Other Checks You Might Make

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· Other Checks You Might Make

There are many other checks you might make on the manuscript for your speech. Here are a few:

Does It Ring True?

If you listen to the radio announcer, you will know what I mean by this check. He gives his all to the commercial for the laundry soap. If it is half as good as he says it is, the soap will banish the work of washday. But somehow his glowing words leave you cold. You tell yourself, "This guy gets paid for saying this." Have you anything in your script that might bring a similar thought to the listener? Do you claim too much? Perhaps it is the truth, backed by laboratory research, the whole truth, and nothing else. But if the audience doesn't believe it, what then, little man?

Is It in Character?

If you are the boss, does this sound like the boss? If you represent an organization, does your script do a good job of representing the organization? Perhaps you could tell the story about the elephants when you are representing yourself. But can you tell it when you are representing your company or your society?

Does It Do Its Job?

Back in Chap. 2 you were advised to write a synopsis. It might be a good idea to check back to that synopsis and see how close your finished script comes to it. Perhaps in the writing you have shifted objectives. That is okay, but try to look at this opus as an outsider would. Does it do its job?

Are the High Points Spotted Right?

In your speech you have a number of high points—stories, gestures, demonstrations, exhibits. Are they all bunched in the early part of the speech? That is the usual thing. They should be spotted throughout the script so that something to hold interest is always just ahead. If you have the high points bunched, do some shuffling.

Does It Build Up to the End?

Most speeches do not build up as they go along. They start off on a high note and then gradually lose steam. By writing the end first you have assured yourself of a good ending. But how do you build up to that end? The material between the start and the end should build up. Your check may call for a rearrangement, but it is a rearrangement that will pay off in audience interest.

Have You Tested the Material?

Speeches are made up of bits of material—a story here, some gossip there, a bit of news, and what not. While it might be a job to test out the entire speech, it is easy to test parts of it. You can do it in conversation with your wife, with associates in the office. You can have the hired help listen to it. You might even record it on a record, or on wire or tape, play it back, and see how it sounds. Since you have written the speech in units you might test out one of the units as a five-minute speech before your service club. Any testing you can do will give you practice, and it can help the finished result.

Check and check and check—that is one of the secrets of the good speech. If you are not satisfied with one part, keep working on it to see what can be done. Usually, no matter how deadly the subject, you can put life and interest into it if you are willing to put in the licks. So put in that time, that extra work. Make your speech as good as you can.