A Process to Write Any Speech or Presentation
FINDING THE RIGHT TIME
Are you an early riser who gets more done between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. than most people in an entire day? Or do you only truly wake up in the afternoon, and 10 p.m. is your productive time? Whichever time you prefer, that’s when you should write your speech or presentation.
I come from a long line of early birds, and I’m no exception. My mother says that, by 10 a.m., the day is half over. If I sit down to write a speech at 4 p.m., it’s going to feel like an uphill battle. My mind will be overwhelmed by everything that’s already happened that day, my energy level will be sinking into the ground, and I’ll be hungry and distracted. That’s not the best state of mind to do my most creative work.
As you prepare to write, look at your calendar and block off time during your most productive time of day. In fact, while you’re in your calendar, look at the date of your upcoming speech, and block off time to practice it.
How far in advance of your speech should you start to prepare? The amount of time you spend depends on two major factors: how important the speech occasion is, and how often you have spoken on the subject.
Imagine you’ve just been promoted to the head of a line of business within your multinational corporation. You’re speaking at a company off-site to about two hundred leaders, and the CEO of the corporation is there. Your job is to inspire your new leadership team and talk about your vision for the coming year. Time to start preparing: one month in advance.
Now imagine you’re presenting the findings of a project you’ve been working on for the past few weeks. You’re speaking to a group of colleagues who know you, like you, and just need a quick update. You know exactly what you want to say—in fact, you gave this exact presentation last week to another group. Time to start preparing: one day before.
Writing a speech or presentation is an iterative process, so I recommend working on it in blocks of time. Spend forty-five minutes, take a break, and then come back. Give yourself time to think about the material, and then come back the next day with a fresh head. Unfortunately, most people have no process at all. They stress about the presentation for weeks without actually doing anything; and when they do sit down to write, their mind goes blank. Finally, the night before the event, in a fit of desperation, they come up with something they can say and spend all night adjusting text boxes in their slide deck because it’s too late to ask someone else to do it, only to come in the next morning exhausted and think, “Let’s just get it over with already.”
Or, worse, they don’t prepare at all and just try to wing it. That’s when they stand in front of their peers and start umm-ing and ahhing as they wait for a flash of inspiration to strike.
In this book, I give you a repeatable process you can use to prepare for every speech, presentation, or conversation, no matter how much time you have.
Do you like to write on a sheet of paper, or a digital device? There’s no wrong answer: whatever works for you is what you should use. If you use a device, simply make sure you’re saving your work constantly and backing it up.
Can you write from your office? If you’re in a cubicle or shared workspace, that might be difficult. Maybe you’re the kind of person who finds inspiration in the white noise of a coffee shop or who can sit out on your back porch. Or maybe you need the complete silence of a library. There’s no wrong answer; there’s only what works for you.
As you prepare for the writing process, make sure you are in the right mental space. If you meditate, spend some time in meditation beforehand. Make sure you’re fed, caffeinated if necessary, and comfortable so you don’t get distracted. And turn off all your digital distractions: turn off message notifications, put your phone on silent with no vibration, and close your door.
Should you write together with someone else? It can be helpful to brainstorm your speech topic and your message with a friend or colleague who knows the audience. My coaches and I spend a lot of time helping our clients answer the Three Questions and craft their main message. If you’re giving a group presentation, answer the Three Questions together with your group, and then decide who is taking what section of the presentation.
Should you work with a speechwriter? I’ve served as a speechwriter in the past, and now I recommend people work with professional speechwriters when they have an important speech and don’t have the time or bandwidth to write it themselves, or if they are in an executive role where they are constantly speaking in high-stakes situations.
Stephen Krupin, a White House speechwriter to President Barack Obama and currently the head of the executive communications practice at SKDKnickerbocker, says, “Your story is only as good as your ability to tell it to the stakeholders who matter. When speechwriters look at a collection of ideas, data, and anecdotes, we can see an argument that will grab someone’s attention and move them to act.”
Matthew Rees, a White House speechwriter to President George W. Bush and currently the founder of the speechwriting firm GEONOMICA, offers this guidance when working with a speechwriter: “Communicate to the writer the content you’d like to have included (you’d be surprised how rarely this happens). A meeting or phone call can suffice, but most effective is preparing an outline for the speech, as this ensures nothing gets lost in translation. Share your previous speeches or articles, as well as articles that you think are relevant to the topic you’ll be covering. Speechwriters have many talents, but they’re not mind readers. The more guidance you give them, the more likely it will be that they give you a speech that you actually want to deliver.”
Determine the best time of day to write your speech. Look at the speech date on your calendar and block off times to prepare. Think of the best place to write, and ask yourself if you should engage the help of a speechwriter. Talk through ideas with a friend, colleague, or coach.
BRAINSTORMING THE CONTENT
Everyone has their own writing process. I’m going to share with you my process and the one my team and I use with our clients. You are free to use it or adapt it to your own needs. Whether you write the script word-for-word or just use bullet points depends on how comfortable you are with the material. Regardless of what you choose when you write, reduce your speech to bullet points before the day of the speech.
Start by reviewing the Three Questions: Who is your audience? What is your goal? Why you? Then read through your one-sentence main message. Adjust it if necessary.
What comes next is critical and should not be interrupted. Just write.
Brainstorm everything you would want to say on the topic, all the main points, and all your ideas about the subject. Just write.
Think of all the relevant stories or examples you could share on the topic. Just write.
Think of what was in the news about your subject lately and any interesting facts. Just write.
Don’t judge, don’t edit, and don’t think about what others will think of you. Just write.
In his book On Writing, Stephen King says, “Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”1 Write for yourself, then edit for others. This process is so important because it’s usually our judgment and self-awareness that holds us back from writing.
Once you’ve finished writing, read it to make sure you got everything out of your head and onto paper or screen.
Then take a break. Physically get up and walk around. Get a drink, use the restroom, and go outside for a breath of fresh air.
Congratulations! You’ve finished the hardest part of the writing process.
During your most productive time of day, ask the Three Questions and then brainstorm your speech without interruptions or judgment. Just write.
FINDING THE RIGHT STRUCTURE
Look at the content with a critical eye. Now you can “rewrite with the door open,” as Stephen King says. Look through your text and pick out the key arguments. Which are the most compelling points for your audience? How do you rearrange them into a structure?
One of my favorite structures is called Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: a five-step outline developed by Purdue University professor Alan Monroe in the 1930s. I learned it from the book The Political Speechwriter’s Companion by Robert Lehrman.2 The book, which I highly recommend even for those outside politics, delves in more depth into this structure.
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
1. Attention: Grab the audience’s attention immediately.
2. Need or Problem: What is the problem you are addressing?
3. Satisfaction or Solution: What is the solution you are proposing?
4. Visualization: What will the world look like if you are successful? Or unsuccessful? Paint a picture.
5. Action: What is your call to action for the audience?
Let’s choose a message and use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to outline the structure.
Message: Together, we can eradicate homelessness in the United States.
To help craft this message, I call my friend and colleague Jacki Coyle, Executive Director of Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring, Maryland. Shepherd’s Table is a local community organization that supports men and women experiencing homelessness by providing basic human services such as meals, clothing, and crisis intervention, among many other services.
1. Attention: Last night, the temperature fell below freezing. How many of you would sleep outside in this weather? I didn’t think so. Imagine if you had to sleep outside with only a flattened cardboard box separating you from the frozen pavement. How well would you sleep? Think of the emotional cost of being on the street: the fear and lack of self-esteem. Now imagine you had a job interview this morning so you could earn enough money to rent an apartment and get off the streets. How confident would you feel that you could ace that interview and land the job? [shaking head] I didn’t think so.
2. Problem: At any given point in time, there could be half a million people experiencing homelessness in the United States.3 This includes people who are sleeping on the street, in transitional housing, or in emergency shelters. Without permanent and affordable housing, they are held hostage to an endless cycle from which they can’t break free. Affordable housing is crucial for them to get back on their feet. This is not something that happens far away from our communities; it happens literally right on our doorsteps.
3. Solution: We can’t just wait for others to fix the problem; we are all stakeholders. We all have a part to play, whether we work in federal, state, and local governments, whether we are landlords, developers, donors, or simply concerned citizens. The solution to homelessness will happen when everyone combines their skills and their resources to confront the problem. Helping those who are most vulnerable improves life not only for them but also for the community at large. It affects all of us.
4. Visualization: Now imagine that instead of sleeping on the cold pavement last night, you slept in a warm bed. Your name is on the lease. Your self-esteem has improved, and your emotional and physical energy is replenished. You feel like part of your community. You are ready to ace that interview.
5. Action: Each one of us can make this vision a reality. If you’re a landlord, set aside housing for people in need, knowing that there are government programs to reimburse you. If you are in local government, protect and expand those programs. And if you’re an individual, get involved: volunteer, learn the issues, meet the people, and use your voice to change the systems that keep people on the street. Together, we can eradicate homelessness in the United States.
Pretty powerful, right? You could use that structure with any message, whether you’re running for office, advocating for a new business strategy, or persuading your community to save a historic building.
If I’m not using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, I might simply use the rule of three: introduction, three main points, and conclusion. Or I might use a chronological structure: past, present, and future. Once I brainstorm what I want to say, the structure usually emerges from the content, and that structure guides the audience through the speech.
Focus on Signposts
Simply having the right structure does not ensure a compelling speech. We also need to spend time on the transitions between points: building momentum from one point to the next, and taking the audience on a journey. I’m a big fan of using rhetorical questions as transitions. You can ask questions like, “How does this apply to us?” to transition from theory to practice, or, “What’s our next step?” to transition to action items. These transitions are called “signposts.” Other signposts include structural phrases such as: “I’m going to talk about three things today: first . . . second . . . and finally . . .” Putting your structure into words at the beginning of your speech provides clarity for your audience and keeps them engaged throughout.
When we read a written report, we know where it starts and ends. We know where Chapter 1 ends and Chapter 2 begins, and we can look ahead to see how long it’s going to take to read it. In a speech or presentation, the signposts tell your audience where they are and where they are going. It’s as if you’re taking the audience on a journey through the woods. If you simply walk them down a long dirt road, with no mile markers or indications of their progress, they start to get distracted. They feel tired and hungry. But if there are signposts such as a map up front and mile markers along the way, they can see their progress and understand how close they are to the end. Don’t leave them wandering in the woods.
Research Your Subject
At this point in your speech, you might find areas that need more research. Maybe you’re talking about a groundbreaking new medicine and want to see what has been done to date. Maybe you quote a colleague and want to make sure that quote is accurate (and that you have her permission to say it). Now is the time to fact-check the material and make sure you’re saying exactly what you want to say. Think about the speech being posted online—what do you need to adjust so that your speech can stand the test of time?
There are endless ways for you to research your subject. You can easily get lost in articles, papers, and studies, and lose precious time that you could have spent preparing. In fact, when people over-prepare, they usually over-research their subject.
When researching a speech subject, I like to interview experts. Not only do I find quotes for the speech, but I also build my professional network. You could read books on your subject, though you may not have the time before a speech. If you have a research assistant, you can ask him or her to read the book and summarize the key points for you. If you have access to academic journals, you can look at past studies on your subject. And, of course, you can search online for your subject, though be sure to check the validity of the source before you use it. Check news sources about your subject to see what the latest developments or controversies are. These research methods will also help you anticipate questions or audience pushback.
Read the Speech Out Loud
I can always tell when someone has written a speech but never read it out loud, because it will contain words that are written for the eye and not the ear. Journalists know how to write a beautiful, eloquent sentence that provides history, context, and nuance. Read a newspaper article out loud and you’ll see what I mean. Writing for the eye and the ear are two very different methods and require different phrasing, pacing, and language. When you write a business report, you tend to use your organization’s jargon. Yet a speech is an opportunity to build a relationship with your audience, so your spoken language should be more authentic.
Once you finish the first draft of your speech, read it out loud and ask yourself how it sounds. Does it sound natural? Do the words feel comfortable? Is there a more concise phrase you can use?
If you’re giving a speech in a foreign language, pay extra attention to the words you use. Because that language doesn’t come naturally to you, it’s important to find words that feel comfortable to pronounce. If you stumble over a word while practicing, you’re likely to stumble over that word in the speech itself. Chapter 11 provides more strategies for speaking in a foreign language.
I was once coaching an international student at Harvard University who was giving the Graduate Student Oration at commencement. This is a huge honor and also a very high-stakes experience, speaking in front of thirty thousand students and parents in Harvard Yard while the event is streamed live on Harvard’s website. Intimidating? Just a bit.
This young man, a scientist, had a heavy foreign accent and, during our coaching, was getting tripped up on the word “manipulate.” We practiced it a few times, and he always stumbled. Finally, I asked him, “Is there another word you could use instead?” He furrowed his brow as he thought about it for a minute; then his face brightened and he said, “Control!” We changed the word in his speech, and he breezed through the sentence.
Trust yourself. Read your speech out loud and if something doesn’t feel right, change it. The less you concentrate on those individual words, the more you can focus on your message.
Once you brainstorm your speech, go through it to determine the best structure. Plan your transitions from one point to the next, and do extra research if you need to shore up your knowledge. Read it out loud to make sure it sounds like your natural language.
ADDING AN OPENING AND CLOSING
Now that you’ve written the body of your speech, it’s time to think strategically about your opening and closing phrases. They could each comprise one sentence or one paragraph; it depends on the tools you use.
Think about the last time you heard a speech or presentation. What were you doing while the speaker was walking onstage or preparing to present? You might have been checking your phone to make sure your spouse dropped off the kids at school or to see if your prospect had responded to that big proposal you sent.
The opening of a speech grabs the audience’s attention and tells them to stop what they are doing and listen. The opening piques people’s curiosity, convinces them of your authority to speak, and starts to build a relationship with the audience.
The First Eight Seconds
I once interviewed a venture capitalist named David Wells, who was a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as I prepared to coach a group of entrepreneurs on their pitches. I asked David what he was looking for when listening to a pitch, since he listens to hundreds of pitches and makes decisions that affect millions of dollars. He said something I will never forget.
David said, “Within the first eight words, I’ve decided whether or not to keep listening.”
I paused, unsure I had heard right.
“Eight words?” I repeated uneasily.
“Eight words,” he responded firmly.
“What are you looking for in those eight words?” I finally asked.
He replied, “The core innovation. If it’s not in the first eight words, it’s probably not there. That’s when I either stop listening or interrupt the speaker to ask.”
Does it sound unfair that someone would give you so little time before making a decision about your future? I agree with you; but let’s step back to look at David’s larger point. The first sentence of your presentation is critical, especially if you’re speaking to an audience that doesn’t know you and that is listening to dozens of other people just like you.
A couple of years after that meeting with David, I was on a flight from Washington, DC, to Sarasota, Florida, and sat next to a professional comedian. Tim the Dairy Farmer speaks at agricultural conferences around the country. Fascinated by both his line of work and his specialization, I peppered him with questions about his technique, his strategy, and his experience. He said something that made me recall David’s point years before.
Tim said that, when he walks onstage, he has to bond with the audience within the first eight seconds of his act. He sets the mood for the entire show in those first eight seconds. “If you walk onstage looking nervous, then the audience will feel nervous. If you smile, on the other hand, it invites your audience in.” In fact, his goal is to make the audience laugh every eight seconds throughout the entire show.
While the average adult attention span is up to twenty minutes, continuous attention spans can last as short a time as eight seconds.4 Those eight words were starting to look less extreme and more logical.
Let’s imagine that you’re a government contractor pitching to a federal agency. There are a half dozen other contractors bidding for the same project, presenting one after the other. Should you pay close attention to your first eight seconds so you can demonstrate how you are different? Let’s ask the client.
A friend of mine works for a US government agency and has been listening to pitches for over fifteen years. He says, “We know that capabilities are often similar across service providers. What we’re looking for are indicators that we’re going to work well with this team: the intro, the follow-up, and their ability to connect with their customer. The relationship is important to us.” For him, the first eight seconds happens before the contractors even start talking. He looks at how they interact with his administrative assistant before they start. She’ll come in with an expression on her face based on how she was treated in the lobby.
Don’t let this focus on eight seconds overwhelm you when you think about your opening. Instead, let it remind you of the importance of being purposeful in your opening. More than “So . . . yeah.”
Ways to Open Your Speech
Your opening depends on the audience and the goal of the speech.
Greeting. Many people ask me: Is it okay to open your speech with “good morning” or “good afternoon”? Yes, there’s nothing wrong with a warm, confident greeting that tells your audience you are ready to begin. When I’m speaking to an audience in a foreign country, I like to greet them in their language as a sign of respect, making sure to pronounce the words correctly. Personally, I don’t like it when speakers say “Good morning! I can’t hear you. GOOD MORNING!” It makes me feel like they are chastising the audience, and it puts me on the defensive. I also don’t recommend starting with thank-yous. It doesn’t grab people’s attention, and it doesn’t support the main message of your speech. Leave the thank-yous for the end.
Quotation. There’s an incredible energy that comes from walking onstage, pausing, looking directly at your audience, and using a powerful quote. Remember your audience and your goal when choosing a quote. If you’re speaking at an internal conference, you can quote someone well known within the company. If you’re speaking to a religious community, you can quote religious scripture. You can also use a surprising quote to startle your audience. I remember visiting a Toastmasters meeting where the speaker started with a series of illogical misstatements from an unnamed US presidential candidate on the campaign trail. The mostly Democratic audience smirked, assuming the misstatements had come from Republican president George W. Bush. Then the speaker revealed that those statements came from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The audience’s surprise made them pay attention to what the speaker said next.
Visualization. I’d like you to close your eyes for a minute and imagine that you are walking into the local branch of your bank. You know your banker by name and usually wait only a couple of minutes before you can speak to her. But this time is different. You walk into the bank, and there’s a long line of people impatiently waiting for their turn. You wait for twenty minutes and start to feel like you’re no longer a valued customer. One of my banking clients came up with that visualization when preparing to speak to colleagues about the importance of client satisfaction. It served as a powerful reminder to focus on the client experience instead of simply cutting costs. Visualizations help you transport the audience to a different place and time, enabling them to see what you see and feel what you feel. Our brains react to those visualizations as if we had experienced them ourselves, as we’ll see in Chapter 4 when we talk about storytelling.
Statistics. Used in moderation, statistics can capture your audience’s attention and elaborate on the message of your speech. They can be used to create urgency: “Look around the room. One in three of you will be diagnosed with cancer during your lifetime.”5 Or to pull at people’s heartstrings: “Over half of the world’s refugees are children.”6 A few well-placed statistics can set the stage for your message.
Story. Several years ago, I was struggling to write the intro for a workshop I would give in McAllen, Texas. I was born in the northeastern US, and this was my first trip to Texas. I was trying to think of a way for a Northerner to connect with a southern audience. So I did a little research on McAllen and realized that I had distant relatives there whom I had never met. So I started my speech with the following story:
“My great-grandmother had eight brothers and sisters. In the early 1900s, each one left Poland and settled along the Americas: New York, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Argentina. A few weeks ago, I told my father about my visit here, and he revealed that part of our family had actually moved to McAllen! I don’t know where they are, and I’ve never met them. So although this is my first trip to McAllen, it feels like coming home.” The audience relaxed, and I felt like I was able to connect with them immediately.
And it didn’t end there. After the program, a man approached me. He whispered intently: “Are you Jewish? There aren’t many of us here in McAllen. What’s your family’s name?” I provided the name, and his face brightened immediately: “He’s my neighbor! Would you like his phone number?” Later that afternoon, I met one of my distant cousins for the first time. He told me the backstory of our family history, filling in details from the past hundred years. I was stunned and appreciative. Using a personal story has the immediate benefit of helping you connect with your audience. It can also lead to surprising connections.
How Not to Open a Speech
Performers live by the saying “The show must go on.” If you’re sick or didn’t get a chance to practice the day before, you can’t use that as an excuse. Many people will start with, “I just found out last night that I had to give this speech,” or, “Bear with me, I’m not feeling that well today.” We use these statements to lower people’s expectations, but what we’re really saying is, “I’m sorry, you are not going to hear a good speech today.” Most of the time, the audience doesn’t know when you feel sick or when you’re unprepared. Most of the time, they don’t know you’ve made a mistake until you tell them—either with your words (an apology) or your face (a grimace). In our workshops, people have ten minutes to write a speech that they will deliver on the spot. Half of the speeches are so good that no one would have ever known they had been written within the past hour. Pause and breathe before you speak, then get out there and speak. The show must go on.
Ways to Close Your Speech
The end of a speech is a powerful time to underscore your message and leave your audience with a compelling call to action. In my experience, people don’t spend enough time preparing that last part of their speech. They expect a stroke of brilliance to come in the moment, but they wind up rambling as their voice trails off, repeating the same thing while the audience wonders when the speech will end.
The end of your speech is an opportunity to make your audience feel, think, or act in a certain way. Depending on what you want them to feel, think, or do, choose the speech closing accordingly.
All the speech openers we discussed above can be used to close a speech.
Do you want them to feel a sense of hope? Use an inspirational quote or a visualization, painting a picture of the world as it could be. Look for quotes that are unique, as opposed to something the audience will have heard many times before.
Do you want them to feel more connected to you personally? Use a story that helps them relate to you and that also reinforces the message of your speech. If you used a story in the beginning, then reference that story again at the end, especially if there’s a twist that you can use to support your message. One of my students started her speech with a story about a time when she was a little girl. The speech then focused on her goal of eradicating poverty in her country. She ended the speech by referencing how that little girl would feel today.
Do you want them to do something? Include a call to action that’s logical and easy for the audience to take. This is where the goal of your speech is critical. Do you want the audience to vote for you? Make the request at the end of your speech. Do you want them to invest in you? Make a clear ask for funds and say what you’ll use them for. Do you want them to understand an issue? Summarize the main points of the issue and talk about the implications for the future.
When you near the end of the speech, speak slowly and clearly. You’ll be tempted to let your voice trail off at the end, but resist that urge. What you say will be powerful, and you want people to hear and feel it. Let your voice rise and fall for each sentence, and slow down in the last sentence so it can really sink in.
Should You Say “Thank You”?
Sometimes I like to thank audiences at the end of the speech. It’s a clear way of telling people that you are done, although your tone of voice should also reflect the end of the speech. If you didn’t thank the organizers in the beginning, right before your conclusion is a good place to do so; the thank yous should precede your conclusion. What you shouldn’t do is quietly mumble “thank you” and then run off the stage. If you’re going to thank the audience, pause, look at your audience, and say it with purpose.
Once you’ve written the bulk of your speech, focus on your opening and closing statements. Use the above techniques to capture your audience’s attention, reinforce your main message, and provide a call to action. It’s hard to sit down and find inspiration for the opening and conclusion; you might need to get up, go for a walk, and see if inspiration hits. Give it time.
HOW TO WRITE A SPEECH IN THIRTY MINUTES
What do you do when you only have thirty minutes to prepare a speech? The Speechwriting Roadmap is a quick-and-easy formula I’ve developed for my clients. For a fillable PDF version, visit www.speakwithimpactbook.com. 
1. Focus: Find a quiet place and silence all your digital devices and notifications.
2. Ask yourself the Three Questions: Who is your audience? What is your goal? Why you?
3. Determine your main message: In one sentence, what is the main message of your speech?
4. Brainstorm: Write out your main points. Don’t worry about the order, just brainstorm.
5. Structure: From those main points, choose three that best reinforce your main message; this is your structure.
6. Cut: Cut out all the extra information that doesn’t reinforce your main message.
7. Write your opening and conclusion: Think about how you will open and close the speech to capture your audience’s attention.
8. Create bullet points: In bullet points, create a final document with your opening, three main points, and closing. Think about how you will transition from one point to the next.
9. Read it out loud: Print out your bullet points, read your speech out loud, and make sure it sounds like your words, your voice.
10. Practice, practice, practice: Practice the speech in front of a mirror, colleague, or video.
You are ready to go!