If you need help communicating under pressure, winning a pitch, or simply refining and improving the way you sell yourself and your company then contact Anna ASAP to reserve your place.

About the Course

There are many presentation courses available but our ‘Present with Impact’ is unique. The combination of an expert in presentation writing and messaging (Lawrence) and a highly experienced, first class presentation trainer (Hugo) ensures that the two fundamental elements in any pitch – content and delivery – are covered in unison. Each of our previous courses has achieved fantastic, measurable results, and clients have remarked on the discernible improvement in their communication by the end of a single day.

There is a maximum group size of eight – so the approach is intimate and focuses on the specific strengths and weaknesses of each individual in the room.  It runs from 10.00 am – 5.00 pm and will incorporate theory, a series of exercises and work on an existing pitch or presentation.

Venue: 45 St John Street, EC1M 4AN

Cost: £300+VAT per attendee.

Here’s what previous candidates have said:

“Genuinely great course, delivered perfectly, and immediately relevant to client business. I’ll be implementing the ideas next week.”

Phil Smith, Director, RBS

“In 20 years I have been on numerous presentation courses, most of which I’ve forgotten and, at best, used 5% of the content afterwards. This course blows all the others away – the immediate effects are outstanding and the ‘theory’ is short but brilliant. It worked so significantly for everyone on this course and the transformation for myself and the other delegates is remarkable”.
Rachel Bradman, Naked Recruitment

“Really useful, personally relevant set of insights and techniques!”
Gavin Ingham Brooke, Chief Executive, Spada Ltd

So your daughter is about to flee the nest. The date is set and the venue is booked. You’ve been tapped for a hefty contribution towards the planning of the day. You’re keeping lips sealed about the cost of roses versus peonies, Champagne versus Prosecco, starters versus canapés, the necessities of wedding favours, embossed invitations and petals strewn on tables. You really couldn’t be more supportive of your daughter’s choice of husband and you’ve been charming to her new in-laws. You really are the perfect Father-of-the-Bride. But are you? Have you given enough thought to your most important responsibility? The Speech.

It is the speech that will be remembered when the food, flowers and invitations are forgotten. So it’s essential you get it right. This is (hopefully!) your one opportunity to tell your daughter and others just how proud you are of her. Without coming across as too gushing, smug or sentimental. Here are some tips to achieve the right balance:

1. Don’t turn your speech into a job application or a CV. Yes it’s fine to mention some of your daughter’s achievements, but weave these around the speech rather than listing facts and figures, grades and graduations in a chronological order.
2. Minimise the gush: Father-of-the-Bride speeches have a reputation for being a bit sentimental. That’s ok up to a point. But too much and it starts to sound sycophantic and dull. It’s fine to tell the guests how proud you are of her, but try to pepper the gush with some lighter teasing to balance it up.
3. Ask around: Ask  her friends for stories from school, college or work, your other children for their version of events from the early years, her fiancé about his first impressions of her and your wife for any memorable stories, to get a good, mixed content. 
4. Consult the other speakers: Your biggest risk is covering ground that will be repeated later on in the other speeches. I would strongly recommend that however original you think your speech may be, you have a quick chat with the Groom and Best Man to ensure there is no frustrating overlap.
5. Be nice to her new family: This is not the time to offend your daughter’s in-laws! If you’re mentioning your own family, it would be courteous to mention how welcoming the Groom’s family have been to your daughter and your extended family.  This is also the time to thank them for any contribution they’ve made to the wedding.
6. Peter who?: Although your primary purpose is to talk about your daughter, don’t make the mistake of forgetting to mention your new son-in-law. Love him or loathe him, half the guests are there for him and they’ll be wanting to know how happy you are for them both.
7. Keep it short: Yours is the first speech so don’t let it drag on too long. Make sure it’s no more than 10 minutes (timed when speaking slowly) which on paper is about 1,000 words.
8. It’s not all about you: It may be tempting to focus your speech  solely on your own relationship with your daughter, or indeed your own marriage – reminiscing back to your own wedding. But don’t be too self-centred. This is not your chance to boast about your own relationships!

Factoring in the above tips should help you create a cracking speech and ensure you have a proud and happy daughter at the end of it. For more detailed help and advice contact me any time on 0208 245 8999 or at lawrence@greatspeechwriting.co.uk

Lawrence

This means there’s plenty of room for you to be witty, creative and clever. Ok, don’t panic. Here are some tips to help get you started:

Remember your audience: Don’t write your speech for the boys on the stag do. Whilst some of your mates may be in stitches by you recounting the story of the Groom’s eyebrow being shaved off as he slept in a Majorcan golf buggy dressed in his Spider Man outfit, the rest of the guests are unlikely to be amused and you won’t get the laughs you’re  hoping for. When you’re thinking about what to put in your speech, it’s best to keep your material as universal as possible.

Avoid stand-alone jokes: This may sound odd; after all, this is the one speech where people expect jokes. But punch lines that fall flat can be a nightmare for any speaker, and there are plenty of ways to make people laugh without one.

Work with contradictions and opposites: If the Groom is a renowned drinker, then highlight his sober moments. If he loves Man United then point out your worries that he was a City fan. If he’s particularly camp, send him up as being macho. Similarly compare and contrast his passions and achievements as a boy to the present day. This can create a lovely balance between humour and sincerity.

Play with the audience’s expectations: Ask them a question about the Groom, suggest three potential answers, then surprise them with an entirely unexpected fourth.

Keep it clean (ish): Avoid crude jokes, mentions of ex-girlfriends, anything that might insult guests and in particular the Bride! Best Man’s speeches have a reputation for being a bit saucy, but it’s easy to go too far. Don’t judge a potential story or joke on whether you find it funny, but on whether your audience will be offended by it.

Use language accessible to everyone: If people don’t understand your joke, they won’t find it funny. So don’t use a long word when a short one will do. Don’t use a clever pun if many of the guess have travelled from overseas. And don’t use slang that only a small group of your friends will understand. If something complicated really is necessary, then look confused and explain it with tongue firmly in cheek rather than trying to patronise.

Pick a theme: Anecdotes and observations are key elements of many speeches, but they don’t always link together naturally. Choosing a theme that ties everything together can help it flow and an original and amusing theme is often the difference between a decent speech and a great one.

Keep yourself separate: It’s tempting to focus your speech on your own relationship with the Groom. But if you labour the point too heavily, it can start to sound like narcissism and be very boring for everyone else.

Avoid long stories: I strongly recommend you limit specific anecdotes to a maximum of two or three sentences each. Keeping it snappy will hold people’s attention, and if a story isn’t working, you can move swiftly on.

I hope that helps. Remember the best way to judge whether your speech is amusing or not is to try it out on others. Whether that’s asking a mutual friend or contacting someone like me. I’m always happy to give free advice and act as a sounding board, or of course help edit or write the speech for you.

Good luck and very best wishes

Lawrence

0208 245 8999 | 07799 673 543

Early on, drop in the olden but golden “My wife and I…..”. Loathed as I am to ever suggest a re-cycled line, this one is part of the wedding tradition fabric. It doesn’t matter how many times guests have heard it before, it will always receive a warm cheer and set your nerves at rest.

Include a brief but heartfelt thanks to the hosts (assuming it isn’t you!). If it’s your in-laws you’ll earn brownie points from all sides.

Add a brief mention of those who couldn’t be with you on the day. It allows for a sentimental moment to reflect on and remember loved ones not there. But don’t dwell too long on this – it is a day of celebration after all.

Strike the right balance between talking about how wonderful your new wife is against the more self-deprecating effect she’s had on you and how you’ve changed for the better as a result. Too much slush can leave your audience wilting.

Don’t forget to mention your own parents.  And not just for their contribution to the wedding. Thank them for those things you always took for granted: lifts to school when you were ten, freezing afternoons on the side of a muddy sports field watching you make a fool of yourself, or for helping you learn to drive; anything that demonstrates the love and support they have provided for so long.  Unless they haven’t of course.

Don’t include too much about the Best Man. In-jokes on this front are strictly discouraged.

Include a heartfelt toast to the Bridesmaids. These are quite likely your Bride’s best friends so mention how beautiful they are and what supportive mates they’ve been to your new wife. The guests will love it as much as they will.

The balance between sincerity and humour in the speech is a difficult one for the Groom. It doesn’t provide as much opportunity for raucous laughter as the Best Man’s speech. And nor should it.

Ultimately it is a chance to celebrate your love for your new wife, whilst thanking her and others for helping you reach this point in your life. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of excuses for getting the guests to laugh, clap and generally feel good through your speech. Hopefully I’ve given you some tips for achieving this. But if you have any concerns about creating your own speech, I would be delighted to chat, edit your draft or even write it for you.
Good luck and best wishes
Lawrence

But don’t take too long because you’ve got to get yourself (along with your own bodyweight in bespoke silk tailoring) up to the podium.

Now square up to that ballroom full of faces and imagine a few million more watching you on TV. And a few billion others who’ll watch the You Tube clip in the years to come if you blow it. Your big moment has arrived and if you’re going to survive it in style, you need a few pointers.

Follow our 10 top tips for a winning winner’s speech:

1. Learn your lines. A scrappy piece of paper held in a shaky hand just looks amateurish. You’re A-list now, and you’ve got to act the part. Decide what you’re going to say well in advance of the ceremony, learn it by heart, then make it sound as though you’re speaking off the cuff. You work in showbiz after all, so learning a few lines of dialogue shouldn’t be too hard.
2. Slow down. Not everybody can pull off Tarantino-style patter. Speak more slowly than feels natural, pause between sentences and give your audience a chance to digest what you’ve said. This is your moment of glory. Don’t waste it!
3. Keep things brief. Avoid long paragraphs in favour of short, punchy sentences and leave your audience wanting more. But…
4. Don’t be intimidated by the 45-second rule. Ceremony organisers will try playing music to get you off the stage. Ignore them. This is the one time when you have every right to be a diva. Channel the words of Julia
   Roberts, who refused to get off the stage after winning her Oscar in 2000: “A girl’s got to have her moment. Everybody tries to get me to shut up. It didn’t work with my parents and it didn’t work now.” Well ok, don’t go that far, but over-running by seconds isn’t going to harm anyone.
5. It’s not all about you. Admittedly, there’s nothing worse than an over-gracious speech, reeling off a long list of thank-yous. But there’s also something insufferable about the winner who forgets to credit anybody else. You wouldn’t have won without the work of dozens of other people. So, go on, name check a few of them. But try not to run through them like a shopping list.
6. Don’t drag politics into it. You haven’t brought about peace in the Middle East. You don’t work for the UN. You’re not even competing to be Miss World. You are in showbiz and your job is to entertain. This isn’t the place to rant about your beliefs or causes, no matter how important they are to you.
7. Keep gushing in check. It’s fine to get a bit carried away – you’re excited and overwhelmed after all. But if you’re going to gush, keep things lighthearted. Cuba Gooding Jr got away with shouting manic ‘I love yous’ to various celebrities in 1997, but only because he was funny too.
8. Gulp back those tears. Few of us can remember Gwyneth Paltrow’s weepy acceptance speech without wincing. A few, well-placed snuffles are fine, but don’t waste your big moment – or your make-up – with a sobbing fit. You want people to remember what you say, after all.
9. Go easy on the insults. This is not the time to offend your friends and colleagues. And, unless you’re Ricky Gervais, chances are it will backfire. In fact, even if you are Ricky Gervais, chances are it will backfire.
10. Laugh at yourself. It’s a brilliant way to win over the audience and we Brits tend to excel at it. Colin Firth’s controlled and witty speech at last year’s Oscars is a masterclass in the art of confident self-deprecation.

The winner takes it all

Most great acceptance speeches feature a witty one-liner. Here are five classics:

Thank you very much. That makes up for the strip-search (Woody Allen)

I guess this proves there are as many nuts in the Academy as anywhere else (Jack Nicholson)

Gee, this isn’t like I imagined it would be in the bathtub (Dianne Wiest)

This is one night I wish I smoked and drank (Grace Kelly)

Could you double check the envelope? (Martin Scorsese)

For more information, please call 020 8245 8999, or email Lawrence

1. You are absolutely certain that your version won’t be littered with cut-and-paste jokes and phrases from the internet
2. You have mastered the knack of writing in short punchy sound-bites with natural pauses for breath in the right places
3. You are able to thread a number of themes, stories and ideas into a coherent, seamless script
4. You have a natural feel for how to create the right balance between humour and sincerity in a speech
5. You have lots of spare time to craft a number of drafts of a speech until you are certain that not one word is wasted
6. You understand the best ways to weave the mundane lists of wedding-day ‘thank yous’ into the speech so no one quite realises how many people you have mentioned
7. You have the knack of developing your speech around a theme to hold it together
8. You instinctively know how certain words and phrases just don’t work when spoken out loud
9. You are able to sum up long stories and complicated relationships in a small and interesting couple of phrases
10. You can read through the speech you have written and be certain that it is entirely original and relevant to the audience on the day
11. You are certain that when you stand up you won’t wish you’d got some help
12. You are certain that when you sit down again you won’t wish you’d got some help

If you can say ‘yes’ to that lot then PLEASE don’t ask me to write your speech.  In fact, please do me a favour and give me a call to ask for work.

But if by any remote chance you can’t, please feel free to call me on 020 8245 8999 to discuss how I might be able to help you create the speech of your life!

Best wishes

Lawrence

Things are looking good, but the pitfalls aren’t all out the way.

Because there is nothing worse than a speaker who takes two minutes to introduce himself and then uses long, winding sentences like this one to make a point that could have been made much more clearly in far less time and using far fewer words.

The secret is brevity.  Not terseness.  Just the use of short, sharp punchy sound bites to make your point in a crisp, memorable way.

There are tricks to achieve this.  For a start, break long sentences up into shorter ones.  Then try and split those up wherever possible.  These breaks should be created at a convenient place to breathe (and pause for effect) when you are speaking.

Like this …

… and this …

… and, most importantly …

… like this.

Secondly, try to avoid convoluted ways of explaining something simple.  For example:

“The problem with playing three centre forwards is that each forward is based in the attacking third of the pitch which can leave a massive gap in midfield to be filled by less players, meaning that the defence gets pulled out of shape.”

Could be changed to:

“Selecting three forwards can leave holes behind them in midfield …

… that defenders are forced to cover.”

Thirdly, read your sentence out loud after you have written them.  You may find that what looks good on the page, doesn’t sound so good when you hear it.

Finally, remember this sad fact (it’s actually an estimate):

A day after you have spoken, few of your audience will remember your key message, fewer still will have remembered your second message, and only a handful will remember more than one example you highlighted.

So see if you can compact a twenty minute speech into fifteen, and don’t worry about being too brief.

Please feel free to call me on +44 20 8245 8999 to discuss the impact of your speech or presentation in more detail.  Best wishes, Lawrence

But although being relevant will help you convince your audience to listen for a while, it isn’t enough on its own to hook them in.   And so once you have decided what your key message is going to be, you need to wrap it in an original way.

Don’t worry.  This doesn’t mean you need to wear a bizarre costume, Morris dance  or sing.  But whatever the event at which you are speaking, you need to convince your audience that they are going to learn something new from you.  And the best way to do that is to communicate a little differently.

There’s obviously a catch here.  If I give you an original idea then it will immediately cease to be original.  But I can give three examples of people who have managed to present relevant ideas in ways that have really made an impact on the audiences concerned.

Like the energy consultant who flew off to a meeting in Cape Town last April and linked the various elements of a new technology his firm had launched to the preparations for the Royal Wedding.  This enabled the less technical members of the audience to enjoy the speech and understand his role.  He was congratulated the following day on being the most impressive speaker at that year’s conference.

Then there’s the example of the accountant given fifteen minutes to speak on the difference between tax evasion and avoidance.  This is obviously a technical issues with major consequences.  Avoidance leaves more money sitting in your personal account.  Evasion gains you a stretch behind bars.  And so she started by telling a story about life in Ford Open prison.  Her audience were captivated.  And their interest grew when she explained that was exactly what they could be facing if they failed to listen to some of the finer details that were to follow.

Finally, there was a father-of-the-bride at a wedding.  His speech was relevant enough, but it just lacked a little bite.  Until he mentioned that his daughter had spent the first twenty years of her life obsessed with the musical Grease.  As a result, he wove together the key stories and characters from her life using song titles and lyrics sung by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.  The following week he and his wife started receiving thank you letters for the wedding.  And the vast majority referred to his speech as being the best they had ever heard.

These examples are obviously pretty random.  There is, sadly, no formula for originality.  It disappears the minute you try to adhere to a template.  And that’s why every speech we write at Great Speech Writing begins on a blank piece of paper.

But if you can combine a relevant approach with an original way of communicating the message then you are on well on track.

Please feel free to call me on +44 20 8245 8999 to discuss the impact of your speech or presentation in more detail.  Best wishes, Lawrence

In the age of Twitter, I’m often asked to help clients avoid this fate in 140 characters.  Fortunately, I can often cut that to nine:

RELEVANCE.

Whether a client is speaking at a wedding, a business conference or in Parliament, the same principle applies.  Because a speech, any speech, needs to create an impact if people are going to enjoy and remember it.  And there is no better way to make that impact than by making it one hundred percent relevant to your audience.

Relevance comes in different shapes and sizes.  From a strategic perspective it means focusing on benefits rather than features.  This is a fundamental rule of any form of communication, but when it comes to speeches, and particularly speeches on a technical subject, there is a tendency to push common-sense to one side and tell people an awful lot about what you know, at the expense of what they really want and need to hear.

As a result, many business speeches and presentations begin with a hugely detailed section ‘about us’ which incorporates ‘who we are’, ‘what we do’, and ‘what our latest great product or service is all about’.

This may be all true.  And it may also be incredibly interesting to you.  But an audience is likely to be stifling the yawns and reaching for its emails before you have even got going.

Relevance means approaching things back-to-front.  It means engaging their interest from the start; demonstrating that it is really worth giving you their complete and undivided attention before you even start to explain the technical aspect of what you do.

And so if you are explaining to an audience why your new product is going to transform the way they work, please don’t start by telling them how long you’ve been working on it, what its ingredients are, or where your offices are based.  Think about how they will use it, the problems it will solve, and the frustrations it will alleviate.

Similarly, if you are Best Man at a wedding, the worst possible way to start your speech is by talking about yourself for too long, and by regaling the guests with long and detailed stories that demonstrate why you and the Groom are such good mates.  By all means introduce yourself, but then imagine you are in the audience before you start writing.  This isn’t about you, it’s about them and him.  And you are simply a conduit for sharing relevant, interesting and amusing information about him.

In short, if a speech isn’t relevant, it is highly likely to fail.  Audiences have short attention spans.  The twitching of a thumb may no longer spell the end of a life, but it can provide a clear indication that your speech or presentation is facing an early death.

Please feel free to call me on +44 20 8245 8999 to discuss the impact of your speech or presentation in more detail.  Best wishes, Lawrence

Comments included:

“This was an excellent course made all the better by the quality of the presenters and the variety of the other delegates”.

Francie Healy, Headmaster of the Bethany School

“Excellent food for thought”

Andreas Kruger, Company Director of LockRite

“Absolutely fantastic!”

Jo Eatwell, Director of Graphic Design Agency, Shi Shi Ishi

Future courses

The next course takes place on Friday 13 January 2012.  There are still a couple of spaces remaining.

Please email anna@greatspeechwriting.co.uk if you’d like to book a place.

Keep it original. It’s fine to include the odd predictable line (‘my wife and I’ for instance), but don’t go overboard or your speech will sound like an internet cut and paste. It’s better to sacrifice humour for originality than the other way round.

Thank your new in-laws (particularly if they are hosting the wedding). Your bride might not get the opportunity to thank them publically for all they’ve done for her, so it’s up to you to do it on her behalf – and they’ll love you for it.

Mention your own parents.  And not just for contributing the flowers.  Looking back over decades of parenting, it is unlikely that their contribution to the wedding is actually their finest moment.  Thank them for lifts to school when you were ten, freezing afternoons on the side of a muddy sports field watching you make a fool of yourself, or for helping you learn to drive; anything that demonstrates the love and support they have provided for so long.  Unless they haven’t of course.

Don’t forget this is a celebration of love. It isn’t an opportunity for a ten minute comedy stand up routine, so try to balance your hilarious one-liners with a good dollop of sincerity. What is it about your wife that you love? How has your life changed (for the better!) since she’s been in it? Which of your bad habits does she have to put up with? Most importantly, make your guests feel that they have sacrificed an entire day of their lives (with all the associated costs) for a damn good reason.

Don’t spend more time building up the Best Man than the Bride.  Although it’s nice to reference the Best Man and poke a bit of fun at him, remember that your wedding day is about your relationship with your Bride not your best mate.  I jest not.  I receive countless drafts by email where the bride appears to be no more than an excuse to have had a damn good stag do.

She’s your ‘wife’ so feel free to mention it! Nothing gets more of heart-warming cheer than the line “my wife and I…”. Yes it’s predicable and a little bit cheesy, but the novelty of hearing it for the first time never fails to please your new bride, or your guests for that matter. And that cheer will relax a nervous speaker no end.

Mention how she looks. Beautiful, gorgeous, stunning …. however you chose to say it, make sure you remark on her appearance. This is a once in a life time opportunity to tell your wife in front of a large collection of your friends and family that you fancy her.  Unless you don’t.  And even then, this is probably the one time in your life that it’s worth lying through your teeth.

Leave out the ex-girlfriends. However ‘relaxed’ your wife is about your past, there’s a time and a place for referencing the exes and the Groom’s speech isn’t one of them.  I’m a big believer in a speech ‘riskometer’ where anything that could cause offence to anyone is edited out at source.

Talk to her. The more sincere elements of your speech may be far more powerful and personal if, when you’re talking about your wife, you actually look at and make eye contact with her. And address her as ‘you’ rather than ‘she’.

Liaise with her Dad.  Assuming he is speaking before you, it’s worth checking that you are not going to be duplicating too many thanks or anecdotes about your bride, how you met, or the proposal.

And if you’re still not feeling particularly comfortable, then please let me know and I’ll write it for you!

“Genuinely great course, delivered perfectly, and immediately relevant to client business. I’ll be implementing the ideas next week.”

Phil Smith, Director, RBS

“Really useful, personally relevant set of insights and techniques!”
Gavin Ingham Brooke, Chief Executive, Spada Ltd

There are many presentation courses available but our ‘Present with Impact’ is unique. The combination of an expert in presentation writing and messaging (Lawrence) and a highly experienced, first class presentation trainer (Hugo) ensures that the two fundamental elements in any pitch – content and delivery – are covered in unison. Each of our previous courses has achieved fantastic, measurable results, and clients have remarked on the discernable improvement in their communication by the end of a single day.

The next course takes place on Thursday 17 November.  It has a business focus, and is relevant to you if you need help communicating under pressure, winning a pitch, or simply refining and improving the way you sell yourself and your company.

We have sourced a new venue in Farringdon which is relaxed and informal and only a couple of minutes walk from the overland and underground.

There is a maximum group size of eight –  so the approach is intimate and focuses on the specific strengths and weaknesses of each individual in the room.  It runs from 10.00 am – 5.00 pm and will incorporate theory, a series of exercises and work on an existing pitch or presentation.

Date: Thursday 17 November 2011

Time: 10.00 am – 5.00 pm

Venue: 45 St John Street, EC1M 4AN

Cost: £300+VAT per attendee.

Please  call us or email Anna to book or for more information.

“Genuinely great course, delivered perfectly, and immediately relevant to client business. I’ll be implementing the ideas next week.”

Phil Smith, Director, RBS

“Really useful, personally relevant set of insights and techniques!”
Gavin Ingham Brooke, Chief Executive, Spada Ltd

There are many presentation courses available but our ‘Present with Impact’ is unique. The combination of an expert in presentation writing and messaging (Lawrence) and a highly experienced, first class presentation trainer (Hugo) ensures that the two fundamental elements in any pitch – content and delivery – are covered in unison. Each of our previous courses has achieved fantastic, measurable results, and clients have remarked on the discernable improvement in their communication by the end of a single day.

The next course takes place on Thursday 17 November.  It has a business focus, and is relevant to you if you need help communicating under pressure, winning a pitch, or simply refining and improving the way you sell yourself and your company.

We have sourced a new venue in Farringdon which is relaxed and informal and only a couple of minutes walk from the overland and underground.

There is a maximum group size of eight –  so the approach is intimate and focuses on the specific strengths and weaknesses of each individual in the room.  It runs from 10.00 am – 5.00 pm and will incorporate theory, a series of exercises and work on an existing pitch or presentation.

Date: Thursday 17 November 2011

Time: 10.00 am – 5.00 pm

Venue: 45 St John Street, EC1M 4AN

Cost: £300+VAT per attendee.

Please  call us or email Anna to book or for more information.

Content – The good, the bad and the ugly

Clegg
Good – A speech that flowed well, linked seamlessly from topic to topic, and led with the clear message that this is a time for Liberals, not extremists.
Bad – The constant bleating that ‘We’re doing a lot really well. But we keep forgetting to tell anyone about it. So we keep losing.’ sounded a little too much like a schoolboy explaining his duff end-of-term report to his parents.
Ugly – the lurking fear that style is defeating substance

Milliband
Good – A simple narrative written in compelling sound-bites, many of which read better on paper than they actually sounded. Clear on being pro-business, and drew clear line between Tory and Labour economic policy.
Bad – 60 words didn’t seem quite enough to cover the party’s entire foreign policy (and over 50 of those were targeted at our troops).
Ugly – At Great Speech Writing we write many Groom speeches, and there was a horrible moment when we worried that Ed had picked up the wrong script. Surely the time had passed to tell Mrs M in public that he adored her. Even more worrying was when he seemed to be admitting to a serious crush on Harriet Harman.

Cameron
Good – Seamless links from subject to subject and a running theme of leadership that worked from a speech perspective. Cleverly briefed the media 24 hours earlier than usual to ensure that Boris’ speech was overshadowed.
Bad – Never a great idea to back-track on the content you’ve leaked on the morning of the speech.
Ugly: “I lead to unleash your leadership”. Not quite Disraeli. Or even Ian Duncan Smith.

Relevance

The key to any great speech is to decide who it is targeted at and to pitch right at them.
Cameron spoke to the outside world via the hall – and appeared Prime Ministerial in the process. Clegg addressed the hall, talked directly to his audience and even thanked them for listening. It worked.
Milliband got very confused. At times he was speaking to the conference. At others to the country when his style was more party political broadcast. And at one stage he just got completely confused by looking at the audience and saying: “I believe in my conversations with you the British people I am determined we restore your trust in us on the economy”. Agghhh!

Those mixed-metaphors in a nutshell (with no armbands)

Nick Clegg – “Don’t apologise because we’ve all opened a door to enable our stick of rock to punch above its weight. But it’s not a walk in the environmentally friendly park full of predators.”
Ed Milliband – “I’m not interested in consolation prizes so we’re going to rip up the old set of rules, which were built on sand under a safety net full of holes, to create a new bargain and write a new chapter.”
David Cameron – “The world’s a mess but under my leadership we’ll turn the British ship round by laying strong foundations to bail out the last Labour government with armbands off.”

Originality

Cameron wasn’t. Milliband tried to be. At times Clegg actually was. He managed to sound honest, regretful and upbeat all at once. And which other party leader has ever talked for so long about being disliked? He may also be the first to re-package a quote from a footballer (Roy Keane’s prawn sandwiches).

The love-in

Cameron was obviously keen not to antagonise his friend Nick, and even used the phrase “Nick Clegg and I” which harked back to the golden days of the Leadership Debate and Gordon’s plaintive “I agree with Nick”.
In fact, Cameron fell so solidly into line with Nick that he didn’t just cut and paste his attack on Labour’s economic policy, but also used some very similar adjectives to describe British values.
And to top it all, he even borrowed Nick’s tie.
There wasn’t much love for Ed – but he gave it out in bucket-loads to his wife, Ed Balls, Harriet Harman and the NHS.

Memorable sound-bites

Clegg – From the good: “We are in nobody’s pocket” and “From the easy promises of opposition to the invidious choices of government” to the meaningless: “Our home, our children, our future” to the Partridge-esque: “Masters of the universe became masters of destruction” (the latter met by a notable dearth of applause).
Milliband – The speech was one rolling-sound-bite including: “I’m my own man”, “He betrayed your trust”, “You can’t trust the Tories on the National Health Service” and “Producers versus the predators”. The latter was one of many examples of EM trying to create a distinct ‘good and evil’ feel to the political landscape. And that worked.
Cameron – Light, airy and safe phrases including: “We can turn this ship around”, “We’re going to get Britain back to work” and “our new economy”. “Leadership” was obviously his key theme and word. One half expected him to raise a glove Gary Glitter style, chanting that he was the leader of the gang. Cameron was also keen to appear as international as possible, bouncing from continent to continent in a way that’s only really possible during the draw for the World Cup Finals.

Balance between humour and sincerity

It is vital to create the right balance, but only if the humour works. And most of it was lame.
Clegg was the best, realising that this was a party conference and not an audition for the Comedy Store. His persecution complex lines were good (inspired by Woody Allen?) but he undermined them slightly with one-too-many sycophantic references to conference darling Paddy Ashdown (fast becoming the Liberal Lady T).
Milliband began with a stand-up routine that moved swiftly from brother jokes to “Ed nose day”. But things got even worse with the inevitable Blair-esque popular culture reference: ”The computer says no”. Only a few years too late there Ed. He did make a good quip about Clegg not keeping his promises, but all-in-all there were many too many weak jokes.
Cameron was a disappointment here. Rather than settling for a couple of sharp one-liners, he tried the scatter-gun approach which left him a gap of less than twenty seconds between joking about Boris and “The Joy of … Cycling” (ho ho) to Colonel Gadaffi providing the IRA with semtex (which wasn’t a joke at all but threatened to be). The low-point was the crack about diabetics in the EU. Nope, still not funny.

Predecessors

Clegg dropped-in Gladstone after 5 mins and Ashdown wherever possible. But didn’t mention Ming Campbell. Funny that.
Milliband mentioned Kinnock before he’d drawn breath, and Blair and Brown soon afterwards . To a mixed reaction.
Cameron waited 37 minutess before reeling off a list including Lady T. And that pleased the conference so much, he mentioned her again thirty seconds later.

Delivery

As clients of Great Speech Writing are well aware, great content is useless without great delivery.
Great delivery means a well paced speech, demonstrating appropriate levels of energy and emotion, and ongoing eye contact with the audience.

Clegg – was the only leader who sounded passionate and appeared to mean it. His body language was a throw back to that first leadership debate – with good movement of the arms helped by a transparent podium that opened him up to the audience.
His long pause for a sip of water after five minutes energised him (was it vodka?), and stepping away from the podium was something only he did – and something that served the dual purpose of making him look relaxed whilst breaking up the monotony of a forty five minute speech.
Interestingly, he spent much time looking to those ahead of him and to his left – but rarely glanced right. Read into that what you will. Perhaps he had cricked his neck?

Milliband – is, sadly, not a born communicator. He has been well trained and spoke slowly and methodically, but he still seems unable to emphasise the right words. This can ruin potentially bold and passionate remarks. Take, for example, his confusing execution of the punch-line “Don’t mess with Rupert Murdoch”, after which we feared that he was about to burst out crying.
Despite his claims that the nose op’ was a success, the nasal whine is still an issue, making his cries for action sound akin to a schoolboy pleading with his teacher for more homework.
Unlike Clegg, his sips of water leave much room for improvement, looking as they do like he is auditioning for a future role playing Mr Bean.

Cameron remains the master of delivery. He decided to present himself as a leader and carried it off. Great eye contact despite the layers of make-up, great movement of the hands and effortless gravitas. His comic pauses were all well-timed despite some appalling material, and he appeared to be in complete command of his material and his audience.

Conclusions

Ten years have passed since Tony Blair’s ‘kaleidoscope’ speech after 9/11 – the greatest conference speech of the past twenty years.
In that time, a new generation of party leaders has emerged. And they share many similarities – from their age and worrying lack of stubble, to their centralist messages and carefully stage-managed performances.
In practise there was not a huge amount to choose between them, but Nick Clegg exceeded expectations and it is always hard for Cameron to live up to his. Milliband’s public speaking record means that he can easily outperform his benchmark, but his delivery still sits far behind the other two.
None of these speeches was exceptional. None will be remembered in ten years time. But casting the politics aside, we have Clegg’s content and delivery ahead of Cameron by a short head.

But if the leaders’ failed to shine particularly brightly, then who did?
Balls versus Osbourne remains the most fascinating duel in British politics. Both value substance over style, and both are genuine heavyweights. Balls will never charm a crowd like any of the party leaders, but his speech was well-written, clear and powerful.
Boris entertained in his unique style, and remains alone in his willingness to be original and break the rules.
Of the younger generation, Labour’s Rory Weal stole the show, winning a gold star for his passion and bravery, and a detention for hackneyed content.
Perhaps he is destined to be the next William Hague – a party conference veteran who is undoubtedly the most devastatingly effective and accomplished public speaker in Westminster. The way he brought to life the graveyard slot at the start of the conference was a lesson to us all.
He may well take us back to the future by becoming the next leader of the party. Other prospective candidates for centre stage include the effective Yvette Cooper and two outside hopefuls in Jeremy Hunt and Jim Murphy- both tall men prowling the stage without notes. Where can they have got that idea from?
Finally, let’s not forget that George Osbourne gave a strong speech that was overshadowed by the freeing of Amanda Knox. And the Prime Minister was knocked-off the front pages by Steve Jobs. There’s no cure for bad timing.
Whilst Theresa May remembered the importance of getting your facts right.

To conclude, it isn’t only politics converging into the centre ground. Speechwriters and coaches are too. We all yearn for the conference speeches of yore, given by politicians with the conviction, imagination and passion to step away from the consultancy template and daring to be original.

An unexpected introduction:

Just as you’re summoning up the courage to deliver your perfectly prepared speech, you hear yourself being introduced by the Master of Ceremonies  in less than flattering terms. And worse still, the audience giggling away at his joke. Unless you have a truly witty response up your sleeve, the safe and mature way of acknowledging this dig is to thank him for his ‘kind’ introduction and then move on to your pre-prepared speech. An ad lib comeback could be tremendous if it works, but you’re not sure, don’t try!

The speaker before you steals your material

Okay, he or she might not intentionally pilfer your ideas, but you may find they make many of the points you’d included in your speech.  If you don’t have the confidence to rethink your speech at the last minute, your best bet is to start by thanking them for ensuring that you won’t need to speak for as long as you’d planned.  But remember, the best way to avoid this issue entirely is to chat to the other speakers before the wedding.

The microphone doesn’t work

Don’t panic; this can actually work in your favour. It’s an excuse for you to create a Blitz sprit! If people can’t hear you, ask them to stand up and move closer to the front. Speak even more slowly (and obviously much louder) than if you had a microphone. As with any technical issue of this sort, your audience will feel sorry for you and should be even more supportive of your speech.

There’s a heckler

Whilst it’s unlikely, it’s possible that someone might have a drink too many and decide it’s funny to interrupt your speech. Remember this is their problem, not yours. The rest of your audience will want to hear what you have to say, and most irritated by the interruption. Bearing this in mind, pause, try to smile politely, thank them for their ‘helpful’ feedback (!) and then continue.

Moments after your speech finishes

You’re probably expecting a round of applause, and may be shocked to be met by complete silence. But it’s nothing you’ve done wrong – simply that you’ve just asked the entire audience to stand up and make a toast with a glass in their hand. This makes clapping a bit tricky, so expect them to need a moment or two before they sit down again and cheer you to the rafters!

You simply can’t prepare for every eventuality. If the lights go out, something smashes, or you forget something important, just stay calm. And remember to have a sense of perspective. The guests are here because two people are getting married, not just to hear you speak.

Very best luck on the day

Lawrence

In some cases, even the best content and coaching on delivery are not enough.  Because the speaker needs to get to the root of their concerns before starting to work on the speech itself.  Which is why I am delighted to include this Guest Post from someone who can get to the real heart of a public speaking phobia.

Jacky Lewis is a trainer, coach and existential psychotherapist who runs Training Matters London.  Jacky works with clients to conquer many of the issues that can undermine their professional lives.  In the following article she explains a possible way to adapt your mindset when the nerves kick-in.

Please let me know if you would like me to introduce you to Jacky.

Guest Post: Overcoming the Psychology of Nervousness

Many people feel a high level of anxiety when confronted with delivering a speech or presentation.  They feel their legs have turned to jelly, they develop a dry mouth, feel sweaty, shaky, their hearts beat faster…they are experiencing classic stress symptoms.  But have you ever stopped to think why this should be?  Why don’t they just sail through it, deliver their message and feel proud of what they’ve said?  The answer may be in the hidden unchallenged assumptions that we all carry inside and that we allow to ‘disable’ our thinking. 
There’s no reason why should perform below par once we understand how to master these thoughts.  Here are a few unhelpful and limiting assumptions I’ve come across over the years; can you identify with any of these…?

• I’m afraid I’ll feel vulnerable / exposed when I stand up to make a speech.
• I’ll look stupid.
• Everyone in the audience could do this better than me.
• They won’t be interested in what I have to say.
• I’m not interesting; they’ll find me boring.
• I am no expert on this subject.
• People will ‘find me out’.
• I hate operating outside my comfort zone.

When we are training people to present with confidence, it is interesting to find out that most of us share some of these same misgivings.  The problem is that your audience is ‘attuned’ to picking up these signals of insecurity in the speaker; they may well switch off if she or he presents in an under confident or unconvincing manner.  So you need to start your presentation as you mean to go on; with a high level of assurance and transmitting a ‘can-do’ mind-set.  Convince your audience that they’re lucky to be hearing you!

So what can you do…?

Begin by making a list of your own personal unchallenged assumptions and then start to challenge them. Ask yourself ‘what is the evidence that people won’t be interested in my message?’.  Then ask what makes you think you’ll be boring, and so on. Work through your personal negative points; try discussing them with a friend.  Your unchallenged assumptions will be less powerful when you share them with others.
Now go on to picture yourself when you listen to a presentation; aren’t you usually open and interested in what the speaker has to say?  If he or she starts off their presentation with a strong level of confidence and self belief,  they will take you with them; you’ll be ‘on side’. People in your audience are much less judgmental that you think (or fear) they are; you just have to decide that you can inspire them.  Getting your message across and motivating your audience is largely a matter of believing you can do it and demonstrating that.  What did the author Susan Jeffers say? ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’……  Good luck!

Irrelevance

Powerpoint can be a great way bolster a presentation or to make a point clearer. But it’s important to remember that it should only provide support material for a presentation that stands on its own.   Don’t use a slide to tell the story, but to illustrate it and bring it to life.  If a slide isn’t adding value then just bin it.

Too Many Graphics

If you’re explaining to your colleagues why there are going to be redundancies in the coming year, you don’t have to do it by zipping a cartoon dog across the screen, accompanied by a faded-in speech bubble containing the words “cut-backs” and a Dog Bark SFX.
Clever graphics are no longer a ‘wow’ because everyone knows how they work, and there’s a danger that too much blinking, fading and twisting will simply make it look like you’re using style to cover up a lack of content.

Too Much Information

In any form of presentation, the most important thing to remember is that your primary job is not to convey all of the relevant information. Regardless of how well written/performed a presentation is, very little of the actual information you put across will be retained. Rather, the whole point of presenting is to make an impact. As a golden rule, if something needs a hundred words on a powerpoint slide, you may as well drop it to your audience on an email.

Too many slides

There is nothing worse than being in an audience and realising that you are about to be delivered ‘War and Peace’ in PowerPoint.  It’s all about being crisp and relevant, so don’t overdo it.  As a rule of thumb, a slide-per-minute is ample.  And that’s assuming it only contains a handful of words, one diagram, or a single picture.

Dark backgrounds

They may look clever on your laptop, but they’ll make any slide almost impossible to read when they are projected.  The projection will often change the tint, and make them blend into the words.  So that beige font on a brown background is a definite no go.

Take your time

Think about the most powerful or influential speakers you’ve heard. As a general rule they will speak very slowly. This is actually very easy, and a great trick to earn yourself the confidence of the room. Look at this video of Barrack Obama. He speaks very slowly, and very clearly. His audience knows that he doesn’t need to rush; that he’s in control of the situation, and taking it at his own pace. Not only does it make the process of public speaking easier, it also simply sounds more controlled. And it’s easier to take-in what he’s saying.

Use your hands

Moving them doesn’t just help illustrate your point. It also helps release nervous energy, enabling you to speak more confidently.

Print your speech or presentation onto cue cards

Partly, this is useful for the simple reason that a cue card is smaller than a sheet of A4. However, actually the biggest thing you gain from having cue cards is the confidence they inspire in both you and your audience. From the audience’s perspective, you have clearly prepared for the speech you are giving; you have approached it in a professional way, and seemingly have done this before. From your own perspective, having the cards there at all will remind you that you are equipped to deliver this speech. Psychologically, this puts the ball in your court.

Hold your cue cards at about chest level and about half a foot in front of you

This way, when you look up at the audience, your speech will still be in your eye-line. You should not be presenting something purely by looking down at a piece of paper. Look up. Make sure the audience know that they’re your focal point; that they’re what’s important to you. When you watch a speech by somebody doing nothing more than looking down and reading from their notes, you can’t help but think they may as well just hand the piece of paper out and request half an hour’s silence for everybody to get up to speed. The reason they are watching a person, rather than reading a sheet of paper, is because they want someone to talk to them, to engage with them; someone in whom they can have confidence.

Glance, don’t read

You don’t have to know it word for word, but you certainly should only be presenting something to a room full of people, if you’ve practiced it beforehand. Speaking slowly enough to give you time to glance down at your notes between sound-bites will make a huge difference.

Smile

You may be shaking during the speech; you may even be terrified. However, what you must not be is miserable. Or, at least, you mustn’t look it. A frowning speaker is a reluctant speaker; someone out of their depths, perhaps. Nothing gets you the respect of a room like standing in front of 50, 60, 100 people and simply smiling back at them. Socially, it shows the audience that they’re in for a good time. Professionally, it shows you’ve got all the answers. Put it this way, if you were looking to buy a fridge-freezer from two men; one of whom was smiling and the other of whom was crying, who would get your business?

Perform a little

Pick relevant people to look in the eyes. If you’re talking about the company director, and he’s in the room, then look at him! You don’t need to bound round the stage, yelping, to get people’s attention. But you also won’t be interesting to watch simply standing still. These little touches can make the difference between a good presentation and a great one.

I hope you find these tips useful. Please let me know if you would like help preparing for your next speech or presentation. ]]> http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/speechwriting/tips-for-presenting-with-authority/feed/ 5 http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/speechwriting/royal-endorsement/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=royal-endorsement http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/speechwriting/royal-endorsement/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:04:54 +0000 Lawrence http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/?p=1101 We were honoured and delighted that the Queen and her son and heir took a few hours off from their busy schedules to spread the word on our behalf on Friday.

Thank you Ma’am.

Royal Endorsement for Great Speech Writing

“Such a great day. A revelation! I feel a different person and wish I had done something like this years ago”
Gilly Kitching, Director, Inspiration Events

“An excellent day – thought provoking and provided outstanding advice to take away and put into practice”
Tim Maynard, Spada

“Brilliant”
Lawrence Hutchison, Account Director, Vivid Brand

“The course was absolutely fantastic. Not only did I find it useful and relevant to my presentation but also in how I approach my day to day communication in advertising”
Graeme Gillet, The Network

Every attendee marked the ‘Course Content’, the ‘Trainers’ and the ‘Overall Impact’ of the course as 5 out of 5.

The next course takes place on Thursday 7th April.  There are still a couple of spaces remaining.

The biggest issue in many cases is ‘listing’.  The thanks can be endless, suffocating the speech and bearing the wrong sort of comparisons with the worst Oscar acceptances.

The best speeches weave the necessary ‘thanking’ around their more creative elements so the audience hardly realise you’re running through a list at all. Here’s a quick summary of the key ‘thanks’ that should be included if yours is a standard wedding with a relatively orthodox set of speeches.

The Father of the Bride Speech

1. The guests – particularly those who’ve travelled a long way 
2. Your wife – for organising the day/ bringing up your daughter/ putting up with you!
3. You may also want to mention your other children, the vicar or equivalent and any friends who have helped with the organisation of the day

The Groom Speech

1. The Father of the Bride for his speech (and kind words about you if appropriate)
2. The guests (ensuring it ties in with what your father-in-law has said)
3. Your new-in-laws for producing your wife!
4. Your Bride – for saying yes!
5. Your own family
6. Any elderly or ‘special’ guests
7. The Best Man and Ushers
8. The Bridesmaids

Your list may overlap with the Father of the Bride, so it is worth trying to share them between you.  You may also want to mention guests who can’t be there and thank anyone from the wedding planner to the flower arranger (although I suggest that you restrict your thanks to volunteers rather than paid professionals – including your speech writer!)

The Best Man Speech

1. Your hosts
2. The Groom (for asking you to be his best man/for being a good mate)

This list is short and sweet. Yours is the speech with most room for creativity and fun and less need for thanks.  Your role is to provide amusement rather than sincerity.  However, it is still worth checking with the Groom that he doesn’t want you to take any of them off his plate.  This can be particularly useful if there is a thank you that will tip him over the edge!That’s the high level summary.  Please don’t assume anything and always check with the other speakers that you are not going to cover the same ground.  Good luck, and please feel free to call me at any time if you’d like some help turning your ‘tick list’ of thank yous into something that resembles an entertaining speech rather than a school register.

Lawrence

For example, we had endless requests in May 2010 for speeches referencing the new ‘coalition’ (get it?!). And few speeches last Spring avoided references to volcanic ash.

 It is difficult to know what the trends for 2011 will be. Anyone marrying between March and May in 2011 will be plagued by the inevitable comparisons with the royal wedding. A pithy line or two about how the bride and groom compare to Wills and Kate will always go down well. And for the more outdoorsy couples, the ‘other’ royal wedding between Sara Philips and Mike Tindall will generate more possibilities.

Sports events often feature highly in wedding speeches, particularly when bride or groom are passionate about a particular team.  And so England’s Ashes victory will pave the way for a number of cricketing (and Australia-related) gags, as will the Champions League Final that is being held at Wembley this May.

But whereas topics like these are transient, wedding speeches also reflect the trends in the wedding community at large.

For example, internet romances have increasingly become the status quo. It is no longer the ‘unmentionable’ in the wedding speech and can actually provide ample material for humour and memorable dating stories. There is a huge amount of potential in speculating about how the couple’s profiles may have been read had they been a little more honest about their interests and achievements.

On a related theme, the internet has spawned huge numbers of international marriages, with couples sometimes living thousands of miles apart for much of their engagement. In these cases the speech giver needs to give thought to the two different cultures involved, how best to deal with language barriers (simple English, extracts in translation and photos can help), be sensitive to the distances travelled by guests, and incorporate any key cultural toasts or traditions.

Meanwhile, the traditional agenda of three speeches at every wedding given by the father-of-the-bride, groom and best man is also being revolutionised.  More and more weddings are witnessing speeches by the bride or a bridesmaid.  And it is not unusual for mother’s to give away their children and speak at the reception.

Multi-cultural weddings have also introduced new speech-related customs.  Swedish weddings often include  a brief speech from anyone who has the inclination (or the right amount of Schnapps) to take the microphone.  Hindu weddings regularly include a number of speeches by members of both families.

And with an increasing number of Pink Weddings every year, there are a separate series of decisions to make regarding who speaks when and says what about who.  And almost without exception, this room for flexibility can lead to the funniest and most memorable set of speeches of the entire season.

Whatever the trend, your speech should always be original and relevant. Don’t look too far afield for your material, or try to be too clever with it. Remember that every ‘DIY’ speech site has a load of useable material within it, but the best lines will all have been used at thousands of weddings before yours.

If you need any help or advise you can call me on 07970 046 230 or email lawrence@greatspeechwriting.co.uk.

Here’s to another year of great speechwriting!

Luckily, Great Speech Writing has much experience in the art of getting it right.

Here are some top speech tips to spare the royal blushes:

- Pace yourself. This is Buckingham Palace, not Mahiki, You need a clear head rather than Dutch courage.
- Give any costumes a wide berth, particularly anything featuring army uniforms or black face paint.
- Ignore advice from certain well-meaning friends. They haven’t got it right in the past and they won’t come to your rescue now.
- Avoid referring to the bride and groom by any tabloid nicknames – eg Waity Katy.
- Don’t mention ‘doors to manual’. In fact, avoid talking about air travel altogether to be on the safe side.
- Try not to mention the couple’s ‘break’. However harmless the joke sounds to you, it will almost certainly result in glares – and possibly tears – from the bride.
- Keep it short. This way, there is far less room for error.
- Don’t forget to thank everyone who needs thanking, particularly the Queen – but don’t call her Granny!

Digested all the above? Then you’re ready for the next stage.

Here are five key points you need to include

1. Telegrams. It falls to the best man to deliver these and when the stash at your disposal could include missives from Barack Obama or Nelson Mandela, you’d be mad to pass up the opportunity to litter your speech with the words of some of the greatest living orators.
2. Toasts. Another good way to get through a few minutes at the podium. It falls to the best man to thank the bridesmaids. Keep it brief and clean – strictly no lecherous Harry remarks about the best man and chief bridesmaid.
3. The happy couple. Another toast, and the most important of all. Focus, here, Harry. You need to give it gravitas. It’s about two people becoming one, etc, but avoid the words ‘two people’ and ‘marriage’ in the same sentence. There’s a small chance it will jolt your audience’s memories back to a certain 1996 Panorama interview featuring the infamous ‘three people in this marriage’ remark. Red faces all round.
4. Thank ever so. When all else fails, thanking is your safety net. Nobody can object to effusive gratitude, except, that is, if you forget to thank someone. Stick to the key players and sound like you mean it.
5. Prince Charming. This is where it gets tricky. Be funny by all means, but only if it isn’t going to offend. Go easy on his military exploits – this will have a very limited audience – but big up his adventurous and charitable side. And don’t forget to mention his bride – a cheesy line about him finding his Queen is just the thing.

And that’s that. With applause ringing in your ears, you can drag Chelsy off to the dance floor – sorry, ballroom – and throw some moves. Rock on, Harry.

And if you’d like some help, please feel free to call me on 020 8245 8999!

(or you might like to purchase my Best Man Speech Writing Guide – 32 pages of pure gold!)

More information on the courses is available here and I would be delighted to send through more information on the format and goals of the day.

The day was tremendous fun, and, judging from the feedback form that every client completed in confidence at the end of the day, it was a great success.

This graph displays the average mark out of 5 given by all the attendees for various elements of the course:

Future Courses:

]]> http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/speechwriting/present-with-impact-what-you-said/feed/ 3 http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/speechwriting/introducing-your-business-presentation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=introducing-your-business-presentation http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/speechwriting/introducing-your-business-presentation/#comments Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:17:55 +0000 Lawrence http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/?p=1018 It is no secret that your audience will judge you during the first minute of your business presentation. If you appear convincing and impactful at the beginning, the audience will listen to you throughout.

It is worth spending as much time on that minute as the next five combined.

Here are three ways to make the perfect start:

-          Surprise them: You don’t need a song and dance routine but any opportunity to break free from the typical corporate opening is to be encouraged. An impactful quote or slide can work well, but make sure it is relevant to your core message.

-          Build up the benefits: Try to focus on the end benefit of your presentation at the start. If you’re selling software then surprise them in minute one by demonstrating concisely and memorably how it will change their businesses and lives for the better.

-          Make it word perfect: Know your introduction off by heart – this is not the time to be glancing at your notes, or wondering what comes next. You have one chance to create an impression and should not appear uncertain or unprepared.

And five things to avoid:

-          Long introductions about yourself and your business: This serves little purpose to an audience who’ve already read your biography in the seminar handout or delegate list.

-          False compliments or sentiments: They don’t need to know how happy you are to be there and how kind they are to take the time to listen to you.

-          Apologies: Unless you are late, never begin with an apology. They don’t want to know you’re nervous, are new to the job, or that you have a sore throat.

-          Complaints: You’re wasting time and irritating your audience if you complain about the temperature of the room, the AV set up or the noise outside the room.

-          Weak jokes: A natural reaction for a nervous speaker is to try to ‘befriend’ the audience by beginning with a joke. But humour is hard to pull off and can easily offend people if done poorly.

Remember, everything you put into your introduction will help keep the rest of the presentation and speech on track. If you’re still unsure where to start or how to get your speech or presentation off the ground, please give me a call on +44 (0)20 8245 8999.

This link http://www.greatspeechwriting.co.uk/business/ has much more info about my work with businesses.

This role is sometimes handed to the Best Man, or another close friend of the Groom. The role of MC is simple. It requires you to make a few announcements loudly and clearly as the day progresses. The Groom may know exactly what he wants these to be, but they usually include some or all of the following:

1. Announcing who should be in the formal group photos
2. Announcing that dinner is served
3. Welcoming the Bride and Groom into the dining area
4. Introducing the Father of the Bride’s speech
5. Introducing the Groom’s speech
6. Announcing the cutting of the cake
7. Introducing the first dance

If you are a nervous Best Man, then being MC is often a safe way of getting over many of your biggest fears before your speech. You’ll have the chance to shout out some pretty straightforward messages, getting you used to speaking in front of an audience. You’ll appear confident and in a position of responsibility from the start, which will impress fellow guests. Most importantly it will give you an idea of the acoustics and a feel for the microphone. Although you may worry about the first announcement, you’ll grow into the role throughout the day and will feel immeasurably more relaxed by the time you come to give your speech.

Here are some tips to help master the role:

1. Test the microphone out before guests arrive to get a feel for the acoustics.
2. Plan where each announcement will be made to avoid uncertainty.
3. Introduce yourself with your first announcement so guests know who you are, but keep it short. The day does not revolve around the MC!
4. Go through your role with the Groom and other speakers, so they know when and how you’ll be introducing them.
5. Get the tone right. You need to speak clearly and loudly. But this shouldn’t be interpreted as bossy and deafeningly. You are giving announcements, not barking orders at your troops.
6. Keep humour to a minimum. You haven’t been employed to be the stand-up comic. Whilst a witty foreword before introducing each speaker can work well, it must be kept short and relevant.
7. Don’t get carried away with the champagne. Whilst your role may be small compared to  others on the day, it is crucial that you are on the ball and punctual with your announcements.

 I’ve helped numerous MCs get this role just right, so if you’re still worried about what to say or how to say it, please call me any time on 0208 245 8999 for a chat.

 Good luck! 

Lawrence

A Groom SHOULD

1. Thank your guests for attending, particularly those who have travelled from far and wide
2. Mention any special guests (i.e. elderly relatives)
3. Thank your new in-laws (particularly if they are hosting the wedding)
4. Mention your own parents – this is an opportunity to thank them for all those years of help and support
5. Talk about the Bride, in a way that balances warmth with a little bit of humour
6. Introduce the Best Man
7. Finish with a toast to the Bridesmaids

A Groom SHOULD NOT

1. Spend more time building up the Best Man than the Bride
2. Waste too much time thanking people who’ve been paid to do a job (e.g. caterers or planners)
3. List so many ‘Thank yous’ that the speech resembles a school register
4. Talk for too long. Generally I recommend 10 minutes as an optimum speaking time
5. Forget this is a celebration of love, not an opportunity for a 10 minute comedy stand up routine

A Groom MIGHT ALSO want to mention

1. Any friends or family who have made huge efforts in organising the day
2. Flower girls and page boys
3. Those who are not able to be there on the day
4. The ushers
5. A relative/close friend who has been a particular source of strength to the Groom over the years
6. The Vicar/Priest/Rabbi or whoever conducts the ceremony

The balance between sincerity and humour is a difficult one for the Groom. The hardest task is to fit so much in to such a short space of time. The ultimate objective is to weave all these together in an original, memorable way. If you do have any concerns about your own speech, I would be delighted to chat, edit your draft or even write it for you.

Best wishes

Lawrence

Talk slowly and take your time. If it takes 12 minutes, not nine, it doesn’t matter at all.

Pause for effect. Your audience need time to digest the story before they get the punch-line. So give them time to get it.

Emphasise key words. Imagine you’re telling a story without a script. You’ll say some words louder than most. And change your inflection on others.

Ignore hecklers. You can pre-prepare a couple of responses to a noisy member of the crowd, or smile and thank them politiely.  But it is usually safest to ignopre them completely.  This is a wedding, not a stand-up gig, and you are not expected to come up with pithy responses fit for the Comedy Store.

Practise. Great material is irrelevant if it’s delivered badly. You’ll be much more natural when you’re not reading straight from the page. Know it well enough that it just becomes a safety net.

Gesticulate. Body language is vital. If you’re addressing someone, look at them. Use your arms to emphasise a point.

Manage the shakes. Paste your speech onto card. Or rest it somewhere you can see it. Find out if there’s a lectern. Holding a shaky piece of paper will put you off before you get going.

Don’t get drunk beforehand. It may feel like the easy way to get through it, but it won’t seem so sensible afterwards.

It goes without saying that everyone has different concerns about their own speech and that these tips only cover some high-level worries.  I run sessions helping clients with their delivery as well as writing their speeches, so please call me if you’d like a more personal discussion of the issues facing you on the day.

A: When it is spelt ‘speach’.
And also when it becomes a cabaret act.

Whether you’re giving a business presentation or a wedding speech, props can make or break the day.   And so whether you are thinking about PowerPoint slides, blown-up pictures, objects of special significance or something completely innovative, here are a few things to consider:

1. Ensure the prop is relevant and adds value to your speech. If you think it might cause offense, forget about it.
2. Try to use it as the punch line, rather than leaving the audience wondering what it’s doing there in the first place. 
3. Whilst it’s useful to use a prop to divert attention from you if you’re nervous about having everyone’s eyes on you, don’t let it completely detract from what you’re saying. First and foremost you want them to listen to you.
4. Don’t forget that your prop needs to be big enough to be seen by short-sighted people at the back of the room.
5. As you would with your speech and presentation, practise with the prop, rather than hoping it all comes together on the day. You may find it useful to enlist a helper to ensure it appears and disappears smoothly and easily.
6. Check that the venue  has the appropriate lighting or technology to accommodate your props.
7. Never leave a comical prop by your side when you’re making a serious point.
8. And finally, whilst the odd prop can add value, too many can suffocate the speech or presentation, so don’t get carried away.

If after reading this you’re still struggling to work out how best to use your props (or whether to use them at all), give me a call on 0208 245 8999.

All the best

Lawrence

PS – if you are a Best Man thinking about asking a bunch of women in the audience to rattle keys when you bring up the question of all the groom’s exes, I have one piece of advice:
Please don’t!

1. Don’t leave it to the last minute: Believe it or not, it’s your speech rather than the flowers that people will remember. Don’t leave preparation to the night before. There’s a reason your father has spent the last 3 months getting his speech right – these things take time! And as the bride, the spotlight will be on you more than anyone else, so it’s even more important you’re fluent and prepared.
2. Timing: Some Brides want to use their speech to mark the end of the celebrations. This can be dangerous. Some guests may have left, many will be drunk and you may have missed the moment. I’d suggest speaking directly after your husband, providing a female viewpoint and leaving the Best Man to finish things off.
3. Enlist a friend: Most wedding dresses don’t leave much room for your notes! So make sure you’ve asked a  Bridesmaid or close friend in advance to hold onto your speech until you need it. ‘Easy to read’ speech cards are always a good idea.
4. Consult the other speakers: Your biggest risk is covering ground that has already been mentioned in the other speeches. I would strongly recommend that however original you think your speech may be, you have a quick chat with your Groom, your Dad and the Best Man to ensure there is no frustrating overlap.
5. Be nice to your new family: This is not the time to offend your mother-in-law – you’ve got plenty of years ahead of you to do that! If you’re mentioning your own family, it would be courteous to include your husband’s too.
6. Using Rhyme: I’ve often been asked by Brides to write their speech in rhyme. This can add an original change of style from the other speeches. But be careful. Rhyme isn’t easy to sustain. If you want to use it go for a few verses, instead of the entire speech. You may also want to use a well-known poem as a template. If so, try to choose one that means something to the groom.
7. End with a Toast: I wouldn’t repeat one of the traditional toasts given by the other speakers. This is a great opportunity to include other people or say something a little bit different. You could toast your hosts (i.e. ‘Mum and Dad’) or propose a more general toast to ‘friends and family’.

If writing a speech on top off planning the entire wedding feels too much for you, then pick up the phone and give me a call on +44 208 245 8999. It’ll give you one less thing to worry about!

Best wishes

Lawrence

So how do you go about practising for the big moment?

Let’s start with defining ‘practice’.
‘Practice’ doesn’t mean silently reading the speech or Power-Point notes to yourself on the train, or in bed each evening. Nor does it mean running through it until you can recall the key headings and a few words here and there.

Practice means trying to get as close as possible to how you’ll deliver the speech on the day itself. Here are my top tips:

1. Stand up and read it aloud. But don’t just recite it; put some feeling into it, emphasising key words, pausing at appropriate moments and looking up at your (imaginary) audience as you would on the day.
2. Hold a tube of toothpaste or something similar to recreate the microphone.
3. Ask your other half or a good mate to listen and make suggestions if things don’t sound right.
4. Imagine that you have an audience in front of you, and create as much eye contact with them as possible.
5. Use the same cards, paper or laptop that you’ll be using on the day.
6. If you’re getting bored with the speech, then stop practising so frequently.  Just have a run through as and when you’re worried you’re beginning to forget it.
7. Perfect your posture. Good posture can make you look and feel more confident.
8. You may want to rehearse in the clothes you’ll be wearing on the day. If it’s formal clothes, it can help to become familiar with the feeling of tightness around the neck that comes from wearing a suit.

If you feel this is bordering on the obsessive, remember that stage shows never go ahead without a full dress rehearsal, so why should your speech?!

I hope that’s helpful. If you would like some help rehearsing, or on the writing part for that matter, please feel free to contact me on +44 208 245 8999.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Lawrence

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The important thing to remember at this formative stage is that the finished product needs to be read aloud. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of writing an ‘essay’ that looks great on paper, but sounds downright odd when you read it out.

So how do you write a speech that will come across well on the day?

1. Use short, punchy sentences. Six to eight words is ideal.
2. Break up longer sentences into manageable sections. Use dots…to mark convenient places for you to pause…and breath.
3. Don’t be afraid to use conjunctions (and/but) at the start of some sentences. It may not be perfect grammar, but they reflect the way that people speak out loud, and can keep the flow of the speech moving without any awkward pauses!
4. Type each section of your speech separately. For example, after the section where you introduce yourself, hit the Return key a couple of times so you have a few lines of space. This will help you remember where to pause.
5. After a few minutes of writing, step away from the computer to clear your head. When you return, have a look at what you last wrote. Then delete every word that doesn’t seem to add any value.
6. Read sentences aloud after you have written them. This may make you feel a bit bonkers if you’re sitting alone in front of a computer, but it’s an invaluable way of instantly discovering what sounds right (and, more importantly, what doesn’t). This technique will help you get rid of tongue twisters and other worlds that you just aren’t comfortable delivering.
7. Use the Word Count function on your computer. Work on the basis that 500 words should take you approximately five minutes to deliver. If maths isn’t your strong point, that means that to keep the speech within 10 minutes, you need to keep it under 1000 words!

I appreciate that much of this (as ever) is just common sense, but I hope it helps you get started.  If not, I would (as ever!) be delighted to write it for you.

Lawrence

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1. Be natural. Gordon Brown wasn’t. His smiles were forced and made him look awkward. Nick Clegg was, and he became more believable as a result.
2. Be relevant. Clegg answered his audiences’ questions directly and then referred back to them. He mentioned the names of the people who asked each question. It made him look like he cared. Cameron and Brown picked up on this later on but Brown’s reference to ‘the questioner’ was impersonal and gave the impression that he wasn’t listening.
3. Appear relaxed. This doesn’t come easily to Brown. Cameron is a master at it. Last night he appeared to decide to look more austere and Prime Ministerial. Clegg just relaxed. Or appeared to. The hand in the left pocket was a masterstroke as it helped him look entirely at ease.
4. Be positive. The relentless attacks on Cameron may have been well-aimed but audiences tend to respond better to ideas and suggestions than to negativity. Clegg clothed his criticism with alternative policy suggestions. Some were unworkable, but his approach was constructive.
5. Look up. I dread to think how much time and money went into preparing the three leaders for the debate. But it paid off. They all had notes, but didn’t appear to be reading from them. They all looked at their audience. Clegg, again, went a step further and confidently looked into the camera. At us. Again, it worked.
6. Be sincere. Whether or not your audience like what you are saying, they need to believe it. Brown didn’t help himself at all with the scripted jokes and the bizarre smirk. They actually reduced the effectiveness of many of his more impressive, factual points.
7. Know your detail. The big picture is vital and sets the scene. But detail provides colour. All three leaders provided first hand evidence of conversations they have had in specific places with real people. Brown won on substance and this was definitely where Cameron was at his weakest.
8. Speak slowly. Can you remember one instance of not being able to follow what any of them were saying? Nor me. They spoke at the right pace, enabling us to easily digest a series of complex issues.

As per usual, there is little rocket science here. But these are vital lessons to take into any speech or presentation you need to make, from a PowerPoint pitch to an after dinner speech.

It is pretty obvious that Clegg won last night – and from a professional perspective, he ticked all the boxes that turn a good public speaker into a great one.

Daran has kindly agreed to write a series of four blog posts about how to make people laugh.  The first of these focuses on the reasons we find things funny in the first place.  Over to you Daran:

How To Write A Joke, Part 1: What’s funny?

Comedy, or, more broadly, just those mechanisms out in the world which cause us to laugh, usually has something to do with a loss of order or control.

When someone trips up on a banana skin, it’s funny, because they don’t expect it; because they have lost the control they had over the world.  It’s to do with futility, to an extent.  It’s the notion that no matter how hard you try you just cannot control the world around you, because there are way too many variables to consider.

This isn’t just reserved for physical comedy, or slapstick. It’s the basis of a pun, too. Consider a misunderstanding based on the fact someone uses the term ‘bare hands’ in reference to those of a bear – the confusion can easily become comic. The reason it’s funny is just because clearly the process by which our language was constructed did not proceed with the intention of two words being so easily confused.

Homophones, that is two words which sound the same and yet have different meanings, are, in a sense, a mistake. They’re a fault in language; something that hasn’t been properly accounted for.  And so when we exploit these ‘mistakes’, through the use of puns, what we’re really doing is holding a mirror up to this system of communication we’ve developed and laughing at how rubbish it is.

Language is just another method by which man tries to control the world, and our deconstruction thereof through jokes is just another means by which to remind ourselves that this is impossible. But, probably more importantly, it’s also about letting one another know that too, and sharing in the communal futility. Whether you’re making a business presentation, writing a speech for a social occasion, or just down the pub with friends, the comedy you create will likely be grounded in this idea.

So …bit of a bleak overview, but not to worry. A more optimistic way to think of comedy, perhaps, rather than ‘discovering the futility of our attempts to control’, is the simple mantra that ‘you shouldn’t take things too seriously’. The reason, of course, being because ‘things’ don’t work anyway.

We laugh at what we can’t control. So, in essence, nature is funny. When a dog licks itself; that’s funny. When horses have sex; that’s funny. Cucumbers, sleepy cats, being snowed in, waddling, the smell of a cow pat, or just the way one tree sticks ridiculously far above the canopy for no apparent reason – it’s all funny because it’s all just there, beyond our control.

So if comedy’s about lack of control, how do we create it? We need something to exploit. So look for something that doesn’t work in language. Look for some linguistic feature that isn’t doing its job properly.

Thanks so much Daran; the next installment on  ‘How to write a joke for a speech’ will appear later in the week.
Lawrence

Know your lines – Yes, you’ll need to write a speech, but no, you shouldn’t read it out.  You are speaking about your own convictions.  Reading from a page will instantly give the impression that you are  giving someone else’s.  By all means have a script to refer to, but know it well enough that it is obvious you are speaking from the heart rather than the page.

Relevance – People are coming to hear you speak to get to know more about you and what you will do for them locally and in Parliament.  On that basis there is no point launching straight into the party’s national agenda.  They can hear that on the BBC.

Context – Although relevance is vital, you can’t speak entirely independently of the Party line.  The key for them is to understand how the big picture promises will effect them locally.  Your role is to act as a translation service between the two.

Brevity – There is always a temptation to use a constituency hustings or set-piece speech to roll-off your life’s works and ambitions.  But think about what your audience want, which tends to be a punchy, interesting speech that moves on quickly and is easy to follow.

Positive – In any political forum there will be a temptation to knock the opposition.  But don’t let this become your sole objective.  Your audience want to understand what you will do to improve things.  By all means point out what needs to be improved, but you will make a longer-lasting impression by focusing on the positive elements you can add.

The simplicity tightrope – The best speeches are always easy to follow.  But many a constituency speech borders on being patronising.  Be clear, set out the context and your preferred solutions, but don’t talk down to your audience.  There is nothing worse than a politician who treads a roomful of voters like a primary school class.

Don’t Preach – This is an opportunity for your constituents (or potential constituents) to get to know you better, but as importantly, it’s a chance for you to get to know them.  The most fruitful parts of meetings of this sort are often the questions and answers.  And so rather than a fist-thumping sermon about the benefits of voting for you, leave as much time as possible to respond to questions and comments in a calm and intelligent way.

Eye contact – It sounds obvious, but people will like and trust you more if you look at them when you speak.  Look around the room.  Try to meet people’s gaze.  Smile where possible.  This humanises you and is more likely to win people over than if you are focused on your notes or the middle distance.

Be Relaxed – Tension is a turn-off.  You are speaking because you want to represent these people in Westminster.  On that basis it is important that you appear calm and unflustered even if the debate isn’t going your way.  If you appear to let the tension get to you then you stand to lose your audience’s confidence pretty fast.

a) who speaks when at a wedding; and
b) who needs to say what in their wedding speech?

As you’ll read elsewhere on the site, I suggest planning your speech around the ‘must haves’ and the ‘might haves’.  The list below focuses solely on the ‘must haves’.
Many wedding speeches fall foul of ‘listing’, where you subject the audience to a never-ending barrage of sincere thankyous.  The best speeches weave these ‘must haves’ around their more creative elements and so you hardly realise that they are running through a list at all.
Here’s a quick reminder of the things that you will probably need to include if it’s a standard wedding with an orthodox set of speeches.

The Father of the Bride Speech

(creative input focuses mainly on the Bride and her new husband)
1. Welcome the guests
2. Welcome your new family
3. Mention your wife
4. Mention guests who cannot be there
5. Toast the Bride and Groom
You may also want to mention your other children, the vicar or equivalent, any friends who have helped with the organisation (including the flowers) and people who have travelled a long way.

The Groom Speech

(creative input focuses mainly on the Bride)
1. Thank the Father of the Bride
2. Thank the guests
3. Mention the new-in-laws
4. Mention your own family
5. Mention any particularly elderly or ‘special’ guests
6. Thank the Best Man and ushers
7. Toast the Bridesmaids
Your thankyous may overlap with the Father of the Bride and so it is worth trying to share them between you.  You may also want to mention guests who can’t be there and thank anyone from the wedding planner to the flower arranger (although I suggest that you restrict your thankyous to volunteers)

The Best Man Speech

(creative input focuses mainly on the Groom)
1. Read any telegrams
2. Respond to toast on behalf of bridesmaids
3. Thank your hosts
4. Toast the Bride and Groom
This list is short and sweet and yours is the speech with most room for creativity and fun.  However, it is still worth checking with the groom that he doesn’t want you to take any of the ‘must haves’ off his plate.

That’s the high level summary.  Please don’t assume anything and always check with the others that you are not going to cover the same ground.  Good luck, and please feel free to call me at any time if you’d like more detailed advice or help putting it all together.

I am in the process of writing a series of booklets about the speech writing process.  Each will contain a question and answer section with real answers given to real questions asked by real people.

If you have a speech-related question that is bothering you, please let me know. I’ll reply as quickly as I can, and with your permission, it may be published (and please don’t worry, your surname won’t be!).

And so whether your question is about planning, writing or delivering your speech, please feel free to drop me an email or add a response below this blog.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope I will be able to help.

Thanks, Lawrence

You may be absolutely right, but there is no substitute for preparation even if you are an accomplished public speaker.  Take the politicians who finesse and practise their first speech in office long before the election is won (or lost!).

If you are beginning to think about a spring or summer work presentation or wedding speech, I’d suggest that you do the hard work now and create time for practise nearer the event.  This doesn’t necessarily mean writing a first draft, but simply pulling together all the information you’ll need and starting to think about the potential shape and structure of your speech.

This period is the equivalent of a sportsman’s pre-season training.  It will enable you to maximise the chances of hitting the ground running once the speech draws near.

Many of these tips won’t take you long, but they’ll save you time and stress nearer D-day.

1. Contact others for background information. If you are a Best Man, it’s never too early to start contacting the Groom’s family for anecdotes.  If you are giving a business speech its worth asking the organisers what the audience will be expecting from you.
2. Create a master document into which you dump all your thoughts along with everyone else’s. Even if it doesn’t seem so at the time, this process can end up being extremely useful in creating an overview and structure when it comes to writing the speech itself. At this stage don’t worry about what’s interesting, what’s funny, or what’s off limits. Put everything down!
3. Keep an ear out for quirks, quotes and snippets of potentially relevant information and jot them down in your overview.
4. If you’re using photos, diagrams or props, start thinking now about what you need and where you can get them.
5. Take some time to start sketching an outline of your speech or presentation. This will begin to create the context to judge which of your stories and ideas fit well together.
6. Be prepared to write a number of drafts before you get it just right.
7. Enlist the help of a colleague or friend off whom you can bounce ideas and eventually practise delivery.  Ask them to be critical and so anything that passes through you both is likely to be worth saying.
8. Find out about the venue in which you’ll be speaking.  Where will you be standing.  Will there be a microphone?  Will you have a lectern?  This information will all come in useful when you start writing and practising.
9. Check who is speaking before and after you.  What are they likely to say?  How might they refer to you?  Start thinking about ways to link your speech to theirs.

None of this is rocket science.  Quite the opposite in fact. But it does show that there’s plenty to be getting on with early on.  A speech is nothing without content or context.  And they are best achieved through careful planning.

My next blog piece about putting pen to paper.  In the meantime, please feel free to call me with any speech or presentation-related question on +44 207 681 8247.

Thanks, Lawrence