175. How to structure a speech

A speech with no structure is like a house with no foundations.

Get your pen and paper out, in this episode I share three incredibly valuable principles for structuring a speech.

I cover, with examples -

✍️ Why I write in the masculine and deliver in the feminine.

✍️ The first thing you need for a great speech - and it's often overlooked!

✍️ How to use story looping.

✍️ The key number you need to use in your speeches.

Welcome back to That Voice Podcast episode 175.

If you’re listening to this fresh off the drop I am in Queenstown New Zealand at the moment having  a birthday getaway with Patrick so keep an eye on my socials @sallyprosservoice to see what we’re getting up to.

Now next week is our October Soul Speakers Call and our topic is the same as this podcast episode it’s called How to Structure a Speech.

So Soul Speakers is our online community for people who want to set their speaking on FIRE. We would love to welcome you.

In this episode I’ll take you through some key principles when it comes to structuring a speech, but you need to be on the Soul Speakers Coaching call to work with me step by step. You’ll be able to write a little speech on the call – ask me any questions and you will have content that you can use on social media and the bones for a longer speech.

So if you’re someone who has a business or finds themselves doing a lot of speeches, then Soul Speakers is here for you, and I’m getting so much feedback at the moment that people can’t believe the level of support you get in Soul Speakers. I personally give a welcome walk through, I stay back on the calls to make sure all your questions are answered. This is a membership that is growing and growing and the sooner you join us, the smaller the group calls and the more attention you get on your issues.

So if you’ve been thinking about joining Soul Speakers, with our October call coming up now is the perfect time to join us.

In this episode I want to take you through three guiding principles to structure your speech. If you want the step by step – we need to do this in a workshop setting, so join Soul Speakers.

Before we get into it, the approach I take is writing in the masculine and delivering in the feminine.

What does that mean?

It means mapping out the structure, the framework before you speak.

And then flying like a butterfly in that structure when you speak.

If you write and deliver in the masculine you might find yourself hindered by your own creation. That means you’re so hell bent on sticking to your script and sticking to the plan that you have meticulously mapped out, that you lose the beautiful connection with your audience and have no ability to adapt. So if the slightest bit goes wrong you’re in trouble.

Alternatively if your write and deliver in the feminine then you’re just totally winging it and feeling what the audience needs, responding to the energy, and while this might feel nice and flowy, the danger is you can go overtime, or miss key points, or go off a tangent and not being able to tie it back.

So writing in the masculine giving yourself that clear structure and then delivering  in the feminine, having room to move – is the winning combination for a great speech.

I have lots of episodes of the podcast all about delivery, this one is about writing – it’s about the structure. It fits into the R part of my FIRE Framework I use for Soul Speakers. The R stands for Relay your message – it’s the content work.

A speech with no structure is like a house with no foundations. Dangerous.

The first thing you need to decide on is – what is the key message of the speech?

What is it about? What do you want your audience to remember? In one line.

So for most of my speeches, the key message is simply - Your voice matters.

All the points of the speech fit underneath this.

So one of my keynotes is called LEAD WITH YOUR VOICE it’s for leaders and emerging leaders.

And I talk about – why your voice matters as a leader, the impact your voice has on yourself and those around you, how you can access your authentic voice, what exercises you can do to strengthen your voice.

I want people to walk out and feel empowered that their voice matters and that they can do something to improve the way they use it – and it’s actually quite easy and dare I say it fun.

Some famous key messages are Simon Sinek – People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it. Brene Brown – The Power of Vulnerability.

So having a key message is a strong foundation to build your speech.

Now the second structural principle I would use is called STORY LOOPING.

Note I didn’t just say storytelling, because that’s too basic. Honestly if you are not telling stories in your speeches – what are you doing? Actually I did share five ways to power your storytelling back in episode 53. AND there are plenty of good storytelling structures in Soul Speakers.

So this technique is called story looping. And it basically means that towards the beginning of your speech you share a story and then towards the end you revisit that story and give more of it. I love this technique. It ties speeches up with a bow.

An example from the same LEAD WITH YOUR VOICE speech, is I open telling the story about a mistake I made on the radio where I accidentally told everyone the tip or the dump was free, and I had to issue an on air correction.

And then at the end of the speech I refer back to it and share about the aftermath. What my boss said. What the council worker said on the phone, which was ‘don’t worry love, most people thought it was too good to be true.” Anyway you need to hear the full speech to understand this technique in action. Our brains love a resolution. In music, in films and in speeches, so closing out the story gives a beautiful feeling of satisfaction for the audience and boom locks it in their memory, because stories are so memorable.

And this leads to the third tip for how to structure a speech, speaking of resolutions. It is using the rule of three. The brain loves patterns and three is the lowest figure that can create a pattern in your mind. It means threes are more appealing, easier to remember and sound lovely on the ear.

So I enjoyed composing music in high school on my little keyboard and I actually wrote a song based on a musical idea where the main character had bad luck with the number three. It was inspired by Billie Lett’s book Where the Heart is, where Rosalie had bad luck with the number 7. Anyway, before recording this I dug out the song and I no longer have my keyboard, so I can’t play it for you but it was kinda like-

Anyway, I don’t think it’s going to hit broadway anytime soon.

But you did hear some examples of threes?

Now in your speech you can use it at the macro level -

In my speeches I often go through the components of voice – mind, body, breath. I change it to mind, body, air sometimes so it’s like an MBA, get it.

You can also use it on the micro level in sentences, so I have here

Value your voice, trust your voice and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Another one here is no one can speak about what you do, in the way you do with the voice you have.

I use it a lot with repetition too,

Leading with your voice is NOT about dominating with your voice.

It’s about contributing to the harmony of your team, the harmony of your organisation, I’m going to go there, the harmony of the world.

So get clear on your key message, use story looping and the rule of three and you’re on your way to having a beautifully structured speech – that’s also easy for you to remember.

Now if you’d like to workshop with me step by step on a full structure, join Soul Speakers.

And if you’d like me to write your speech with you – then get in touch about private sessions. The clients I work with at this level love it. They’re not taking a stab in the dark, they have brilliant content and huge success at their conferences and events. Most speechwriters aren’t also voice coaches – so it’s great value. And I’m also a master NLP and Hypnosis practitioner and spiritual life coach, so right from the stories holding you back to what you’re going to say to how you’re going to deliver it – I have you covered. Did you notice the rule of threes I just did?

Ok, I hope you enjoyed today’s episode, please share it with your friends and if you liked this, you’ll love Soul Speakers, the link to join is in the show notes.