Written by Preston Peterson

Have you been to the Augsburg Speaking Lab yet? It has been recently revamped and is open for Spring Semester. I spoke with Speaking Lab tutor John DeWitt to talk about the lab and his experience.

When it comes to giving your speech, being comfortable and being yourself is key. According to John, your speech is “just words on a piece of paper” if you don’t actually give it. The diamond method is a more technical but very useful tip to help your speech. Speaker Michael Hudson wrote an article on LinkedIn explaining exactly what the diamond method is. Dressing for the occasion is also important when presenting a speech. John told me “when in doubt, dress well.” We also talked about the significance of ethos in a speech. You want to make sure you have authority and credibility on a topic so that the audience will be more open to your message. The last tip is one of the most important ones, practice. Practicing your speech and becoming extremely familiar with it is key to giving the speech effectively.

John’s 5 Quick Tips for Public Speaking

1. Be yourself and make sure to showcase your personality.
2. Use the diamond method when giving a speech.
3. Dress for the occasion.
4. Make sure you have ethos on a topic when choosing what your speech will be about.
5. Practice, practice, practice.

You can bring your finished or unfinished speech to the Speaking Lab to work on presentation or content of the speech. The Speaking Lab is open from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Make an appointment on the Speaking Lab website or walk-in during lab hours.