orted. Focus on talking points that will help you prove your main message or expand further on your main message.
- Your talking points should be clear, short, and to the point. Think of your talking points as your elevator pitch, made up of keywords or short sentences.
- For example, if the main message of your talk is to argue for after school programs at your child’s school, they may be structured as follows:
- Benefits my child’s education, will supply her with educational activities in a controlled, monitored environment.
- Benefits other students at Normandy who need educational guidance and activity once school hours are over.
- Benefits the other parents of students at Normandy High School by providing education and guidance for their children.
3Provide specific examples to support your talking points. You should use examples that are personal and impactful, with the strongest examples listed first. Your examples may be personal stories of success that illustrate the importance of your talk or data that show how useful and effective the main points of your talk will be for your audience.
- Though it may be tempting to make a long list of examples, try to focus on one to two examples that best illustrate your main point or mission. Most speeches are the most effective when they are short and to the point, especially if you are arguing for a particular position or stance on an issue.
- For example, if you are arguing for after school programs at your child’s school, you may tell a short story about how your child struggles with her math assignments and is looking for tutoring that could be provided through the after school program. You may also use data from a national study on after school programs that show how well students in after school programs do in their academics and in their community as a result of these programs.
- Your talking point may look like this:
- Talking point: Benefits your child's education, gives her support in a controlled, monitored environment.
- Example 1: Story about her math assignments.
- Example 2: National study on after school programs and academics.
4Emphasize a win-win solution. Let your audience know why they should care about your talk by providing possible solutions or ways to enact your suggestions. Your talk should not only identify a main message or problem; it should also give your audience several ways to solve or address the main message or problem. Ideally, your talk should present a solution that feels like a win for you, as the speaker, and a win for the audience, your listeners.
- For example, if you are creating possible options or solutions for your argument for more after school programs at your child’s school, you may give one option: introducing an after school program on a trial basis, one to two times a week, with monitoring done by the school for a period of six months. This can act as a test to see how effective the program is for the students at the school.
5End with a call to action. Provide information on what the audience can do to support your mission. This could be in the form of giving a donation, signing a petition, buying a product or volunteering time for a cause. Ending with a call to action will give your audience the opportunity to respond to your talk in a proactive and tangible way.
- To end your talk on after school programs, you may ask your audience to consider signing a petition to support after school programs. You may also ask that the school consider your proposal and respond to you in writing by a set date. This will allow you to hold your audience accountable for any promises made as a result of your talk.
6Provide contact information, if applicable. Let your audience know how they can get in touch with you or your organization. This could be a toll free phone number, an email address, or a website. If you or your organization uses social media to connect with customers, you may also provide your social media contacts.
- Supplying your contact information will show that you are committed to your main message or mission and are willin