During my church’s Sunday service, our pastor delivered a compelling talk on overcoming guilt. His vocal variety, facial expressions, and body movement were on point. Yet, he kept glancing at his laptop, perched center stage, and something was lost—eye contact. It felt like he was speaking to his notes, not to us. Speaking while reading notes can hint at a lack of confidence or preparation, which shouldn’t be the case for our pastor—or anyone who wants to speak like a pro on stage.
With over twenty years of experience delivering business presentations, keynote speeches, and standup gigs, I’d like to share a few tips on how to speak like a pro—without the crutch of notes.
Develop Your Talk
Content is king, no matter how good you are as a speaker. Start by drafting your talk with a solid structure and meaningful messages. Don’t try to sound like a linguistic professor. Instead, keep it simple, vivid, and relevant with easy words and short sentences. For a longer speech, like a one-hour roadmap presentation, consider bullet points with a logical flow; for a short keynote, write your script word for word. When preparing for my TEDx talk, I made sure my script fit within the allowed speaking time. The rule of thumb? About 100 words per minute depending on your pace; timing is critical in standup comedy. If I have a 10-minute set, I develop about seven minutes of solid material and reserve the remaining time for audience reactions. Trust me—you never want to step on the audience’s laughter!
At this stage, your script doesn’t have to be perfect. Think of it as building a rough, imperfect snowman with all the materials you have. You can sculpt it later.
Practice Your Talk
We all know that practice makes perfect, right? Well, not exactly. How you practice can make or break you. When I was a marketing professional, I tried to memorize my presentations word for word. The result? I sounded like a robot—embarrassing and stressful! Fortunately, a speech coach gave me a lifesaving tip: Never try to memorize your speech. Trust your memory! With enough practice, the information will naturally come to you. He suggested practicing while doing other things like exercising, doing chores, or even showering. The key is to speak out loud in a “disturbing” environment. This was a game-changer for me! Over the years, I’ve practiced talks while cooking or swimming, and it worked like a charm.
As you practice, revisit your script to refine and polish it. Once you’re satisfied with the content and flow, record yourself and do a self-evaluation. Pay attention to your voice, facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements. You can be your own best critic! One lesson learned: Don’t practice in front of a mirror. It can lead you to act like a performer instead of speaking naturally. Practicing while doing other activities is a simple, fun, and proven method to elevate your talk from good to great—and to embed it into your memory. As the creator of your snowman, you know every inch of it. Now, you’re ready to unveil it to the world.
Deliver Your Talk
It’s showtime! Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before your important talk. It’s okay to feel nervous. As Mark Twain once said, “There are two types of speakers: those who are nervous and those who are liars.” You’ve practiced well and know your material inside out. Leave your script and notes at home—you don’t need them. As soon as you start speaking, the information will flow naturally, like lyrics from a singer’s mouth.
I remember my experience on the TEDx stage. I was a little nervous, but that gave me energy. As soon as I started talking, I felt like a singing bird—smooth and natural because I trusted my memory. I didn’t try to memorize my speech word for word. Later, I compared the video subtitles with my final script. Despite a few filler words and a couple of missed sentences, my delivery matched more than 90% of the script. As long as I presented my well-crafted snowman on stage, no one noticed—or cared—if it was two pounds lighter than planned. See what I mean?
Whether you’re a leader, professional, or comedian, you can speak like a pro without notes. All you need is to write a solid script, practice in a distracting environment, and trust in your memory on stage. If I can do it, you can too! Now, I wonder if I should share this article with my pastor…
