Tools and articles

Preparing a compelling Speech

Sam was expecting to deliver a 2 minute speech at an awards ceremony. It was big event. The Mayor, government ministers, plus all her colleagues would be there. She'd given plenty of speeches before but this was different. It was a big event and just 2 minutes! She was nervous.

She's written and rewritten her lines for weeks and cut it down to 900 words. But 900 words spoken with feeling could require 15 minutes to deliver. In radio advertising the guide is 150 words a minute, but speaking with poise, and pause, the guide is 100 words a minute.

How is Sam going to reduce her speech from 900 words to 200?

Impossible, so let's not even try. Most people would persevere, put themselves through all kind of grief and end up with a less than inspiring speech. They would try and beat impossible odds in working from the micro to the macro.

All Sam's work is not lost however. After all those hours of sweating she has a clear idea of the message she wants to deliver. if she can step back from the detail. In 2 minutes she wants to communicate how much she appreciates the organisation. If her thought process starts with the big message she will be working from macro to micro. A far more inspiring approach.

I asked her to shred her notes and follow a process for crafting a short speech, scripting only the opening and closing lines plus bullet points for the body. The process has 6 steps;

1. Identify the single big message.
2. Reflect on your association with the organisation and identify the single most memorable moment?
3. In that moment, what did you feel? Identify 3 deeply personal details.
4. Explain how that moment illustrates your message. (In Sam's case the moment vividly illustrated why she appreciated the joy and personal growth the organisation had provided.)
5. From the detail of your chosen moment, which will evoke the strongest emotion, craft an opening line. Allow yourself to sink back, reflect on that moment. What were the words that describe it? Think in terms of random words, brainstorming rather than whole sentences. Using one or two of the most emotive words script an opening line which should go straight to the story. Forget all the 'nice to be here rubbish most people start a speech with, for a short speech, you don't have time. Go stright to teh story and then link it to your one main message
6. Next script your closing line which will finish by reiterating you big message.

Presenting your 2 minute speech your eyes will only have time to settle on one or two people. Avoid the temptation to look over people's heads, or pan across the whole audience. Imagien you are speaking to just one person, eye to eye, for each sentence.

Once you have delivered your closing line, hold a steady gaze, and then sit down without say another word. Remember, the closing line and pause that follows it is the power stroke, so following it with words like "Thank you for listening" will destroy its power.

Your speech notes should consist of only the opening and closing lines, word for word, with 3 or 4 bullet points, which prompt you for the deeply personal detail.

Now go practice, without notes, speaking into a recorder. Listen and re-record yourself over and over again until you have a powerful message which you can deliver within the allocated time, with lots of pause.

You will be surprised how few words you need.