1. Know Your Audience: Demographics
Age
Background
Education
Cultural
Socioeconomic
Attitude

2. Organizing Speech Determine your purpose Craft a thesis statement
Identify main points of support

3. Outline Your Speech
Formal outline: short skeleton of a speech that provides an overview of organization and structure as well as the relationship of ideas
Why make an outline?
Helps to test the strength of your ideas and the logic of your structure
Helps to organize your information
Helps you rehearse your speech
Provides a base for good speaker notes

4. How to Create an Outline
Use Roman Numerals to indicate main points
Write in complete sentences
Write main points in parallel language
One idea for each point
Keep main points to less than five

5. Using Effective Language
Spoken
Written
Must be immediately understandable
Uses shorter, more familiar words
Uses verbal cues
Uses repetition of words and phrases
Meant to be reread
Contains larger and more complex vocabulary
Fewer contractions and slang

6. Choose the right word Simple: familiar, one to two syllables
Precise: express thoughts and feelings accurately
Specific: identify items within a category
General: refers to an entire category
Concrete: names things that can be perceived by one or more of the five senses
Abstract: names things that cannot be perceived by one or more of the five senses

7. Use Expressive Language
Create a vivid image by using:
Sensory words
Figurative language: simile, metaphor, exaggeration, understatement, irony
Create emphasis
Repetition: saying something more than once
Parallelism: repetition of words, phrases, or sentence structure
Restatement: same idea, different wording
Announcement: a statement that precedes what you intend to say

8. Adjust vocabulary to your audience
Relate to your audience’s experience
Use personal pronouns
Ask rhetorical questions
A question that is not meant to be answered
Avoid
Jargon
Cliches
Slang
Euphemisms
Be wary of connotation