Quick start: speaking tomorrow

A talk tonight or tomorrow on one page: three questions to ask, one point and one story, an opening and a last line, the count against your slot, three timed runs and a plan for losing your place.

This page is the short route through Saying yes, Shaping a short talk and Rehearsing out loud. It fits a talk of one to five minutes, such as a toast, a short introduction or a few words at a gathering. Do the steps once, in this order, and the talk has a point, a length and been said aloud. Nothing here asks you to buy anything.

Tonight or tomorrow

1. Ask three questions. How long do you have, when do you speak (and who speaks before and after you), and is there a microphone? Write the answers on the ask sheet. Saying yes explains each question and what to do if no one answers.
2. Write one main point and choose one story. Say the point in one sentence, then pick the one story or detail that shows it. Check any name you will say with the person who owns it. Finding what to say explains how to check a name.
3. Write the opening, the close and the last line. Start with the story or the point, come back to the main point at the close, and end on a line that tells the audience what to do (for a toast, "Please join me in raising a glass to..." and the name). Put them on the plan sheet. Shaping a short talk explains each part.
4. Count the words against your slot. Paste the draft into the timing tool, or multiply your minutes by your words a minute. The manual's planning figure is 130 words a minute; measure your own on the same page if you have a minute to spare. Cut whole points until the count fits.
5. Say it out loud three times and once to a listener. Stand up, use the notes you will hold, and write each time on the rehearsal sheet. One open textbook advises timing yourself at least three times (Exploring Public Speaking, section 11.4). For the listener, ask what your main point was. Rehearsing out loud explains the rest.
6. Write your first line on the top card. Number the cards and write in large letters. If there is no microphone, decide where you will stand and wait for quiet. Voice, microphone and the room covers the microphone.
7. Make the lost-your-place plan. Pause, look down, find the next keyword on the card, and go on. A speech textbook (Stand Up, Speak Out, section 3.4) says a few seconds of silence is less distracting than a string of "ums." Nerves and the unexpected covers what else can go wrong, and its section on emotion covers a voice that catches.

Minimum time: one evening, with the last run the next morning if you can. Done when: the ask sheet has your slot, your place in the program and the microphone answer; the plan has a main point, an opening, a close and a last line; three timed runs fit the slot; and your first line is on the top card.

After tonight

Read the chapter for your occasion: Giving a toast, Introducing a speaker, Tributes and eulogies, A short presentation, or Running a meeting. Then fill in setup, and the green boxes in the manual will say which parts apply to you. The day-of checklist holds the rest of what to bring.