Public Speaking Mastery

Analyzing Speaking Skills to Master Public Speaking

Public speaking mastery

can be enhanced by analyzing and critiquing speeches you observe.

At the end of this lesson is a link to a 12 hour tutorial where you can listen to some highly paid speakers. Put what your learning to work at your leisure.

To become an master speaker requires not only practicing public speaking skill, but an understanding of the elements of great speaking, how and why they work and when to use them.

Observing these qualities in other speakers or seeing where they should have been used but were not can help your own progress. Public speech critique is a tool to help you better see and analyze your own speeches.

When you see someone use the various skills masterfully, if you take the time and energy to learn from them, you will be able to grow in your skills by imitation. Your appreciation will be enhanced as you see and understand the dynamics unfold as you observe.

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."
― Albert Einstein

When a speaker fails to effectively use the appropriate skills you will see the need for and how they could have enhanced the speech. This understanding will likewise help your own growth and development.

Public Speaking can be done by anyone who wants to speak in front of an audience. Only those who apply themselves will attain public speaking mastery. This is one of the applications to help you on your quest.

How to Give a Public Speech Critique

As you listen to speeches, grade or analyze each of the various speech qualities. Below is a limited list of qualities to consider and grade a speaker as they work toward attaining public speaking mastery.

The speech qualities can be divided into three areas.

  • What is said
  • How it is said
  • How it is presented
For a comprehensive list of skills to critique and to work on to attain Public Speaking Mastery go to

Speaking Skills Analysis and copy the bulleted points. If you print it in a font size of 9 points it should end up being about 4 pages.

What is said

focuses on the word choice.

  • Words appropriate to the knowledge base of the audience
  • Words that arouse interest
  • words that persuade or motivate

How it is said

focuses on speech qualities

  • Does the speaker vary pace, pitch and power?
  • Does the speaker use proper pronunciation, modulation, enthusiasm?
  • Does the speaker use sense stress, warmth and feeling?

The presentation and presenter

  • Is the speaker have poised and confident?
  • Is the speaker neatly dressed?
  • Are handouts of good quality and effective?
  • If Power Point the presentation or used to enhance the presentation?
  • Did the speaker follow the rules of good power point presentation?

Use a scale of 0-5 or 0-10 where the high number the best and the low the least.

Identify the type of speech, informative, persuasive, or motivational.

As each skill is used grade it using the scale. If some skills are used more than once, write the grade more than once and average them out.

Skills that should have been used that were not can be given a Zero.

With bad habits like word whiskers and mannerisms, keep a count of how many times they were used. A few can slide. Too many and it will impress on you why care needs to be used to avoid them.

Then take the averages to come up with a score on how good the speaker did.

Has the speaker you viewed attained public speaking mastery? Was it a great speech, a 10? Or was the quality diminished by poor skills. As you see these qualities in others, you will better be able to apply them in your speeches.

Some skills are synergistic. Some may be used in some speeches and not in others. For instance in giving a funeral eulogy, in some instances it may not be appropriate to include enthusiasm and in other instances it may be.

Use your understanding of these skills to grow in your abilities and develop into Public Speaking Mastery.

Improve Public Speaking Skill

by observing and critiquing other speakers. This is a self guided lesson. It can take up to 12 hours and you can do it at your leisure. Bonus for you, view for free videos others paid thousands to hear.

Remember as you observe these videos, some day it could be you.

Speechmastery.com: The Public Speaking Mastery Resource

Lets Connect View Jonathan Steele RN Holistic Nurse's profile on LinkedIn
Lets Connect View Jonathan Steele RN Holistic Nurse's profile on LinkedIn
Better Public Speaking Tips

How Much Water You Drink Can Affect Your Performance!

Click Here Discover The Science of How Much We Need to Drink and The
5 Rights of Proper Hydration

Water Cures Protocol