Success in 12 Months: Creating Your 5-Minute Speech
Welcome back to the “Success in 12 Months” blog series! We’re in the second week of Month 9, and the topic we’re working on together this month is communication and public speaking.
Last week, you developed an outline for your speech.
This week you’ll write the speech.
Does the word “speech” make you uncomfortable? That’s not surprising as public speaking ranks in the top 3 of the most “feared” things for people to do.
Instead, refer to your speech as your “information pack.” Think of it as a way to get people to understand your topic. You chose a topic that is important to you. Right? Let’s get the word out!
As you develop your information pack think about the audience. If the audience is a room full of business people, then think about why they should take your topic seriously.
Think about these questions as you write your pack:
- Who are you to the audience?
- What are they expecting from you?
- Who is your audience – a mixture of types of people or a specific group such as college students? What are their values? What are their interests?
- Do you know why your information is important to them?
- Why do they care?
- Are you providing information? entertainment? education?
- Are you presenting a position or a challenge?
- How about a call to action?
The better you understand your role as presenter, the better your speech will be.
Something to remember: audiences only remember five or six points at most. So the most effective speech will be uncluttered and clearly presented, emphasizing the five or six points you choose as the most important ones.
Once you have a clear picture of your audience, the words will follow.
We’ll take this further next week.
As I always say, share your thoughts and your progress, leave a comment below or e-mail me and let me know what’s been happening for you. I’m investing in you and want to support you in your success!
Your partner in mastering the art of communication,
James