“Writing is a great job if it wasn’t for the writing.” — Richard Tardif, 2018.
Unless you are one of those unique individuals who can turn out a clear, emphatic first draft, you will rework your speech and, more than likely, a great deal. Some of the best, prolific authors and speech writers are meticulous, writing and discarding a dozen versions of a speech, story or chapter before being satisfied.
As Cyril Junior Dim, Toastmasters 2002 World Speaking champion, said, “Write, Refine, Repeat. This has been my process for years. I’m not a fan of using a script once and throwing it away. Speeches are like wine—they mature with time.”
Many writers do a rapid—almost incomplete—first draft. They believe getting something down on paper is essential, even if it is hurried and amateurish in quality. They realize they must write while their thoughts are flowing. They know that it’s a candid job to revise later.
Proofread
A writer will often miss spelling errors, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. Train yourself to accept these and alter unsatisfactory sentences, words, and expressions. Choose the most practical terms for your purpose. Whether we employ long or short sentences, basic or involved ones, punchy or leisurely ones is a matter of style and how well you use the possibilities at your disposal. Study other writers and see how they write, then build up your sense of style.
The most noticeable way a writer can vary sentences is in a matter of length. Newspapers, advertising and sales materials, letters, a good deal of modern fiction and most magazine articles employ a short, concise structure. This style permits views from the writer’s or narrator’s creative mind.
Length doesn’t mean dullness.
Variety in sentence length can be strong and most effective, provided it is appropriate for the material. One or two short sentences after a series of long ones can dramatically impact. A long sentence following a few shorts can summarize complicated matters.
Try to keep from making your sentences over-wordy. To communicate, you must get into the habit of saying what you mean to say and do all you can to cut out extra “padding” and cluttering means of expression. William Zinsser, the author of Writing Well, writes, “Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon.”
Less is more—say it in six
As Mark Twain said, “If I had more time, I would have written less.”
What the famous author meant is that writing less is hard work. In public speaking, less is more implies that what you present is carefully selected for the listener. Presenting less information to your audience requires honing your material, making choices, and deciding what is relevant and meaningful. There is an expression: Put to sleep some of your favourite parts of your speech! You may like them, but they may mean nothing to the audience—it’s not about you.
And it means making these decisions ahead of time, not when you’re at the podium. Your hard work is worth it. Yes, sometimes it isn’t easy to narrow things down. You may struggle with deciding what to keep and what to remove. A good thing to do is put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What information is most important to them? What one key message do you want to get across? If you had only one minute, what key point would you stress?
A splendid exercise is to write your speech in six words. A six-word story allows a reader to consume an entire narrative momentarily. If you’re trying to nail the message of your speech, a short, challenging burst of writing practice throughout your day using six-word stories is a great way to begin.
The six-word story was reportedly born when Ernest Hemingway accepted the challenge of developing a story using six words. He said, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Here are a few more.
- One Candle. Two people. Three Shadows.
- Paramedics finished her text…. “Love you.”
- Freeze! Don’t Move. I’m just. Bang!
- It’s you. It always will be.
How you prepare your speech is up to you. Some speakers never write a word and speak their way to the podium. Some write it out.
Ready to speak your story?
Download my free Publish your book: your next steps to becoming a published author, valued at $39. This eBook will show you step-by-step the process of going from polishing your manuscript to becoming a published author. Visit me at www.richardtardif.com. In the meantime, are you ready to speak your story?
