It is a fair enough question.

As are these:

• Why use someone you have never met, who doesn’t know you and who you may never meet again to write what could be the most important speech of your life?
• Why tell a complete stranger many of your deepest secrets and innermost thoughts?
• Isn’t it cheating to have your own words written, or even edited, by someone else?

There is only really one answer, which is that when something matters this much to you, you may believe that you are not in the best position to get it quite right.
Most people who require professional help with a speech fall into one of these four categories:

1. They find it hard to put pen to paper
2. They find it hard to deliver words in front of an audience
3. They are just too busy to find the time
4. A combination of the above

A professional simply seeks to reduce your stress by providing the writing skills and coaching on delivery to enable you to give the best speech possible.
You may fear that getting help is cheating.  On that basis, so is surfing the internet for recycled quotes.  Or buying books about how to make a great speech.
Unfortunately, those two routes have been walked many times.  Which means that although they may contain a lot of sense, they tend also to have been copied to death.
A professional speechwriter should guarantee you originality.

It is actually a little bizarre that people are so embarrassed about seeking help for a speech.  After all, public speaking is a renowned phobia, and a professional can help provide the confidence you require to overcome it.
Huge amounts of money go into organising a big event.  But unlike the flowers, the starters or the fifth glass of wine, most people will go home afterwards and remember the speeches.  At a work event they can make the difference between winning and losing a piece of business.  In politics they can be the catalyst leading to an election victory or humiliation.

Come to think of it, why don’t more people use a professional speechwriter?!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Lawrence

Have you just been asked to fill in for a speaker at the last minute?

Have you been putting off writing for months and you’ve just realised that the speech is on Saturday?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.  My phone regularly rings on a Thursday with requests to help write (or re-write) a speech for that weekend.

If you are in that position, some of my usual tips for writing a great speech – like research and preparation – just aren’t realistic.

So what should you do?

1. Don’t panic!  If you think clearly and calmly, there is always time to get it right.
2. Change your goals.  Shorten the length of time you plan to speak for and don’t try to create something that’s too unorthodox.
3. Keep it simple.  Your subject may be complicated but your speech can’t be.
4. Make two lists: ‘Must Says’ and ‘Could Says’.
5. In the ‘Must Says’ scribble down the people you need to thank, the toast you need to make and the basic points you need to cover.
6. In the ‘Could Says’ list the things that might bring the speech to life.
7. Focus on a maximum of three points in the ‘Could Says’ list.  If, for example, you are a Best Man at a wedding, these could be the groom’s love of sport, spreadsheets and takeaways.
8. Create a simple structure for the speech which sandwiches the ‘Could Says’ between the ‘Must Says’.  This will help break your speech up and mix the sincere and lighter elements.
9. Ensure that your sentences are short and punchy.  Read them out loud to ensure that you can deliver them easily.
10. Print them off in a large font and leave room on the page for lots of pauses and time to read each sentence before you deliver it.

Of course, the alternative is to call me for some last minute help!

Good luck.

 Lawrence

There is a school of thought that ‘great’ and ‘PowerPoint’ should never be used in the same sentence, and it is true that there are many other ways to engage your audience.

However, PowerPoint is a fact of business life, and it can be an incredibly impactful tool when used in the right way.

Too often it isn’t.  So here are a few tips to help you prepare your next one.

Preparing it

1. Create a structure that focuses around the key point you want to make.
2. Work from a Master Slide (or slides) – this makes it a lot easier to change things later on.
3. Aim never to have more than 10 words on one slide.
4. Remember that a relevant image or illustration will be immeasurably more impactful than a sentence.
5. Let slides build with your story, rather than giving away the outcome before you have delivered it.
6. As with all speeches and presentations, check whether it is relevant to your audience, approaches the subject in an interesting and original way, and sets things out simply.

Delivering it

1. Don’t forget that the audience are there to watch you, not your slides.  Use the presentation to back up your message, not to replace your role in delivering it.
2. Don’t repeat the words on the slides behind you.  It is a fact of business life that most of your audience will be able to read them too.
3. Make it clear when you are referring to a specific part of a slide rather than just gesticulating randomly into the air between you and it.
4. Avoid handing out a printed version of the presentation beforehand.  Your impact will be nullified if your audience know what’s coming next.
5. As with all speeches and presentations, speak clearly, interact with your audience wherever possible, and emphasise key words and messages.

Many of the keys to a successful presentation come down to common sense.  Preparation is key.  You can never think too much about original ways to entertain your audience.  Nor can you rehearse too much.  Knowing what will appear on each click through the presentation is a must.

I would be delighted to review an existing presentation you have written or to help you create something original and impactful. In the meantime, I hope this helps.

Lawrence
+44 20 7681 8247