How to Memorize a Speech
Are you spending hours, sometimes days trying to learn a speech to only find yourself frozen on stage? Unable to remember anything so you have to read from your notes? The following are five useful ways to help you memorize a speech and give you confidence.
- Number 1: Write out your speech.
Instead of writing your speech word for word try using bullet points. These bullet points will be brain triggers to lead you to what you want to talk about. This step is important to help memorize your speech and making it easier for you to deliver your speech seamlessly.
- Number 2: Mind Palace Technique.
This technique is where you are going to store the data in your memory. To begin creating your mind palace you will need to start by standing in the doorway of every room of your house and number five pieces of furniture in each room. Be sure to pick five prominent pieces of furniture in that room. Then go to the next room, pick and number five more pieces of furniture. If you have ten points to memorize in your speech, you will need to pick and memorize ten pieces of furniture and so forth.
- Number 3: Create Images
Let’s say your bullet points are Increasing Profits, Time Management, Communication Skills, Goal Setting, Teamwork. The following are ways I would turn these bullet points into images for my mind palace.
Increasing Profits = I would see money flying everywhere.
Time Management = I would pick a huge grandfather clock.
Communication Skills = I would see a telephone for this visual.
Goal Setting = I picture a field goal on a football field.
Teamwork = I think of everybody’s favorite sports team, The Texas Rangers!
- Number 4: Visualize the pictures on the furniture
The next step is to visualize the pictures around the room on each piece of furniture you chose. You take the first point you want to talk about, which is a picture of lots of money (Increasing profit) and you want to visualize that on your first piece of furniture.
The next thing you want to talk about is time management. Picture the old grandfather clock sitting on top of the dresser.
The next point you want to make in your speech is work on communication skills; for that we pictured a telephone. The more crazy, bizarre, unusual and vivid you can make these pictures, the better chance you’re going to remember them.
So on that fourth piece of furniture imagine a goal post and imagine kicking a field goal winning the super bowl. This will remind you to talk about goal setting.
Finally on the fifth and final piece of furniture you will see your favorite sports team. This will help you to remember all bullet points in your speech and provide you with a smooth and effective way to give a speech without notes.
- Number 5: Practice, Practice, Practice
The way you practice is mentally walking around that room. As you walk to your first piece of furniture you notice money so you now remember to talk about how to increase profits.
Next you see the clock. This then triggers your brain to remember to talk about Time Management Skills and how we need to manage our time more effectively.
The telephone on your next piece of furniture leads you to talk about improving Communication Skills as a team and becoming a good communicator. Lastly is a goal post that reminds you to talk about Setting Goals. Then of course, you need to wrap up your speech and talk about Teamwork and how you need to work together as a team.
In conclusion as long as you are attaching pictures to words, you will be able to memorize anything. Visualization is important for your memory. Giving a speech that does not require you to read off notes can be more effective to your audience. Being a great speaker can be very inspirational and motivational to many people. Learning to memorize a speech will significantly boost your confidence in giving speeches.
