256 / SPEAKING AND WRITING
Planning your speech
Defining substance
and style
When it comes to giving a speech,
content is king. Substance matters
and there is absolutely no substitute
for knowing what you’re talking about.
This means that, whenever possible, you
should select a topic that you know and
understand, so that you can talk about
it with confidence. However, this also
depends on your audience; never forget
that they are the reason you are in the
room. Using your knowledge of your
audience to tailor the content to meet
their expectations is not a guarantee
of success, but it is certainly a step
in the right direction.
Determining your purpose
Before you start to plan the details of
your speech, make sure that you know
why you are speaking. If you can’t come
up with a reason for speaking, then don’t
speak. Identifying your role as a speaker
and your importance to the listeners is
especially important. It may be that this
audience wants your views on the subject
at hand and is keenly interested in your
opinions. Alternatively, your purpose
may be purely to inform them about a
topic, and the demand for your opinions
may not be as high as you imagine.
Find out, too, all you can about
the context in which the presentation
will take place. You need to know the
answers to questions such as: is your
audience still in the fact-gathering stage,
or are they ready to make a decision?
What is their reason for listening to
you? How urgent is the subject you’ll
be speaking about? Have recent events,
either locally or globally, affected their
view of the topic in any way? Are your
listeners involved in a process that
will require them to take action after
hearing what you have to say?
Preparing for a business presentation is the most important stage of
the process. While it may seem daunting at first, planning your speech
becomes much easier once you break the task down into manageable
steps, ensuring that you address all the relevant issues at the right time.
MAKE TIME
FOR RESEARCH
You’re being paid for
your time preparing and
delivering the speech, but
the 80:20 rule applies—
spend around 80 percent
of your time on research
and preparation, and
only around 20 percent
on practice and delivery.
Tip
Identifying your role as a
speaker and your importance
to the listeners is essential
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PLANNING YOUR SPEECH / 257
CASE STUDY
PREPARING TO SUCCEED
Elizabeth Allen, chief
communications officer of the
international office supplies firm
Staples, Inc., was given the task
of drafting a press-conference
speech for her CEO, Tom Stemberg,
to announce Staples’s sponsorship
of a new sports arena in Los
Angeles. Ms Allen knew that this
financial arrangement would be
covered by the sports press, not
the business press. She also knew
that sports figures, civic officials,
investors, and reporters would be
in the room: “Many people thought
the name would be a local,
California company.… This was a
Boston company putting its name
on a Los Angeles landmark. There
were cultural factors at work here,
as well as political and business
factors.” As she considered how
to prepare the speech, she decided
three things: she would reduce her
thinking to one or two main points;
she would include a few examples
and anecdotes that the local
audience would relate to; and
most importantly, she would cite at
least one powerful reason why the
relationship between her company
and the City of Los Angeles would
be productive and long-term.
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258 / SPEAKING AND WRITING
Preparing your speech
Once you have a clear picture in your mind of why
you are giving the presentation, who your audience
is, and what they want to hear from you, start to
make a detailed plan of your speech. This planning
stage is vital, so make sure that you don’t leave
it to the last minute. You need to be completely
familiar with the structure and content of your
speech by the time you deliver it. There are eight
key steps to preparing a successful presentation.
Steps to
preparing
a speech
COMPOSE A THESIS
STATEMENT
Write a one-sentence
declaration of what you
want the audience to know,
understand, believe, or
do. Make it brief, simple,
comprehensive, and
as complete as possible.
DEVELOP THE
MAIN POINTS
Restrict yourself to just two
or three main points, so that
you will have time to explain
and support them all. Make
sure that all of your evidence
relates to and is supportive
of your principal reason
for speaking.
GATHER SUPPORTING
MATERIALS
Now gather evidence to
support your main points.
Use your knowledge of the
audience to select the kinds
of proof that they will find
most convincing. Make your
evidence compelling, recent,
and fully transparent to
your listeners.
THINK ABOUT
STRUCTURE
Consider the order in
which you will deliver the
information, and think
about what you will say in
your introduction, in the
body of the speech, and
in your conclusion.
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PLANNING YOUR SPEECH / 259
Steps to
preparing
a speech
PREPARE YOUR OUTLINE
Write a one-page outline of
your speech. Think about the
issues you plan to raise,
the sequence in which you
will address each of them,
and the evidence you’ll offer
your audience in support
of those ideas.
CONSIDER VISUALS
Think about what visuals will
best enhance your speech,
by helping to explain,
reinforce, and clarify your
main points. Sometimes it is
easier to show the audience
something than to say it.
WRITE THE SPEECH
Now prepare the content of
your speech in detail. Some
people choose to write in
short bullet points, others
write their script out more
fully. Choose the way that
best suits you, but remember
that your audience want to
hear you speak to them,
not read to them.
Your purpose may
be purely to inform
your audience about a
topic, or to deliver your
opinions and judgments
You must be completely
familiar with both the
structure and the content
of your speech by the
time you deliver it
PREPARE YOUR NOTES
Finally, transfer your speech
into the notes you will use
to deliver it. These may be
bullet points on a PowerPoint
presentation, written notes
on notecards, or the full
manuscript.
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