Lecturette or speech making is a task in Group Testing Series part of the SSB selection procedure to judge the personality of the candidates. We can say that the Lecturette is a small speech or a small talk given by the candidate without much time to prepare. Lecturette is conducted by GTO during group task and usually on 2nd day and after the Individual Obstacles. In Lecturette, candidates are asked to deliver the speech for 3 minutes on a topic selected by them only from the list of 4 different Lecturette topics given by the GT Officer. This task is conducted by the GTO (Group Testing Officer) to assess a candidate’s power of expression, fluency, clarity on thoughts, confidence, etc.
Let’s talk about how the Lecturette is conducted and in what manner:
The candidates are asked to sit in a semi-circular fashion on chairs while facing the podium. The GTO will brief them on the Lecturette and how it will be conducted in an orderly manner. He has a set of cards, with four topics of different difficulty levels in each card and the candidates are to choose one topic out of the four, prepare for three minutes a bit far from the group and speak for three minutes with confidence. While one candidate is on with his speech, the next candidate is asked to get up and pick up one of the remaining cards and move a little away and prepare his speech in three minutes. The GTO may or may not call the candidates according to their chest number and usually it is a random call for any candidate in the group.
In some centres, a Group Testing Officer can ask you to introduce yourself before starting the Lecturette and here is how you should introduce yourself in a proper format:
You should start by telling Your Name and then move forward to tell about where you are from, your educational qualification, your interest and hobbies, your father’s occupation.
Now, let’s talk about the things that are the source of curiosity for most of the candidates and that are what dies the GTO observe through Lecturette:
The very first thing that is under observation is the self-confidence of the candidate that reflects through his body posture, facial expression and fluency while speaking.
The next thing that is under the radar of the GTO is the ability of the candidate to influence the group while possessing a strong power of expression and clarity of thoughts. He checks whether the candidate possesses strong leadership skills or not.
Under the next bracket, it is expected from the candidates to have the determination to deliver any unexpected topic under heavy stress as being an officer in the armed forces will give you such frequent chances to motivate and rally your men under odd circumstances.
The next step is to check whether the candidate is generally aware of the surroundings or not and that is very well checked by his/her level of understanding the topic and the content presented by him/her. The topics are general in nature and are of such level that one can easily gather points and make a structure about how and what to speak and in which manner. The only key point here is that the candidate should be a frequent reader who reads the newspaper or things of contemporary interests.
The next set is to assess the courage to speak in front of people or public speaking skills of the candidate. Talking about the speaking style, the command and power in the candidate speech delivery are also assessed thoroughly.
Let’s talk about some useful tips that can help you to prepare for the Lecurette in an immaculate manner:
Start practising to speak in English by speaking to your friends, family members or even to yourself also. Your entire thought process, as well as your routine communication, should be based on English only. You can start that by reading English newspapers or books as it will increase your general awareness about the most common things which could be asked and are of social, general, academic, national and international importance.
Take sample topics from SSBCrackExams’ blogs and then give yourself a preparation time of three minutes, then mark with a clock or take anybody’s help to monitor three minutes time and give a lecture on your chosen topic. If you feel shy in giving a lecture in front of any family member, then simply stand in front of the mirror and speak, trust me that help a lot! Also, you can record your performance through your smartphone in video or audio format and revaluate it by being your own assessor.
The topics that are given to the candidates will be of different difficulty levels like one will be of really high level, the other being slightly lower and so on. So choose your topic wisely according to your capabilities and only the topic you are well aware and conversant with, choosing a high-level topic will not impress anybody if you’ll not speak well on it.
If talking about the physical appearance, then you should maintain a good body posture while delivering the Lecturette and no slouch or lean on the podium for taking the support. You should be focusing on your facial expressions as well and try to not look unduly worried; remember it is only three minutes it will pass away if you will speak in a relaxed and calm manner.
Don’t steal glances or look towards the GTO while delivering the Lecturette and make proper contact with your group members who are sitting there in front of you; speak as if you are teaching them some topic. Also, don’t use hand gestures as they indicate that you are lacking in substance and thus making the use of hands to divert attention or trying to grasp unnecessary points. Stand inattentive manner but hands folded at your back with your chest in front and head held high and chin parallel to the ground.
Make the proper structure of the content that you are going to deliver in a timely manner by dividing it into parts such as introduction (30 seconds), Main body (120 seconds) and Conclusion (30 seconds). You’ll find it easy to speak as it will keep your mind running all the time you are speaking and you will be listening to a whistle by the GTO indicating that only 30 seconds are remaining. It is also a signal for the candidate, who is preparing his/her content in a corner, to be ready for his performance.
Here, you should remember that after listening to the whistle many candidates try to sum up their conclusion in a bizarre manner and that leaves an incomplete taste. You should be ready even before the GTO whistles as at that time you won’t be in a hurry for the conclusion but the conclusion will be restructured in your speech in such a way that it will look natural.
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