Share Your Expertise. Write for Six Minutes.

Six Minutes

Why Contribute to Six Minutes?

Six Minutes helps readers become more effective communicators. One way to do this is to offer not just one voice, but the advice and opinions of the larger public speaking community.

What is your public speaking background? Are you a:

  • professional speaker with wisdom to share?
  • communications consultant?
  • speechwriter?
  • speaking instructor?
  • college professor?
  • teacher?
  • public speaking blogger?
  • novice speaker with a unique perspective?

Would you like to write for a large online audience with readers around the world from all walks of life?

What’s In It For You?

  • Credibility boost – Get your article published on one of the most popular public speaking websites. Six Minutes has thousands of subscribers and readers from all around the world.
  • Full attribution – Your article will be accompanied with your name and a short paragraph indicating your credentials.
  • Traffic back to your website – The author byline can link back to your site (if you have one). If you write a great article, readers will want to know more about you.
  • Warm fuzzy feelings –  Feel the joy of sharing your wisdom with the greater community of public speakers.

Topics You Can Write About

Most Six Minutes articles fall into one of these broad categories:

  • Speechwriting
  • Delivery Techniques
  • Visual Aids
  • Speaker Habits
  • Resources for Speakers
  • Professional Speaking
  • Communication Skills

In addition, there are three special types of articles that cover one or more of the above areas:

  • Book Reviews
  • Speech Critiques
  • Interviews

Your article is more likely to be accepted if it falls within these broad categories, but feel free to pitch something which stretches the boundaries a bit.

Article Guidelines

Here are some basic guidelines which will help you get your article accepted and published:

  1. Be Specific! — Depth of the articles is one strength which distinguishes Six Minutes from other websites in this niche. So, depth is generally preferred over breadth. For example:
    • “7 Moments in a Speech when Body Language Matters Most” (specific) is much better than “7 Body Language Tips” (general)
    • “9 Ways to Improve Your Handouts” (specific) is much better than “11 tips for speakers” (general)
    • “How to use stories in a business presentation” (specific) is much better than “How to use PowerPoint” (way too broad!)
  2. Be Practical — The most valuable articles provide practical tips that readers can use immediately.
  3. Give Examples — Theory is good, but real examples bring the article alive. If your article is about speech openings, give examples of speech openings. If your article is about PowerPoint design, give examples of slides.
  4. Length of Article — There’s no strict minimum or maximum, but most Six Minutes articles are at least 1000 words. This is a guideline, not a minimum word count. The key idea is that our readers prefer articles with significant depth.
  5. Originality — You must be be the original author and grant the right for Six Minutes to publish your article on this site. Plagiarism is as bad for articles as it is for speeches.
  6. Uniqueness — You must guarantee that the article will not be published anywhere else, including your own web site. Copies of articles from article banks are of no value to Six Minutes.
  7. Outbound Links — Your article can contain relevant links to external websites, including your own. Be judicious. Stuffing an article with vanity links is not helpful to Six Minutes readers, and these links will likely be rejected. We will not publish affiliate links or SEO-motivated links which are part of link schemes.

The best articles are not written, they are rewritten.

Step-by-Step Guide to Contribute

Step 1 – Propose the concept before writing

First, send a suggested title and draft article outline. This allows you to make sure that your idea is a good fit for Six Minutes before investing your time in writing a complete article. The draft outline should indicate the proposed article structure and its main points.

Step 2 – Write and Edit Your Article

Working from your outline, write your first draft. Then, edit your article. Check the spelling and grammar. Verify quotations and other sources. Eliminate weak sentences and sections. Just like speeches, great articles are not written – they are rewritten. Please ask questions if you get stuck during this process. We are happy to assist.

Step 3 – Submit Your Article

We’ll review your article for both the power of the message and the clarity of the writing.

  • Message: Does the article deliver a message which is both useful and unique to Six Minutes readers? Does the opening grab the reader? Does the closing include a call-to-action? Are there practical examples which readers can use?
  • Clarity: Is the writing sound? Is the article free of grammar and spelling errors? Does it read well? Does it flow?

If your article passes the review with minor editing, it is ready for publishing. If it needs more work, you may be asked rewrite a bit.

Step 4 – Provide a Byline

If this is your first article for Six Minutes, we need a few more bits to build the author byline that will accompany your article. This includes:

  1. Your full name
  2. A photograph (head and shoulders) – Ideally, 93 by 124 pixels, but we can resize it from something larger.
  3. Two or three brief sentences which provide your background as a speaker. Either a website or an email address may be included here if you desire. (Note that affiliate links and SEO-motivated links which are part of link schemes will not be published.)

Step 5 – Review the Final Article

Your article will probably be edited a bit, even after the final version you submit. The intent here is not to introduce substantial changes or to be a dual author; rather, the intent is to edit all articles so they are consistent with the Six Minutes style (e.g. titles, subtitles, images, punctuation, grammar, link methods, etc.)

You will see the final article before it is published if any changes have been made.

Step 6 – Celebrate Your Article

Thank you for your contribution! You will be notified when the article is published. You may like to point your friends or colleagues to the permanent web address.

Interested?

Contact Us: sixminutes@dlugan.com

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