If you have ever taken a public speaking class, you maybe were wondering how you can ever organize it effectively. Your instructor, when asked, told you to ?€?Tell them what you?€?re going to tell them, tell them, and them tell them what you just told them.?€ But you just scrunched up your face and wondered if there was a more specific way to make your talk compelling. Well, good news, there is. It is a system that is based on an ancient Roman senator who used it very effectively. We know it as the acronym STEP. Here are the basics. You make your Introduction, maybe thanks to the opportunity to?€? or tell a story that fits the topic you will talk on. And then you ?€? State what your topic is. For instance, if your talk is about some aspect on family values, you might say ?€? my talk today is about traditional family values, and more specifically?€??€ One of the mistakes new speakers make is to not specifically tell the audience what the talk is about, and it confuses them. ?€? Translate, or define your subject. So, your talking about traditional family values, but what do you mean by that term? ?€?In this case, traditional family values means a family who lives by traditional values, such as?€??€ You lay out the subject and the problem in this section you will talk about. ?€? Exemplify, give an example of what you are talking about. Sprinkle some stories throughout the talk. Give some examples or human interest stories on declining family values in America. ?€? Prove what you are saying is true. Give them the facts. Cite statistics, quote authorities, but make sure you tell them the source of your quote. It will make the assertion more credible. If you have multiple points to make in a talk, just use the format above for each point and then when you are done tie it all together at the end. If you want a course of action from the audience, this is the time to tell them. This format is not just for speech making, but can also be used for organizing your essay or research paper, and can help structure your arguments when you are trying to persuade someone face to face. Even if you are a poor speaker, if you can present your subject in a logical and orderly manner, it will go a long way to helping you persuade your audience. Matthew Hines is a budding entrepreneur whose hobbies are studying communication strategies and political science. To learn more of him and to see what his latest projects are, go to http://www.moneybysurveys.com and his political blog at http://www.senseinpolitics.blogspot.com Tags: Debate Prep, Speech Making, Speeches, Writing Tips for Reports Related PostsPost a comment
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