ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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Your teacher assigned you a speech two weeks ago. You chose a topic and came up with an [Two school kids in class]

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argument. You did a bunch of research. You sat down and wrote out a draft of your entire [Girl working at a computer]

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presentation. You read it to your grandmother to get an unbiased opinion. [Grandma sat with lots of cats]

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You’re done, right? It’s finally ice cream time?

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Well... Almost. But not quite. [Ice cream van drives away]

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There’s one last step you need to take to turn a good speech into a great one:

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Revision and Practice. [Envelopes in the mail with revision and practice written on them]

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Then it’ll be ice cream time. Double scoop. We promise. [Girl looks happy]

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The amount of revision that needs to be done is going to vary from person to person and

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speech to speech. Some speeches might only need a few little tweaks… [Guy finishes fixing a girls car]

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While others might need a whole lot o’ help. [Guy looking unhappy next to his burning car]

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But either way, revision is a necessary step. Necessary…like, “not optional.”

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You can think about revision in two ways: Minor and Major. Minor revision is the nitpicky

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stuff, like changing the order of your sentences… [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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…or the choice of words.

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Even something as piddling as the addition of an adjective here or there.

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There’s a huge difference between a figure in the hallway and a terrifying figure in [Boy in a school corridor as a black figure walks by]

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the hallway. We know from experience. [Woman flies in on a wrecking ball]

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So yeah… minor. But as you can see, even a small change can make a big difference.

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On the other hand, major revision is, well, major. It might mean changing your thesis [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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or rewriting entire sections of the speech. Sometimes major revision means tossing out

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what you’ve got and going back to square one. [Someone chucking balls into the trash]

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Which can be painful, especially if you’re already on square nine or ten.

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But even though starting over is hardly anybody’s idea of fun,

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it’s sometimes the best thing you can do. [Girl burying her first draft]

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To determine whether your speech needs major or minor revisions, first inspect it yourself.

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Make sure there are no huge errors, and that you feel good about it overall. It should

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give you a warm, fuzzy feeling and not a confused, weird one. [Girl hugging a teddy bear and girl hugging a bat]

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Next, try delivering the speech – out loud – to someone who can give you feedback.

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If the person listening totally understands every point you made and is now on board with

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your proposal that all school lunches start including Snickers bars… [Girl giving presentation to a someone sat on the couch]

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… then you might only have some minor revisions to make.

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On the other hand, you’ll know there’s some major revision in your future if your

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speech leaves your listener, um…unsatisfied. [Teacher looks unimpressed]

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Ultimately, the best way to revise your speech is by practicing out loud whenever and

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wherever possible. You can practice before you go to bed… [Girl brushing her teeth]

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While taking a walk…

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Or even in the shower.

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But save that last option for short speeches only. There’s a water crisis, after all. [Girl waiting for the shower walks off]

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Ultimately, revision and practice is about doing whatever it takes for you to feel comfortable

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delivering a speech that will connect with an audience. [Girl smiling at the front of class]

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Okay, okay, fine. You can have three scoops. [Girl gets her ice-cream]

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