Presentation / Speech Writing Guide

Presentation / Speech

Any person in front of an audience is expected to provide an enjoyable experience.

You can provide such an experience in many ways -- by being funny, offering encouragement/inspiration, or sharing new ideas that throw listeners into deep contemplation. This article explains two of the most effective ways of giving an audience a memorable experience:

1. Achieving your purpose by telling a story.

2. Achieving your purpose by sharing new insights/ideas.

People are paying attention to you on purpose for several minutes, so I hope you have an idea worth sharing! Are you going to give a lifeless overview of your topic, or do you actually have something important to say?

There is a difference between covering an important topic and having something important to say about it. The American Civil War is an important topic, but you might not have anything useful to say at all. If you give a presentation about the Civil War and you just tell the names and dates of battles, accomplishments of important people... you might actually turn the Civil War into something boring!

Find a Way to Pull a Story Out of Your Presentation / Speech

Of course, the Civil War is not a boring topic. It's interesting as long as you pull out a story. You cannot tell the whole story of the Civil War in a ten-minute presentation, but you can identify one part of the story and use it to give the audience a memorable experience.

A good storyteller doesn't try to explain everything all at once. Maybe instead of giving a presentation about the Civil War you will tell the story of General Sherman's daring march through the Confederate states. Your audience has a memorable experience when the speech/presentation involves a specific story.

Pull a Theme Out of Your Presentation / Speech

Even if you tell the story of Sherman's March, it still might not be interesting. You are explaining something audience members could easily read about on Wikipedia. Make a presentation that is absolutely unique by using a theme.

Example: General Sherman's mental health. General Sherman had psychological problems before, during, and after the war, and psychological problems make a great story.

Planning a presentation about the Civil War, we saw the plan improve when it became specifically about the story of Sherman's March. Now it gets even more specific because we pull out the theme: "mental health". Suddenly, you have an interesting title, an interesting story to tell, and most importantly, you are actually interested in what you are saying.

Collect information about Sherman's March, and you will see themes that range from mental health and military strategy to friendship, consequentialist ethics, and Christianity. Choose any theme you like, and express it in a colorful way. The theme can be any interesting concept that you will hammer into the listener's mind. And it's easy.

But What if It Is Not a History Presentation / Speech... Can It Still Take the Form of a Story?

If my purpose is to persuade the audience to become organ donors, I can use a story that helps to serve my purpose.
If the purpose is to explain a process, like how to build a computer, I can begin the presentation with an anecdote, a brief story about what happened when I learned the process.

Any presentation can involve a story. And people like to be told stories. If you are giving a speech or presentation to human beings, it's great to tell a story.

Find an Insight in the Presentation / Speech

The object of the game is to look for a new insight when you write your presentation and explain it so the audience can share it. A speech about someone's graduation, an instructional presentation about computer networks, a slide show about childhood obesity -- any topic can provide insight.

Here is an example: Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech explains his insight about racial equality, and it is a powerful speech because listeners really do gain new insight.

Find Music in the Presentation

Great speakers like King also have a sense of rhythm. King's voice was not only rhythmic but also melodious, a beautiful sound like music. Are you able to speak with musical rhythm and resonance, deep breaths and a singing tone?

How Many Sentences Do You Get to Use?

You have time to say ten sentences each minute. How many minutes will this presentation last? If you are giving a ten-minute presentation, you get to speak one hundred sentences.

If it's a ten-minute slide presentation, you might decide to use twenty slides and four to six sentences per slide. You carefully plan a presentation that includes one hundred sentences. Choose carefully:

1. Most important facts to explain.

2. Most interesting parts of the story.

3. Sentences that express your theme.

4. Sentences that help serve your purpose.

Remember your purpose -- is it to explain a concept, teach people how to complete a process, persuade people to take action... what result do you want your presentation to have? Choose your sentences now based on the purpose you want to achieve.

When you have collected enough sentences to fill ten minutes (ten sentences per minute), organize them into a sequence that makes sense. Each slide of a presentation, or each paragraph of a speech, can express one important idea.

When you look at all the ideas expressed in your presentation, you'll be able to find one main theme or message. Write an introduction that expresses this idea, and let the introduction include some of its most interesting and meaningful sentences.