10 Sure-Fire Steps to Writing a Speech Outline

Your boss has asked you to give a speech at the annual meeting. Now you wonder why you accepted. Panic is setting in; what should you do? To get started, prepare an outline. Your confidence will increase the more you think through your message before getting behind the podium. Here are ten simple steps for writing an effective speech outline.

1. Use a two-to-five-word phrase to describe the topic of your speech. Make sure the phrase is broad enough to cover the topic and narrow enough to stay focused.

2. Turn the theme into a full sentence. For example, 'the courage of dissent,' while a great theme, is not a sentence because it lacks a verb. You could write, 'In a world stressing community responsibility, leaders must remember the value of dissent.' When you turn the theme into a sentence, it becomes your thesis statement.

3. Ask a question about the thesis. Usually several questions come to mind. Take for example the question, 'Why?' Why is dissent so important? That question may lead to a message about individual freedom and ethics. The question, 'what?' would lead to a definition of the concept of dissent. For our example, we'll use the question, 'How?'

4. Answer the question with a key word. What are some single-word answers that come to mind? I think of 'ways,' 'means,' 'forms,' 'manners,' and so on. The word you use to answer the question is your classification key word. It will always be plural because it represents a group of things. For our example, let's take the key word 'forms.'

5. Turn your key word into a transitional sentence. This sentence will describe the main points of your speech. Here is a possible transitional sentence formulated from our key word 'forms': 'The need for dissent may appear in various forms throughout your leadership career.'

6. Prepare from two to six main points (three will often make a balanced message). Each of your main points fits into the classification described by your key word. In our example, each point will be a 'form' of dissent.
(1) Leaders oppose immorality.
(2) Leaders defend the weak.
(3) Leaders resist corruption.
(4) Leaders struggle against their own inner demons.

7. Under each of your main points, add supporting points. Avoid adding material that has nothing to do with the main point. Take the second point above: 'Leaders defend the weak.' Your supporting points might be expressed as follows:
A. The crowd does not defend the weak.
B. Government does not defend the weak.
C. Business does not defend the weak.
D. The weak cannot defend themselves.

8. Write your conclusion. The conclusion is the place where you bring everything to a center and where you appeal to your audience to do something.

9. Write your introduction. This may sound counter-intuitive but you can't tell people where you are going until you know yourself. Most of your introduction is already written because it includes the thesis statement and transitional sentence. Add a gripping story and your introduction is ready.

10. Finally, rehearse your delivery. Go through your outline several times, aloud, until you become familiar with your own voice. When you give your speech, don't read your outline. Relax. Look people in the eyes. The message you have outlined will flow like a conversation.

Markers, Stickers and a Long Table: A "Just-In-Time" Learning Activity

It can be a real nightmare for a trainer when participants complete learning activities much more quickly than anticipated.

I found myself in that predicament this week when I was facilitating a workshop on "Managing Your Stress and Time Before They Manage You!" Two activities that were each supposed to take an hour were completed in one hour. There was an entire hour calling for additional content.

For the last exercise, the participants had paired up to take turns discussing how they had handled a very stressful situation earlier in their lives. When they came back from their break, they were then to discuss the keys to their success with other pairs at their tables.

My original plan was to conclude this activity by having each table report out their composite keys to successfully handling stress. However, I knew from feedback about the Creativity workshop they had attended the previous day that the participants really enjoyed creating projects.

Luckily, we were in a room that had a very long table at the front. It occurred to me that we could deepen their learning and make the report out activity much more interesting if, rather than verbally reporting their keys to successful stress management, the groups drew them on flip chart paper.

During the break, I laid out five pieces of flip chart paper on the table in a way that the groups would have sufficient room to work. I had three boxes of Mr. Sketch Scented Markers, which made it possible for me to place a nice variety of colors next to each piece of paper.

When the participants returned to the room, I gave them 10 minutes to discuss the pairs' results and 20 minutes to draw a picture that depicted their table's ideas.

You should have heard the energy and enthusiasm in the room as they met with their tables to discuss their results and then to plan what their drawing would be- and who would draw it. The participants in one or two groups took turns drawing on the paper and then labeling what they had drawn. Some groups volunteered someone to do the drawing and then stood around that person to offer additional ideas.

The drawings they came up with were wonderfully creative and insightful. The representatives from each table who described their table's drawing also had a lot of fun giving their reports to frequent applause.

The drawings were so good, in fact, that I was able to use them for an additional activity. It just so happens that I had also brought along a package of happy face stickers

I took the five pictures and hung them on the walls to create a gallery walk. Then the participants were instructed to take the stickers and place them next to the stress handling strategies on each drawing that would be most practical and useful to them in the future.

When they completed the gallery walk, I asked the participants to write down on an action plan the stress handling strategies they had selected.

It was serendipity that the table was long enough for the five groups to spread out and that I had the markers and stickers with me. This ended up being a wonderful accelerated learning activity that built on what they already knew and added to it in a highly interactive, creative and colorful manner.

In the future, I plan to bring stickers, index cards, envelopes, and markers so that I have materials to create additional learning activities when necessary. I also definitely plan to incorporate this learning activity into future workshops on a variety of topics.

Digging For Laughs: Sources Of Humor For Public Speakers

How was your last speech received by your audience? If you talked with them an hour, a day, or even a week after you gave the speech no matter how good their listening skills were, do you think that they would remember what you had said? If the answer is no, then you've got some work to do. I have some good news for you, don't worry about learning new presentation tips - fixing this problem might be as simple as adding some humor to your speech.

You Are The Funniest Subject

Often when we want to add humor to our speeches, we'll go on a hunt looking for topics that we believe that our audience will find funny. The truth is that one of the funniest topics is already staring back at us when we look in the mirror: ourselves.

We have all had a unique set of life experiences that have gotten us to where we are. We also go through a set of routines each and every day that our audience probably also goes through. We can draw from both of these groups of experiences and by adding just a bit of exaggeration we can transform events from our past into humorous moments for our audience.

Boys vs. Girls Always Gets A Laugh

No matter how hard we try to be sensitive to the other gender, it seems like we are always making mistakes. These mistakes more often than not result in miscommunications or misunderstandings between men and women.

Considering the fact that your audience will probably be made up of both genders, using the types of miscommunications that can occur between genders is a great source of humorous material. Everyone will have had a similar experience and so getting your audience to laugh will be very easy.

Read The Newspaper, Get A Laugh

The key to creating humorous material that will really get a laugh out of your audience is to make it as topical as possible - use current events whenever possible. Your local newspaper or TV channels are a great source of this type of material.

The trick to making this type of humor source work for you is to be careful to make sure that everyone in the audience will be aware of the story that you will be referencing. Stay away from the industry specific stories if you have a general audience. Try to stick with the stories that have made the front page of your newspaper.

What All Of This Means For You

We all know about the importance of public speaking and so we want each of our speeches to be remembered by our audience. One of the most effective tools that a public speaker has is humor. The more humor that you can pack into your next speech, the better the chances are that your audience will be able to remember what you said. All of this means that you're going to have to find good sources of humor that you can use.

I've got good news for you: great humor for your next speech is all around you. It turns out that poking fun at yourself is a great way to get your audience to laugh. The differences between men and women is another fantastic source of humor material. Finally, just by opening a newspaper you can find a lot of comedy in current events.

It takes time, energy, and effort to work humor into a speech. It's worth the effort because of the benefits of public speaking. The results of working humor into your next speech make this well worth the effort. Next time that you are asked to give a speech, take some time and do some digging - the humor that you find will make your next speech just that much better!

Silence Is Golden - Why?

Homo sapiens' have received unique qualities which make them stand apart from plants and animals. The different senses inherited during birth continue till the last moment of life. However, there is something more unique in human beings- silence.

It is considered gold- a pure metal obtained from the interiors of Earth. It is pure like gold hidden in the depth of brain. The brain is the storehouse of thinking power which sends the message to stay quiet in a given situation.

Silence is nurtured bit by bit. It is quite difficult to sit silent in an extremely provocative situation. Regular verbal bashes often disturb the mindset and person is forced to speak out. Sometimes, the so-called quietness gets punished due to unhealthy and uncalled-for revelation of thoughts or speech. It becomes difficult to hold back the words when the level of intolerance reaches peak. Not silence but violence takes the position and destroys the peace spontaneously.

One of the main ingredients of the so-called tranquility is tolerance. If you are able to bear things despite odd situations, you can win the battle. Physical use of body or mental use of words could have detrimental effects in case things are not under control in a given situation. The person may fall flat or get over the odds. However, it is always important to remain silent in order to stop the environment being converted into the arena of gladiators. The words are very damaging to self-respect and can take a toll on self-confidence too. Where a person is mentally strong and possesses the strength to overpower the situation using his mind, the concept of silence stands in forefront.

Apart from tolerance, this tranquility teaches the art of facing odds with smile. It is one of the most difficult tasks as your monetary and non-monetary needs are at stake. However, to give a pragmatic and precise response to opponent, it is important to attack from all fronts rather than mouth. It is often said "Thundering clouds seldom rain". Rain affects each and every part of the Earth when the drops touch the land. Clouds make sound but don't affect the farms in case there is no rain.

Quietness could teach one of the best lessons of all times. Prepare yourself for all eventualities. It is always possible to answer someone directly and show off strength. However, the worth of strength is measured in the battle between two rivals.

Silence is considered a weapon of peace. If you are silent, you make your intentions clear to your opponent. It would encourage him to respond accordingly. Most of the battles have not seen the day due to timely intervention of silence. It aids in escalating the chance to stop reacting to any odd situation. It allows a person to think before shooting arrows.

Nothing could be achieved in entirety, had there been no silence. It generates an environment which is full of peace, serenity and calmness. Its source is further strengthened by happiness and smile. Thus, it could be helpful in bringing the visible "golden smile" on the face.

Writing and Speaking: Public Speaking Article Category

Doubt is a vital part of our thinking. If we are inquisitive and need an answer, we always raise doubts. A solution is not possible till we reach the roots of a problem.

Curiosity to obtain a reply from someone regarding a doubtful situation opens up a plethora of chances to resolve things in a matter of time. After winning a contract, there are several doubts storming the mind- Now what next? It has to be implemented, looking at pros and cons of the situation. Nothing can be done in a day despite urgency. After all, "Rome was not built in a day". Several opinions are gathered, strategies are framed and plans are plotted on the plane. After a heated debate and constant conversation, the leader reaches the most optimized solution. This solution has to be checked and re-checked after every moment. These moments are basically situations when a discrepancy turns up or deviation becomes prominent.

The leader always expects and ensures a smooth implementation of contract after winning. However, there are inevitable situations which might bother him and raise doubts in mind. An effective leadership requires the open and constant communication with like-minded people of the group. The matter may take some time to be resolved.

The doubts shouldn't be hid from the crowd else dire consequences could result in loss of man and fame. They should be discussed in open forum for the best resolution. A small doubt could give rise to a larger doubt. There is no end to these ideas as a person working on the field has to use brain to execute the plan.

Brain-storming gives rise to creativity. If the plan was taking 2 days to complete, an alternative thought had resulted in its effective execution within 24 hours. Thus, one should be ready with a number of alternatives. The leader could arrive at the best alternative through team participation. This effort also helps in searching for a second, third or fourth alternative in case first alternative fails at any time.

It's not possible to stop brain from doubting. If there are no doubts, solutions are not possible. Nothing in the world is perfect. However, perfection is required in the sound and cautious implementation of contract. Skepticism helps in smashing skull so that near perfect solution is achieved on time.

We live in a world of machines and technology. Every single device is created and improved using brains. Each machine is programmed with inputs tried and researched over a long period of time. These inputs are, in fact, a product of several doubts which take birth to find an answer to the needs of daily life. Thus, doubt is considered a road to solution.

How To Engage Your Participants At The Beginning of A Training Session

Public speaking a learnable skill. The more you practice, the better you will be. In my training, I will ensure that I am fully prepared for the topic I am going to deliver. Before the actual delivery, I will put myself into the right state of mind. However, do you seriously believe that by doing these you can become a good trainer? My answer is "no" and the reason why I say "no" is that I discover another element that is important in all my training, i.e. to keep my participants engaged and involved so that they can learn more and faster. In this article, I will share with you some techniques I use to achieve this goal.

I used to believe that it would be fine if I did not satisfy all my participants in a training session because there would always be someone who did not like me. However, under my mentor's guidance, I know that this belief is not true and I have reframed my definition of a successful training session. To me, a successful training session is one when all my participants have learnt at least one new thing. This reframing exercise has helped me a lot and I begin to see some drastic results in my training with some good feedback received from my participants. Now, here is what I will do in the introduction of all my training:

Building rapport is a must

What I did in the past was to go straight to the presentation as I focused on the delivery of the content. I thought that as long as my content was of good quality, my participants would be satisfied. This is not true because as a trainer, I now know I have to focus on my participants instead of me and the content of my presentation. Therefore, nowadays I will allocate at least 10 to 15 minutes to build rapport with my participants. It is almost certain that I will show them my family photo for a start. Depending on the subject matter, I will share with them my personal story to relay to the topic I am going to speak. The purpose of all these is to make my participants feel that I am their friends and not just a trainer.

Keep the trump card with you

In the past, I had a slide in my introduction to outline all the topics to be covered in my training. This is like "show hand" in poker if you know what I mean. I realized that as a result of this, some participants would not pay full attention to what I said. In the end if they claimed that they did not understand the topic, they would put the blame on the training manual and/or me. To ensure that they take full responsibility for their own learning and pay attention to every part of my training, I will keep the trump card with me. In other words, I will introduce one small segment of the topic at one time so that the participants will remain curious as to what will be the next segment. This technique is quite useful to keep my participants engaged and involved during the entire training.

Different participants have different learning styles

As a certified trainer in Extended DISC profiling tools, I understand there are different behavioral patterns among my participants. This means that they all have different learning styles. If I were to use only one style to deliver my topic, it would be a disaster. Hence, here is what I will do in my introduction:

• Some participants prefer to see a big picture and not details. During my introduction, I will present this big picture to this group and suggest to them how they can benefit in future by applying what they learn.


• Some participants prefer to learn and have fun at the same time. After dealing with the "big picture" participants, I will assure this group during my introduction that learning will be fun because there will be different group activities to reinforce their learning.


• Some participants focus on teamwork in learning. Therefore, I will assure them during my introduction that in all group activities, all participants will help each other so that no one will be left behind in the learning process.


• After dealing with the first three groups of participants, the last group will be those who are waiting for me to deliver the details. During my introduction, I will ask them to be patient and at the same time assure them they will get all the details they need.

As you can see, these are just a few things you can do during the introduction of your training so as to keep your participants engaged and involved. Keep in mind that each training session is different and you should remain as flexible as you can be in order to handle different situations that may arise. Finally, as a reminder the more you practice, the more effective you will be as a trainer.

I hope you will benefit from my sharing. Now, what are you planning to do in your next training session?

Interesting Experience in Using Flipcharts In My Training

As a trainer myself, I pay attention to the training conducted by the other trainers because I believe that there is always something I can learn from them. Apart from the content delivery, I also observe the way they speak, the tonality of the words they use, their body language, the jokes they make and the personal stories they share. Most of these trainers I met are good but only a few of them are effective in my opinion. What this means is that they are able to fully engage their participants during the entire training session and facilitate their learning. Interestingly, I notice these trainers have one thing in common. They seldom use PowerPoint. Instead, they use the conventional teaching tool called flip charts. I begin to wonder why using flip charts instead of PowerPoint can be more effective. In this article, I am going to share with you some of my findings.

Back to my MBA days, I had to do presentation each week on different subjects. At that time, everyone used PowerPoint and therefore, I had no choice but to learn how to use it. The slides must be colourful. The font size must be correct so that my classmates at the back (and more importantly my course facilitator) would be able to see the words clearly. I also learnt how to do custom animation too. Suddenly I considered myself an expert in using PowerPoint and from that point onwards, I started to believe that in order to deliver a good presentation, PowerPoint is a must. Since then I have been using PowerPoint in all my presentation and training.

Something happened around two years ago. For some reasons I started noticing my participants did not pay attention in my training. Some of them even fell asleep. Worst still, no matter how good I thought my training was, there would always be someone coming up to ask for a copy of my PowerPoint slides. I was frustrated and upset with such response and this prompted me to change my strategy in my training.

I decided to model some of these effective trainers by not relying on PowerPoint anymore. I will still prepare two slides - the title page and the contact page but that is all. Instead of PowerPoint, I use flip charts and I will always carry 4 jumbo markers - black, green, red and blue just in case they are not available in the training room. I begin to experience some changes in my training. Participants pay attention in training especially when I am writing on the flip charts. I guess they must be curious as to what I am writing. After I have written a keyword or phrase on the flip chart, I will immediately ask the participants to repeat the word as this will help them to remember the concept better.

As there is no more PowerPoint, there is no chance for my participants to ask for any copy of my slides. Nevertheless, I will still give them workbooks so that they can make notes and copy the keyword and phrases. Sometimes I will have incomplete sentences in the workbooks and I will ask my participants to fill in the blank. In the past I always thought that giving out workbooks and asking my participants to fill in the blank was a childish play. I now know this is not correct because it has something to do with some accelerated learning techniques.

The reason why I believe my participants are more engaged when I am using the flip charts is that they have no fallback on slides. As they have to take full responsibility for their own learning during my training, they have to pay attention to the concepts I cover, the statements I make, and the keywords and phrases I use. They will be asked to repeat after me these keywords and phrases and jot down their key learning messages.

At the same time, I will buffer some time to allow my participants to seek clarification and ask questions. In my opinion, this is a good opportunity to interact with them and reinforce their learning by referring to the flip charts as an anchor.

In summary, all my training becomes interactive and there is no more monologue. My training is fun and allows my participants to learn faster and more. Just two months ago, I tested this technique in a training involving highly technical content - technical analysis in investing. I was pleased with the fact that even in a training like this, the flip chart technique could work.

I love the flip charts and I am committed to use them more often in all my training.