You may be often required to speak on a topic or give a speech, and if not deliver it verbally, then maybe just write an article or an essay on the topic. Whatever the reason, speaking or writing about a topic at length can be demanding and a slightly frightening idea for some. Irrespective of what you must prepare for, an organized and methodical approach can work wonders!
The 3 points to keep in mind while preparing for a topic are:
- Structure
- Content
- Fluency
STRUCTURE
While structuring any speech or essay, it is important to remember that the audience matters. The average mind can only retain information for 10-12 seconds. With this information, we must prepare accordingly. That means shorter sentences, accurate points, and efficient structuring. The points we make should be in a particular order and must be unique and separate. Yet, the reader/listener must be able to smoothly flow from one to another. Always remember the following points, to make it easier for everybody to flow with your topic.
- Open the topic with an observation regarding the topic.
- Think of facts that you need to provide. 2 Facts with examples to support the concept are usually enough.
- Reinforce the topic and your argument with a personalized experience or Anecdote. An Anecdote is a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It helps the audience to become emotionally invested and relate to your topic.
- Close the essay or speech with a summary of your strongest argument and allow the audience to understand that you are about to end your argument.
CONTENT
The order of points can sometimes be the easy part. We know everything must have a beginning, a middle and an end. Structuring an essay or a speech is not enough if we do not know how to approach the topic itself, it can be very frustrating.
The idea/topic must be discussed in a methodical manner. Beginning a speech/essay with our opinion can