Speechwriting Fundamentals and Best Practices - Mapping your speech

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December 12, 2016

Now that you have your main point, you may begin to build your speech around it. Mind mapping is a wonderfully visual way of doing it. You may draw it on a piece of paper, create it in a computer program, or use sticky notes on the wall. The method does not matter as long as you are able to visualize it.

The idea is to literally draw a map of your presentation that you will lead your audience through. Have you ever gotten directions that were so bad you got more lost trying to follow them? Don’t do this to your audience! Make your path clear and it will both help you remember your speech and enable your audience to follow it.

Chunk your presentation into groups of three: ONE main point, THREE sub points and THREE pieces (or fewer) of back up for each sub point. You may have fewer than three, but do not have more. We will talk more about the Rule of Three because it is vital.

Your backup may be a fact, statistic, quote, or personal story. It must illustrate or define a part of your main point. Each branch must link directly to the main point. If one doesn’t link back, then prune it. That part may very well go to a different speech.

Mapping Your Speech

 

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