How much you need to prepare for a speech depends on several things:
How well do you know your topic?
The more you know your topic, the less time you’ll need to prepare what you’ll be saying. However, you still need to prepare an outline or bullet points so you can stay on topic. You might also want to time yourself giving the different parts so you can make sure that you stay within the time you’ve been allotted.
How comfortable are you giving presentations?
The less comfortable you are in front of an audience, the more you should practice your speech so you can get its rhythms down.
How formal is the presentation?
The more formal and formulaic the presentation is, the more you’ll need to prepare so that you won’t break the format.
Will you be able to use notes?
If you can’t use notes while giving the presentation, you’ll need to spend more time preparing so you won’t lose your way.
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