Speak Easy

A Short Guide to a Great Speech

SPEAK EASY: A Short Guide to a Great Speech makes it simple to craft a winning presentation that captures your key points, creates a compelling argument and boosts your confidence as a public speaker. Aimed at the average person, SPEAK EASY offers a practical solution to the daunting challenge of writing a successful speech. It doesn't matter if you're a student or a best man, speaking about global climate change or just reminiscing about a childhood friend, you'll benefit from the no-nonsense advice offered by this guidebook. Regardless of the situation, a speech's success depends largely on the preparation of the speaker. Speakers who take the time to prepare well are rewarded with gratifying applause, a feeling of accomplishment and, sometimes, new opportunities to speak. With each successive presentation, the challenge of speaking to a roomful of people gets easier, less stressful and more personally rewarding. The goal of this book is to prepare you for that challenge by introducing you to six practical steps that will lead to success. While you can find many books that instruct you in the art of presenting a speech, few focus on the speech writing that must come first. The emphasis in this book is on what to do before you open your mouth. Here, then, are the nuts-and-bolts of good speechwriting: Step 1: Define the goal Step 2: Identify the audience Step 3: Check out the venue Step 4: Research the topic Step 5: Organize your content Step 6: Write the speech If you follow these six steps, you will gain the skills and the confidence to write a compelling speech. Not necessarily a speech that changes the course of world history, although that is always possible, but rather a thoughtful speech that gets the job done, advances discussion and earns you the continued respect of your community. These guidelines will work regardless of whether you are a: • politician • media spokesperson • eulogist • historical interpreter • government representative • job interviewee • sports coach • business owner • lawyer • counselor • volunteer • debater • lobbyist • member of the clergy • salesperson • protester • community club member • advocate • student • member of a wedding party The advice offered in SPEAK EASY is the fruit of many years' experience in the trenches. Award-winning author Barry Potyondi has written speeches about topics as varied as environmental sustainability, investing in mining stocks, educational reform, settlement of the agrarian west, university commencement, cultural tourism, and industrial development. He prepared those speeches for both public and private clients who addressed audiences ranging from intimate living room gatherings in small-town North America to an assembly of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand. The advice Potyondi offers in SPEAK EASY works for ordinary people in everyday situations. It can work for you, too.