logarithmically habakkuk: How to (not) write a great presentation script, part one

By Dr Simon Raybould of Curved Vision

Many thanks to one of my favorite experts on presentation skills for sharing his brilliant advice with us here?

I?d like to start with a summary of what I?m going to say ? and this has got to be the easiest blog topic to summarize I?ve had to tackle in a long, long time.? Of course, the hard part is how to actually carry out what?s in the summary? but the summary itself is simple!

The key thing you need to look out for (and avoid) when you?re writing a presentation script is this: it mustn?t sound like you wrote a script.

See?? Told you it was easy!

The thing is, for the vast majority of us, we write in a different ?voice? to how we speak. We use different words, different patterns and different levels of formality: we tend to move towards the formal in the written word.

Let?s take that last bit as an example ?we tend move towards the formal in the written word?.? I wrote it like that because that?s how I write (unless I?m making a conscious effort not to). If I was talking to you in a pub, in a cafe or from a stage in a presentation however, I?d probably say something more like ?When we write stuff down, most of us get a bit more formal?. It means the same thing, it?s just a more relaxed way of phrasing it.

With the exception of (good) speechwriters, writing something so that it sounds exactly as we?d say it is very tricky. Very tricky indeed? which is why good speech-writers are well paid, I?d say! (Note from Suze: you?re right about the first part, Simon; I just wish you were right about the second part, too!)

No matter how well you deliver a written speech it?s still going to sound like a written speech and as such it?s not going to engage with your audience so well. People don?t like to ?receive? ? they prefer to ?be engaged with? ? and that means that for maximum effect on your audience you need to sound like you?re relaxed and speaking to them personally. How can you do that from a script?

So what can you do about it?

Personally, my preferred option is to know my subject area so well that I don?t write a formal speech. I start with the oral presentation in my head and so I use one of the many (seriously, there are lots!) of tools for defining structure and then work from that in defined steps until I?m on stage. I?m not going into detail about how to do that because I?m assuming that if you?re reading Suze?s blog you?re more of a writer than a speaker and this is a speaker?s approach, not a writers ? in fact it probably doesn?t even make sense to a writer!

The alternative is approach is to start with your speech, written as you would write it and then work on that to make it sound more natural when you deliver it orally. It?s a different mindset but hopefully it can get you to the same point!

Now, obviously, you can do at least some of this work on your script by reading what you?ve written and (with your hand on your heart) asking yourself if you can re-word it to sound more natural when it?s spoken out loud. I suggest you have a go at this before you use any tricks below because it helps? but it?s not enough.

Find out what more you need to do in part two of Dr Simon Raybould?s ?How to (not) write a great presentation script? ? here on HowToWriteBetter next week!

Dr Simon Raybould?s career started in research (into the cause of childhood cancer). He?s now one of the UK?s leading?presentation skills trainers. He?s also in demand as a conference speaker, specializing in personal resilience, stress and confidence.