Speech tips

Tips for effective speech making to lay audiences

The following guide is adapted from a guide produced by the Law Institute of Victoria in 2002.

INTRODUCTION
Spare Lawyers for Refugees receives requests for speakers from a wide variety of community groups. By agreeing to speak to community groups, you are building a valuable bridge between the general public and the legal profession and indirectly, representing the aslym seeker community. Speaking engagements represent an excellent opportunity to promote your profession and your own legal practice by building relationships in the community in which you work and live.

Most groups will ask for a speaker on a particular subject, for example, Humanitarian law in Australia. However, there are often requests for a solicitor to speak on a topic of their own choice. When choosing a topic for an audience, you should think carefully about the groups' age and interests. When talking about refugee law ensure that you are pitching the speech to the audience by drawing examples of relevance to the people in the audience.

GENERAL TIPS

Some of our members will be very used to public speaking but, for others, it may be unchartered territory. Public speaking need not be an unnerving experience. There are many techniques that can be used to allay nerves and fears associated with public speaking. For example, instead of seeing yourself standing at the front of a room delivering a speech, try to look on giving a talk as having a conversation with a group of people about a topic of mutual interest.

Keep in mind that you have been invited to speak to a group because they are interested in what your have to say.

If you meet with confusion, uneasiness or aggression when giving your talk, respond always with patience, tolerance and humour and you will find that you can win your audience over.

TAILOR YOUR TALK

Remember, the concentration span of your audience is extremely short. Try to infuse some humour where appropriate, or better still, give anecdotes and illustrations to reinforce the points you are explaining. For such stories about detainee, please email the SLFR volunteer team who are readily able to provide such anecdotes.

Your speech should be informative and specific to the audience. To this end, a discussion with the organisers of the talk prior to the event could help you pin point what topics you should speak on and whether the people to whom you will be speaking have any existing legal knowledge.

No one will expect your talk to be a breathtaking display of oratorical skill, but you can ensure your audience will be interested if you prepare well in advance.

Make sure you know much more about the topic than is in your speech -- if you cannot answer questions, you must admit it!

Try not to read directly from your notes; practice the speech; write points on cue cards or slips of paper that sit easily in the hand.

Plan to have a "question time" at the end of the talk. This may be a bit daunting, but it is useful and should ensure that no one goes away confused or dissatisfied with the information you have provided.

Remember that your audience will probably be fairly intelligent, yet know little about the law. Your talk should be simple enough for them to follow but not condescending. Remember also that things which are obvious to a lawyer may need to be explained to a lay person. For example, many people do not know the difference between a barrister and a solicitor.

PRESENTATION

Be comfortable both physically and mentally.

Nerves can be good for getting the adrenaline running, but you should keep them in check. Standing to speak is preferable, but if your legs cannot face the prospect of supporting you solo for half an hour, then sit down or at least lean on a table. Nothing is worse to watch than a fidgety speaker.

Have your talk well-planned and notes well-organised -- this will avoid the embarrassing prospect of a speaker rifling through their notes to try to find page two, or their place. You will feel more confident if you know you are well prepared.

Maintain eye contact with your audience -- you should use your eyes, your voice, facial expressions and gestures to communicate with your audience. It is important that you not simply "read" your talk but that you also get your point across. A speaker who never varies the inflection in his or her voice, or who never looks at the audience invariably puts the audience to sleep. You will feel less inclined to simply read out your talk if you don't write it out word for word. Instead, try to have a clear idea in your mind of what you want to say and then use notes written in point form as memory-joggers. This way, you will be able to look at your audience when you speak.

USE HUMOUR AND EXAMPLES

Humour relaxes your audience (and you)! It helps make an audience receptive to your message. It also keeps their interest. Practical examples illustrate points which may be hard to grasp in the abstract. They also help maintain interest.

This does not mean your talk has to be crammed with jokes from end to end. An amusing anecdote, perhaps about an experience you or a colleague had with a particular case or a particular client, is sufficient.

SCHOOL CHILDREN AS AN AUDIENCE

Determine by talking to the class teacher whether the children have any legal knowledge and if so, how much. This will enable you to select the right sort of language and explanations to use.

Use the simplest possible language and explain legal phrases - even ones where meanings seem obvious.

Use the blackboard or white board to show and spell words, phrases or points. An overhead project can also be used in this way.

"Exhibits" or props, such as a wig and gown, law books, a brief and the like, can help make your talk more interesting.

Use plenty of examples and illustrations to colour your talk.

Before preparing your presentation on behalf of SLFR, we would encourage you to peruse the speeches made by Julian in the past for SLFR for ideas and themes. they call be viewed by clicking the followig links.

Speeches and presentations by J.W.K Burnside QC: