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Organizing and Outlining

To say that a good speech has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion is to say that, once again, it must be outlined the way you would orga­nize a term paper or article. The concept can be summarized by that old saw: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell them; then tell 'em; and finally, tell 'em what you told them."

The All-Important Introduction

"A funny thing happened to me on the way to the hotel tonight . . ."

Oh, yeah?

A funny thing happened to speechwriting in the past few decades:

Speakers learned that audiences don't howl anymore over jokes lifted from books like A Thousand and One Stories for Every Occasion. We get enough formula jokes and canned laughter on television. And the contemporary audience is cynical enough to doubt that the quotation from Aristotle, Will Rogers, or John F. Kennedy is really one of the speaker's favorites, rather than something the speechwriter dug up for the occasion.

In his guidebook for executive speakers, AT&T government relations manager Edward H. McCarthy suggests that the most effective speech is written in an oral style, meaning that the language is clear, vivid, and easy to understand, and the information is easy to retain. Specific suggestions include:

"The rule of thumb concerning a joke is threefold: the speaker can deliver it effectively; it flows out of the experience of the speaker; it is appropriate to the subject." If those tests can be met, then certainly a moment of levity is an effective way to gain the attention and the empa­thy of the listener. The speechwriter might draw out an anecdote from the speaker during the first interview and attempt to shape it into a lively opening remark. If it falls flat in rehearsal, or if the speaker wants to open with something ad lib that is appropriate to the moment, then the humorous story is best left out of the script.

If the speech is to be serious in tone, an ominous opening statement might be appropriate: "Central Valley may be a ghost town ten years from now . . ."

Intriguing, little-known facts can raise the curiosity of the listen­ers: "Every year, twenty-seven pounds of soot and dust particles fall on each of the citizens living in Central City. Fortunately, it falls a little at a time, and not all at once!"

Still another effective device is the revealing bit of personal history:

"This is the first time I've been back to Bloomington since I was gradu­ated from college, and I have to admit the circumstances are a bit happier this time. Now I'm working for the government. When I left, the govern­ment wasn't so happy with me—as a student, I ran up a small fortune in parking fines right here on Campus Drive." (If it doesn't get a big laugh from the audience, at least it may help put the speaker at ease.)

Songwriter, television host, and humorist Steve Allen is renowned as a toastmaster, MC, and speaker on serious subjects as well as light-hearted ones. As a humorist, he knows that jokes can fall flat, and the best humor in a speech adds a human touch, not just a bellylaugh:

Far better than a formula joke, and even better than a funny story, is humor with the ring of truth to it. If you can relate an actual incident, whether it happened to you or to someone else, and if, furthermore, your listeners realize that they are hearing a true story, the results will almost invariably be satisfactory.

The implication for public relations speechwriters is clear. Instead of pounding through old joke books or lifting witticisms from one of the newsletters that packages quips and quotes for use in speeches, sit down with your speaker and try to come up with an incident that really happened. The speaker will relish telling such a real story, and that will add to the audience's enjoyment.