I finally gave my speech…

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, I finally gave my speech on speechwriting to members of the Columbia Club in Indianapolis. Thank you, dear reader, for putting up with the previous blogs I wrote about it throughout my preparation.  

In addition, I want to thank the fellow speechwriters who responded to my blog request for input on what a speech about speechwriting should include. Your excellent suggestions helped me fashion the talk.

I also reached out to more than half-a-dozen people who would be in the audience for the speech to find out what they wanted to know about writing and giving a speech. They also had great questions, the answers to which I worked into the talk or responded to at the end.

On a personal note, I found I was more nervous than I thought I would be and took many deep breaths before I got up to speak. I also talk fast when I’m nervous and had to make a concerted effort to speak slowly.

I handed out speech evaluation sheets to everyone present when I had finished the talk and got excellent feedback. It was overwhelmingly positive, including remarks like “Great job!,” “Very effective transitions,” “It  was informative without being boring,” “Right off the start you got the attention of the audience, “ “Good overview,” “It had a clear direction,” and “It was very good insight on things I could work on.”

In addition, I received comments that showed I still have room for improvement, including these: “A little more humor, please,” “Eliminate nervous laughter,” and “It was a large room with a lot of things going on. Maybe speak a little louder.” 

Excellent suggestions all; I will take them to heart and work on them.

Now, I’m thinking about a “next time.” What other speaking opportunities can I pursue? How can I leverage this talk to additional audiences?

All that in my next blog.  In the meantime, here’s a link to the speech I gave, called “How to Write a Speech that Matters.”