Chapter 2 of 4
Rehearsal That Works
Read it four times silently and you have rehearsed nothing.
6 min read
Rehearse out loud, standing, timed
Speaking is a motor skill. Reading your notes silently trains reading. The first time you say a sentence out loud you discover it is too long, and that discovery should happen in your bedroom, not in front of the class.
The three-pass method
Pass one: out loud with notes, unhurried, finding the sentences that will not fit in your mouth. Rewrite those.
Pass two: out loud with only your three supports on a card. Expect to lose your place. Losing your place is the point — this pass teaches recovery.
Pass three: timed, no notes, standing. If it runs long, cut a support rather than speeding up.
Rehearse the first and last twenty seconds most
These are the moments where nerves are highest and where the audience decides how to listen. Know them by heart so precisely that you do not need to think during them.
What to do with nerves
Nerves are arousal, not evidence of unpreparedness, and they subside about thirty seconds in. Plan for that: make the opening something you could deliver badly and still be fine.
Practice exercises
0 of 3 complete1.Why rehearse out loud rather than silently?
2.Your timed run is too long. Best fix?
3.Write your first twenty seconds word for word — the version you could deliver even while nervous.