Building an arc

In the last two posts, “Kind of Blue” and “The problems with PREP”, we talked about structuring an impromptu speech, or even a promptu speech, if there is such a thing. In either case, the arc of change is what will make your speaking efforts more powerful and compelling.

It could be a change of time, from the beginning of the company to its present circumstances, or from its current troubles to future success. It could be a change of circumstance, such as from going it alone to partnering with another firm. It could be a change of opinion, a change of policy or a change of fortune, but something has got to change.

Ideally, even in an unexpected speaking situation, you have thought through the issues beforehand. But even if you haven’t, all is not lost. There’s a quick and easy technique for structuring your thoughts that you can use when you find yourself in a tight spot. All you really need to do is throw a conjunction between two ideas, or use conjunctions to string together a chain of ideas. The most commonly useful conjunctions would be “but”, “because”, “and” and especially “so”.

If you need to give a damage assessment after a factory fire, it is simply (What happened) so (Current production status).

If the boss asks you to say a few words about the proposal you are working on, you say, “(Current situation) so (Proposal) so (Expected outcome)”, or “(Current situation) because (Cause) so (Proposal)”.

There are dozens of ways you could structure such a response, and you can put it together in your mind in just a few seconds. It’s easy to remember and flexible enough to use in almost any situation.

Whether you have weeks to organize your speech, or just a few seconds, what matters is that you are taking your audience along with you on the journey of your thoughts. They will understand not only what you said, but how you arrived at the message you are delivering; your reasons and your reservations.

This technique won’t make a bad idea better or convince someone to do something that is against their own interests, but it will give you a fighting chance to get your ideas across in a clear and logical form.

And even if you don’t convince them, not babbling like an idiot in front of your boss, your clients or your colleagues is, at the very least, a moral victory.