Long speech structure

Fellow speaker,

Here is a speech structure:

• Open – Great story, Set-up theme, Overview, State your points – 10 mins.
• Segment 1 – First Point – Set-up point, Story, Application, Recap point – 12 mins.
• Segment 2 – Second point – same as Segment 1
• Segment 3 – Third point – same as Segment 1
• Segment 4 – Wrap up & Summary – 10 mins.
• Close – Great story & Challenge – 4 mins.

(Incorporate come kind of interaction every 7-8 mins.)

Structured,

Tim

What's the point?

Fellow speaker,

If something in your speech doesn't support the central point...no matter how interesting it is...take it out of your speech.  Use that unrelated point in some other speech.

On point,

Tim

Energy

Fellow speaker,

There are different speaking energies:

• Thought energy - thought behind the words
• Physical energy – how you move
• Emotional energy – how you feel about your topic

Be aware of and use these energies when giving your next speech.

Charged up,

Tim

Messaging, too

Fellow speaker,

Make sure your message has:

• Desires - What do you want the audience to get out of your message?
• Focus - How do you apply the core elements of the program
• Gamble - What risks are you taking in your presentation?

Messaging more,

Tim

Messaging

Fellow speaker,

To communicate your message you need:

• Audience - Whom are you talking to?
• Back story -What are you responding to?
• Character - Who are you in your presentation?

Messaging,

Tim

Ask your audience

Fellow speaker,

Ask your audience about:

• What worked in your speech?
• What didn’t work in your speech?
• What can you do to improve your speech?

Asking,

Tim

Here's what you gotta do...

Fellow speaker,

Make sure to be very clear about what you want the listener to do. For example, if you were doing a presentation about self-improvement, say at the end of the presentation, "When you go home, sit down and decide on one thing you want to change in yourself, set a deadline date for this change to happen...and change yourself by that date!").

Clearly,

Tim

Passion

Fellow speaker,

When you speak, use your passion. Your passion in your speaking will help to get people to believe in...and follow...your message.

Passionately,

Tim

Mix it up!

Fellow speaker,

Use different pitches of voice, sudden actions, moving around on the stage...whatever it takes to add interest to your speech!

Adding interest,

Tim

Unreadable

Fellow speaker,

Present your speech without using notes or using notes unnoticeably, so you can focus in on your audience.

Focusing in,

Tim

Open up!

Fellow speaker,

Make your speech opening strong, powerful, and interesting in order to help the audience focus on you and your speech.

Focused,

Tim

How do I introduce thee?

Fellow speaker,

A few suggestions for your introduction:

• Work with the person who will be introducing you
• Prepare the introduction before (don't let the introducer make it up as they go along)

Suggesting,

Tim

In the beginning

Fellow speaker,

A speech introduction has many benefits. Here are a couple:

• Makes you credible
• Sets the tone for the entire presentation

Beginning,

Tim

Get focused

Fellow speaker,

Focus your content on what your audience is most interested in.

Interested,

Tim

Food for thought

Fellow speaker,

To keep the "big picture" of your speech in mind focus on:

• Outcomes – How your speech ends
• Title – Get the audience interested before they hear your speech
• Message – What you want the audience to get from the speech
• Illustrations – Stories you use to make your point
• Humor
• Entertainment – Make sure your audience has fun

Big picturing,

Tim

Listening questions

Fellow speaker,

Your audience has a few questions:

• Why should I believe you?
• How do I know it is true?
• Who says it's true?

Answer these questions and your audience will know you are a "solid speaker".

In the audience,

Tim

Getting persuasive

Fellow speaker,

To persuade your listeners you need to have:

• Connection - a comfortable feeling that creates a "common ground" with your audience
• Emotions - created through the way you speak, gets people to make decisions
• Logic - although people will make their decisions based on emotions, they create a reason for those decisions through logic

Persuasively,

Tim

What the audience wants

Fellow speaker,

There are two things the audience wants from the speaker:

• Make them feel good
• Give them some new information or tools

Wanting,

Tim

Break on through!

Fellow speaker,

If you want to make an impact on your audience:

• Inspire them to take action
• Have your own philosophy of speaking
• Have a strong purpose that drives your presentations

Breaking,

Tim

Use words carefully

Fellow speaker,

Find the right word for the right idea.  Subscribe to a "word of the day" list to find creative ways to talk about things in your presentations.

Rightly,

Tim

It's all about them!

Fellow speaker,

When you tell your story, focus entirely on your audience. Focus on the audience all through your story and get them involved in the story all the way through your speech.

In focus,

Tim

We're so same!

Fellow speaker,

When telling a story to the audience, think about what your story and your audience have in common, and bring those things out in the story. That will help the audience "connect in" with what you are saying.

Connecting in,

Tim

I got just two questions for ya

Fellow speaker,

Ask yourself two questions about each character in your story:

• What is the emotion of that character?
• Does the emotion of that character change in the story?

Liven up your story by making sure your character has different, changing emotions.

Changeably,

Tim

I don't got rhythm

Fellow speaker,

Conversations do not move regularly back and forth all the time. Sometimes they jump and shift from place to place as each person "steps" on the other's words. Take out the rhythm in your story conversations and add in some exciting tension.

Non-rhythmically,

Tim

Make it clear

Fellow speaker,

When telling your story, have each character mention the other character's name.  For example, "Bob said, 'Fred, that's exactly what I mean.'  And Fred said, 'Bob, now I understand you.' "  That way the audience can easily keep track of who is saying what.

Keeping track,

Tim

It's all in the name

Fellow speaker,

If you want people to feel a certain way about a character in your story, give them a name that makes clear who they are. For example, you could have a story about financing with a character named Billy Bonds, to indicate that this person invests a lot in bonds instead of other financial products.

Naming,

Tim

What did you say?

Fellow speaker,

Make sure the necessary details are in the story, the details that the listener needs to know so they fully understand the story.

Detailing,

Tim

Come to know you

Fellow speaker,

Let the audience know how you came to know the character in your story. Give a little background on the get together that led to your meeting the people in our stories.  This will help to "flesh out" your story and make them more real to your audience.

Really really,

Tim

Hey you!

Fellow speaker,

Use the combination of "If you" to take the audience into your story: "If you were beside me...", "If you were looking where I was...", "If you ever smelled...", etc. Use the "If you" combo in your next story and give your audience a front row seat!

In the front,

Tim

A little dab'll do ya!

Fellow speaker,

Tell only a few, important, major details about the scene, character, person, etc. in your story, and let the audience fill in the rest of the details in their mind.

Taking it easy,

Tim

Suddenly story

Fellow speaker,

Dump the audience into the story with no explanation, get them involved in the story right at the beginning to keep them interested in your speech.

Interesting the audience,

Tim