You’ve probably heard about how public speaking should be “conversational”—and that’s totally true. Your tone, your attitude, your body language, your choice of words, the way you explain things, all of these elements should be conversational.

But the one way in which public speaking shouldn’t be like a conversation is in it’s structure.

Why? Because conversations are usually a hot mess. By which I mean that, unless we’re following a plan for our conversation — we want to discuss a problem, offer support to a friend, etc. — we typically meander. We:

• Careen from topic to topic,
• Jump forward,
• Wind back to an earlier point,
• Leave thoughts unfinished, and
• Switch points on a dime, etc.

And none of that works for public speaking, because—in a successful speech—you can only talk about one thing at a time.

And you can only pull off that trick if your speech has a clear, non-conversational structure.

Why are conversations and speeches so different?

It has to do with the different functions of conversations and speeches.

• A conversation is usually about the relationship between participants. Whether we’re catching up on each other’s news; commiserating about bad luck; rejoicing over some glorious event; or sharing tips for dealing with all of the above, it doesn’t really matter what we talk about. The point is that we’re talking to each other, exploring areas of commonality and difference, and strengthening our relationship.

• Speeches are the opposite. Here, it matters quite a bit what we talk about, because the whole point of making a speech is to present your point of view, and hopefully sell the audience on it. If your idea, theory, position, or opinion is clear to your listeners, and rolls out in a logical way that they can easily follow, you’ve got a chance of persuading them. But if you’re jumping from points A to D and then back to B before telling a story about F, your chances of persuading them (let alone, of just being understood!) are much less.

What questions can you ask before you start creating your speech?

• What’s the most important point I want this audience to understand?
• How can I express that point in one sentence that they’ll remember?
• What topics will my discussion need to cover to be persuasive?
• What stories can I tell to reinforce the point; and finally,
• What do I want them to do differently after they’ve heard me speak?

That may sound very basic and obvious, but in point of fact, it’s not where most of us (often including me) start our thinking when we sit down to create a talk.

The question we usually start with is:

What do I know about this topic?

Begin by identifying what you want to communicate (not what you know)

“What do I know about this topic?” is actually a conversational approach—or rather, it’s the approach you would probably take if someone asked you, “Hey, what do you think about [your topic here].“

The problem is that, if you begin with a conversational structure—sharing things that you know in whatever order they occur to you—that’s what your whole discussion will sound like.

And while that may satisfy you and your listener in a casual conversation, it probably won’t work for an actual speech.

So begin by identifying not what you know, but what you want to communicate; and then make sure your points are laid out in a logical, persuasive order but delivered with a conversational tone and style.

That way you’re got the best of both worlds, and your speech will be easy to deliver, remember and understand!

For more on how to structure a speech that works…

Chapters 3-6 are based on this diagram by the book’s illustrator, Carol Goldberg.

And once you understand this diagram, writing a speech that sounds conversational but isn’t structured conversationally becomes a whole lot easier!