Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant Communities - ILRC

Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant CommunitiesJanuary 2003• If appropriate, try to get the audience to participate in thepresentation in some way. It is often effective to ask questions. Forexample, How many of you have heard all the myths about whatimmigrants are doing to the economy in California? or What doyou think about these ideas? Other ways to include the audience isby asking people talk about their personal experiences with thetopic and encouraging them to give their comments and inputabout the issues.iii. Conclusion• Summarize the major points you made during the speech andreview them on butcher paper if you have written them down forthe audience to see.• Talk about any next steps—what you want your audience to doafter your speech, such as sign a petition, join an organization,apply for something or make some type of presentation to theschool board.• Let audience members ask questions if you have enough time toand you feel comfortable answering them. Otherwise you can givethem a phone number to call for further information.• Thank the people in the audience for their patience and theircomments and questions.f. Rehearsing the speechPractice the speech until you feel comfortable giving it. Although your familymight think you are crazy, practice giving the speech out loud. It usually helpsto practice in front of a mirror or with friends and family. Practicing will notonly help you deliver the speech more fluidly, it should also ease your nerves.4. Giving the Speecha. The first thing to do during a speech is to walk up to the front, pause for acouple seconds, smile and then start.b. While giving the speech, try not to read it unless you really have to. You don'thave to memorize it either, but if you are really familiar with the speech andhave practiced it a sufficiently, you should be able look at the audience for aconsiderable part of the speech. Eye contact with members of the audiencehelps to keep them interested.c. Try to have the most important points spelled out on butcher paper orhandouts for the audience to look at and follow.d. Use personal experiences in the speech. Talk about why this topic isimportant to you and to the audience. Use examples such as Naturalization is12-23