(Or read: 3 Build Tips For Advanced Speakers)
Many people start writing their speech by constructing PowerPoint® slides. This is a terrible idea. The majority of college students start writing a term paper by writing the introduction. This is also a bad idea. To quote the Firesign Theatre, “We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re on our way.”
If you are developing a speech, or writing a paper, you need to know in advance what it will look like. You need an outline, because your outline is like the blueprint for a building. Without a blueprint, you will waste money gathering materials you won’t ever use. Without a blueprint, you will waste time building components you do not need. So start with an outline – the blueprint for a great speech.
Tip #1: Determine the General Purpose of Your Speech Early
The first step in developing a speech is deciding what type of speech you are going to deliver. There are four basic types of speeches:
- Informative
- Persuasive
- Entertaining
- Motivational/inspirational
These types overlap. For example, while a good informative speech should not include any persuasion, a good persuasive speech is always informative.
Similarly, the motivational/inspirational speech will typically include both informative and persuasive components. Yet it is a separate category here because it uses advanced techniques to connect with the audience and leave them moved and inspired. Non-professional speakers should consider the principles of motivational/inspirational speaking when they need to acknowledge a person or people, or commemorate an event.
Finally, the entertaining speech is usually independent of the other types, and can be used at roasts, retrospectives, anniversaries, or occasions that call for a funny speech. Audiences understand that an entertaining speaker will be less serious and may bend the rules of public speaking through exaggeration, fabrication, or comical musings.
Most novice speakers choose to give informative speeches for several reasons. First, it is easier to avoid controversial issues with an informative than with a persuasive speech. Second, an informative speech primarily connects with the audience at a rational level. Novice speakers should master delivering informative speeches before moving on to persuasive speaking, which requires that the speaker connect with the audience on both the rational/thinking and the emotional/feeling levels.
Tip #2: Choose the Build (structure) of Your Speech Early
There are several common structures used to build most presentations. They include:
- Chronological
- Spatial
- Categorical
- Cause-Effect
- Problem-Cause-Solution
- Relative Advantage
- Logical Reasons
- Storytelling
Perhaps the most common type of speech people build is the chronological speech. Many topics are best covered by a chronological approach, including anything seen from an historical perspective – from your career to the history of your favorite concept, issue, or theory.
Be clear about the type of speech you are building.
Tip #3: State your Core Message Early and Clearly
Your Core Message (CM) is the foundation of your speech. You should be able to summarize your message in a short declarative sentence of five to fifteen words. If you can’t summarize your message, you can’t amplify your message.
Every speech has a CM. If yours does not, it’s probably not a speech! Yet. It’s probably a disconnected series of (good) thoughts, looking for a unifying theme. When you work to specify and tighten your CM, you will be tightening your speech and getting more specific – two things audiences love. After you have a clear and concise CM, you will have laid the foundation for the rest of your speech.
The Core Message comes first because it simplifies and clarifies the other tasks in the speech-making process. After you have your CM, you can really build by adding:
- Secondary Ideas (two to five)
- The structure for making your main and secondary points
- Examples and stories that help make your points more effectively
- An opening and a closing to make your speech memorable