How to Give a Great Speech, Part 1: Preparation

If you have to give a keynote speech then preparation leads to success. Here are some key tips:

1. Investigate the audience. Find out as much as you can about your audience, their interests and their likely mood.
2. Talk to the organiser. What are their expectations? What would represent success for them?
3. Investigate the logistics. What is the room layout? Understand the programme and exactly how much time you have.
4. Select the theme of your talk and the key message. What is the single most important thing you are trying to achieve with this talk?
5. Write down various ideas that support your message. Collect different ideas, stories, quotations, jokes (if appropriate) that relate to and support your theme.
6. Build a structure. Whatever the topic, your talk should build in a logical way so that your audience can easily follow your train of thought.
7. Add some light and shade. Think about how you can make your talk really engaging by mixing the approach a little.
8. Practise, practise, practise. Practise the talk – preferably out loud.
9. Memorise and use prompt cards. You should not try to memorise the whole talk – just the key headings so that you can remember the main points.