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If you're looking for ways to make a difference in your community, either through established channels or grassroots organizing, you've come to the right place to get some help making your public speech in these realms as effective as possible. This page is intended to supplement the Basic Course by providing tips for public speaking that are specific to the civic discourse and activism.
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When an issue that is important to you is the subject of a public meeting, your speech at that event could make a big difference.
You can find out when and if the issue you're interested in is going to be the subject of a public discussion by becoming active in relevant community and activist organizations or by checking the local media, particularly the small community newspapers that are available for free in pubic places in most cities.
If there is a meeting at which you want to speak, find out in advance, from the group who organized the meeting, what the process is for choosing who gets to speak. Commonly, the microphone at such meetings is available on a first-come, first-served basis. If this is the case, get there before the meeting starts and immediately locate the person in charge of organizing the speakers. At city council meetings, other business is usually addressed before the issue slated for public discussion comes up. Do not wait until this point to get on the speaking roster.
While you should reserve your spot at the podium right away, you should ask not to be the first speaker. Not only are the first few speakers often forgotten by the time such a forum is over, there are other advantages to having other speakers ahead of you. Since speakers at such meetings are usually organized so that speakers on either side of the issue speak alternatively, you should be able to get an idea which opposing arguments are foremost in the audience's mind when your turn to speak comes up. Try and refute these arguments directly.
Your time will be very limited (often less than five minutes is allocated to speakers at such forums), so don't waste time repeating in detail what others on your side of the issue have said. Instead, use the opportunity to briefly remind the audience of some of the good points that have been made. Then focus on what arguments or evidence you can add to the discussion that is new and different. No one wants to hear the same thing repeated too many times.
You can either read your speech, or present it extemporaneously. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, and it depends partially on which way you're most comfortable with. See our presentation page for a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
State legislatures and Congress sometimes provide forums for public discussion on contentious issues. These differ from local meetings and most municipal-level public forums because they are more formal and tightly-organized. Your best bet to get an opportunity to speak at a legislative hearing is by contacting the office of the legislator who is most vocal in advocating your side of the issue in question.
If you're speaking at a political event, you'll want to take into consideration the possible presence of the broadcast or print news media, and remember that they will not care about presenting your side of the issue in any depth.
So make sure you provide them with sound bytes they can use -- ones that most accurately reflect your message. If you're giving a rallying speech, use the power of repetition to your advantage by repeating a phrase, but make it a phrase that has some substance.
For example, instead of repeating, "We demand a fair contract because it's the right thing to do," say, "We demand a contract that keeps our wages on pace with inflation," and "We demand a contract that gives us the job security we deserve," and, "We demand a contract that provides decent health insurance for our families." Such repetition can allow the media to zoom in on phrases that have some substance and can also serve to organize your speech around memorable main points.
Having part of your speech repeated in the media can be a great way to get your message disseminated. Therefore, accommodate the media, but remember: anything you say can be taken out of context, so check your own rhetoric and try to eliminate phrases that can seem inflammatory if taken in isolation. In general, take a cautious view of the media, and assume that anything you say that could make you seem like a kook is what will end up that night on the news.
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