You have a speech due soon with limited time. How do you decide what content to prioritize?

Start by identifying your core message. Once you have that, work your way backward and cut everything that doesn’t directly support it. Prioritize content that enhances your message—this includes your evidence, charts, data, and stories. Every element you include should help your audience grasp what you’re trying to convey. By keeping your focus sharp, you’ll deliver a powerful speech that resonates!

Q1. What is driving my audience to sit there? What did they come to learn from me? Q2. How can I drive the impact and outcomes they can take home and utilize immediately instead of simply sharing "things to think about"? FOCUS: More is not better. Focus and impact need to drive your strategy. THEN: Instead of stressing to throw a lot into your speech Simplify the message and let your audience know that this ONE thing (or 3 things) are of utmost value and hit home the why's. (PS - next time don't procrastinate; always keep a running note of thoughts you can be delivering if this is part of your scope)

Here's my thought process. 1. Stand guided by what's hot & trending. What's the new news? Provide your perspectives & POV. Ring fence your speech scope within your area of expertise. 2. Think of the storyboard. Hit the highlights for impact. Use compelling stories to convey your message. What key takeaways do you leave your audience with? 3. Think about your audience. Do you know them well? What would benefit them for spending time listening to your speech? What is the added value to what they already know? If they are from diverse backgrounds, start researching cultural elements as a guide. Bottomline, they must resonate with your content. If language is a barrier, you need to think of using non-verbal cues & body language as the bridge.

First and foremost, serve the client and give them actionable solutions. So, anything that prioritises their pain point has to be essential. Once you have addressed their main pain points, you need to focus on 2 main aspects. 1. How relatable, engaging and memorable is your content 2. How accurate and robust is the data behind what you’re providing. Everything else is secondary and is simply there to support this core necessity.

Ask yourself what would one piece of information would you want to know if you were attending this presentation? And then build your points, visuals, quotes and stories from there. If you are not sure ask someone who would likely be audience member what they would like to learn about.