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Four Speechwriting Hacks

to Make You a Better

Communicator

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Focus Remember why you’re there

Focus on why you were invited to speak in the first

place, your purpose for being there.

If you are invited to speak before a community group to

talk about your organization’s social responsibility

activities, the bulk of your preparation should be to

gather all of the information on what your organization

is doing through its social responsibility program, and

then organize it in coherent fashion.

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Getting Started

Once you have the substance of your

speech in place, and you completely

understand your purpose for being there,

the craft of speechwriting can begin.

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1.

4

Find

your

passion…

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5

Identify aspects of the topic

and the material you plan to

cover which tap your own

personal passion. Reveal this

in your words and in your

demeanor when you

speak. Use personal examples

or stories that illustrate your passion.

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2.

6

Edit

Yourself…

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7

Make every word

count. Even if you don’t

script your speech, make

sure your reference notes

are well organized and

follow a precise flow that

carries you smoothly from

beginning to end. Don’t

deviate spontaneously. Stay on message.

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3.

8

Consider

props…

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9

Not every speech requires

a prop. There are times to

use something as simple

as a dollar bill to illustrate

a point you want to make

about profits, economics

or incentives. Don’t

belabor use of a given

prop. But one will help to

get and keep your audience’s attention.

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4.

10

Don’t rush

your open

or conclusion…

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Take time to set up your

remarks. Your audience

wants to listen to you and

will be patient as you get

to your main point. Don’t

rush through it so that

some in the audience have

no idea what you just

said. Don’t force the audience to play catch-up.

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Wrap-up

In the end, don’t be redundant, but recap

your main points. The purpose of your

conclusion is to leave people with that

singular thought you want them to take

when they leave the room.

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To connect…

@OBrienPR

or

OBrienCommunications.com