How to prepare a talk, step by step

To prepare a talk, start with your message, not your slides. A good talk comes down to one idea the audience remembers, carried by a story and rehearsed out loud. Here is the method I use with the executives, teams and TEDx speakers I coach.

1. Find your message in one sentence

Before you open PowerPoint, write the sentence you want the audience to repeat on their way out. If you can't put it into words, your audience won't either. Everything else in the talk serves that sentence.

2. Think about your audience before you think about yourself

Who will be in the room? What do they already know? What are they expecting, and what could make them tune out? The same talk isn't built the same way for an executive committee, a field team or a room of 500 people.

3. Build it around a story

Audiences forget numbers and remember stories. A simple structure almost always works:

• The situation: where were things?

• The problem or turning point: what changed?

• What you learned: and what it means for them.

Your personal story is your most powerful tool. It is unique, and nobody can argue with it.

4. Take care of the first and last minute

The first few seconds decide whether the audience listens. Avoid "Hello, my name is… and today I'm going to talk about…". Open with a question, an image, a story or a surprising number. Close with your one-sentence message, not "So, that's it, thank you."

5. Rehearse out loud, standing up

Reading your notes in your head is not rehearsing. On stage as a stand-up comedian, I learned that material only really works once you've said it several times in front of someone. Film yourself, time yourself, then do it in front of a colleague and ask what they remembered.

6. On the day: prepare your body, not just your words

Arrive early to see the room. Breathe slowly before you go on. Plant your feet, find three friendly faces in the audience and talk to them. Stage fright doesn't go away, but it turns into energy.

In short

1. A one-sentence message.

2. An audience you know.

3. A story as the common thread.

4. A strong opening and close.

5. Rehearsals out loud.

6. A body ready on the day.

Have a talk to prepare? Discover my public speaking coaching, one-to-one or in groups.