How to Write and Deliver a Speech That Sounds Like You
Speeches need to captivate, or they get ignored. We’ve all heard speeches that probably looked great on paper, but that died in delivery. It wasn’t because the information was wrong or bad. It was likely because the delivery was stilted because it wasn’t written for...
Crafting a “No Saggy Middle” Speech
No one likes a saggy middle. It’s the speech-giving equivalent of a “soggy bottom” (this was for my fellow Great British Bake Off fans). In this series, we’ve talked about how to pick a topic for your speech and how to open and close a talk, now it’s time to address...
How to Open and Close a Speech So People Remember It
You have seven seconds to capture someone’s attention when giving a speech. Seven. That’s all. That’s roughly the average time for a play in professional football. Or enough time to read the first few lines of the crawl in the Star Wars: A New Hope film. It’s not a...
Find the Right Topic for Your Speech or Presentation
What the heck do I say? That’s the first question we often ask ourselves when we need to give a speech or share our ideas in a presentation. What should I talk about? But that’s a problem. It’s too broad a question to answer effectively, and it will stop you before...
The Art of Creative Nonfiction: For Writers Who Want Their Stories to Matter
You are writing the truth and it matters. But does it capture attention? Is your reader or audience interested? Do they lean in for more? They will…with a bit of creative flair. That’s where the creative in creative nonfiction comes in—in the tone, style, rhythm, and...
Why Turning Facts Into Story Changes Everything: Creative Nonfiction in Business
I had a client who once told me he had no stories, only facts. His organization, based in science and aimed at the military, was “serious business,” he said. “There’s no room for frivolous stories.” I changed his mind with one script that captured the essence of his...
What Is Creative Nonfiction—And Why You’re Likely Already Writing It
Admittedly, the name doesn’t help. Creative nonfiction sounds like a literary oxymoron, something filled with fake facts or trying to be like fiction with footnotes. But it’s not. It’s truth with flair. Kind of like Buzz Lightyear falling with style, but on paper. You...
What Is the Neuroscience of Story?
You know those books that grab you and won’t let you go? The ones that keep you up turning pages into the wee hours? And those television shows that have you binging episode after episode without a break? The reason that happens lies in your brain…and the way the...
Common Pitfalls When It Comes to Context
Writing without sufficient context doesn’t lead to “bad prose” as much as it leads to reader disorientation and an emotional disconnect. You lose your reader to confusion and a break in causality.
When your reader can’t tell what matters or why, or how one detail leads to another, they lose the ability to track story logic. It calls everything into question. When that happens, the brain defaults to inferring details and context instead of knowing them. This diminishes the story and robs it of emotional impact.
Context Is the Heart of Story
I am not a yes or no girl. When someone presents only two options, my mind immediately leaps to “what if?” scenarios that fall somewhere in between. It’s how I’m wired. This resistance doesn’t come from a rebellious nature (though I’m not ruling that...