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anyone else who gives big scary speeches have tips for not crying while you deliver emotionally impactful words? lol do i just practice it until i feel dead inside?

tips for letting yourself choke up just enough to seem human without seeming messy?

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This. I, too, have ugly cried while giving a speech. You’ll need to practice until you can continue the speech after a short crying break if you need it. No need to be dead inside.

I delivered my dear father's eulogy a couple of months ago. It's important to me to feel the feels. Nobody minds genuine emotion. What works for me is to rehearse enough to know well which part(s) are likely to catch my throat. There we pause & nose-breathe a few beats. "I'm a wave not the water."

One of the best pieces of advice I got about speaking (and it accords with my experience) is that it’s as much about how/what people feel as what you say, so my advice is just to be as emotional as you are, pause and breathe as you need to, and bring a handkerchief. The audience is on your side.

Two things that might help: 1. Deliver the speech to one person, everyone else just happens to be ther too. 2. Tell yourself you’re there to do a job. Some people deliver pizzas, you’re delivering a speech. Just a day at work. Good luck!