How to Give a Speech Like Oprah
We all listened to Oprah’s speech on the Cecil B. de Mille Award? Yes? Okay. Have you noticed how even though she’s Oprah and could probably make us cry by reading the takeout menu backwards, she put a ton of work into her speech? And how, thanks to this work, did she glorify her achievements, respect this premise, but turn it into a rallying cry of the forces of good? Next time you go public, would you like to be a little more like Oprah?
Look, we’re not going to blog about teaching you how to deliver such a stirring acceptance speech that people ask if you’re running for president. Your speech is almost certainly not as important as Oprah’s, and you are almost certainly not Oprah. But if you are in the least concerned about what you say or how it is, you should approach it with all the care and thoughts that Oprah has put into yours.
Write
If you have any prior notice that you may be invited to speak, write it in advance. Don’t just “plan it” in your head. Everything sounds good in your head. You have to write or say it out loud to test it.
You will usually find your own structure for your speech. Oprah, for example, used this structure:
- Personal history
- Thank you
- Message
- Supporting story
- Directive
- Blessing
Or try this more general structure:
The structure itself is not as important as how you put it together. Each part of Oprah’s speech supports the others. In her personal story, victory is viewed in the context of race and gender. Her gratitude flows into her main message, praising those who fight against sexism, and in the story she invokes the intersection of racism and sexism. She encourages her audience to join this fight and assures us that we will win it. There is a logical end-to-end line in all speech.
So, first you need to find your main message. This should be what you can say best. Even if you’re just having fun at an informal event, find your brand funny. On the most amateur level, if you want to copy the style of some famous speaker or comedian, at least rip off the one you love, not the one you think will be popular.
Now make every line of your speech work to convey that basic message. Your introduction shouldn’t just sound cool or make people laugh, it should prepare them for the essence of your speech. Oprah starts out with the context of racial and gender progress because that’s what she will reveal later. This is an inspiring story because the overall message is inspiring.
Now let’s get down to the details.
If you’re editing a movie while you keep writing and rejecting your intro, that’s okay, that’s okay, that’s how I write every blog post. You have three options.
- Throw away the first lines until one of them sticks. This is what they do in the movies.
- Bring each intro to its logical conclusion while you have five bad intros, but you are warmed up, and you can save beats from one or two of those intros for your new, real intro.
- Start in the middle with some easy part and come back to the intro later (actually the best method, but I hate it and give it up).
For performances up to 30 minutes, use pen and paper as long as possible. For me, this is usually one complete draft; if you can bring yourself to hand-correct, do so. It can prevent you from doubting yourself all the time.
Rehearse
If this is your first time delivering your speech out loud in front of a real audience, you screwed up. You should read your speech out loud to yourself and then to a friend or partner. (This is the secret reason people get married.) You do this for two reasons:
Edit
You will always find new edits as you read your work aloud. You can even read your very first draft aloud and combine the editing and reading steps. You can even “write” and edit your speech by improvising out loud many times. (But write that down as well at some point.)
When you first read your speech to yourself, you will realize that some parts of it are bad and stupid. Then you will edit them. The second time, you will realize that some parts are secretly good, but out loud they sound bad and stupid. Then you will edit them.
Once everything looks good to you, read this to your friend. Ask them about their favorite part, least favorite part, and the part they bet on is good, but they didn’t get it. This third part is the most important for the job.
While you rehearse, you can keep editing, but if your edits need to get smaller and more picky. By six to ten rehearsals, you should probably only change a couple of words here and there.
Even if you are reading something that has already been posted elsewhere, you should still edit it. What works on a page doesn’t always work out loud. And vice versa! Maybe you’ve overlooked another piece that sounds better out loud than on paper. Or maybe you can just cut out a few twisty paragraphs. Your piece is a rock song, and this is a radio editing.
Fulfill
Your speech is as important as your words. Otherwise, you could just email everyone. At a personal event like a wedding, your presence is actually the most important part.
Each time you give a speech, it sounds more natural than the previous one. After you understand this main flow, you can pay attention to the delivery of certain key phrases and words. You can adjust the volume and speed. (You probably need to slow down.)
If you don’t work on your performance, everyone will know. You might think that a practiced speech will seem fake. Will not be; that’s what the game is. And even for a very personal speech, you’ll want to schedule your presentation so that when you don’t cry, you don’t get completely lost. (This planning also helps you not to get discouraged when your speech is not going as well as you hoped. It allows you to finish with dignity.)
As far as your friend can handle it, do all this work in front of him. Their reviews are better than your own. You don’t need to tape yourself up or do anything in front of the mirror, unless you want to.
Memorize
By now, you are on your way to memorizing your speech. Again, you’re probably not Oprah, so you probably can’t remember a ten-minute multi-chapter speech on race and gender in America. But you can assimilate your speech enough so that even if you brought notes, you do not read them, but use them as a guide.
Because your audience wants to see your face. They want to hear your voice. They cannot do this when you are buried in your records. When your head is down, you speak into your chest. When your head is up, you speak into the microphone or project your voice.
Memorization is not a slavish devotion to specific words. It’s about having all the words you need so you can improvise to your comfort level.
Bring your notes
You can do without taking notes (but if you do, rehearse the entire speech twice a day). If you do bring notes, try to fit them on the index cards. When your hands are shaking, index cards don’t wobble as noticeably as paper.
Your notes don’t have to be detailed. Maybe these are just parts that you find it difficult to remember. They help to remember. If they’re not reading, you shouldn’t really be reading them.
Don’t utter your entire speech word for word if you are not reading. The shorter your notes, the less you will look at them. (If you tried, but just couldn’t remember a single line, that’s okay, give your entire speech and everyone will know that you did your best.)
Don’t read your speech on your fucking phone. Print or write it down. Jesus.
Do all these good public speaking
Do not rush. Be confident in your speech. Don’t apologize for broken lines or mistakes (but you can apologize a little for crying, it’s cute).
Choose three people to look you in the eye with:
- A close friend or addressee of your speech, if it is a toast
- Someone who looks like he likes it
- Someone behind
If it is not obvious after the performance, say “Thank you”. If there is applause, wait three to ten seconds, but start walking away while they are still clapping . The presenter or next speaker must take your place before the applause has completely subsided.