As I prepare my speech for the 2008 Toastmasters International Speech Competition, I realize the importance of brevity. The speech contest requires your speech to be from 5 to 7 minutes with a 30 second grace period either way. As I started writing this speech, I was well over 8 and a half minutes!
This happens all the time as I then take out my scalpel and start trimming words. It's important not to become too attached to any of your speech because you never know when you have to give a part of it the ax.
In the end, it's important to gaining a clearer message so your audience will "get it". Jerry Seinfeld has said that he will spend hours taking a 15 word joke down to 8 words. Why? Because brevity is important. It creates a clearer message for your audience. Remember "Keep it Simple Stupid" (KISS)? That mantra holds true for your speeches and presentations, too!
Dan
P.S. I'm getting closer to announcing my boot camp and workshop dates for the rest of the year. Stay tuned. The best way to do that is to sign up for my FREE e-newsletter. You can do that by going to my website.
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