Don't panic. Prepare! Technical Info Date of my Speech (let's you know how long you have to prepare & rehearse)
Topic of my Speech (what are you going to be be talking about?)
How long will I speak for? (aim to be concise. Great speeches feel too short. Bad speeches feel too long)
Location of my speech (where is my speech?)
What's the occasion?
Title of my speech (even if no one will see it)
Type of speech (informative (sharing info); persuasive (changing people's minds); motivational (getting people to do something); entertaining (making people laugh)
My Objective (for the audience in 15 words) What I want my audience to think/feel/believe/do because of my speech
My Goal (for myself in 15 words) What I want to personally get out of giving my speech
My Theme What theme will tie my whole speech together? What one thing do I want my audience to remember? (e.g. we're family; I have a dream; stay hungry, stay foolish; the best is yet to come; the time is now etc)
My Impression What kind of impression do I want to make? What tone will I use (serious, funny, casual, meticulous, inspiring, safe etc)?
My Audience is: Demographics Age range (e.g. 25 - 40) Gender balance (e.g. 30% men/80% women) Ethnicity/nationality Wealth/Income levels Occupation/profession/industry Main personality type (e.g. extroverted/introverted; shy/bold; courteous/disruptive etc) Primary state of mind (e.g. restless, sedate, interested, indifferent, bored, agitated, excited, curious etc) Religion Group membership Interests Education level Culture (e.g. Ethiopian diaspora) Relevant cultural/historical references (e.g. sour bread; Ethiopian movie quotes; Ethiopian national icons etc)
Other relevant demographics
Audience Attitude Subject matter/topic of my speech (e.g. new business opportunity in South East Asia) What my audience currently thinks/ feels/believes about the topic
How my audience is likely to respond to my speech objective (will they love it/hate it/respond positively or negatively to it etc)
What does my audience hope to hear/ fear they will hear from me?
How my audience currently feels about me (e.g. they like me; irritated by me; respect me; distrust me etc)
What's my secret weapon? (the key to getting my audience on my side e.g. new business in Asia will diversify our consumer base)
Other matters of attitude
Context What's the occasion?
How many will there be in the audience? How will they be seated? e.g. Theatre style; circling me; tables & chairs etc
How far away will they be from me? Will they see my clearly? Is there a podium/lectern? Will they hear me directly or through a mic & speaker What will their immediate circumstance be? e.g. just after lunch; first thing in morning; at time of crisis in industry;
Other relevant context matters
Research & Brainstorm to make sure I'm an expert on my topic, I will research & brainstorm the following points:
Structure of my speech OPENING: How will I open my speech? (a great quote; funny anecdote; shocking statistic; poem; visual; an action)
INTRODUCTION: How will I lead into the main part of my speech?
MAIN BODY: What are the main points I will make to help support my conclusion?
CONCLUSION: What will my speech conclusion be? This is most likely what they will remember so how will I use my theme to make it memorable?
ENDING: how will I close out my speech?
NOTES/SCRIPT: what will I use to help me give my speech? (Full script, note cards, my slides, teleprompter, nothing at all?)
SLIDES/POWERPOINT (are my slides ready? Have I practiced with them? Am I ready to deliver without them in case of an IT failure?)
PROBLEMS: what problems could realistically occur? What is my plan to deal with them?
APPEARANCE: what will I wear? Does this fit with the impression I want to give and the tone I want to use?
PRACTICE: I want to be totally familiar with my speech (without memorising it). When will I practise? How often? When will I record myself giving my speech? When will I watch myself or listen on audio to see/ hear what I sound like?