Articles by Andrew Dlugan:

The previous article in the Speech Preparation Series showed you how to edit your speech for focus, clarity, and concision.

However, your speech can be focused, clear, and concise and still lack vitality.

If your speech is void of rhetorical devices, it is like a painting void of color.

On all technical points, a black and white sketch might clearly be a woman smiling, or group of men having a meal, but without color, it’s not the Mona Lisa or The Last Supper.

With many examples, this article demonstrates how you can inject rhetorical devices into your speech during the editing process.

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Conventional wisdom says the best speeches are not written; they are rewritten. Yet, most speakers present content that falls between a first draft and no preparation at all.

Don’t be like most speakers.

Allow yourself the time to edit for focus, clarity, concision, continuity, variety, and impact. If you do, you will give your audience a performance that will dazzle them.

The previous article in the Speech Preparation Series showed you how to write the first draft of your speech.

In this article and the next one, you will develop the skills required to improve your speech through iterative speech editing.

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Writer’s block is debilitating.
Writer’s block is discouraging.
Writer’s block stops average speakers from becoming great speakers.

Don’t let it stop you!

The previous article in the Speech Preparation Series gave tips for writing a speech outline.

This article shows you how to wrestle writer’s block by transitioning from a speech outline to the first draft.

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The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking: Modern Techniques for Dynamic Communication is 224 pages of practical, plain, and pure public speaking advice.

Author Dale Carnegie packs an incredible breadth of public speaking advice into a short, easy-to-read format.

Over 7 million people have completed Dale Carnegie training, following the basic wisdom contained in this book.

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Saturday signals a scan of the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

Just a few of the topics featured this week are:

• speech preparation;
• conquering stage fright;
• visual aids;
• Toastmasters contests; and
• speech analogies.

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The previous article in the Speech Preparation Series described how to select your speech topic and your core message.

This article describes how to support your core message with a speech outline, and provides numerous examples. This is the second step in the six-step speech preparation process.

Writing an outline is, unfortunately, a step that many skip. The most common excuse is simply “No time.” This is unfortunate because time spent on an outline is time well spent. It is necessary to ensure that you craft a coherent and focussed presentation.

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The first article in the Speech Preparation Series outlined how to prepare a speech in six steps. In this second article, we examine the first of these steps — how to select a speech topic.

Selecting a speech topic sometimes feels like shooting an arrow in a random direction and hoping that it hits a target. If this is your approach, you are probably quite frustrated.

Your topic — and, more specifically, your core message — must be selected carefully. If it isn’t, then you won’t be able to effectively deliver the speech, and your audience won’t be interested or prepared to receive your message.

This begs the question: How do you choose a great speech topic?

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Proper preparation prevents presentation predicaments!

Speech preparation is the most important element to a successful presentation, and also the best way to reduce nervousness and combat fear.

The Speech Preparation Series is a series of articles examining each of the six steps which are necessary to properly prepare for a speech.

These steps are briefly introduced here, and investigated in more depth in later articles:

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Saturday signals a scan of the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

Just a few of the topics featured this week are:

• Pauses and pause fillers;
• Public speaking in the mainstream news;
• Visual aids; and
• Toastmaster.

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A strong speech opening is critical to grab the attention of your audience.

Suppose you were delivering a speech to raise awareness in your community about school security. How would you open your speech?

• “I’m going to talk to you today about security in our schools…“
• “School security is an important issue that we must deal with…“

Both openings are direct, to-the-point, and boring! What if there was a better way?

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Happy Valentines Week! Once again this Saturday, we scan the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere.

Just a few of the topics featured this week are:

• visual aids;
• dealing with difficult audiences;
• handing a Q&A session; and
• Toastmasters.

[Before we begin, did you catch last week’s review?]

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