World Champion Evaluator evaluating like a champion

You have a speech to deliver tomorrow.  You knew this day was coming.  Now you have to crank out a speech.  And Quick!

If you have been in this position, you will know that the results can be less than optimal.  If you are lucky enough to get feedback, it will likely be that the content was rough.

While I don’t advocate creating speeches at the last minute (unless the goal is to stretch yourself), what can you do to create a good speech quickly?

Copyblogger has the answer.  SPEED writing:

• S: Select a topic
• P: Prepare your facts
• E: Establish a structure
• E: Eliminate distractions
• D: Dash to the finish

There’s some excellent advice that relates just as much to speech writing as it does to creating blog posts.  Specifically, writing a speech about one idea, and avoiding editing while you are writing.

I have heard way too many speeches that try to cram everything into the alloted time with one of 2 results.  Either the speech goes way over time or the speech is cut short.  Picking a single focused idea is key to managing your time and also getting your message across.  If say 10 things, you say nothing. (From Made to Stick I believe).  Example topics:

1. Psychology
2. Cognitive Psychology
3. How Cognitive Psychology helped me to…

Number 3 would be an acceptable topic.  Not only is the topic more focused, it also looks like it would be story-based which is always a good idea.

Often times, the structure of your speech only reveals itself after you have written it.  So, why try to edit it while you are putting down your original thoughts?  Just dump everything onto the page, and edit the structure and composition later.

Read the Copyblogger article before you create your next speech, even if you have plenty of time.  Let me know how it goes.

Posted under Public Speaking

Excellent piece by George Orwell on Politics and the English Language.  I found myself seeing many parallels with public speaking.  It is well worth a read.  Here are the final bullet points:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never us a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

All excellent advice for speech creation.  In reading the piece, you can see how Orwell uses different figures of speech to add dimension.  I harp on about #4 a lot.  Stories come alive when you use the active tense.  Try it in your next speech and let me know how it goes.

Posted under Toastmasters