Public speaking without sweating

We often tell ourselves that some people just have a natural talent for speaking. That you ‘just need to be yourself’. Or that improvising is better than preparing. The result speaks for itself: too many words and too little direction. A hesitant beginning, a middle that wanders off in all directions and an ending that isn’t really an ending at all. A speech without a clear line leaves your audience confused. Because what was actually the point?

Good speeches are not an accident. They are carefully constructed. Structure doesn’t limit your creativity but gives you space and freedom to tell your story in different ways. One of the most used structures is the timeline: where have we come from, where are we now and where do we want to go? This works well for reflective moments and visions. The textbook example of this structure is Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

In a classic argument, you start from the facts, sharpen your position and support it with arguments and examples. You also acknowledge the counterarguments, only to debunk them straight away. You finish with a conclusion that feels almost self-evident. Ideal for explaining or defending an idea.

Instead of making your destination clear straight away, you can also begin with mystery. To resolve it, you first show the wrong track: what doesn’t work. Then comes the turning point: the right insight, which you then develop further and round off with an invitation or a question. This format actively involves your audience, because they almost discover the insight alongside you.

In the rule of three, you choose three ideas, stories or reasons that together carry your message. It doesn’t cost your audience blood, sweat and tears to remember three things. Quite the opposite: that’s how we humans like it best. A good example is Steve Jobs’s 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, which ended with the iconic words ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish’.

And then there’s the teleshopping principle. Everyone knows the classic late-night infomercial. It starts from a recognisable problem, makes it concrete (and sometimes deliberately bigger), offers a solution and ends with an extra benefit. It’s a very direct structure, often used in pitches and sales.

Which structure you choose depends on your audience, your occasion and your story. You can also combine structures. There is no best choice. Only a conscious one.

Even the strongest structure stands or falls with two moments: the beginning and the end. The beginning is when you ask for your audience’s attention. In those first seconds, people decide not only if they’ll listen, but how they’ll listen. Critically or open-minded. Half-heartedly or with genuine curiosity.

A good opener sets the tone straight away. You can start with an anecdote, with a physical object, with a question or a claim that can’t be ignored, or with humour that breaks the tension. And yes, even shocking your audience is allowed, but only if it has meaning and adds to your story. Peter McIndoe goes all in on shock value in his TED Talk on conspiracy theories, while Brené Brown opens her TED Talk on vulnerability with a funny personal story. Both win the audience over from the very start.

The ending is at least as important. People won’t remember everything you say, but they will remember how you stop. A smart way to end is by closing the circle and referring back to your beginning. Or by giving a clear call to action: do something or think about this a bit more. A strong ending doesn’t just summarise. It answers the key question behind every speech: what do I want the audience to remember and feel once I fall silent?

In his TED Talk ‘Do Schools Kill Creativity?’, Sir Ken Robinson starts with a solid dose of British humour, which he maintains throughout his talk. But he ends with a clear call to action: we have to educate children radically differently if we want to prepare them for the future.

A speech is not a written text you simply read aloud. A speech is about spoken language. About rhythm. So, make sure you vary enough: short and long sentences, questions and statements, repetition and contrast. Sound matters too. Words that rhyme or alliterate stick better. There’s a reason ‘Yes, we can’ is etched into our collective memory. The speeches of former president Barack Obama are stylistic masterclasses. They show that style is not decoration. It’s a memory aid.

Also speak in images. People don’t remember abstract concepts. They remember scenes. Don’t say something is ‘a challenge’, show where the friction is. And don’t be afraid of a well-chosen metaphor. In her TED Talk ‘The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about stereotypes through the metaphor of ‘the single story’. She enriches that metaphor with a series of stories, making her message understandable and relatable.

A strong speech doesn’t just happen. It has been reworked and refined. It has as much to do with craft as with talent. So, forget those clammy hands. Follow these steps for your speech and focus on what people should remember with their head and feel with their heart. Then your audience – at New Year’s, but also during a presentation or a conference – will be left with just one feeling: ‘Wow, that was beautifully put.’

Need help with your speech? Get in touch.