How to Quickly Put Together a Great Speech

Have you ever struggled to put together a presentation, regardless of the length? Do ever get envious watching other people speak, wishing you could put together a speech that seems to flow so well? Read on, because I am going to show you how….

A few years ago, I listened to a program by Glenna Salsbury. In it, she mentioned a simple little formula that I still use to this day when I craft a speech. Frankly, it is very simple and has been taught in many ways, but for some reason the way she explained it just stuck out to me. I am going to share that with you now.

No, not *that* kind of PSA...(Photo by Rich Anderson)

That stands for Point. Story. Application.

In any presentation, all you need to do is follow those three steps.

1) State your Point – What do you want the audience to know? What action do you want them to take? What new learning are you trying to instill?

2) Tell a Story that reinforces or proves the point – Ideally this is a personal story of yours. This is also the place to put in your humor, emotion, characters, movement, etc.

3) Give us the Application of that story – For training type presentations, explain to the audience how they can apply what you just taught. For a personal speech (toasts, for example) point out how the story reinforces the point you were making. For sales presentations, let the audience know how they can achieve the same results in their business.

That’s all there is to it. Of course there will be some customization and variance, but if you start with this formula as a base, not only will you be able to create amazing and powerful presentations, but you will be able to do so very quickly.

This process can be used for full keynote speeches (just string a bunch of PSAs together), work and sales presentations, and even social toasts and speeches.

Let’s walk through three examples: one from a keynote style speech, one from a sales presentation, and one from a personal speech.

Keynote Speech

One of the points in my keynote speech is how, in order to improvise with anything, you should say “yes, and” instead of “yes, but.” One of the subpoints is that you should say, “yes, and” not only to others, but also to yourself.

You can see an example of me telling the story here (note: if the play button doesn’t work, click the video to open it in YouTube directly):

Here’s the simple structure:

1) Point – I state the point, “what’s saddest is how often we “yes, but” ourselves
2) Story – I tell the story of meeting my friend Kirstin, and how a simple shift from “yes, but to “yes, and” made a huge difference
3) Application – Then I ask the audience, “how about you? What are you saying “yes, but” to in your own life?”

That’s all there is to it. See how simple it can be?

If you are designing a keynote, just layout your points, find a story for each, and then come up with an application for that specific audience. Repeat for each point and subpoint, and you’ve got the basics for a great speech.

Work Presentation

For this example, let’s take one of the most common types of presentations: the sales speech.

(Even if you never deliver a “sales” presentation, you can use these same principles since at the end of the day your goal is to “sell” people on something – whether that’s a product or an idea)

In a sales presentation, rather than rambling on about the features of your product, and rather than espousing how awesome the benefits are, use the PSA formula:

1) Point – State one of the primary benefits of your product or service. (“If you invest in this software package, you can expect to see a 25% increase in revenue”)
2) Story – This is the critical piece! Tell a story about another client who gained this benefit. Tell it as a story, not as a bullet point list of facts; this makes it real.
3) Application – Point out to your prospect how he or she can get the same benefit. (“In your specific case, once we have set up the software, you will see X, Y, and Z”)

The story is the piece that draws the listener in and gets them visualizing the benefits. It moves the presentation from logic to emotion.

Social Speech

Sometimes you may be asked to “say a few words.” It could be a toast at a wedding or party, or maybe you are introducing a friend, co-worker, or family member at an event. The PSA formula is really useful in these cases.

Last Fall I had the honor of introducing my father as he received an award from an association he had been involved in for a long time. The event organizer asked me to “talk about him, but focus on his work in the group, not on your personal relationship with him.”

There was a challenge with this: He got involved with this group after I left home, so I knew very little about it! Also, me doing the introduction was a surprise so I couldn’t ask him for info…

I spoke briefly with my mom, and in a one minute conversation I learned that the main thing about my dad in this group is that he was known as the guy people would always come to for advice. People trusted him, and would follow his lead.

Ok, from that, I had enough to apply the PSA formula:

1) Point – “My father is known for his quiet leadership. People trust him to do the right thing and follow his lead.”
2) Story – Now here was the tricky part, as I was supposed to talk about his association involvement. Instead of that, I told a story of when I was growing up and my dad put his foot down about some party I wanted to attend, and a bunch of other parents followed his lead (this also gave some good humor moments)
3) Application – Then I tied the story back to the association. “This is how my dad was growing up, and this is how he has been here”

It went great. The Point and the Application tied together whatever Story I told. Ideally I would have told a story from his association work, but lacking that, this worked just fine.

Sometimes you will be asked on the spot to say a few words. This formula can be a life saver. Pick the one point you want to make, tell a personal story that supports that point, then tie the story you told back to the point. This will allow you to whip up a brilliant 2 minute “toast” in no time at all.

There you have it. Use this simple process the next time you have a speech to give. Not only will your life be easier and less stressful, but you will also be a much more effective speaker!

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About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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