Consider your audience. Sample audience #1: Audience is a group of ten students. → Not necessary to be as formal as you might be for a large group. → Incorporate more time for interactive activities and questions. Sample audience #2: Audience is mostly Montessori pre-school teachers. → Skip explaining key concepts of Montessori programs for young children, since this audience is already very familiar with those ideas. → Offer more explanation about Montessori programs for teenagers, since this group does not work with adolescents.” Sample audience #3: Audience is a group of cancer survivors → Acknowledge that our discussion about the medical system may be a sensitive topic for them. Since this issue is so personal to the audience, it may trigger some emotions. When you’re ready to start outlining, decide on the main idea (or thesis statement) of your speech. Sample thesis #1: Sandra Owen would be a great mayor; she is dedicated to improving our healthcare system because of her own experience with chronic illness. Sample thesis #2: We all need to work together to decrease the stigma around mental illness. Brainstorm some points or evidence that support your main idea. Sample evidence #1: A graph demonstrating the main idea of the speech, by providing statistics that make the key point more credible. Sample evidence #2: An anecdote about an important a life-changing encounter with a nurse could illustrate the main idea that hospitals should increase nurses’ pay because they are such valuable workers. Plan out the main trajectory of your speech before you sit down to write. 1. Personal anecdote: 1. The time I almost missed my brother’s wedding because I got completely lost in the Vermont woods. 1. Thesis statement: 1. We all have places we need to be; our new iPhone app is the best way to get directions. 1. Evidence or supporting points: 1. Our app works offline, so it’s even effective in the middle of the woods 2. Our app is user-friendly and simple to use 3. According to surveys, our app is 50% more popular than older models. 1. Conclude with one last anecdote: 1. When my sister got married in a remote field off the Oregon Coast, I was fully confident and relaxed about finding the venue because I had our app on hand! Come up with a “hook” to grab the audience’s attention near the start of your speech. Sample Hook #1: “Without this research, my daughter wouldn’t be alive today.” Sample Hook #2: “When you’re running a restaurant and The New York Times is about to come review your food, the one thing you really don’t want to hear is that all your refrigerators have broken down. I created this product so that no one else would have to experience the sinking panic of trying to save 100 pounds of sushi-quality fish from rotting, seconds before a famous food critic inspects your kitchen.” Consider what questions the audience may have about what you’ve written, and revise accordingly. Sample question #1: People may be curious about the practical applications of this research. → Revise the ending to explain why this research matters to doctors. Sample question #2: Students who aren’t familiar with physics might not know some of the terminology in the speech. → Simplify the language so it’s easier to understand.