Structuring your speech
Structure is probably the most fundamental skill for controlling a speech. Structure is simple to learn yet very effective in improving the both content and style. In this lesson we will understand why structure helps both the speaker and the audience, and we learn how to structure our speech using two simple rules.
Structure helps the audience
The final goal of every speech is to persuade the audience. Now, even if the audience is extremely intelligent and is deeply interested in the speech, it will normally remember very little of your speech – or any other – five minutes after it is over.
A clear and simple structure helps you keep your speech in the audience’s head. The structure connects the listeners to the speech: if the introduction presents the main points, the audience will be ready for them when they come. Additionally, structure helps the audience understand the speech because it clarifies the relation between the various parts and the overall theme.
Structure helps the speaker
Structure improves both your content and your style, and even contributes to your confidence. It does that by facilitating your flow and directing you in each step of the way towards the next step. Thus keeping you from losing your train of thought. It forces you to prioritize your points and allocate sufficient time to each of them, thus contributing to better time management.
Additionally, in the unfortunate but quite normal event of a mishap, structure confines the damage done to a single part of the speech and prevents other parts from being affected.
How to structure your speech
It is actually quite easy to structure a speech. There are three simple-to-follow rules that are elborated in the next article: How to structure your speech: The ‘Triplets rule’ (‘tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you’ve told them’), the ‘Flag-posting rule’, and the ‘Call to Action’ rule.
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