Memorizing a speech by tomorrow morning.

[CrimsonAngel]

How do I do this!? I need to memorize it in only a few hours and if I don't have it word for word in my head i'll get a 0 on a major grade :smallfrown:

[golentan]

A couple of my favorite tricks: Put it to a tune, and learn it in 5-10 word bytes through repetition.

In a night, though, you may not have time to get it word perfect.

[CrimsonAngel]

Damn teacher that beleives in my ability to succeed! :smallyuk:

[Snares]

How do I do this!? I need to memorize it in only a few hours and if I don't have it word for word in my head i'll get a 0 on a major grade :smallfrown:

Seems a bit harsh.

I always memorise things in small bites, and then piece the whole thing together. Break it down, maybe write bits on post-it notes, then slowly put the post-it notes together until you have the whole thing. I'd imagine that post-it notes of different colours would help too, if you have them.

[Froogleyboy]

Damn, dude, that's rough. Wish I had some advice for you, but sadly all I know to say is read it over and over aloud, get a good nights sleep, and eat a good breakfast. Sorry I can't be of more help

[CrimsonAngel]

Seems a bit harsh.

I always memorise things in small bites, and then piece the whole thing together. Break it down, maybe write bits on post-it notes, then slowly put the post-it notes together until you have the whole thing. I'd imagine that post-it notes of different colours would help too, if you have them.


Damn teacher that beleives in my ability to succeed! :smallyuk:

She's my 'teen leadership' teacher. She beleives in ALL OF US. :smallfrown: And she's so perky it would make me upset if I dissapointed her.

And she has a cool accent.

[AtlanteanTroll]

She's my 'teen leadership' teacher. She beleives in ALL OF US. :smallfrown: And she's so perky it would make me upset if I dissapointed her.

Upset her anyway. People who are perky need to be brought down a level. Joking. If she is so perky though, she's likely not to fail you for not having it completely memorized.

[Mauve Shirt]

I recommend golentan's proposed technique of putting it to a tune. I've done that before, and it really does work. But it depends on how long the speech is.

[CrimsonAngel]

3 paragraphs, I've got the second and third mostly memorized but the first one is starting to frustrate me. It's only 3 sentances long ;.;

[AtlanteanTroll]

3 paragraphs, I've got the second and third mostly memorized but the first one is starting to frustrate me. It's only 3 sentances long ;.;

My time zone says you have 3 hours to memorize it, you'll be fine. Look at it before bed, on the toilet, and when yo wake up. You'll be fine.

[thubby]

do you really have to memorize it word for word? whats to stop you from just bsing anything you cant get exactly right.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

I would just recite it to myself over and over again. Learn by rote, and you'll get it word-for-word, I say.

[KenderWizard]

Try not to get frustrated or upset, it won't help. Keep repeating it, either as just words, or to a tune, or just in a kind of sing-song way, and keep trying to do it without looking. Read it a few times, then do it without looking. Check your mistakes, and repeat. If you've got the second and third done, and the first is 3 sentences long, you're almost there!

[Danne]

Also, find an audience so you can practice it. Your parents, perhaps. It's easier to learn a speech if you can do rehearsal before you actually need to perform it. They can also give you advice about what you might need to improve.

[CrimsonAngel]

I made it into an annoying song so it would get stuck in my head.

And i'm going to pretend i'm telling my friend, because I managed to hide in the back of the crowd and not get called on today.

Some of the speeches were so moving people started crying, so now i'm not so confident about my speech. :smalleek:

[Syka]

I got through my Classics degree by essentially memorizing chunks of our translations (we're talking 200+ lines of Plato, Homer, plays, etc).

What worked for me was having 'trigger' words. I'd memorize in chunks and one section would prompt another one. And yes, putting it to a tune helps too, sadly. Just try to not sing it. ;)


What's the topic? Just because people cried for others doesn't mean yours won't be good. Most of my speech class did their demonstration speechs on something crafty (one girl did origami, etc). I did mine on how to roll a character for D&D. Still got an A. ;)

[CrimsonAngel]

Mines about video games. Theirs was about losing friends, stalkers kiling parents etc...

[Danne]

I made it into an annoying song so it would get stuck in my head.

And i'm going to pretend i'm telling my friend, because I managed to hide in the back of the crowd and not get called on today.

Some of the speeches were so moving people started crying, so now i'm not so confident about my speech. :smalleek:

I could never decide whether I should be happy about not being called on the first day of a presentation. Like, I spent all this time practicing for today, what do you mean I didn't need to worry about it so much?! But at the same time you get a chance to practice more and be more prepared.

Keep practicing! You'll get it! :smallsmile:

Edit: Pfft. So theirs was on attention seeking sob stories and yours will be on something that really means a lot to you? What are you so worried about? Just let how much you love the games show through!

[Commander McCoy]

Mines about video games. Theirs was about losing friends, stalkers kiling parents etc...

So, you're doing something you care about too. Just because you haven't experienced a tragedy/don't feel like speaking about it, doesn't make you a worse person. I'm sure your speech will be awesome. :smallsmile:

[Eadin]

I always try to memorizethe main subject of each paragraph, highlight the main subjects and sentences.
See that you know what each paragraph is about and what else you need to talk about.

[Remmirath]

What I usually do (to memorise long lines, not speeches, but if you remove a long enough line from the context of a play it's basically a speech)...

Read the whole thing over. After that, turn the page over, cover it or just look away and try to recite it all from memory (I always try to do it with the right subtext - or feeling/emphasis if you're not sure what that means - and all, but it works either way). Repeat until you can get through the whole thing that way. I usually do that part late at night, since I find that works better.

Then, in the morning (or whenever you next run into somebody else), get somebody to hold the speech for you. Get as far through it as you can, and if you hit a snag get them to prompt you with a couple words. Repeat until you can do it without any prompting.

Then just run through it once a day until the show opens in my case, or you have to give the speech in your case.

Also, so long as you aren't required to get it word-perfect (and especially if the audience/teacher doesn't know what the exact words are), it's more important to just get through it and hit all the relevant points without stumbling than to back up to get the words right. If you just keep going, chances are people won't notice even if you make a fairly glaring mistake.

If I've got a really long line I usually try to figure out exactly what the point of each paragraph is, so in case I slip up I still get the meaning out.

I'm not sure how much of that is applicable to this particular situation, but hopefully some of it's some help.

For what it's worth, I for one would much rather listen to a speech about video games than a really depressing/moving one, no matter how eloquent they might be (and especially if they're equally good). I'm sure there will be at least a few people like that in your audience. :smallsmile:

[Thajocoth]

This is wrong. Memorization is not a skill that schools should ever rely on students for. Something like math or science formulas, where it looks like a good idea, should instead be taught the reasons those formulas exist and how to derive them, removing the need for memorization. In the real world, people who give speeches have notes or cue cards.

Good luck though...

Maybe read it over and over and try to recite it, only looking at the actual speech when you get stuck? Which should become less and less often the more you recite it?

[CrimsonAngel]

You guys are still giving me advise? :smalleek:

[Thajocoth]

You guys are still giving me advise? :smalleek:

It could help you out next time.

[thubby]

You guys are still giving me advise? :smalleek:

well its not just for you anymore.

[Emperor Ing]

...so...how'd it go?

[742]

now i feel awesome for my ability to memorize things and make up speeches on the spot >.>

try and get all the concepts down, then rewrite it so its easier to remember (possibly closer to the way you naturally speak, a favorite character speaks, making every line a reference to something, or an obscure[or not] quote)

and dont be afraid to improvise.

[Danne]

This is wrong. Memorization is not a skill that schools should ever rely on students for. Something like math or science formulas, where it looks like a good idea, should instead be taught the reasons those formulas exist and how to derive them, removing the need for memorization. In the real world, people who give speeches have notes or cue cards.

Well, it's never a bad thing to be able to spout, say, a Shakespearean soliloquy or an famous poem. But yes, you're right that schools today rely far too much on memorization, which teaches kids nothing. :smallfrown:

[KenderWizard]

Schools in Ireland rely WAY too much on memorisation, so I'm pretty good at it! Some teachers even tell you to learn whole essays off by heart and just write them down in the exam, instead of making one up based on the actual essay titles they give you.

How did the speech go, CrimsonAngel? :smallsmile:

[thubby]

schools tend to rely on memorization because its the only thing that can be definitively tested, and teaching critical thinking is a nightmare.

[waterpenguin43]

I hope it went well. :smallsmile::smallfrown:

My advice would have been to repeat each sentence, 10 times, until it's stuck in your head. Proceed to repeat each sentence, slowly adding them together, until the whole speech is jammed into your mind.

[Aedilred]

Schools in Ireland rely WAY too much on memorisation, so I'm pretty good at it! Some teachers even tell you to learn whole essays off by heart and just write them down in the exam, instead of making one up based on the actual essay titles they give you.

Oh man, that's a terrible idea. You can kind of limp through GCSE-equivalent with that technique, but anything further and you're going to get burned. The mark schemes are designed to take this approach into account and neuter it.

[Lord Loss]

I do it in five steps:

1) Read the whole darn thing aloud a few times
2) Read it aloud, repeating each bit multiple times before reading the next.
3)Read key parts aloud/ parts you have difficulty with.
4) As part three, but singing instead.
5)Instead of reading, practice with text nearby, glancing at it only when stuck

[Aedilred]

There are various techniques- mnemonic devices and the like- that can help with memorising speeches, but for a short, sub-five-minute speech it's not really worth it.

In all honesty, though, a speech performed from memory is always going to appear a bit substandard. Too much effort is going into remembering what you should be saying and not enough into the delivery- and delivery is paramount. When I was doing public speaking on a regular basis, I found a happy medium could be struck between reading and memorisation with the use of cue cards. These simply highlight and remind you of the salient points you should be making- the rest of the speech is, of course, constructed around these, so falls into place so long as you have something there to remind you of the overall structure.

I don't think any of those speeches ever came out quite as I had originally intended them, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. A bit of spontaneity- so long as it's cogent- enhances rather than detracts from a speech.

It's a rare orator these days who can speak with no cue cards or notes at all, but they do exist (David Cameron has done it on a number of occasions, for example). These guys, though, tend to be professional public speakers, completely at ease in front of an audience, completely in touch with their source material, and effortlessly eloquent- they don't need notes, because they're largely making it up as they go along. It's worth noting, though, that long speeches generally require little more effort preparation than short ones, because you don't have to worry about concision, and speaking at length without notes for an hour is in some ways easier than doing it for three minutes.

[Winter_Wolf]

Mines about video games. Theirs was about losing friends, stalkers kiling parents etc...

Don't you think that people might want to hear something happy after all that misery? I mean really, people who talk about depressing subjects usually get up having just enough of my attention so I know to do the requisite polite clapping at the end of the speech. I say, be a pioneer and share something positive with people.