Recently we brought home a fresh made pizza. All we had to do was bake it in the oven, slice it, and delight our taste buds. I tossed the pizza in the preheated oven, set the timer for the recommended minutes, and waited till the buzzer rang.

Five minutes later the pizza was sliced and we took our first bite. Ugh. Instead of fluffy crust, we bit into raw dough. The perimeter was cooked, but the middle doughy.

Two public speaking lessons stand out:

1. Just as there is no exact cooking minutes for pizza that work on every oven, every speech takes different preparation time. A 30 minute presentation on a topic I’m familiar with may take less prep time than a 7 minute speech on an unknown topic.

2. Don’t underestimate the value of extra cooking time. Just 5 more minutes would have turned pizza headed for the garbage into a delicious meal. The difference between an average presentation and a great presentation is often just a little more prep time.

I was able to cook the pizza for another 6 minutes and salvage the meal. We can’t prepare for a presentation after the fact. Put the time in ahead of time and you will serve an excellent presentation.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

Question #25: How do I minimize preparation time when preparing a presentation?

Can you reduce preparation time and increase the quality of your presentation at the same time? Yes, you can with a specific strategy. The key is to marinate your speech. My friend cooks very delicious food. One of his secrets is to take the meat and/or vegetables and marinate them. He will soak them in a liquid filled with spices, acids, and other ingredients. This process may take hours or even  days. Occasionally he will turn it to help the marination process. Marinating the meat enhances the flavor and creates a very delicious meal. Marinating your speech will enhance the quality and reduce your preparation time. How?

1. Have your speech done days or weeks ahead of time.
2. Practice your speech twice a day for three days leading up to the presentation.

When you follow this process, several things will happen:

1. Brilliant thoughts and additional ideas will pop into your mind.
2. You'll think of better ways to word it, and take out unnecessary fluff.
3. You will internalize your speech, so it is a part of you. It will be a very smooth presentation.
4. You will increase your confidence, because you have practiced.
5. You will reduce your preparation time.

By working on your speech over a period of days or weeks you will spend less time staring at your computer screen or notebook. You may jot down a couple notes every evening and slowly build your speech. If you are used to not practicing much, then this extra practice will take more time. However, the quality of your presentation will significantly improve by following the process. Take time to marinate your presentation. You will reduce your speech preparation time and increase the quality of the presentation.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

Imagine you have to give a speech in 5 days. It could be a college class speech, business speech, or even a wedding speech. How do you prepare for this public speaking event? Here are four steps that will help you create an excellent speech.

Step #1: Choose your topic

I used to waste hours and hours thinking of a topic to speak on. Then I discovered a brain storming tip which has helped me choose speech topics.

Take two minutes and write out 10 topics you could talk about. For an example I could brainstorm these topics:

• How to reach your goals
• Lessons I learned from my first job
• Three qualities every good leader has
• How to overcome fear of public speaking
• How to improve your public speaking skills fast
• How to write a book in 90 days
• Why a cruise is a great vacation
• Funny moments in child raising
• Overcome procrastination
  
• Organization made easy

In two minutes I have a list of topics. After two minutes select the best three and analyze them.

Pick the best one. Don’t waste a lot of time choosing a topic. Find something you are interested in, know something about, and meet the expectations of the audience, meeting planner, or professor.

If you don’t like the best one, repeat the entire process. Within 10 minutes you’ll either have your topic or a nice number to choose from.

Step #2: Write out your speech or make a detailed outline

The first time I gave a thirty minute speech, I did not use notes. Worse, I had not even practiced it. I rambled. I was boring. I was very discouraged afterwords. None of that would have happened if I had used this step.

The process of putting your thoughts on paper can double the quality of your speech. If you don’t write it out word for word, make a detailed outline with points.

Step #3: Practice, Practice, Practice

You can reduce your nerves by up to 83% through good preparation. Now take your notes and practice out-loud. Practice while your walking around the house, showering, or during the advertisements of favorite TV show. (By the way TV stands for “time vacuum”)

There is no substitute for good practice!

Mentally practice in the theater of your mind.  This will help implant your speech into your mind.

Step #4: Deliver with power and confidence

Backed with solid preparation, you will be able to stand up and speak with power and confidence.  Make eye contact. Have enthusiasm. Smile. Your public speaking presentation will be great.

(C) Arlen Busenitz – Speakinginfo.com

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

When you are preparing a speech, what is your first step? Do you brainstorm a topic, make an outline, or research? Consider this next speaking tip:

Speech Preparation Tip #24: Find your Chris and Prepare the Speech for Chris.

• What problems does Chris have?
• What would keep Chris’s attention?
• What info will help Chris?

• Select someone you know who represents the audience.
• Ask yourself, “What would I say if it was just this individual in the room?”
• Tailor the speech so it appeals to and impacts the diversity of people in the room.
• Prepare for one, but appeal to all

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

On a warm summer day, I was out riding the lawn mower around the yard. As you know mowing the lawn can be a low concentration task leaving plenty time for daydreaming and/or speech rehearsal.

If you had been standing there, you would have seen my lips move as I worked around the yard. I was applying this next speech preparation tip:

Tip #18: Practice your speech while distracted.

If you and I rehearse a presentation in our living room or office, we can be maybe 90-95% focused on the speech. However, practicing the speech while distracted and suddenly your concentration may drop to 50% or lower.

This makes it more difficult for us to rehearse the speech and thus prepares us for the presentation.

How can you practice your next presentation while distracted.

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

Joe, a dark haired college student, came up to me and asked, “What is one of the best best public speaking tips you can give me?”

• What problems does Chris have?
• What would keep Chris’s attention?
• What info will help Chris?

• Select someone you know who represents the audience.
• Ask yourself, “What would I say if it was just this individual in the room?”
• Tailor the speech so it appeals to and impacts the diversity of people in the room.
• Prepare for one, but appeal to all

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website