Revisar, practicar y recordar tu discurso

Preparing a speech goes far beyond writing it once. If you want to revise, practice, and remember your speech the right way, this guide breaks down three actions every speaker needs before stepping on stage, and why they open doors to continuous improvement.

This is for anyone who has built their material and now wonders what comes next. You already have your points, ideas, supporting elements, illustrations, and transitions in place. Now it's time to revisit everything.

Why is revising your speech the first step?

Revising is beautiful, and it only happens once all your ideas, supporting elements, and transitions are in place [00:36]. Writing is the art of rewriting, so this is your moment to go back and look at your work with fresh eyes.

Use this time to add notes and comments, and to rearrange the order of topics and the sequence of elements [00:55]. Ask yourself an honest question: am I really addressing this audience with the correct flow of a message?

Don't feel bad about returning to your initial proposal. It's not only acceptable, it's recommended.

Is it okay to change my speech after writing it? Yes. Revising is recommended, not a sign of failure. Go back, add notes, add comments, and rearrange the order of things so your message flows correctly for your audience.

How many times should I practice my speech?

Here's the secret: practice is how we master something. But the number of times you rehearse isn't random. There's an interesting rule that depends on three elements you need to weigh together [01:34].

Before you set your range, consider:

• The audience you're addressing. Do you know them? Are they experts or people with no knowledge of the topic?
• The topic's complexity. How demanding is the subject you're presenting?
• The goal. What is your main objective with this speech?

Once you've placed these in a range, you can determine how many full run-throughs you need.

What's the right number of rehearsals by complexity?

The complexity of your speech decides the frequency directly [02:37]:

• Low or moderate complexity: three to four times, presenting the speech completely.
• High complexity: eight to 10 times, and yes, completely each time.

That word completely matters. Partial rehearsals don't build the same command over your material.

How many times should I rehearse a speech? For a simple topic, three to four full run-throughs work well. For a complex one, aim for eight to 10 complete rehearsals.

Should I memorize my entire speech word by word?

No, and this is where many speakers get it wrong. For years, people literally memorized speeches word by word, but that's not how we really work now [03:01].

When you memorize everything, it doesn't come out naturally. Your audience will notice you're acting like a robot and that your message isn't real. You stop conveying a message and start reciting one.

The only thing you should memorize is your outline [03:36]. The outline is the sequence of all the topics you'll cover, and it carries a lot of weight.

What does the outline actually contain?

Your outline holds the structure that lets you speak freely [03:41]:

• The claims you want to make.
• The supporting ideas behind each claim.
• The connectors that link your points.
• All the research you did previously.

Once you memorize that flow and sequence, you don't have to memorize anything else. The goal is to speak more conversationally and naturally than rehearsed.

What part of a speech should I memorize? Only your outline: the sequence of topics, claims, supporting ideas, connectors, and research. Everything else should come out conversationally, not word for word.

How do I keep my audience engaged during a speech?

As you revise, don't forget the 10-minute rule approach [04:22]. Every 10 minutes, think about what activity you'll incorporate to keep your audience engaged with your topic and your idea.

The aim is simple: help them stay connected to what you want them to remember and learn from your speech. That single reminder can transform a flat presentation into one people follow all the way through.

Now it's your turn. Can you think of a different way to keep an audience engaged every 10 minutes? Share your ideas in the comment section.