Any tips for oral speaking?
I'm in Spanish III, but I mainly taught myself Spanish I and II through a program called Compacted Curriculum. This is my first real experience in a Spanish classroom where I have to communicate with my other peers. I can read extremely well in Spanish and my writing is above average, but when it comes to impromptu speeches, I flip out. My mind goes blank, even if I know the words...I get so nervous about using the wrong conjugation (or producing a similar error) that I stutter like crazy and wind up looking a fool!
I have an oral presentation on Salvador Dalí on Monday, with no notes or anything. This will account for a large portion of my semester grade! Any tips on how to not look ridiculous in front of my class? As always, any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!
~~¡Beautifleeblest!~~
14 Answers
:but when it comes to impromptu speeches, I flip out.
Unless you're very good/experienced at speaking impromptu (avoid doing it). Do what actors, lawyers and public speakers, in general, do. Practice/rehearse ahead of time (decide what you're going to say and how you want to say it.
Then, when the moment arrives, forget about all the worries that you had ahead of time. When you're in front of your audience, it's too late to worry about such things and worrying will only interfere with your delivery. You may well still make mistakes but trying to revise your speech mid-stream is an invitation to disaster.
My advice: if you are not confident and you make too many mistakes, don't rush! Go back to your listening and reading, and copy how people talk... as much as you can, eagerly. Eventually you'll feel that words come to your mouth instead of worries to your brain. You can't speak natural and fluent Spanish if you are not familiar with the way they speak. You need more sessions on "parroting natives", which is how children learn.
Do you have problems speaking in front of groups in general, or just in Spanish? If it's the latter, is it a matter of pronunciation, or do you have a hard time translating in your head?
If your problem is only in Spanish, how much reading out loud have you done? I used to do a tremendous amount of this when I was first learning, and it helped a lot. Try reading a Spanish language newspaper, magazine, or book out loud. Record yourself if possible and listen back for mistakes. Above all, it just takes practice. Try not to think in English, then translate to Spanish. That slows you way down. I know it's not easy, but try to form the sentences directly in Spanish in your head without using English first.
You need "Romper el hielo (to start speak)" y practicar, practicar, practicar.. I wish you have luck!
In my spanish grammar and conversation classes, I never wrote out anything beforehand. I'm not saying this is the best way to go about it for everyone by the way, just a little disclaimer.
My thought process was that by giving an impromptu/unplanned speech on a given subject, I would be practicing for speaking in real life. When we have a conversation with someone, we obviously didn't have time to write out and memorize what we were going to say, so I really wanted to simulate that same experience.
When you're able to do it even semi-well, your speech is MANY times better than someone that will be giving a planned, word-for-word speech. I remember that's what a lot of people did and I was very uninterested because I was like 'Man, it's like he's/she's reading right off of notecards' and in reality, they really were. When someone gives a speech word-for-word planned from notecards, I don't know, something happens with the voice that gives it away from the start and automatically, I don't know, at least for me, makes it much less engaging. But when a person is able to give an unplanned speech, it just seems much more authentic, not disingenuous.
I know this may be really hard to do, but hey, if we're looking to improve, I say 'shoot for the stars!' My tip for you?? When you're up there speaking, the key is to visualize everybody (the whole class, the teacher, everyone) as one single entity. You're speaking with one person. If you know the material inside-and-out, you'll have much to say.
EDIT (added later)
Just wanted to add something to clarify. I don't mean you go in totally blank into the speech. What I do is have a general outline of main points I want to hit. For example, I'll make sure I will say something about Point A, before moving on to Point B, then so on and so on. But as far as going word for word, I never think about exactly what I'm going to say. It's part of the fun (and anxiety) of giving a speech!
-Charlius-
In my obnoxious opinion, and since everyone has already supplied truly useful answers, I'd have to say that the first tip for oral speaking must be to use your mouth in order to produce the words!
We have a nice skype chat group, almost 70 contacts by now and we meet once a week-
Have a look at this thread and see what you must do
They have a program at the local church where people go and give classes to help students and encourage them to stay in school. I speak Spanish at a level somewhere between a one year old and a two year old, but the previous math instructor quit, so they asked me to start giving classes as a volunteer worker. I've been doing it for a couple months now and I have never prepared anything to say, but I have looked up various technical words in advance because they need to learn the proper terminology from the start. However, a lot of it is answering whatever questions they may have, so there is no real way to prepare. If the classes were in English, it would be very easy for me, so the only barrier is language.
This probably isn't any help to you and I have a lot of experience speaking in front of groups, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
Like samdie and Janice said, I recommend studying and memorizing.
Personal anecdote:
A few days ago, I tried that for the first time with a Spanish speech. I usually have the same problem, with getting nervous and stuttering, even when I'm working from notes (and in English too), so for my last Spanish presentation (which was supposed to be semi-impromptu, though we could use notes) I wrote it out word-for-word and read it aloud over and over, so I had it almost memorized. When I went to give the actual speech, I could say most from memory, and on top of that, just because I knew the material so well, I was more confident with improvising a bit too.
Yes, it takes a lot of time, but it pays off, and I think that a few well-delivered speeches might help with confidence so that, over time, you won't need to memorize so much.
That said, good luck with whatever you try!
I read recently that Cato the Elder ((234 B.C. - 149 B.C.) once said (or wrote) ""Grasp the subject, words will follow." Maybe that is not always true
- Janice
This is very true once you have learned the language.
I agree with the others -- practice speaking aloud when you are reading the newspaper or a book. You will find that some words flow easily and others do not. Just keep speaking and you'll get more comfortable over time.
Also, try to remember that we all make mistakes, so don't be afraid of them.
¡Buena suerte!
Someone asked a similar question. You might the advice contained here helpful. If you are worried about your Spanish accent, then Lazurus is right You have to listen. Reading description of to pronounce letters is good, but you'll know if you're doing right that way. I can sympathize. Because when I try to speak I fear I am come across something I don't know how to say or I am just going to forget what I already know.
I want to ask the same thing other are: do you get nervous only speaking Spanish or speaking in front of people? 
Read out loud, beautifleeble. Write your speech down and memorize it!
