Page 35 - October 2022

stomach aches, facing the entirety of a speech Once you have a solid draft with a good
can be overwhelming. Break it down into bite- structure, then it takes polish to make it shine.
size pieces using the rule of three: Read each word out loud and if you hear any
• Introduce your audience to your subject. tongue twisters or confusing language adjust it.

In the example of the piano lessons,
when, how, and why did you start Take a break from staring at that blank page too

learning to play the piano? Also, tell the long—Do something totally unrelated (like
audience why the subject is important gardening or exercising) because forcing the

to you. process typically causes frustration and no
• Explain your experience through story, results. (I’ve been there.)
bring the audience along with you on the
journey. What was your biggest struggle Just like my poem, writer’s block doesn’t

in learning the piano, your resentments have to stop you. It can be a temporary
in learning how to play, and what did you stumbling block. With the right tools you can
miss out on due to practicing every day? carve your speech into a success story that
• What was the bigger lesson from what helps both you and your audience enjoy the

you learned? How can the audience experience.
benefit when facing their own challenge?
This is critical to your overall message
and will fuel the passion of your speech.

A successful message will be grabbed by
the audience and applied to their own
challenges in the future.

Polish up the rough edges—When
I first wrote Writer’s Block,
everything didn’t automatically
fall into place. I’ve never met

a writer who could write
something perfectly and nothing
ever changed. If that were the
case, editors wouldn’t exist, right?

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VOICES! | OCTOBER 2022