One Simple Way to Organize a Speech

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When I ask people what they do to prepare a speech or presentation, the most common answer is, ‘pull a slide deck together.” That is mistaking the tools for the house; it’s thinking about the process the wrong way. A more sophisticated answer talks about storytelling, or a theme, or a series of points that the speaker wants to make.

I had one client tell me, “Make me sound like John Wayne.” Leaving aside the relative merits of the actor in question, that approach puts the delivery ahead of the content.

I’ve generally found it’s better to start with the story you want to tell, then focus on the delivery. Most delivery issues, though not all, have to do with discomfort with the speech content. Get the content right and you’re well on the way to having a strong delivery.

Another approach — a potentially more fruitful one — starts with the audience. Think about what you are trying to accomplish with a presentation. You are creating, in essence, a temporary group that you want to move to action, enlighten, persuade, or entertain. Probably some combination of all of those. So how do you create a temporary group and lead it through the process?

Begin with an invitation. You want to begin by drawing a line around the people in front of you and saying, in effect, “You are all part of a very special group that has…