15. 6 Strategies - Speechwriting Made Simple
You spoke. I listened…
Speechwriting won my LinkedIn poll as this week’s topic of choice.
Here are 6 strategies I’ve learned over the last 15+ years speaking publicly and writing speeches for generals, corporate executives, non-profit leaders, and more.
1. Start with the end. What do you want to achieve with your speech? Is it to inform, foster team unity, issue a call to action? Determine success & craft the speech around it.
2. Know your audience. Embody empathy. Understand what is important to your audience and align your desired outcome with their needs.
Note: If you are the speechwriter but not the speaker you have 2 audiences. The one receiving the speech and the speaker. Get to know your speaker as much as possible. Sometimes you have access and other times not as much. Listen to prior speeches, understand the format they want (e.g., bullets or full text), and adopt their style.
3. Show gratitude. Thank distinguished guests. Thank investors for hearing your pitch. Thank your team for making time to show up. They are giving you two precious resources – their time and attention.
4. Resurrect the 5-paragraph essay. Structure your speech and make it coherent. Remember the 5-paragraph essay from grade school? It’s time to bring it back.
Start strong. Your hook to emotionally connect & encourage your audience to listen. (See #5). Then tease your three main points (because no one remembers more than 3).
Main point 1
Main point 2
Main point 3
Wrap-up. Brief recap and “1 thing” you want your audience to take away. (Review #1)
5. Add spice. Review the first draft (substance) to see where you can pepper in style (spice). Ideas:
“On this day”– Tie the speech to an event in history.
Repetition – “…that government of the people, by the people, for the people…”
Humor – Tasteful, of course.
Visualization – “Imagine your first time jumping out of an airplane…”
Prop – If addressing the “leap to start a small business” bring your parachute…
6. Practice. Practice. Practice. Whether you’re the speechwriter or speaker, practice is critical. I read every speech out loud multiple times to ensure flow and timing. Know the speech inside and out. And most of all – have fun! The more you speak publicly the easier it gets.
So, what does it look like for your business?
How do you use these strategies to engage audiences – teams, investors, clients, and more?
Which of the 6 strategies is the hardest for you?
What is one thing you can do today to drive greater clarity?
I help small technology and professional services businesses scale and grow.
This means leaders work ON the business instead of IN the business. Whether it's a 10-year vision, 3-year strategy, or 90-day action plan - we partner to achieve your goals.
If you want to break through to the next level in your business, drop me a message, and we'll arrange a 15-min call to see if I can help.
To your success,
~Susan
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