When I first got into this business, and for a good chunk of time in my career, the approach I took to speech writing was transactional: get the information out as quickly and completely as possible. I had sat through far too many long, boring speeches that I decided the solution was to make every script so short and sweet they bordered on blunt.

I gauged success by ticking boxes:

Key messages all there? Check…

Does it follow the sandwich writing method? Check...

Will it read two minutes less than the allotted time? Check....

Three check marks and I was free to move on to the next task on my agenda.

That perspective has since changed.

Dramatically.

I now look at speeches as an opportunity to take the audience on a journey. This is a brand-building platform for the organization and the individual delivering the words.

So, I’ve compiled three resources to help ensure your next speech is a good one.

1. Throw away the sandwich.

The ubiquitous “sandwich” writing method of telling the audience what you will tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them is best left for high school essays. Even with superstar levels of stage presence, this structure is overdone. Time for something a little more modern.

Here’s a link to an article that uses the structure of a speech from Elon Musk to explain a format to improve sales pitches. The concept is to present a known problem and then set the audience up to yearn for a solution… that you will reveal at the end. Love it.

2. Content is still king.

Dig, dig, dig for content. Proof points, studies, charts, graphs and forecasts all help round-out a narrative. Importantly, they also help to justify the problem you’re building-up and the capabilities of your solution. I wrote about my approach to finding this content in a recent post (click here).

I find this part to be the most time consuming, but also the most rewarding. Especially when you land on a research paper that deals exactly on the topic your speaker is talking about.

3. Practice your delivery. Seriously. Practice. NOW.

Great content and a solid structure will only get you part of the way, and forgoing practice will get you in trouble. I routinely book time in an executive’s calendar to rehearse.

Even still, everyone can always work to improve their delivery.

The Harvard Business Review recently published 5 Ways to Project Confidence in Front of an Audience and it has some great tips. I particularly like the “Pace Your Delivery”, encouraging speakers to slow down and saying “Speaking too fast will harm your credibility.” I often tell people about to walk on stage or in front of a camera, to remember to talk at least 10% slower than they normally would.

Good luck!