Video transcript
Hints and guidelines for public speaking competitions - Prepared speeches - 1. Manner

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In this video, we will discuss what adjudicators will be looking for in the area of manner. A speaker's manner should be natural and conversational. Exaggerated gestures, overacting and the like should be discouraged in favor of a sincere, down-to-earth manner.

With that in mind, it's still important that speakers develop their own individual style. Some speakers will come across as more serious than others. Some will be more entertaining and lighthearted. Speakers must not use props, and should not act out scenes or sing, no matter how good at it they are.

Eye contact with the audience should be maintained as much as possible. However, the best speeches are generally not learned off by heart and robotically recited as if for the hundredth time, but rather require the speaker to glance at his or her palm cards occasionally. Good speakers will occasionally stumble or say, um. This is preferable to speeches which are, at the one extreme, entirely read, or at the other, over-rehearsed.

A speaker's body language should, again, be natural and easy, which means hand gestures in moderation, a comfortable stance, and the occasional step. Good speakers never act out their speeches.

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