your speech following the journey around your home
Using the “Journey Method”, you will be able to quickly memorize up to twenty meaningful key words and it will be much easier to give a speech without notes. This is because you will be journeying around your (familiar) home, encountering the meaningful key words/vivid objects and remembering the story triggered by the vivid objects.
If you do forget where you should be going next, simply recall the journey around your home and the current room - then you will easily find the next vivid trigger object.
B) Use the Bead & Thread method for memorizing your speech
Imagine a thread of string with different beads on it. The thread will help guide you to remember the journey you're taking your audience on. This can be a very effective way of boosting your memory and giving your speech without notes.
The string is the thread that runs through your entire speech. The different colors/shapes/objects of the beads are the key ideas, moments and stages. Your goal is not to memorize the exact words to say. Your goal is to memorize and to own the logic behind the words (beads); and how to transition between the beads (sections). This usually results in you sounding (and feeling) more conversational and engaging to the audience.
Start by drafting the main points of what you want to say - but do not write sentences. (This will help you save time as you decide what to talk about.) Find the main ideas - the beads. Think of the beads as a logical flow. Then the transitions will occur naturally. By just remembering the different beads, you will then be able to practice and rehearse your speech by following the logical flow of your beads.
Final thoughts
So, we know that a story or music will help us recall facts. However, by including these memory methods, you will be able to remember the sequence of events more easily and speak more naturally. Follow the path of the story around your home or the beads and you will remember your speech - without rote memorization.
