Building a Great Speech Outline
There will be times you’ll be required to give a speech. Perhaps it’s because you are becoming a respected and trusted leader. Or this is one of those occasions that demands a speech and you are the one to give it. Maybe you’ve been invited to give a Ted Talk. No matter the reason, you have to now think about how you might begin writing it. Might I suggest starting with an outline.
A lot of people get stuck on speechwriting because they think of it like writing an essay. And while many do write speeches like essays, I suggest you first begin with outlining the basic structure. Think of building a speech like one might build a building. You first need to have a clear foundation and support structure and build from there.
Begin with your overall topic or thesis. What is this speech or presentation about? What do you want your audience to remember? Basically, what’s the goal of your speech? When you have that, you can move on to building up the speech body.
A speech is broken down into main points. These are the big ideas of your speech, the topics you will work through. Write down the main points or topics you want to cover. When you have the full list, think about how much time you have to speak or present. Can you cover all of these topics in that time? If not, you’ll need to narrow it down to the most essential topics.
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Think about the order of topics. You want to make sure you have them ordered in a way that makes sense and keeps your audience engaged. Keeping things in chronological order is often a good option, though there are many other good choices. You want to make sure this speech will flow from point to point.
Once you have the main points, ask yourself how you’ll elaborate on them and support what you’re saying. With an outline, you can see how well each point is supported. Do you need to add more stories or information?
Finally, plan the introduction and conclusion. It’s often best to write those last once you know what exactly you’re introducing and concluding.
When this outline is complete, you may have a finished speech, or at the very least a good idea of what it will be. You’ll feel better and have the confidence that your finished product is build on a solid foundation.