It can be quite hard to wean people from the idea that they need to read every speech word-for-word.
This is a particular problem for short speeches of three-to-five minutes.
It might be an impromptu speech, where you're asked to talk and have no time to prepare. Or it's in front of a small -- but important -- group of people and there's no podium to put notes.
If you're giving a short speech, or helping the speaker prepare, they've got to take off the training wheels and be able to do it without notes.
This is tough for a lot of people. They feel naked without notes, or with only an index card.
Here are three ways to practice giving short speeches.
1) Go in stages
Research the topic and write out the speech, word for word. Let the speaker give it once using full notes.
Now cut the notes down to talking points and have them give it again, being sure that they're not trying to memorize the full text. It's not about memorizing. It's about connecting to the audience.
For the third time, boil the speech down to a few notes on an index card with the three parts of the speech with a couple bullets under each part.
For the last practice speech, lose the index card. The speaker should focus on remembering the three parts of the speech as short headlines. The rest will come. If they're stumbling, it may be because they're stuck trying to remember the exact wording from the text.
For some people, this is a huge problem. They really, really want to say a speech word-for-word. You might need to switch to improv theater.
2) Improv theater
This is a good exercise for any speaker, especially somebody who doesn't have a lot of experience or gets flustered when they make a mistake.
Don't have them practice their actual speech. It might make them nervous.
To loosen them up, and to get them used to speaking without notes, throw completely random topics at them and have them speak for three to five minutes.
Ask them to speak on topics they know. It doesn't work to say "baseball" -- there has to be a point to the improv speech. If they're a baseball fan, ask them, "Do the Yankees prove there should be a salary cap in baseball?"
Any topic works. Silly topics are fine. Pop culture, TV shows, anything to get them loose and talking, to get over the natural nerves.
3) Film it, watch it, do it again
Audiences listen to speeches with their eyes. Nonverbals actually matter more than the words you say.
When a speaker has practiced a speech enough, and feels comfortable, film them giving the speech. This may make some speakers more nervous again. That's OK -- they need to get used to cameras.
Public figures are going to have microphones and cameras stuck in their face. You can't avoid it, so you need to train for it.
The point of filming is to show speakers the things they do without knowing it. Most people are surprised at how expressive their faces are; they think they're being stone-faced and giving nothing away, but they're communicating an awful lot with their face and body language.