5. Be engaging

Listening to a speech is, for most people, a passive activity. Successful speakers involve their audiences and converse with them so that it's a conversation, not a talking-to.

6. Be positive

No matter what subject, successful speakers are always positive with their audiences. They help their audiences learn what to do as opposed to what NOT to do. They focus on upside, not downside.

7. Be challenging.

Lastly, great speakers always challenge their audiences to do great things. And again, it doesn't matter what subject. A successful speaker gives you know-how and challenge to make your life more enjoyable and more rewarding everyday.

©2001 Jim M. Allen

6. Create a conversation.

Don't think of what you're doing as "writing a speech." Instead, consider it creating a conversation between you and audience.

7. Involve audience.

To create that sense of conversation, interact with your audience. Ask them questions ("How many of you would agree with that?"). Give them things to do ("I want you to write this next fact down...").

8. Listen to yourself.

How your speech sounds is much more important than how it reads. Create your speech for ear, not eye.

9. Revise, revise, revise!

Practice your speech as much as possible, revise it continuously so that it's just perfect speech for YOU to deliver.

10. Have fun.

Keep process of creating your speech simple and light. If you make process fun, your speech will reflect that and you will deliver a super speech!