Heres a great poem performed by an American Slam Team from Denver

Slam Poetry Techniques

Our Masterclass and final slam days are quickly approaching. Here are some tips to remember, which you can practice at school or at home.

1. Know Your Poems

-      Its important to be as familiar with your poems as possible, this allows you to give a better performance. If you can, itd be great if you can learn your poems by heart.

2. Add tone, pace and intonation in your delivery of poems

-      When reading a poem, try and use as many vocal techniques as you can. Play with the pace of the poem, some lines you should read quick, some slow. Experiment with tone, if you are asking a question, make sure you raise your voice at the end of a sentence. If the poem is a serious piece, make sure you read it with as much conviction as possible.

3. Gesticulation, movement, body posture and eye contact.

-      A performance starts as soon as you stand on the stage. When you start make sure you look confident. Start with your feet a shoulder length apart, your back straight and your head held high. Remember you are performing to an audience, so try and make eye contact with different audience members. If this makes you nervous, concentrate on one space at the back of the room, and try and project your voice so everyone can hear you. It often works well if you add hand gestures to certain lines, or can add movement to your performances.

4. Enjoy yourself.

-      Its not easy to perform to an audience, and you can feel nervous, especially when reading something you’ve written. But remember the audience want to see you succeed, and if you are having fun, an audience can tell, and slam judges will mark your piece accordingly. Also, this is all about self expression, this is a chance for you to express what you have to say.