how to make a killer speech

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HOW TO WRITE A KILLER SPEECH IN 6 SIMPLE STEPS

Writing a speech can be a very daunting task. You feel overwhelmed with ideas, you don’t know where to start, how to end, what to talk about it, how to develop your ideas and the list goes on. The good news is writing a killer speech is really easy when you keep in mind the following six simple steps:

1. Be very clear about the topic of the speech 2. Answer the main question with two to five key points… Ideally three 3. Elaborate on these answers 4. Nail the introduction 5. Have a strong conclusion 6. Pay special attention to transitions

1. BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE TOPIC OF THE SPEECH

This is the number one and most important element of any speech. It is the foundation that the entire speech rests upon. If you are not clear about your topic then writing the speech will be extremely difficult and the end result will be a speech which is difficult to understand.

So how do you make sure that the topic is very clear?

The best way to make sure that your topic is very clear is to ensure it answers one of the following questions:

WHAT? WHY? or HOW?

For example, suppose you want to write a speech about “Travel”. Travel is a very broad topic. Writing a speech about it without being very clear about what aspect of travel you want to talk about will be like going down a rabbit hole.

Here are some examples that demonstrate how you can use the method of WHAT, WHY, HOW to get really clear on your speech topic.

• What are the best countries to visit this year?
• What are the best methods of travel?
• What are the most important things to keep in mind when travelling with kids?
• Why is travelling the best form of education?
• Why is it important to travel to places you have never been to before?
• Why travel on a train, rather than on a plane?
• How travelling can change your life?
• How to travel on a budget?
• How to travel without leaving your home?

It is important to note that the title and the topic of the speech need not be the same. For example, if you choose the topic: “why travel on a train, rather than on a plane”, you could for example have the title: “Trains not Planes”. Or, “Ditch the Plane, Jump on the Train”, etc.

2. ANSWER THE MAIN QUESTION WITH TWO TO FIVE KEY POINTS… IDEALLY THREE

Once you have a very clear question in mind, it is time to find answers to it. Preferably you want to answer the question in using two to five key points. Anything less will come across as too little, and anything more will come across as too much.

Whilst anything between two and five key points is recommended, the ideal number is three. Three is the magic number in public speaking, it is just right. It is not too little and not too much..

For example, let’s say you chose the speech topic: “why travel on a train, rather than on a plane”. You can for example have the following three answers:

• Trains are usually cheaper
• Trains make you appreciate the distances
• In trains you experience a gradual shift of culture

The same principle applies to any other speech topic questions you choose.

3. ELABORATE ON THESE ANSWERS

You now have a main speech question and two to five key answers. Next is to elaborate on these answers. You can elaborate by explaining what you mean by each point, by using examples, stories, statistics and other relevant supporting information.

For example, building on the three answers from the previous point.

1. Trains are usually cheaper

A while ago I had a deep desire to explore the world. There was one problem: I was on a very tight budget! A quick calculation made me realise that airplane tickets will cost me more than half of my travel budget. I started thinking of ways to save money: cheaper hotels, camping, cooking at home. I then realised that I could save a lot of money by travelling by train rather than always going on a plane.

2. Trains make you appreciate distances

A great thing about travel is that it widens your horizons and helps you see the world in a whole new light. One of the biggest things I realised when I travelled in trains was how big the world is! In an airplane we travel halfway across the world in around 10 hours. The same journey will take days if not weeks in a train. This experience alone made me see the world in a totally different light.

3. In trains you experience a gradual shift of culture

When I travelled in trains I witnessed how cultures gradually change across countries, towns and villages. It was an incredible experience that I would not have had had I travelled in planes.

In the examples above, I provided just a few lines of elaboration for each point for demonstration purposes. However, in practice you can elaborate further by adding more stories, examples and explanations.

4. NAIL THE INTRODUCTION

Although the introduction is the first element of the speech, it is not necessarily the first one to be written. In fact it is recommended that you write the introduction after you have decided on the topic and written the body of the speech. The reason for this is the purpose of the introduction is to let the audience know what the speech is about. Before deciding on the topic and writing the speech you usually have a hazy idea of what the entire speech is about and therefore the introduction tends to not be very clear and focused when written first.

A crucial part of the introduction is the first sentence. The first sentence is the most important sentence in the entire speech. It sets the energy, pace and feel of the rest of the speech.

There are four recommended ways to start a killer speech.

• Did you know that it is possible to travel from Portugal to Vietnam solely by train?!
• If time was unlimited, I would choose to travel by train instead of plane every single time!
• I love trains!

2. A  question : A powerful way to gain insight about the audience can be by starting with a question. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when doing this:

• Make sure it is a closed question( Yes or No question). You don’t want to ask a question that has an elaborate answer. For example, an effective question would be:  Who here has ever used trains to travel between continents?  A example of a ineffective question:  what is the longest train route in the world?  A closed question ( Yes or No question) is personal, easy to answer, and will engage the audience as everyone can answer it.. An open question is difficult to answer and will engage only a certain members of the audience.
• Indicate to the audience that you want an answer. Either by putting your hand up to let them know that you would like a response or by using a phrase such as: “by show of hands”
• A  quote : A powerful way to start a speech is by using a quote. You can find a quote by googling quotes online relevant to your topic. For example, you can start the speech by saying:  Anna Funder once said: “I like trains. I like their rhythm, and I like the freedom of being suspended between two places, all anxieties of purpose taken care of: for this moment I know where I am going.”
• A  story . This is a very engaging way to start a killer speech. A personal favourite of mine. It is preferable to share a personal a story but you can also tell a story you have heard.

After the first sentence, whether it is a statement, question, quote or story, you can let the audience know what the point of the speech is. For example:

Did you know that it is possible to travel from Portugal to Vietnam solely by train? It is a 17,000 km trip that takes an estimated 275 hours. The same trip takes around 16 hours by plane, yet I will share with you why it is a great idea to do this journey travelling by train..

5. HAVE A STRONG CONCLUSION

The conclusion has a precise role in speeches. In the conclusion you want to remind the audience of what you have covered in the body of the speech and/or have a call to action.

For example, you can conclude the speech as follows:

• If you have the luxury of time, I highly recommend to travel by train. It is cheaper, it makes you appreciate distances and it exposes you to the gradual shift in culture.

In the previous example the conclusion was both a summary and a call to action. You reminded the audience of the three key points you mentioned in the speech which in turn were calls to action themselves.

There are few things to consider when writing the conclusion:

• Make sure you end on a strong note. You don’t want to end your speech they saying something like:  Yeah and that’s it , or,  I think I have covered everything , or,  shall I finish here or do you want me to tell you about an awesome story I once happened to me on the train?
• Make sure you do not add a new point. Adding a new point that was not covered in the body of the speech usually leads to confusion and incoherence of ideas. For example the following conclusion is not ideal:  If you have the luxury of time, I highly recommend travelling by trains. I did not mention also how when you take the train you don’t need to be at the station hours before departure . In this example a new point has been introduced that was not mentioned in the speech.
• Make sure you do not sabotage the main topic by contradicting yourself. Here is an example of contradicting oneself:  While trains are sometimes better than planes. If you do not have the luxury of time just use the plane instead.  In this example a point that was not inline with the purpose of the speech has been added. This sabotages the main purpose of the speech which is encouraging people to use trains

6. PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO TRANSITIONS

Transitions are the sentences that connect one element of the speech to another. Transitions are needed to make any speech flow smoothly. Think of them as the lubricants of the speech. Without transitions the speech will be clunky, disjointed and robotic. Always remember to pay special attention to transitions because it is very easy to forget about them, not place enough importance on them or miss them out altogether. In fact, when clients ask me: “Should I memorise my speech?” My answer is: You do not have to memorise the entire speech word for word. However, I always recommend you memorise the introduction, the conclusion, the structure of the body (the 2 to 5 key points) and the transitions between each of these sections.

Start getting better at public speaking today!

We distilled the art of public speaking into three concise and easy to read chapters: Character Development, Speech Preparation and Speech Delivery.

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Chris Anderson shares his tips for giving a killer presentation

In a new essay in The Harvard Business Review ’s June issue , Anderson shares his fine-tuned advice for delivering a powerful talk. A few choice tidbits:

“We all know that humans are wired to listen to stories, and metaphors abound for the narrative structures that work best to engage people. When I think about compelling presentations, I think about taking an audience on a journey.”

“Many of our best and most popular TED Talks have been memorized word for word … Most people go through what I call the ‘valley of awkwardness,’ where they haven’t quite memorized the talk. If they give the talk while stuck in that valley, the audience will sense it … Getting past this point is simple, fortunately. It’s just a matter of rehearsing enough times that the flow of words becomes second nature.”

“Perhaps the most important physical act onstage is making eye contact. Find five or six friendly-looking people in different parts of the audience and look them in the eye as you speak. Think of them as friends you haven’t seen in a year, whom you’re bringing up to date on your work.“

Read more and/or purchase the full article »

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9 Killer Speech Openers to Start a Talk or Presentation.​

Danny Riley 8 min read

What you’ll learn:

• The importance of a “killer” speech opening.
• 9 powerful speech openers and how to use them.
• Examples from great speakers you can learn from.

Great speech openers hook your audience.

“ Well begun is half done” – Mary Poppins.

A killer speech opener will make the difference between a presentation that makes you soar or your audience snore .

I’ve researched the whole web to find nine killer speech openers to make your audience lean in and listen rather than tune out and daydream.

You’ll see how masters of the craft have used them, and how you can too.

Number seven takes hutzpah to pull off. Ready for the whole list of killer speech openers?

The Shock Opener

One of the best ways to open your speech with a buzz is to startle or shock them.

You can shock an audience in many ways, but they all rest on the major senses of VAKS:

• Kinesthetic (touch) 

We don’t want your audience tasting your talk, but it should leave a good taste in their mouths.

Changing Minds suggests asking if the audience is awake after appearing from a flashbang and a cloud of smoke, and this might work for you if you’re a magician or playing some kind of character for your speech like a genie.

Suppose you aren’t going for the magic angle. 

In that case, you can shock them on a psychological level instead, as Conor Neill recommends, and tell your audience a surprising fact or statistic that makes them question their thinking or beliefs.

“Did you know that half the water on earth is older than the sun?”

Questions like these will shake an audience awake and turn on their critical thinking nervous-system.

Don’t take my word for it; you can see an incredible demonstration of the shock opener in Mohammed Qahtani’s speech, The Power of Words .

Qahtani opens by taking out a cigarette and placing it into his mouth before trying to light it. The audience is so shocked that they gasp and tell him to stop.

Remember, if your audience is shocked, they are listening.

Your audience doesn’t always have to be jolted to attention with a shock opener, though you can use a more subtle approach to grab their focus. 

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The story opener.

You can set the tone of your speech instantly with a story .

In Hollywood, filmmakers and directors use an ‘establishing shot’ to set the tone and theme of the entire film.

When creating your speech, think of a short story that sums up your talk.

Maybe you tell half the story to begin with, and then the other half at the end. 

The important thing is your tale must be relatable . If your audience can’t imagine themselves in the story, they won’t be engaged.

We all experience very similar things in life: 

• We all went to school and had a teacher we loved
• We all have parents who loved us or made mistakes in our upbringing
• We all had a first crush.

We are all cut from the same cloth, so it’s good to be reminded that others are going through what we face or think as we do.

Bryan Stevenson does a stellar job of recounting his mischievous grandmother in his TED talk, We need to talk about an injustice .

The best thing is, you can combine a story-opener with any other speech opener in this list.

It’s truly versatile.

One of my favourite speech openers is next, though.

The Intrigue Opener

I love this speech opener.

What better way to hook your audience than to intrigue them with mystery or a juicy secret?

Take a look at Daniel Pink’s TED Talk The puzzle of motivation . After he begins, Pink, looking like a guilty man sent to the gallows tells his audience:

“I need to confess something, at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something I regret. Something I’m not particularly proud of”.

Wow. How intriguing, right?

You have to admit; you want to know what he’s about to confess.

Choose every sentence, every word, and every mark of punctuation to increase the tantalisation temperature.

Whether it’s a secret or confession, the Intrigue Opener piques just enough curiosity in your audience to keep them from checking Whatsapp.

As humans, we need closure. 

We do not like open loops. 

That’s why it is both enthralling and aggravating when someone plays on our need to be sure.

Just as we cannot stand an open loop, we are instantly engaged when someone gives us a puzzle to solve.

You’ll notice the best speeches, books, tv shows, and films do not spoon feed you all of the information.

I’ve always liked the way Malcolm Gladwell writes his non-fiction books because they contain puzzles that you solve as a reader.

This puzzle needs to be related to the speech or presentation you’re delivering, of course. It cannot be a random puzzle and will ideally be impossible or extremely difficult to solve at first.

After the speech begins and the puzzle is revealed, you should slowly drop hints on how to solve the mystery.

Up next, speech openers that use a physical object to create curiosity in the audience’s mind.

The Prop Opener

One of the most potent ways you will captivate your audience is to use a powerful prop in your opening address.

What better way to capture an audience’s imagination than to show them a mysterious or beautiful object?

If you’ve never seen the Prop Opener done well, then take a look at one of the greatest speeches of all time:

Dananjaya Hettiarachchi’s, See Something .

Danajaya enters with a simple rose in his breast pocket, takes it out, gazes at it nostalgically, smells it and then begins to speak.

This same prop appears again right at the end of his speech to end his talk with a flourish.

There are many different props you can use.

JJ Abrams used a Mystery Box to absorb the audience’s attention and used the box as a metaphor for his entire career.

If you think the prop opener is just for TED Talks and Toastmasters Final Speeches, remember that most company product launch centre around one or more props.

Steve Jobs revealed his new products in ever-innovative ways.

Still, while the last two speeches I’ve mentioned opened with physical items, most of Jobs’s presentations built intrigue through the sight of the product.

So remember, you can use an object, or tease your audience with the absence of a prop, but make that prop integral to your talk.

You don’t always have to use a prop, of course. 

A more minimalist approach to opening your speech uses the best audience reaction a speaker can receive: laughter.

The Funny Opener

Using laughter to win over your audience is the golden ticket to immediate rapport with your audience.

Jack Schafer, PhD at Psychology Today, said that People Will Like You If You Make Them Laugh , which seems obvious, but at least you know we have scientists on the case. 

He also mentions that constructing humour requires and projects a high level of intelligence .

Of course, laughter is subjective, but it is also infectious, and if you get enough members of your audience to titter, it will spread across the whole group.

If you want to see just how quickly you can win an audience over with humour, take a look at Ken Robinson’s subtle but delightful ability to raise a chuckle in his speech Do Schools Kill Creativity? 

Ken’s ability to speak conversationally to an audience of thousands is genuinely remarkable.

If you break down his humour, it is easy to see how you could include similar content in your presentations. 

Whether you can pull it off as well as Ken is another story.

Not everyone feels like they can be a comedian, though; I get that. 

Well, that’s alright because there are other ways to open your talk that play on other strong emotions.

You can inspire your audience too.

The Inspirational Opener

One of my favourite ways to help beginner speakers to open their presentation is with a quote.

A quote acts like a story in that it sets the tone and theme of your speech, but it takes much less effort and even less skill.

An effective quote is usually only one line long and supported by the credibility of the original author who uttered those words.

Watch the way Clint Smith opens his TED Talk  The Danger of Silence .

Using Martin Luther King’s voice to start his speech gives Clint what psychologists call the transference effect .

Just by citing someone else, especially someone admired and famous, you redirect the emotions an audience have towards that person onto yourself.

One caveat to using quotes, though:

Fact check them . I cringe whenever I see someone incorrectly quoting someone.

Have you ever heard the quote by Albert Einstein:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results”?

A great quote, isn’t it?

But Albert Einstein never said those words .

A quick check on Reuters will help you add more credibility to your inspirational opener.

Finally, try to use a quote few people have ever heard. Inspiring words have been filling the archives of history for millennia, so seek out something that has been left dusty on the shelf rather than the same recycled iterations.

Next, let’s look at a type of bold speech opener that take real hutzpah to land well.

The Perspective Shift Opener

A powerful speech opener that will take confidence is the perspective shift opener.

This opener will lead the audience in one direction before changing direction and setting a new pace for the speech.

Cameron Russel does a fantastic job of controlling the frame in her TED Talk Looks aren’t everything. Believe me; I’m a model.

Russel takes to the stage dressed in a skimpy dress and begins to tell the audience about her career, but then does a rapid wardrobe change on stage in front of the entire audience. 

This change of dress sets a new tone, feel, and direction for the speech.

If you can change the audience’s perspective or frame of reality, you are in the driving seat.

One of the best things you can hope for as a speaker is moving hearts and changing minds. 

If you aren’t a confident speaker, start small.

Vanessa Van Edwards suggests never mentioning how nervous you are. 

It’s distracting and makes the audience pick up on all the subtle nervous energy and cues you give off. Control the frame instead and act cool and confident: they will buy into it.

Another great way to hold frame control over an audience is by using the power of silence .

The Silence Opener

Silence is a valuable commodity in today’s noisy and distracting digital world.

Creating silence at the beginning of your talk can profoundly affect your audience and their focus.

Did you ever have a teacher at school who used silence effectively?

When my English classmates were noisy, our teacher Mr Rylance would hold up his hand in silence. 

Slowly we would settle down and focus on his raised hand. 

A few would giggle, but that would peter out until we all wrapt in a hypnotic stillness.

If you want to see an example of how to use silence, then look at Neal Glitterman’s speech The Power of Silence .

You can see how much gravity silence can have , especially as a speech opener.

The final killer opener I want to introduce you to is the big promise opener.

The Big Promise Opener

I believe that all speeches and presentations should contain a big promise as it tells your audience why they should keep on listening.

Ideally, your big promise will be your speech title or phrase that pays which is a recurring foundational phrase you will use throughout your presentation.

A big promise is your way of making a deal with the audience : you listen to me, and you’ll get something in return.

Creating a big promise at the beginning of your speech is like adding a teaser trailer to the beginning of a TV show. It suggests a reason you should stick around.

When Arthur Benjamin introduces his talk Faster than a calculator by announcing:

 “I am a human calculator!”

You know that proof is on the way.

Remember the essential rule of the Big Promise Opener: make it big and keep your promise.

WOW your audience with these killer speech openers.

I hope you feel that I kept my promise of sharing nine killer speech openers to start a presentation.

Did you notice any other speech openers at the beginning of this article?

Don’t forget; these openers can be mixed and matched.

You can include a number of these speech openers in the same presentation to create more impact.

Let me know which of these killer openers was your favourite, and let me know if you have any more you’d like to share.

– Danny Riley

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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How To Give a Killer Speech

I’m the guy who runs TED Talks. Here’s the inside scoop.

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Episode Notes

We all have to give a presentation at some point in our lives — on a stage, in a conference room, and, these days, on Zoom. So what makes a good speech? On this episode of How To!, we bring on Chris Anderson, the head of TED Talks and author of TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking . Chris gives us the inside scoop on the famous speaking series and breaks down some of the greatest speeches of all time. Then we present Chris with an unusual challenge from a 6th-grader named Lucy. She wrote in asking for help with a speech she is planning to give to her school board about improving her school. Can the head of TED help our 6th-grade listener with the biggest speech of her young life?

If you liked this episode, check out our episode featuring Guy Raz, the former host of TED Radio Hour : “ How To Become Your Own Boss With Guy Raz .”

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Derek John, Rachael Allen, and Rosemary Belson.

About the Show

We all need advice, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to turn. Each week, Courtney Martin and Carvell Wallace bring a listener on to the show to solve their toughest problems with the help of world-class experts. It’s free therapy, and you’re invited.

David Epstein is a science writer and host emeritus of How To! He is the author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World and of the bestseller The Sports Gene . He was previously an investigative reporter at ProPublica and senior writer at Sports Illustrated.

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Communication , Featured

18 tips for killer presentations.

Jerry Seinfeld has a skit where he points out that studies show public speaking is a bigger fear than death. That means, he claims, that if you are going to a funeral you are better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. While there isn’t a lot you can do to melt away your anxiety, a the best start is simply to make a better presentation.

Becoming a competent, rather than just confident, speaker requires a lot of practice. But here are a few things you can consider to start sharpening your presentation skills:

• 10-20-30 Rule – This is a slideshow rule offered by Guy Kawasaki. This rule states that a powerpoint slide should have no more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes and have no text less than 30 point font. He says it doesn’t matter whether your idea will revolutionize the world, you need to spell out the important nuggets in a few minutes minutes, a couple slides and a several words a slide.
• Be Entertaining – Speeches should be entertaining and informative. I’m not saying you should act like a dancing monkey when giving a serious presentation. But unlike an e-mail or article, people expect some appeal to their emotions. Simply reciting dry facts without any passion or humor will make people less likely to pay attention.
• Slow Down – Nervous and inexperienced speakers tend to talk way to fast. Consciously slow your speech down and add pauses for emphasis.
• Eye Contact – Match eye contact with everyone in the room. I’ve also heard from salespeople that you shouldn’t focus all your attention on the decision maker since secretaries and assistants in the room may hold persuasive sway over their boss.
• 15 Word Summary – Can you summarize your idea in fifteen words? If not, rewrite it and try again. Speaking is an inefficient medium for communicating information, so know what the important fifteen words are so they can be repeated.
• 20-20 Rule – Another suggestion for slideshows. This one says that you should have twenty slides each lasting exactly twenty seconds. The 20-20 Rule forces you to be concise and to keep from boring people.
• Don’t Read – This one is a no brainer, but somehow Powerpoint makes people think they can get away with it. If you don’t know your speech without cues, that doesn’t just make you more distracting. It shows you don’t really understand your message, a huge blow to any confidence the audience has in you.
• Speeches are About Stories – If your presentation is going to be a longer one, explain your points through short stories, quips and anecdotes. Great speakers know how to use a story to create an emotional connection between ideas for the audience.
• Project Your Voice – Nothing is worse than a speaker you can’t hear. Even in the high-tech world of microphones and amplifiers, you need to be heard. Projecting your voice doesn’t mean yelling, rather standing up straight and letting your voice resonate on the air in your lungs rather than in the throat to produce a clearer sound.
• Don’t Plan Gestures – Any gestures you use need to be an extension of your message and any emotions that message conveys. Planned gestures look false because they don’t match your other involuntary body cues. You are better off keeping your hands to your side.
• “That’s a Good Question” – You can use statements like, “that’s a really good question,” or “I’m glad you asked me that,” to buy yourself a few moments to organize your response. Will the other people in the audience know you are using these filler sentences to reorder your thoughts? Probably not. And even if they do, it still makes the presentation more smooth than um’s and ah’s littering your answer.
• Breathe In Not Out – Feeling the urge to use presentation killers like ‘um,’ ‘ah,’ or ‘you know’? Replace those with a pause taking a short breath in. The pause may seem a bit awkward, but the audience will barely notice it.
• Come Early, Really Early – Don’t fumble with powerpoint or hooking up a projector when people are waiting for you to speak. Come early, scope out the room, run through your slideshow and make sure there won’t be any glitches. Preparation can do a lot to remove your speaking anxiety.
• Get Practice – Join Toastmasters and practice your speaking skills regularly in front of an audience. Not only is it a fun time, but it will make you more competent and confident when you need to approach the podium.
• Don’t Apologize – Apologies are only useful if you’ve done something wrong. Don’t use them to excuse incompetence or humble yourself in front of an audience. Don’t apologize for your nervousness or a lack of preparation time. Most audience members can’t detect your anxiety, so don’t draw attention to it.
• Do Apologize if You’re Wrong – One caveat to the above rule is that you should apologize if you are late or shown to be incorrect. You want to seem confident, but don’t be a jerk about it.
• Put Yourself in the Audience – When writing a speech, see it from the audiences perspective. What might they not understand? What might seem boring? Use WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) to guide you.
• Have Fun – Sounds impossible? With a little practice you can inject your passion for a subject into your presentations. Enthusiasm is contagious.

What tips do you have for making killer presentations?

How to Use a Planner Effectively

How to Be a Better Planner: Avoid the Planning Fallacy

5 Best Apps to Help You Delegate Tasks Easily

Delegating Leadership Style: What Is It & When To Use It?

The Fear of Delegating Work To Others

Why Is Delegation Important in Leadership?

7 Best Tools for Prioritizing Work

How to Deal with Competing Priorities Effectively

What Is the RICE Prioritization Model And How Does It Work?

4 Exercises to Improve Your Focus

What Is Chronic Procrastination and How To Deal with It

How to Snap Out of Procrastination With ADHD

Are Depression And Procrastination Connected?

Procrastination And Laziness: Their Differences & Connections

Bedtime Procrastination: Why You Do It And How To Break It

15 Books on Procrastination To Help You Start Taking Action

Productive Procrastination: Is It Good or Bad?

The Impact of Procrastination on Productivity

How to Cope With Anxiety-Induced Procrastination

How to Break the Perfectionism-Procrastination Loop

15 Work-Life Balance Books to Help You Take Control of Life

Work Life Balance for Women: What It Means & How to Find It

6 Essential Mindsets For Continuous Career Growth

How to Discover Your Next Career Move Amid the Great Resignation

The Key to Creating a Vibrant (And Magical Life) by Lee Cockerell

9 Tips on How To Disconnect From Work And Stay Present

Work-Life Integration vs Work-Life Balance: Is One Better Than the Other?

How To Practice Self-Advocacy in the Workplace (Go-to Guide)

How to Boost Your Focus And Attention Span

What Are Distractions in a Nutshell?

What Is Procrastination And How To End It

Prioritization — Using Your Time & Energy Effectively

Delegation — Leveraging Your Time & Resources

Your Guide to Effective Planning & Scheduling

The Ultimate Guide to Achieving Goals

How to Find Lasting Motivation

Complete Guide to Getting Back Your Energy

How to Have a Good Life Balance

Explore the time flow system.

About the Time Flow System

Key Philosophy I: Fluid Progress, Like Water

Key Philosophy II: Pragmatic Priorities

Key Philosophy III: Sustainable Momentum

Key Philosophy IV: Three Goal Focus

How the Time Flow System Works

College Info Geek

How to Give a Killer Speech (Ep. 212)

C.I.G. is supported in part by its readers. If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

Public speaking.

If merely reading that sent a wave of fear through your very spine, you’re not alone. It’s one of humanity’s greatest fears, which only tells me that you all haven’t been paying enough attention to the relentless might of the hippopotamus. But that’s another story.

We’re taking today’s episode to talk a bit about our experiences with public speaking, and some of the ways we get through this apparently terrifying ordeal relatively unscathed.

Next time you’re called up to the front of the room, you’ll be ready.

Things mentioned in this episode:

This week’s episode is sponsored by:

• Brilliant : Accelerate your learning in math, science, and computer science. Start learning for free at Brilliant.org/CollegeInfoGeek — and if you use this link, you’ll also get 20% off your subscription.

Other things we mentioned in this episode:

• How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
• Peter Fonda
• 8 Things to STOP Doing When You Wake Up in the Morning
• 5 Rules for Answering ESSAY Questions on Exams
• How to Stay Hydrated: Here’s Everything You Need to Know
• Jerry Seinfeld
• Comedy Writing Secrets , by Mark Shatz and Mel Helitzer
• alpha m on YouTube
• Charisma on Command on YouTube
• Adam Driver’s Ted Talk
• Listen Money Matters
• Toastmasters
• CaseyNeistat on YouTube
• Become a Better Speaker: 9 Essential Public Speaking Skills
• 4 Tips for Crafting Great Speeches and Presentations
• Good to Great , by  James C. Collins

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page .

Timestamps:

• 0:09:10 – Dealing with anxiety and practicing a speech
• 0:19:43 – Remembering your lines and the 2 levels of practicing public speaking
• 0:28:42 – Delivering jokes in your presentations
• 0:32:26 – Sponsor: Brilliant (Learning problem-solving skills)
• 0:34:21 – Delivering jokes in your presentations (continued)
• 0:39:05 – Preparing your speech and keeping people engaged
• 0:45:17 – Building self-confidence 
• 0:55:00 – Classes we recommend taking in high school
• 1:11:13 – Outlining and planning speeches
• 1:13:23 – Additional tips and conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure 🙂 You can also leave a review!

Here’s an image for sharing this episode on social media:

6 Examples of Killer Speech Openings That You Can Use

Think about a speech you saw or heard that stuck with you. What is it about that speech that makes you remember it long after you’ve heard it? The speaker was probably dynamic and engaging or the topic was compelling and of particular interest to you. The speech probably had a killer opening as well.

The introduction to a speech is one of its most crucial aspects. It’s where you grab your audience’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the speech. If your speech opening isn’t memorable, the rest of your speech probably won’t be either.

To help you understand the impact a good opening can have, here’s a list of six killer speech intros. The fact that these speeches are so memorable shows why public speaking is important and why your introduction should be strong.

Julian Treasure: Start with a question 

“The human voice: It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world, probably. It’s the only one that can start a war or say ‘I love you.’ And yet many people have the experience that when they speak, people don’t listen to them. And why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”

Julian Treasure’s speech “How to speak so that people want to listen” showcases a tried and true speech opening technique: asking a question. You shouldn’t ask just any question, though. It should be a compelling, thought-provoking question that doesn’t have a straightforward answer.

Asking the audience what they had for lunch that day isn’t compelling, unless you have an interesting reason for asking it that you follow up with. Treasure’s compelling question doesn’t require an immediate answer but instead asks you to think.

Ric Elias: Incredible story

“Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well, I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

One way to grab the attention of your audience right away is to tell an exciting or unbelievable story. Ric Elias’s speech about surviving a plane crash goes straight into the action, asking the listener to imagine unbelievable situation he was in. With an opening like that, who wouldn’t want to keep listening to find out what happens next?

To make your intro story more effective, don’t finish it right away. Come back to it later in the speech so that your audience is held in anticipation.

Dan Pink: Make a “confession” 

“I need to make a confession at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret, something that I’m not particularly proud of.”

Dan Pink’s speech grabs your attention right away because he makes a confession. He’s letting you in on a secret about himself or something he did and you want to listen because you want to hear it.

Letting your audience know a secret or confessing information about yourself makes them feel exclusive, like they have access to something that others don’t. Exclusivity always piques interest.

Jane McGonigal: Provocative statement 

“I’m a gamer, so I like to have goals. I like special missions and secret objectives. So here’s my special mission for this talk: I’m going to try to increase the life span of every single person in this room by seven and a half minutes. Literally, you will live seven and a half minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

Starting a speech with a provocative statement is similar to starting with a question. You make the audience think. You surprise them or say something unexpected and they keep listening to hear an explanation.

Jane McGonigal uses this tactic in her speech , claiming she will expand the life span of every audience member by seven and half minutes. It’s intriguing, provocative, and makes you wonder instantly how she’s going to do it.

Pamela Meyer: Set up a problem (then solve it) 

“Okay, now I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. Also, the person to your left is a liar. Also, the person sitting in your very seats is a liar. We’re all liars.”

People love hearing about a big problem and then knowing the solution — it’s a common framework from literature that you can borrow for your speech. By telling her entire audience that they are liars, Pamela Meyer sets up a problem that seems difficult to solve: how to know who is a liar. She unravels the solution in the rest of her speech , explaining how to become a liespotter.

Sir Ken Robinson: Humor  

“Good morning. How are you?” (Audience replies “Good”) “It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.”

Humor can be an impactful way to start a speech, but it’s also risky. Your joke might fall flat and leave everyone feeling uncomfortable. If you tell the right joke, however, it can go over well.

Sir Ken Robinson’s speech , “Do schools kill creativity?” is one of the most watched TED Talks of all time and for good reason. His speech is engaging and dynamic, centering on a topic that almost everyone can easily relate to. What could’ve been a boring start — “Good morning. How are you?” — becomes a funny and memorable speech opening thanks to Robinson’s timing and deadpan delivery.

Make your speech opening memorable

If you want to deliver an engaging address that your audience members will speak about years later, be sure to craft an unforgettable opening. By using any of the above techniques, you’re likely to have a more solid start to your speech. Who knows? Maybe your speech opening will be so good it’ll end up on a list just like this one.

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English & EAL

Creating A Killer Contention For Your Oral Presentation

January 24, 2020

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The following is a snippet from my study guide, How To Write A Killer Oral Presentation . It's filled with unique advice that takes you from start to finish in mimicking the techniques used by a perfect-scorer VCE Year 12 student. You may want to start off reading Our Ultimate Guide to Oral Presentations and come back to this blog if you haven't already!

This blog covers the first step within Pillar 2: Writing The ‘This Is-Going-To-Blow-You-Away’ Speech. Once you've chosen an interesting topic and have researched all of its different viewpoints, it's time to formulate your contention. Often, creating a killer contention is about avoiding some common traps that will make your overall presentation boring, bland and just like the rest of your cohorts'.

So, I like to avoid: ‍

Broad, overarching statements

If you think your contention is, ‘abortion in Australia’ then you’re wrong. This is simply not a contention! A contention is an opinion. The example, ‘abortion in Australia’ offers no insight into your opinion on the issue at all. Instead, ‘We need to consider women’s mental health when judging their decision on abortion’ is an opinion. ‍

A contention that is just plain obvious

Let’s say we use the issue of ‘homelessness in Australia’. Arguing ‘homelessness in Australia is a problem’ or ‘we need to fix the homelessness issue in Australia’ just isn’t going to cut it because you’d never argue the opposite, ‘homelessness is great’. There are no differing viewpoints against your contention which means that you have nothing to argue against.

You need to be more specific with your issue - that’s why you looked up all those viewpoints in your research. For example, you could contend, ‘We need to fix the problems in homes in order to fix Australia’s homeless issue.’ This does has varied viewpoints because someone else’s solution could be to give homeless people greater access to help.

TEST: Before you move on to writing structure, ask yourself, can people argue against my contention? If yes, proceed ahead! If no, you’ll need to revise your contention again. Do this over and over until you can confidently answer ‘yes’ to the above question.

Avoid a contention that is generally accepted as true in today’s age ‍

When climate change first came onto the radar, the main debate was whether it was a real or a conspiracy theory. These discussions were in full force over 5+ years ago. These days (with the exception of climate change skeptics of course), discussion on climate change revolves more heavily around the slow pace of policy implementation, intergenerational effects of climate change, and mental health surrounding climate change.

Rather than arguing, ‘Climate change is real?’ (which your teacher has probably listened to a dozen times), you’re better suited to argue ‘Young people, not governments, should lead the fight against climate change’. Not only does this tie into the LSG belief that you should be more specific with your issue, it’ll also mean that your contention is relevant to today.

Now it's your turn. Give it a go! You might need to take a few tries to get your contention right, and that's absolutely OK.

If even after that you’re still unsure about your contention, make it a priority to speak to your teacher about it. Ask them if they could review your proposed contention and offer you any constructive feedback. Heck, even if you are confident with your contention, I’d ask your teacher anyway for any insight you mightn’t have thought of.

Wondering where to go from here? Well, luckily, my eBook, How To Write A Killer Oral Presentation, details my exact step-by-step process so you can get that A+ in your SAC this year.

• Access a step-by-step guide on how to write your Oral Presentation with simple, easy-to-follow advice
• Read and analyse sample A+ Oral Presentations with EVERY speech annotated and broken down on HOW and WHY students achieved A+ so you reach your goal
• Learn how to stand out from other students with advice on your speech delivery

Sounds like something that'd help you? I think so too! Access the full eBook by clicking here !

Get our FREE VCE English Text Response mini-guide

Now quite sure how to nail your text response essays? Then download our free mini-guide, where we break down the art of writing the perfect text-response essay into three comprehensive steps. Click below to get your own copy today!

Access a FREE sample of our How To Write A Killer Oral Presentation study guide

Written by Lisa Tran, who achieved FULL marks in her Oral Presentation:

• How to choose, plan and write your oral presentation and written explanation
• A simple, persuasive speech structure that will blow your audience away
• All essays FULLY annotated so you know exactly what you need to do and what not to do

Don't forget to also check out Our Ultimate Guide to Oral Presentations for everything you need to know for Oral Presentations.

Since September 2015, the current affairs has been raging with numerous controversial topics - perfect for your oral presentation! Here are some of the more interesting issues that would be a good starting point for your oral. Remember to offer an interesting and unique argument, even if it may mean adopting the unconventional or unpopular point of view on the issue!

Oral presentation topics 2016

1. Should we have 24 hour public transport on weekends?

2. Gender selective abortion in Australia

3. Should the driving age in Australia be lowered?

4. Cricket star Chris Gayle’s treatment of journalist Mel McLaughlin

5. Should children be vaccinated?

6. Should the voting age in Australia be lowered to 16 years?

7. Should singer Chris Brown be denied entry to Australia?

8. Cultural appropriation in Australia

9. Should an Australian Prime Ministers be removed from office without a general election?

10. Should Australia be a republic?

11. Should the Australian flag be changed?

12. Is Australia Day racist against Indigenous Australians?

13. Adam Goodes booing: Are AFL football crowds racist?

14. Australian of the Year - Rosie Batty: Victim blaming

15. Should UBER be made legal in Australia?

16. Should baby formula be limited in sales?

17. Should greyhound racing be banned in Australia?

18. Is Australia’s border security policy justified?

19. Should Australian Open arenas have sports betting advertising?

20. See more Oral Presentation Topics 2017, click here .

This blog covers choosing the perfect topic for your next Oral Presentation. To get a better overview of what's expected of you in Oral Presentations, writing up your speech, and speech delivery, check out Our Ultimate Guide to Oral Presentations.

The following is the LSG criteria that will ensure you find an interesting topic!

Step 1: Select a topic that has appeared in the media since 1 September of the previous year

Getting started on this first part can be tricky, especially if you want to choose something a bit more original or fresh.

In any case, the first thing you need is an event . An event in the VCE English context is anything that happens which also generates opinionated media coverage —so, it’s not just an event but it has to be an event that people have published opinions about, and they have to have been published since September 1.

You might wonder why we don’t go to the issue straight away. Here’s a hypothetical to illustrate: if you asked me to name an issue, the best I could probably come up with off the top of my head is climate change. However, if you asked me to name an event, I’d pretty easily recall the Australian bushfires—something much more concrete which a) has generated specific and passionate opinions in the media; and b) can easily be linked to a wider issue such as climate change.

So where do you find an event? If you can’t think of a particularly interesting one right away, you could always try Wikipedia. Seriously, Wikipedia very helpfully has pages of things that happened in specific years in specific countries, so “2019 in Australia” might well be a starting point. The ABC news archive is also really helpful since you can pick dates or periods of time and see a good mix of news events from then.

I wouldn’t underestimate your own memory here either. Maybe you attended the School Strike for Climate and/or you feel vaguely disappointed in the government. Maybe there was something else happening in the news you remember (even though it is often about the environment these days). It doesn’t have to be from the news though—maybe there was a movie or TV show you watched recently that you have thoughts about. You could really do a speech on any of these, as long as you suspect there might be recent, opinionated media coverage .

Only once you have an event should you look for an issue . This will be a specific debate that comes out of the event, and can usually be framed as a “whether-or-not” question. The bushfires, for example, might generate debate around whether or not the Australian government is doing enough to combat climate change, whether or not Scott Morrison has fulfilled his duties as Prime Minister, whether or not it’s appropriate to discuss policy already when people are still grieving. All of these issues are going to be more current and more focused than just ‘climate change’, so pick one that resonates for your speech. In the next couple of sections, I’ll offer you a list of 2019-20 issue-debate breakdowns (i.e. topic ideas!).

Most importantly, choose an event/issue that is interesting for you . You’re the one who’s going to deal most intimately with this event/issue - you’ll have to research multiple sources, come up with a contention and arguments, write the essay, present the essay - so make it easier for yourself because you’re going to be spending a lot of time completing all these steps. Besides, an inherently interesting topic means that you’ll showcase your opinions in an authentic way, which is incredibly important when it comes to presentation time.

Step 2: Filter out the boring events/issues

“Your aim of this entire Oral Presentation SAC is to persuade your audience to agree with your contention (whatever that may be) based off the issue you’ve selected.”   -The VCAA English Study Design

Next, you’ll need use this test to see whether or not your topic will stand up to the test of being ‘interesting’ enough for your audience. My first question to you is: who is your audience?

Is it your classroom and teacher? Is it a handful of teachers? If you don’t know, stop right now and find out. Only continue to the next question once you’re 100% certain of your audience.

Once you know who your audience is, ask yourself: Does this event and issue relate to my audience?

This question matters because “your aim of this entire Oral Presentation SAC is to persuade your audience to agree with your contention (whatever that may be) based off the issue you’ve selected.” This means that what you say to your audience and how they respond to your speech matters . Even if your assessor isn’t counting exactly how many people are still listening to your speech at the end, everyone knows a powerful speech when they’re in the presence of one - it hooks the audience from start to end - and an assessor, consciously or subconsciously, cannot deny that the collective attentiveness of the room has an influence on their marking of your Oral Presentation.

That’s why you should choose a topic that your audience can relate to. This is just my personal opinion, but I don’t find a speech on the Adani Coalmine (broad issue = climate change) as interesting and engaging as School Strike For The Climate (broad issue = climate change). That’s not to say that I’m for or against the Adani Coal Mine, but I know that if I’m speaking to a crowd of 17-18 years olds, the School Strike For The Climate would be a better choice because it’s going to hit a lot closer to home (1) (perhaps some of those in your audience - including yourself - have attended one of those strikes).

To extrapolate this idea further, I try to avoid topics that have too many unfamiliar words for my audience. For example, I recall one year when one of my students decided to take a stance on pain medications and that they should be restricted to only over-the-counter in pharmacies. Have I lost you already with the ‘over-the-counter’? Yeah, I have no doubt that some of you are unfamiliar with that word (don’t stress, I didn’t know it either when I was in school). On top of this phrase, she used words like ‘Schedule A’, ‘Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme’, ‘Medicare rebate’, ‘opioids', ‘subsidised’, and other words that aren’t part of the usual vocabulary of her audience. I’d take heed because in order to captivate the audience’s attention, they need to understand what you’re talking about. As soon as there’s something they don’t understand, it becomes much harder for them to follow your speech, and before you know it, Sarah, the class sleeper is taking her afternoon snooze and the others are struggling to keep their eyes open! Having said all that, if you have an equivalent jargon-heavy topic like pain medications that really does interest you, then go for it. Just bear in mind that you’ll need to explain any new vocabulary during your speech to keep your audience’s attention.

Keen to learn more? My How To Write A Killer Oral Presentation eBook continues on this same path, covering the next steps in your Oral Presentation journey!

List of topics

1. ‘implementing a sugar tax to curb australian obesity.’.

Premise: Mexico and UK have already implemented the ‘Sugar Tax’ on soft drinks to prevent obesity through the avenue of consumer choices, with this debate being sparked in Canada and Australia as to whether this is a viable solution. The World Health Organization believes this could reduce consumption of sugar by reinvesting the more expensive prices into health initiatives against ‘Childhood Obesity’. The Federal Government is facing this decision in 2019, to introduce these radical changes. Thus, whether or not the sugar tax should be implemented would be the core of your oral.

Basis of the tax

Young stakeholders ‍

Expert opinions, use this for further reading ‍

Mexico comparison, who have done this

British conversation, opposing views on sugar tax ‍

2 . ‘What can Australia do to reduce the dangers of paramedic assault and overtime?’

‍ Premise: Lately in the media, paramedic attacks and unreasonable overtime shifts means that the safety of our ambulance staff is compromised. A series of movements and a necessity for awareness has been sparked in Australia, with one paramedic being assaulted every 50 hours, and 147 assaulted in 2018. Whether or not people choose to support ambulance safety on a political front, social front or preemptive front (see Ambulance Victoria’s ‘Help keep our ambos safe at work’), action has been gaining momentum in contemporary news and campaigns. Is Australia doing enough for paramedic safety? This would be the basis of your oral.

‍ Ambulance Victoria’s campaign

Paramedics’ Union urging Political Parties in 2019

Other factors, overtime shifts

Further reading on specific cases of paramedic violence ‍

3 . ‘How are our politicians dealing with events of Melbourne CBD terrorism ?’

Premise: A series of concentrated terrorist attacks on Melbourne’s Bourke Street and around Melbourne’s CBD has led to preventative measures such as 88 concrete blocks and anti-terror speaker systems. With politicians such as Matthew Guy pushing movements such as suspects facing curfews and counselling and drones around the city being put in place to monitor events like Christmas Day and New Years, this issue is being noted. But is enough being done? How effective are these measures, and are the police and government working closely enough to avoid these situations? This would be the basis of your oral.

Victoria Police’s response to terrorism

Bourke Street incidents

Links to other attacks and opinion article ‍

Political movements from Matthew Guy ‍

Anti-terror measures

4 . ‘Are loot boxes just gaming, or gambling?’

Premise: The question of whether loot boxes being utilised in video games marketed to underage children are in fact exposing them to gambling is currently being debated at a Senate level in Australia and around the world. Whilst opinions are segregated on whether this is harmless or harmful, statistics and experts seem to believe in Europe that the detriment is too high, with 15 gambling regulators pinning game developers and publishers. Similarly, the UK and especially Australia have been making movements to rid the gaming industry of this practice. However, ‘EA Games’ is a big player against this, thriving of their sales in games such as ‘FIFA Coins’ and ‘Star Wars: Battlefront’. Thus, whether it is just gambling or gaming would form this oral.

The Senate Inquiry on loot boxes ‍

Are loot boxes gambling? ‍

Expert Opinions ‍

Age restrictions with gambling v. gaming ‍

Global statistics/reasons against

5 . ‘ Anti-vaccination movements within Australia.’

Premise: The anti- vaccination movement, concentrated in the beachside town of Byron Bay in Australia is claiming more young lives daily, as medical reports are starting to note a greater toll in whooping cough cases and other vaccination related diseases. With campaigns such as the ‘No Jab, No Play’ initiative and other experts stating the way vaccinations are being handled, the situation is not apt in the current necessity for herd immunity amongst young Australians. Whether or not vaccination should be more heavily emphasised would be explored in this oral.

Geographic case study for vaccinations

Implications and health issues

No jab, no play campaign

Case studies

For vaccination

6 . ‘The competition of Uber, Taxis and other ride sharing services.’

Premise: The hyper competitive nature of ride-sharing services and transport on the Australian field means that Uber and taxis have a lot more competition with one another, meaning shared business can affect the others customers in a major way. Hence, the Australian approach of lawsuits and the pickup of other services such as Shebah, Gocatch and Ola, means that drivers are facing harder times finding customers and also maintaining a steady stream of income. Whether or not these competing companies escalate the quality of transport or are too detrimental to driver’s livelihood would be explored in this oral.

The premise ‍

Taxi share zones, official action/recognition ‍

The legal aspects ‍

For the competitive nature

Other platforms that affect this ‍

7. ‘The drought impact on Australian farmers.’ ‍

Premise: Communities within Australia, specifically in Queensland, prepare themselves for overwhelming drought this 2019, with as their profits will most probably drop below $13,000 in this next financial year for farmers. Whilst milk companies and other politicians have attempted to rally with farmers, more attention seemingly may have to be put in place to assure the livelihood of these agricultural practitioners. Hence, even with drought relief practices and campaigns with many stakeholders in the government and as owners of business, it may require more of a push on a formal level in these pivotal years for farmers. The necessary movements and activism for greater support of farmers would be explored in this oral. ‍

The lack of support for drought ‍

What the implications of drought are ‍

Campaigns and movements already in place ‍

Stakeholders and the issues amongst them ‍

The up and coming concerns for drought in 2019 ‍

8. ‘ Microplastics in the Ocean.’ ‍

Premise: The rise in plastic consumption on a global scale and also lack of environmental solutions has led sea turtle’s digestive tracts and parts of the deepest oceans to be littered with seemingly minute particles called ‘microplastics’. However, these particles have detrimental effects and often litter foods, water sources and our ecosystem, usually sinking to the bottom of the ocean, with 99% of the plastic the seas contain building on the bottom. Ultimately, how we deal with these microplastics and whether it is important would be illustrated in this oral.

Marianas Trench plastics ‍

Contamination in foods ‍

Actions against microplastics ‍

The basics of microplastics ‍

Expert opinions 9. ‘ Indigenous ‘Close the Gap’ Campaign’. ‍

Premise: The ‘Close the Gap’ campaign originally focused on integrating the Indigenous people back into modernized society that excluded them wrongly. Objectives were necessary to fulfill educational reforms, social necessities and the favour within employment that needed to be shown in order to “even the playing field”. Over the years, this has been scrutinised and subjected to downfalls, both political and social, with many of these objectives not achieved. Thus, greater attention or movement may have to be incited. Hence, whether enough is being done or more needs to be provoked would inspire this oral. ‍

Scott Morrison on the current ‘Closing the Gap’ measures

Discussion of the origins of this movement

Stakeholders in parliament, Indigenous rights

A review of the campaign and its downfalls

The new closing the gap campaign and its implications

10 . ‘Can we use genetically modified foods in daily life?’

Premise: The discussion of GMOs (genetically modified foods) and their ethical, moral and health implications have segregated both consumers and producers alike. Australia’s viewpoint of the scientific practice in modifying foods has been portrayed in the recent elongation to bans in South Australia until 2025, but has also been challenged with groundbreaking research that could double the crop yield in theory, due to the advances in photosynthetic characteristics and other chemical properties of plants. Thus, whether or not they should be refuted or supported would form the basis of this oral.

The science behind GM foods

Other global players accepting GM crops

Advances and what this means for farmers

Photosynthesis/scientific endeavours in the field of GM crops

The bans in South Australia, and the dangers

11 . ‘The wage gap : Women in STEM.’

Premise: It is rare to find a career where the exact same work will be paid differently based on sexuality, race or gender. It seems in the contemporary age the real issue is that cultural norms raise more women lawyers, doctors and teachers than engineers, physicists and STEM workers. Rather than a direct percentage of the pay gap, it is made apparent that it is rather a systematic average of less over time because of the careers being chosen. Whether or not the wage gap is due to STEM and what we can do to prevent this would be the formation of your oral.

What is the gender pay gap?

Statistics and figures

Australian specific pay gap

Against the gender pay gap

12. ‘Should we take on Finland’s education system ?’

Premise: Standardised testing is often a debate that goes without alternatives that truly work. But the core of Finland’s number 1 education system in the world is that they hire so many good teachers, hence independent learning is monitored and possible. The VCE system and IB curriculum does not streamline because students are so pressured they do not take time to explore and ultimately find what they want to do in tertiary. In Finland, it is less about the competition, and more about individual learning up until university so that they excel in different pathways. What would it take to change Australian systems to model this? This would be a key idea within your oral.

Australian education reform

Study assist packages being released

Universities involved, education opportunities amongst

Finland school system comparison

The National qualifications bureau

13 . ‘Should we change Australia day? ’

Premise: This is a heavily utilised oral topic. The Australia Day debate is a popular one, and this is because it is rich in cultural, social, ethical and political stances within itself. With the date remaining the same in 2019, and with the fireworks of the Perth council still going ahead, more protests and council movement means that these discussions are still very contemporary and readily available online. The bids and failed attempts to change the day to a Reconciliation Week celebration, or any date but ‘Invasion Day’ all form evidence to back up either side. Hence, the question of whether or not the date should be moved would be the primary focus of this oral.

‘For’ changing Australia Day in its entirety The council players in changing the date Bids/failed attempts to change the date The council’s on movements and government reflection on history

14 . ‘Is the National Broadband Network , working?’

Premise: The National Broadband Network policy meant that the telecommunications sector was supposed to gain momentum and strengthen itself, however, downfalls of the technicians and rollout of the service have meant public scrutiny and Government blame being laid. Telstra’s work on this with ping and download speeds being effective, but upload speeds suffering means that Australian consumers are not completely satisfied with the service, putting into question the ultimate effectiveness of NBN as an invested infrastructure. The success of NBN would form the base of this oral.

New rollouts geographically

New government policies

The effectiveness of NBN

Does it work as promised?

Downfalls of NBN

15. ‘ Teaching standards for undergraduates in Australia.'

Premise: The teaching standards of Australia have been heavily scrutinised after certain lower ATAR scores were primarily accepted into the fields. Thus, the question of whether the right teachers are being accepted and their skills are being honed is put into the spotlight, as a lower bar for the academic necessity of the career sparks debate on whether the standards for Australian education has fallen. However, with 2 teachers in the Global Top 50 for the education sector means there is still hope, and with lots of regional areas geographically, it can be difficult- So whether or not Australia is doing enough would form this oral.

ATARs and their own role in teachers

The skills necessary for teachers

A lower bar for academics means a lower bar for teachers

The consequences for teachers in regional areas

Australian teacher’s success stories

16. ‘Is the cost of living rising too high in Australia?’

Premise: The cost of living within Australia is inevitably rising, with a spike of homelessness within Sydney and the common retiree locations being in Asian countries forming the basis of whether or not we should start working on this sector of Australia’s wealth. However, some sources argue that our economy is steady and positive, with the perspective gained on this challenging what 2019 seems to hold for the cost of living. It is a contemporary topic as the next generation will have to face these challenges, proving an interesting oral if you focus on the stakeholders in each category (teenagers, workers, government and retirees).

The rising homelessness rates

Key area in the study of rising prices

The perspective of the greater economy in comparison to the cost of living

The meaning for retirees and where they have to go

The changes in 2019 to the cost of living

17 . ‘Are we doing enough to aid beekeepers in Australia?’

Premise: The ‘Save the Bees’ campaign begun as we started to realise the necessity and imminent danger we would face if bees were in harm's way. Recently, South Australia faced some strange occurrences with mysterious bee deaths, and younger stakeholders attempting to grasp Australia’s bee population. National Geographic focused on real steps and actions that could be taken within Australia, with measures that could potentially be put in place in order to protect these bees. Hence, this could be a unique oral if presented with the statistics and urgency of this issue.

Young stakeholders trying to save the bees

The implication of bees dying

Bees dying in South Australia

The plan to save Australia’s bees

Other measures in place that may affect bees

18. ‘The impact of the strawberry needle scare. ’

Premise: The Strawberry Needle Scare was a 2018 issue, with 2019 implications in the dangers of food tampering, and a case of needles in grapes at a Melbourne store. Moreover, the implications for farmers and the agricultural community meant that many workers were affected by this, as consumers initially feared the worst, affecting Australian livelihood at its core. Thus, in order to do a contemporary oral on this, you would focus primarily on the impact on the farmers, what future fears could arise, (eg. the grape needle scare), and what consumers need to be aware of in future contamination.

The grape scare, new to 2019

The Western Australian side of the strawberry scare

Food tampering in history, where this fits

The effects on farmer that the needle scare has

The movement for farmers from consumers to just ‘cut them up’

19. ‘The epidemic of anxiety. ’

Premise: In a digital, gratification-desiring age, anxiety and depression are symptoms of the high pressure scenarios within daily life. Recently, new studies proving the dire nature within Australia’s mental health provoked more attention by experts and the population into methods and the ‘epidemic’ we face, as we continue to head down a dark spiral. With case studies, statistics and the current situation within pressurised work situations, this could form a strong oral.

The need for instant gratification

The effects of employment on mental health

Australian statistics on worry and anxiety

The Kids helpline and a case study

More statistics/stakeholders in the debate

20 . ‘Is the zero road toll possible?’

Premise: The concept of the ‘Towards Zero’ campaign is that we would have no deaths on the roads in short. This takes drink driving measures, the hazardous first months of a probationary driver and the zones in which these accidents are most highly occurring into consideration, as the government, younger drivers, and adult drink drivers are all concerned. There are already worrying trends going into 2019 however, as this forms the basis of some concerning patterns, and could be explored either way in an oral of whether or not the ‘zero road toll’ is truly possible.

The action plan, released by TAC branch

The implications of striving for the road 0 toll

What is already in place, is there grounds to this?

Trends and why it may not be possible

The official campaign

If you are anything like me, the thought of standing up in front of a classroom, or even a small panel of teachers, having to hold the floor for five minutes, and being assessed on your performance is just about as terrifying as it gets. Where other students thrived on the oral presentation SAC, embracing its change of pace in comparison to the other written tasks, I dreaded it. I knew the feeling all too well: legs jelly-like and quivering, breath short and rapid, palms sweating, tongue uncomfortably heavy as the words tumble out too fast to keep up with…essentially (as I, a true master of the English language, would put it) the absolute worst. 

Fast forward to the present day and, I hate to break it to you, I am still not a fan of public speaking. But guess what? I did my oral presentation and I’m still alive to tell the tale. Plus, as a bonus, it did not involve me passing out, and as a double bonus, I still ended up with a great result. So I am here, my fellow members of the ‘Might Go Ahead and Drop Out of VCE so I Don’t Have To Do My Oral’ club, as proof that it can be done and to help you get through it. 

What Do We Mean by ‘Overcoming’?

As I have already mentioned, emerging triumphant from your oral does not require you to magically become a public speaking fanatic. Let me manage your expectations right now: that probably isn’t going to happen overnight, and likely never will. But you can still be good at public speaking, perhaps great at it, even if it scares you. Trying to figure out a magical formula of preparation that will have you breezing through the oral in total zen-mode is not only going to waste your time, but will likely also make you more frightened when you realise that you can’t completely shake the nerves. So, by accepting the reality that the fear probably isn’t going to go away any time soon we can start to learn how to manage it, at least succeed in spite of it, and hopefully even use it to our advantage. 

Selecting a ‘WOW’ Topic

Arguably the best way to improve the delivery, and overall quality, of your oral presentation is to choose a topic and contention that you actually care about. In our eBook How to Write a Killer Oral Presentation we cite the first pillar of the process as being to choose a ‘WOW’ topic and contention . As Lisa says,

“an inherently interesting topic means that you’ll showcase your opinions in an authentic way, which is incredibly important when it comes to presentation time.”

This becomes particularly significant for someone dealing with a fear of public speaking because of this basic principle: when you care about something it is easier to talk about, even in front of other people. This means that you don’t just need to choose a topic that will engage your audience, but also one that you yourself find engaging. 

Fear is an intense emotional response to a situation, and as we know it can easily consume us in the moment. If your oral topic is boring and does not interest you on a personal level then what is going to be the strongest emotion you feel when delivering it? Fear. However, passion is another intense emotional response, and so if you are passionate about the arguments you are making then, although your fear will still be there, you will feel another strong emotion that can balance it out. 

So how do you find a contention that you care about? Often the best place to start is to think about the things that affect your life. We know that your topic has to have been in the media since September of last year, but lots of things are on the news and they don’t only matter to the older generations. Think about issues that relate to schools, jobs, climate change, animals, drug-taking, fashion – these are all aspects of our lives that you might be able to form a personal connection to, and that personal connection will help you find the passion you need to get through the speech, and also get through to your audience. Check out our 2021 Oral Presentation Topics for some topic inspiration, and then learn how to create a killer contention here . 

More About the Voice, Less About the Words

It is quite likely that if you know you struggle with the delivery of oral presentations, you might try to compensate by overreaching with your script. For someone who feels more comfortable with written assessments, it can be easy to try to make the oral as close to one as possible by writing it almost as you would an essay – using lots of impressive vocabulary, complex sentences and a formal structure. This approach is all well and good until you try to say it all out loud. This isn’t to say that your command of language isn’t important to the oral, but by trying to craft a safety net of eloquent, written words you are simply distracting yourself from what makes this SAC unique; you can’t avoid the fear by avoiding the task altogether. So, you need to write a speech that you can say, not just one that sounds good on paper. Writing with the wrong sense of tone is one of the points we touch on in 5 Common Oral Presentation Mistakes.

During the writing process, you need to make your speech work for you rather than make yourself work for it. This means constantly thinking about what the words will sound like in front of an audience, and not making the performance unnecessarily hard for yourself before you even start practicing. When you’re already nervous about speaking in front of other people, the last thing you want to have to worry about is tripping over difficult language to make convoluted arguments. So, simplicity and punch is always better than verbosity and pretence. Here are some ideas of how to use this strategy:

• Make your arguments short, sharp, and to the point. Avoid going off on any tangents, and just stick to the main points you need to get across. You are trying to persuade your audience, not confuse them. 
• Use a mixture of long and short sentences, because a script that uses varied sentence structures is easier to say out loud without stumbling due to nerves. Short, bold statements are both less prone to being mangled by nerves and more memorable for your listeners – just make sure you don’t only use short sentences and prevent your oral from flowing. 
• Think about where you can schedule in pauses for emphasis, because these will give you space to stop and catch your breath without revealing your nervousness. 
• Write like you speak! Of course you want your tone to be assertive and intelligent, but it is possible to maintain this whilst also incorporating some relaxed language. You are allowed to use the first person in this task, so take the opportunity to personalise what you say, which will help you appear more comfortable and also form a personal connection with your audience. Remember that an oral is essentially a conversation with your audience, even if they don’t get to speak back, and this means that as long as you don’t use slang you can have some fun with your delivery. 
• Don’t rely on an essay-like structure. Your audience won’t know when a paragraph ends, so the way the script looks on the page is largely irrelevant. Make it easy for yourself to follow. 

Remember, when you struggle with a fear of public speaking it is difficult to make what you say in the spotlight sound natural. To overcome this, you want to prepare yourself to almost sound unscripted (as ironic as that sounds). Without slipping into an overly casual or informal voice, it is best if you sound comfortable and relaxed when addressing your audience. This is of course the exact opposite of how you might feel going into the assessment, so you write a speech that will make you seem like you aren’t worried about passing out. The ancient adage ‘fake it ‘til you make it baby’ definitely rings true here. However, that said, really believing what you are saying and caring that the audience believes it too, as we advised earlier, will also help you avoid sounding forced and uncomfortable. 

Preparation and Memorisation

Another mistake often made when attempting to compensate for a fear of public speaking is to rely too heavily on cue cards in the oral. Having your entire speech on hand when you complete the assessment just in case you get lost might seem like a good idea, but it is most likely actually going to hold you back from giving your best performance. Ideally, you want to have done enough preparation so that you do not need to look at your notes at all. As we discussed earlier, having a script that is as simple as possible, and that mimics your speech patterns, will help you sound less fearful – and will also be easier to memorise.

Memorise your speech by practicing it as much as possible. Make sure to get your script written as far in advance as you can, so you have plenty of time to practice without stressing yourself out further. When you do practice, do so standing up, envision an audience in front of you (or practice in front of friends or family), and rehearse how you might move around the space as you talk. You can start by having your whole script with you, but eventually you should work up to only needing a few dot points for each section that can jog your memory if you forget. This strategy might seem to make the speech even scarier, but in reality not reading off a script will help you relax into the performance, and allow you to focus on your movements and voice. Practicing enough to have the speech memorised will also help build your confidence. 

Making the Most of Your Nerves

As much as I would love to tell you that you can be ‘cured’ of your fear of public speaking, it is best to accept that the nerves are going to be there and learn how to succeed in tandem with them, rather than just hoping that they go away. Instead of being convinced that fear is going to be your downfall, try to think about how, as impossible as it sounds, you can use the nerves to your advantage. Apart from making you jittery and uncomfortable, nerves also boost your energy and adrenaline, and with the right attitude you can turn this energy into confidence. Instead of letting your nerves cause you to close up, you can use them to help you open up. Often those of us who fear feeling exposed in front of a crowd have quiet, reserved personalities that we might think of as preventing us from being able to perform. However, when our bodies are flooded with nerves this ‘wired’ feeling can be used to help us project our voices and to take up space, therefore driving us to appear more outgoing. Instead of just making you feel ‘on edge’, a manageable amount of nervous energy can give you an edge that will amp up your performance. 

Even if all of this sounds completely different to your experience of fear, what I am trying to communicate is that the way you frame the oral, and the nerves that come with it, in your mind makes all the difference. If you convince yourself that you are too scared of public speaking to ever succeed with this task, you are severely limiting your chances of achieving a positive outcome. So, focussing on retraining your mindset in the lead up to delivering your speech is very important. Try not to think of this one assessment task as being a make or break five minutes, and instead view it as a learning experience that you can use to your advantage. After all, public speaking is something most of us will have to deal with multiple times over the course of our lives, so you may as well work on getting better at it. That said, my number one piece of advice about the oral presentation is to…*drumroll please*...not take it too seriously! This might sound unrealistic, and I am definitely not telling you to put in less effort, but the more pressure you put on yourself the more nervous you are going to be. Choose a topic that interests you, believe in your contention, make use of humour and personal anecdotes, and just have fun with what you say! Your fear is probably going to be your biggest obstacle, so make it as easy as you can on yourself and the rest should fall into place…as long as you put in the work. 

Finally, our Ultimate Guide to Oral Presentations is a must-read for anybody who is doing an Oral Presentation!

• What is a Written Explanation?
• Creative Response-Based Written Explanations
• Oral Presentation-Based Written Explanations

1. What is a Written Explanation?

Written Explanation (also known as Statement of Intention, SOE, and various other names throughout different schools) is a short introductory piece to your essay. The Written Explanation is intended to explore the reasons behind why you made particular writing decisions. This is done via FLAPC:

F orm,  L anguage,  A udience,  P urpose,  C ontext

2. Creative Response-Based Written Explanations

The following is taken from the VCAA study design for Creative Response-Based Written Explanations:

'a written explanation of creative decisions and how these demonstrate understanding of the text.'

Most assessors are quite lenient with how you want to approach the Written Explanation – there is no rigid structure that you need to abide by. As we will discuss below, this allows you to consider which aspects of form, language, audience, purpose and context you wish to include. Each of the points should establish why you have written your piece. They are considered as part of your SAC and thus, are marked accordingly. They are not  examinable during the English exam. 

There are traditionally three forms of writing accepted in assessments: expository, creative or persuasive essay. 

‘I chose to write in an expository style, employing conventions of format and style of a traditional essay. This allows me to express my ideas in a logical order while adopting a sophisticated tone.’

When writing, you choose particular words and phrases to illustrate your ideas. Think about what type of language have you used and why. Perhaps your piece is formal or informal, sophisticated or simple, or from a first or third person perspective. All these factors are important in shaping your Context piece. Also consider language techniques you may have incorporated such as repetition, rhetorical questions, metaphors, symbolism and more.

‘I have chosen to write from a first person perspective to shed light on the inner workings of Gardiner from  The Lieutenant .'

You must select a targeted audience for your essay. Your choice can be adults to young children, or even to your future self. Make sure your target audience is suitable for your essay – select a group that would realistically be interested in your work.

‘My piece is to be published in an anthology for those who have had difficulty assimilating into a new group or culture. As they have familiarity with the concepts I discuss, I intend for readers to depart with a greater understanding and appreciation of the ideas in my written piece.’

The purpose section is where you discuss the message you would like to send to your audience. Here you discuss your contention or arguments; whether you completely agree, disagree or a bit of both in regards to your prompt.

‘The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that there can be different outcomes from encountering conflict: firstly, that conflicts can change many people through growth in understanding or a sense of self-development and secondly, that there are times when people remain unaffected by conflict and thus, unchanged.’

Since your essay is based on your studied text, you should provide a brief discussion of the basic ideas behind the Context . You can do this prior to your  Purpose  section since it is a good lead-in.

‘In this essay, I explored the idea that ‘Conflict inevitably changes people’; a concept heavily explored in  The Lieutenant . Every person encounters conflict. It drives individuals to challenge themselves, and deal with new experiences.'

Different schools will set different word limits for Written Explanations. These can range from 300 – 350 words based on the VCAA study design. With such a small word limit, be succinct and choose wisely what you will discuss in order to score the maximum marks allocated to Written Explanations.

3. Oral Presentation-Based Written Explanations

The VCAA study design requests students write:

'a written statement of intention to accompany the student’s own oral presentation, articulating the intention of decisions made in the planning process, and how these demonstrate understanding of argument and persuasive language.'

Using the topic,  'Why we need to stop crying "cultural appropriation" when  cultural exchange  is far more important ', let's see how this can be done with FLAPC with some examples below (if you need help selecting a topic, check out our 2020 Oral Presentation topics to get those brain juices flowing ):

‘I chose to adopt the conventions of a persuasive speech, where I use a structure of presenting my main ideas by rebutting arguments made by the opposition. Throughout my speech, I embed persuasive tactics in an effort to firstly, encourage engagement from the audience and secondly, sway them to readily accept my point of view.

‘Since I am an Asian-Australian, I have purposefully forgone the opportunity to adopt a persona and instead, have chosen to write from a first person perspective as I can uniquely shed light on my own experiences towards cultural exchange and how that has directly impacted me. My speech heavily focuses on delivering tangible examples, such as anecdotes and social media usage, as I aim to heighten the topic’s relevancy and relatability for my audience. Moreover, as my focus is to reinforce positive attitudes towards cultural exchange, I have adopted a light-hearted approach with humour through the first portion of my speech, then moving into an urgent tone towards the end to highlight the importance of this issue.'

'I have opted to target young Australian adults since we are the generation of the future, and have a major role to play in positively shaping the Australian society’s views and attitudes towards cultural exchange.

'I aim to convince my audience that it is too easy to cry 'cultural appropriation' by being overly sensitive, and instead, we need to consider the benefits of cultural exchange. Cultural exchange itself, has shaped the world as we know it today – it has an important role in globalisation, understanding foreign cultures and the development of Australian society.'

'Australia is known to be one of the most multicultural countries in the world. However, recent media has drawn attention to cries of 'cultural appropriation' towards Indigenous Australians and other cultures, claiming that we fail to appreciate and respect cultural values when we take others' culture for our own (whether it be fashion, music, food or otherwise).'

‍ Sample FLAPC compiled and rearranged for flow and fluency:

Australia is known to be one of the most multicultural countries in the world. However, recent media has drawn attention to cries of 'cultural appropriation' towards Indigenous Australians and other cultures, claiming that we fail to appreciate and respect cultural values when we take others' culture for our own (whether it be fashion, music, food or otherwise). I aim to convince my audience that it is too easy to cry 'cultural appropriation' by being overly sensitive, and instead, we need to consider the benefits of cultural exchange. Cultural exchange itself, has shaped the world as we know it today – it has an important role in globalisation, understanding foreign cultures and the development of Australian society. I chose to adopt the conventions of a persuasive speech, where I use a structure of presenting my main ideas by rebutting arguments made by the opposition. Throughout my speech, I embed persuasive tactics in an effort to firstly, encourage engagement from the audience and secondly, sway them to readily accept my point of view. Since I am an Asian-Australian, I have purposefully forgone the opportunity to adopt a persona and instead, have chosen to write from a first person perspective as I can uniquely shed light on my own experiences towards cultural exchange and how that has directly impacted me. This also has an additional persuasive effect as I invite my audience to relate to my opinions through their own similar experiences as young Australian adults. I have opted to target this audience since we are the generation of the future, and have a major role to play in positively shaping the Australian society’s views and attitudes towards cultural exchange. My speech heavily focuses on delivering tangible examples, such as anecdotes and social media usage, as I aim to heighten the topic’s relevance and relatability for my audience. Moreover, as my focus is to reinforce positive attitudes towards cultural exchange, I have adopted a light-hearted approach with humour through the first portion of my speech, then moving into an urgent tone towards the end to highlight the importance of this issue.

Download a PDF version of this blog for printing or offline use

Need more help with your Creative Response? Check out How To Achieve A+ in Creative Writing (Reading and Creating)!

See how Lisa achieved full marks in her SAC in her Advice for A+ Oral Presentations guide.

Since September 2014, the current affairs has been raging with numerous controversial topics – perfect for your oral presentation! Here are some of the more interesting issues that would be a good starting point for your oral. Remember to offer an interesting and unique argument, even if it may mean adopting the unconventional or unpopular point of view on the issue!

• Should medicinal cannabis be legalised in Australia?
• Should US anti-vaccination campaigner Sherri Tenpenny be allowed to give talks in Australia?
• Should children be vaccinated?
• Should ‘pick-up artist’ Julien Blanc have been banned from visiting Australia?
• Is social media negatively impacting on student studies?
• Should women be allowed to breastfeed in public?
• Should we have more stringent surrogacy laws?
• Should music be free?
• Freezing women’s eggs
• Sexualisation of women in the media
• The media’s portrayal of ‘terrorism’
• Islamophobia
• Freedom of speech (Charlie Hebdo)
• Doctor co-payments
• Gender equality
• University deregulation
• Creativity in schools
• Should children be allowed to roam unsupervised by their parents?
• Should VCE English be compulsory?
• See  Oral Presentation Issues in 2014  for other ongoing issues

Charlie’s Country  is an Australian drama film directed by Rolf de Heer, starring David Gulpilil. The linear film, co-written by de Heer and Gulpilil, tells the story of Charlie, a middle-aged Aboriginal man living in the town of Ramingining. The audience follows Charlie as he sets off to reconnect with his Indigenous origins; choosing to abandon urbanised society, Charlie flees into the bush to live by his “Mother country”. Much to his demise, Charlie subsequently becomes ill and is admitted to hospital in Darwin. After discharging himself from the hospital, Charlie is quickly arrested for assaulting a policeman. Charlie serves time in prison for his crime and the film’s final scenes show Charlie, free and mentoring young Aboriginal boys in their native cultural traditions. As the audience follows Charlie’s everyday encounters, they gain insight into the harsh realities faced by Aboriginals in modern-day Australia. Through his individual plight for survival amidst illness and poverty, de Heer presents profound political commentaries on this very pertinent social issue, spanning decades in Australian history.

The film's critical acclaim upon its release in 2013 was the impetus in prompting conversations and debates about the politics of Indigenous Australians. De Heer’s depiction of this remote community grappling with issues as a result of government-imposed law serves to capture the oppression and deeply ingrained racism that continues to persist.

Tracks  is one Australian woman’s survival narrative. The 1980 autobiographical memoir by Robyn Davidson, recounts her courageous 1700 miles trek across Australia, beginning from Central Australia towards the Indian ocean. In the effort to escape the monotony of her daily life, Davidson travels to her first destination -- Alice Springs -- in 1973 to start preparations. In the 2 years she spends there, she learns how to train camels and live minimally, the former proving to be a challenge. Despite her vehement will to refuse any kind of donation or financial help, Davidson eventually accepts a writing deal in partnership with National Geographic, providing the much-needed funds to confirm her departure. It's through this deal that she meets Rick Smolan, whom under the conditions of her deal has been recruited to photograph this journey - an unsettling compromise for Davidson which she ruminates on frequently in the novel. With her beloved dog Diggity and her camels, Davidson traverses the Australian landscape, discovering more about herself, her country and the people. 

Fundamentally, this book is as much about Davidson’s internal transformation and personal frontiers as it is about exposing the colonial and masculine ethos that permeates Australian history.

Themes (Similarities and Differences)

At LSG, we use the CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT strategy to help us easily find points of similarity and difference. This is particularly important when it comes to essay writing, because you want to know that you're coming up with unique comparative points (compared to the rest of the Victorian cohort!). I don't discuss this strategy in detail here, but if you're interested, check out my How To Write A Killer Comparative . I use this strategy throughout my discussion of themes here and in a later section, Sample Essay Plan.

Isolation and Alienation

Charlie, drawing on Gulpilil's own experiences, becomes profoundly alienated from his Ramingining community to the extent where he serves no major function in the community life. Charlie is alienated both physically and figuratively, not only does he live in a makeshift hut on the outskirts of town, but he is separated from the Aboriginal community in this town and resents the fact that white Australians have assumed power over his land. He is evidently neglected from the wider society, which causes much of the internal and external conflict he experiences in the film, an ordeal which many within the Indigenous minorities can empathise with. 

In his efforts to escape his life within the confines of the intervention, Charlie sees isolation and social rebellion as a mechanism to rediscover his Indigenous roots, spending time in nature to fulfil his journey for self-discovery and to gain the freedom he’s lost. Removing himself from a town permeated by imperial powers provides him with an opportunity to restore his lost sense of self-autonomy. De Heer is intending to reveal the difficulty of assimilation for Aboriginal Australians. He also highlights the importance of human connection and relational harmony for individuals.

“Do you mind if I call you Charlie? I have difficulty pronouncing foreign names.” “Now I’m a foreigner?” (Charlie and the Darwin doctor) 

“It's isolated, it's remote.” (Policeman Luke on Ramingining)

“I work for them catching criminals, they don’t pay me.” (Charlie)

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him… shaming us.” (Pete on Charlie)

Robyn Davidson views complete isolation as a way to detach herself from the commercialism and expectations of modern-day Australia, to connect with nature and to challenge her own beliefs of herself. For her, complete solitude in this journey is a private and personal gesture designed to intentionally preserve the sanctity of the trip. While Rick Smolan’s company appears benign, Davidson’s abrasive attitude towards him as well as her reluctance in ‘selling’ her story is particularly revealing of her attempt to maintain the subjectivity of the trip. The act of breaching this solitude is what Davidson sees as an egregious debasement of the sacredness of the journey, allowing it to be objectified by the eyes of the public. In addition to this, isolation signifies liberation and freedom from a society laden with rigid expectations, Smolan acts as a constant reminder of these external responsibilities. Davidson experiences alienation from the wider society, being a confident, decisive woman trekking independently and defying the limitations imposed on her sex. She also repeatedly expresses her sense of alienation when entering Aboriginal communities and although she is sensitive to the impression she gives, she acknowledges her persistent feeling as an outsider. Davidson is aware of the divide between these two cultures that have resulted from a history of inequality and oppression. In  Tracks , Davidson also demonstrates the need for meaningful connections, however she sources this from her animal companions and nature.

“My aloneness was a treasure which I guarded like a jewel... but like everything [it] had to follow the laws of change.” (p. 40)

“No more loved ones to care about, no more ties, no more duties, no more people needing you to be one thing or another, no more conundrums, no more politics, just you and the desert baby.” (p. 94)

“I could never enter their reality, [I] would always be a whitefella tourist on the outside looking in.” (p. 146)

“I could not be with the Aboriginal people without being a clumsy intruder.” (p. 146)

Charlie’s displacement from his community is the driving force behind his decision to return to the Aboriginal way of life. De Heer uses this depiction of Charlie, to serve as a wider embodiment of the difficulty for the Indigenous people to assimilate and conform to the western lifestyle. After witnessing the limitations he faces under the ‘whitefella’ laws in Ramingining, it is Charlie who first attempts to escape his community. He repeatedly rejects the life of subordination and compliance under the government laws, which as shown in the film has forced many of the Indigenous people to neglect their own traditions and way of life (for example, they must now eat unhealthy fast foods to survive and go through school). Charlie’s individualistic expressions seen through crafting a spear and going hunting are actively suppressed by the white authority, leaving him to conclude that the only way to fully exercise his personal agency is to live in the Australian wilderness, alone. His act of abandoning the car with his belongings and parting with almost nothing in his possession is significant in demonstrating his defiance of the imposition of western culture and his journey for self-reliance. De Heer depicts how conforming to an oppressive society is detrimental and praises the self-transformative effects of embracing individualism rather than blindly conforming.

"Live the old way… …going to my Mother Country.’"(Charlie)

“F--- those thieving…white bastards.” (Charlie)

“The kids go to school now. They don’t care.” (Charlie)

“Why did you come here? From far away… stealing people’s stuff! Is this your land?... F---ing bastards.” (Charlie)

“I’m free now. I have my own supermarket! And this is my country! I can dance with it!” (Charlie)

Robyn Davidson’s decision to leave her normal life in Queensland to cross the Australian desertland is one that becomes the subject of much scrutiny and doubt. Her bold, dauntless approach towards pursuing this journey, specifically as a single, young woman was radically counter-cultural to the perception of women in the 1970s as delicate and docile individuals. Davidson’s indifference and somewhat dismissive attitude towards the derogatory remarks and reductive characterisations are indicative of her acknowledgement of the unjustified prejudice that permeates Australian culture. Additionally, Davidson’s assertive personality and commitment to travelling in the wilderness alone is ultimately an establishment to herself as an autonomous woman, rebelling against the traditional conventions of marriage, motherhood and domesticity that was previously expected of her. Ultimately, Davidson strongly asserts the need for resistance, particularly where there is the expectation for conformity, as well as her experience, is revealing of the cleansing and liberating feelings of embracing individualism rather than conforming.

“(Dropping eyes to chest level). "Where’s yer old man?" "I don't have an old man." (p. 5)

“I was self-protective, suspicious and defensive and I was also aggressively ready to pounce on anyone who looked like they might be going to give a hard time.” (p. 34)

“It was essential for me to develop beyond the archetypal female creature who from birth had been trained to be sweet, pliable, forgiving, compassionate and door-mattish.” (p. 34)

“I wanted to… unclog my brain of all extraneous debris, not be protected, to be stripped of all social crutches, not to be hampered by any outside interference.” (p. 91)

Belonging and Identity

The laconic and monotonous pace of the film is suggestive of a more deeply rooted issue surrounding the identity distortions experienced by Aboriginals, even to the present day. This depiction acts as a personification of the widespread troubles of Indigenous Australians -- the deep struggle between submitting to the institutions of the ‘whitefella’ intervention and clinging to what is left of their traditional heritage, often rendering them feeling separated from both cultures. The mundane nature of his daily activities conveys the social incongruence between Charlie’s struggle to live sufficiently as a ‘traditional’ elder or as a ‘modern’ Australian, finding himself disconnected from both. This internal battle is psychologically taxing for Charlie, as he encounters many contradictions: receiving welfare payments, only to have to give them away to his family, and so he goes without food and later becomes hungry, only to be denied the opportunity to hunt for his own food. Fulfilling one culture means rejecting the other, and freedom in one means rebellion in the other. Thus, Charlie sees social transgression as his only choice of refashioning his own identity. De Heer reveals how freely establishing a secure sense of identity and belonging in their culture is critical in the lives of these individuals, however, the long-term damage that western society has inflicted has made this almost impossible.

“You’ve got a job, and you’ve got a house…on my land. Where’s my house? Where’s my job?” (Charlie)

“We need to teach them… the traditional ways.” (Charlie’s friend) 

“I’ve been away fishing, now I’m home. I’m eating well. It’s my own supermarket.” (Charlie)

In  Tracks , Davidson’s attempt to escape the responsibilities and social pressures to immerse herself in nature is ultimately a journey of self-discovery; to define her own identity irrespective of the expectations imposed on her by the 1970s society. As a solitary female, challenging the restrictions of her sex and exposing herself to unpredictable surroundings, she can curate her own identity as a progressive, post-colonial feminist, seizing and capitalising on the autonomy she has. This endeavour allows Davidson to undergo a form of self-transformation, a search for meaning for herself and others, what she describes as a “desocializing process -- the sloughing of, like a snakeskin”. Furthermore, Davidson is determined to rediscover her place in respect to the desertland, educating herself about the native biodiversity and most importantly, the native people. Although Davidson recognises that she will always be considered a ‘whitefella’, she finds a sense of fulfilment and belonging in engaging with and observing the rural Aboriginal communities. She demonstrates a deep understanding of the distorted identity and loss of belonging for the Aborigines at the hands of imperial white forces and is sensitive to the damage that has been inflicted. Above all, Davidson gains a renewed, stable sense of identity and belonging through her resistance to the imperial Australian racist mentality, challenging the male-orientated culture. However, she is also confronted by the reality of this breakdown of identity within the Aboriginal communities.

“This was my first home, where I felt such a sense of relief and belonging that I needed nothing and no one.” (p. 40)

“From the day the thought came into my head ‘I’m going to enter a desert with camels’, to the day I felt the preparations to be completed, I had built some intangible but magical for myself…” (p. 95)

“I wanted to understand so much… I melted into a feeling of belonging. They were letting me into their world. They asked me if I wanted to dance.” (p. 145)

“Once dispossessed of this land, ceremonial life deteriorates, people lose their strength, meaning and identity.” (p. 167) ‍ ‍

Connection to Nature

The significance of nature to the Aboriginal people is at the core of this film. Charlie embodies this connection through his escape to the Australian wilderness. This first acts as a fresh alternative to the restrictive, repressive lifestyle within his government-intervened community, given. It's an opportunity to rebel against the western lifestyle and restore his traditional way of life, which leaves him feeling free, happy and powerful. However, his struggle to adjust to this change is indicative of the corruption of the intrinsic link between the people and the land. The harmonious, symbiotic relationship that the Indigenous people once had with the land has deteriorated; having been essentially poisoned through the introduction of a progressive white society. As much as Charlie tries to balance elements of both cultures by hunting and quitting smoking, it becomes apparent to him returning to where ‘[he] was born’, is the only way to rediscover his sense of self and truly experience freedom. Ultimately, like much of the wider Indigenous people, Charlie’s unable to fully abandon the constraints of white society and has become dependent. De Heer confronts the audience with the consequences of this irreversible separation through the illness and poverty that the Aboriginal people must endure.

“There’s lots of food in the bush… It's like a supermarket out there.” (Charlie’s companion)

“Then you’ll die in the wrong place… a long way from your country… They’ll be no one with you, no one to look after you.” (Charlie to a friend)

“I was born in the bush. They didn’t find me in the bush.” (Charlie)

“I want to go home now......back to my own country......where my place is...” (Charlie)

The connection to nature seen in  Tracks  serves several functions for Davidson. Contrary to the majority of attitudes of the time, Davidson can recognise the sanctity of the Australian land and is determined to learn about and experience this connection between the Aboriginal people and their environment. Like in  Charlie’s Country , Davidson’s encounter with the rural, minimalist Aboriginal communities is a distinct contrast to the urban society which she leaves behind. It’s a sobering reminder to Davidson of the persisting racism and colonialist mentality which pervades Australian history and confirms the serious consequences that have occurred from the loss of connection between land and people. Even further, her battle to survive and adapt to the unpredictability of the desert is the ultimate test of endurance, which Davidson acknowledges enables lasting self-transformation and consolidates to her the true majesty and reverence of nature. Therefore, this escapism into the desertland is Davidson’s own challenge for personal change and a chance to experience true liberation like Charlie, as well as finding peace with the natives by means of acknowledging the usurpation of their traditional land and rights.

“All around me was magnificence. Light, power, space and sun. And I was walking into it. I was going to let it make me or break me.” (p. 101)

“It is difficult to describe Australian desert ranges as their beauty is not just visual. They have an awesome grandeur that can fill you with exaltation or dread, and usually a combination of both.” (p. 122)

“Besides, no amount of anthropological detail can begin to convey Aboriginal feeling for their land. It is everything -- their law, their ethics, their reason for existence.” (p. 167)

“And just as Aborigines seem to be in perfect rapport with themselves and their country, so the embryonic beginnings of that rapport were happening to me.” (p. 193)

Author Views and Values

Aboriginal rights and the intervention.

Like in any comparison, it is important to understand some of the key events that were occurring at the time of both the text and the film. While  Tracks  and  Charlie Country  are set more than 3 decades apart, the issue of Aboriginal rights is still equally as important in both settings.

In  Tracks , the 1970-80s saw many progressive milestones in Aboriginal history. Just years prior to Davidson’s departure, Australians voted for change in the constitution officially recognising Aboriginal people in the national census. Later, 1976 saw the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, which allowed the Indigenous people to assume ownership of land that was acknowledged to be rightly theirs. Many of these legislative changes were indicative of a larger-scale shift in attitudes towards the fairer treatment of Aborigines. While the oppression and racism continued, it was individuals like Robyn Davidson who pioneered the way for greater change and equality. Davidson ultimately intends to highlight the devastation that has occurred to the Aboriginal people following colonisation and aims to shine the light on the persisting issues these individuals face in an ostensibly ‘post-colonial’ Australia.

• Despite some advancements of Indigenous rights in the 1970s, Davidson is firmly opposed to the ongoing racist attitudes held by white Australians.
• Davidson sympathises with the deep hardship endured by the Aboriginal people, which was characteristic of the evolving attitudes towards racial equality in 1970s Australia.

In addition to this, was the 2007 ‘intervention’.  Charlie’s Country  is set some years following the introduction of the Northern Territory National Emergency Response. Following reports of child sexual abuse and neglect, the Howard Government unleashed national forces to remote Indigenous communities in the effort to act as law enforcement and impose alcohol and drug restrictions. De Heer examines the consequences of what was described as a ‘last-ditch’ attempt to maintain power; an act that was widely criticised and showed to further exacerbate the suffering of the Indigenous people. Hence, de Heer’s film provides a personal insight into the difficulty of navigating life for Indigenous citizens as a result of the Intervention, and how Charlie’s struggles are representative of the anguish of the wider Aboriginal community.

• Drawing parallels with the time of 2007 Northern Territory Intervention, de Heer intends to reveal the identity distortions that Indigenous individuals suffered due to the enforcement of westernised laws.
• De Heer’s depiction of Charlie’s alienation from Ramingining was indicative of the wider Aboriginal population in the time following the 2007 Intervention, which saw the introduction of new restrictions into rural communities in the Northern Territory.

Women's rights in Australia

The 1970s was a critical time for women's rights in Australia. At this point in time, after the first wave enabled women to vote, the second wave of feminism was moving through the nation. Women all across Australia were now fervently advocating for their own autonomy and freedom in the workplace and at home; their efforts directed more to dismantle the rigid social structures and expectations that were demanded from them. Davidson is an avid proponent for this cause and demonstrates a tactful and astute understanding of her image as a white, middle-class woman. She openly reiterates her distaste for the sexist remarks and misogynistic caricatures she faces and is determined to confound the restrictions placed on her sex of being a domesticated and weak female. Overall, Davidson is promoting the principles of breaking through societal expectations, however, also reveals the many challenges she encounters in doing so.

• Davidson’s defiance of the traditional female image is indicative of the progressive attitudes regarding women's rights in 1970s Australia.
• Davidson’s embodiment of feminist ideas was synonymous to the 1970s second wave of feminism, where women in Australia were fighting for more freedoms at work and at home.

Comparing metalanguage and film techniques

It can be a bit daunting trying to compare techniques in a novel to those in a film. In this instance, it is crucial to first look at the idea you are comparing. For example, we can observe that both  Tracks  and  Charlie’s Country  show the liberating and cathartic feeling that comes from escaping social pressures. Now, let's look at  how  Robyn Davidson and Rolf de Heer achieve this, albeit in different manners. In  Tracks , Davidson uses  imagery  to describe the desertland she meets, when she says, “It is like a vast unattended communal garden, the closest thing to earthly paradise I can imagine”. De Heer communicates this premise of freedom, however, does this by featuring a variety of  diegetic sounds  of the biodiversity in which Charlie finds himself.

Another example is how intimacy with protagonists is edified. De Heer uses sustained, intimate close up shots and at many times breaks the fourth wall by having Gulpilil look directly at the camera. On the other hand, Davidson employs colloquial language and is liberal with her use of expletives in order to convey a casual, conversational mood between herself and the reader.

Other aspects to consider:

Anthropomorphism  in  Tracks  is   the act of attributing human traits or behaviours to a god, animal or object. Davidson’s use of anthropomorphism to describe the animals around her (specifically the camels and her dog Diggety) is suggestive of the necessity for companionship for humans; the need to establish meaningful connections with others. For Davidson, companionship with animals comes easier than with humans (presuming this stems from her perception of society as problematic and grossly flawed).

• Davidson on camels: “They are haughty, ethnocentric, clearly believing they are god’s chosen race. But they are also cowards and their aristocratic demeanour hides delicate hearts. I was hooked.” (p. 14)
• “[The camels] hung around me like flies, shuffling their feet, looking embarrassedly at the ground or coyly through their elegant lashes, acting apologetic and loving and remorseful…” (p. 80)
• “Diggity had become a cherished friend rather than simply a pet.” (p. 227)
• “[Diggity] combined all the best qualities of god and human and was a great listener." (p. 207)

Cinematography, specifically types of cinematic shots  in  Charlie’s Country .   Those commonly seen in the film include wide shots (camera captures a wide view of the context or setting), close up shots (camera captures events from a short distance away; involves a character’s facial features and expressions), as well as panoramic shots (camera pans around horizontally, showing surroundings). Directors are intentional in the type of cinematography they employ; therefore it is crucial to observe the context in which these shots take place in order to enrich the analysis. 

• Several wide angle, landscape shots of nature, both at the beginning of the film and when Charlie first enters the Australian wilderness.
• Close up shots of Charlie sitting by the fire, and when he is in prison.
• Panoramic shots of Aboriginal art that Charlie discovers in the wild.
• Panoramic shot also in the courtroom where Charlie is on trial.

Remember! When analysing, you  must  consider where these occur in the context of the film’s narrative, and the effect they have on enhancing the events/themes/broader ideas being presented in the scene. (i.e. How are the characters portrayed compared to their surroundings? Compared to others? How are they interacting with these elements? Why has the director chosen this angle/shot?)

Sample Essay Plan

Compare how Tracks and Charlie’s Country present the importance of Individualism.

Sample Introduction:

Set amidst an era of significant social and political change, Robyn Davidson’s autobiographical memoir ‘ Tracks’  and Rolf de Heer’s film ‘ Charlie’s Country’  explores the plight of individuals who embrace individualism. Both Davidson and de Heer assert that individualism is necessary for the protagonists, who find themselves marginalised from the wider population. Through their respective journeys to independence, Robyn and Charlie achieve  a sense of empowerment through identity self-refashioning , as well as they express  their disapproval of   the toxic institutions of society . However, the text and the film also demonstrate how at times,  embracing individualism can present challenges to those who pursue it . Ultimately, Davidson and de Heer commend those who do not fully conform to society.

Paragraph 1: Charlie and Robyn gain empowerment through independently establishing their own identity.

Robyn sees the trip as a demonstration to herself of the shedding of the traditional image of white, middle class woman: 

• “Am I an individualist because I believe I can take control of my own life? If so, then yes, I was definitely that.” 
• “I had… been sick of carrying around the self-indulgent negativity which was so much the malaise of my generation, my sex and my class.”
• Describes the experience as a “gentle catharsis” and that “[She] was happy”.

Charlie’s abandonment of the Ramingining community is an attempt to resolve the identity ambiguity he feels as a result of the Government intervention.

• Charlie appears to receive government benefits only to have to give it away to family, later divulging that “I have no money left… or food. I’m hungry”. When he tries to source food by traditional means, he is punished. All this demonstrates his struggles in balancing two cultures.
• Going back into his “Motherland” he is joyful, dancing and eating again. Recognises a sense of security in going back -- “That’s what I want”, “now I’m home”.

Paragraph 2: Embracing individualism for the protagonists means resisting toxic societal constructs.

Robyn adamantly condemns the deeply entrenched racism of Australian culture and sympathises with the Aborigines and their hardship. Her determination to learn about the Aboriginal people is an attempt to overcome the wedge that has been driven between the two communities: 

• “Racism is a daily experience for blacks in Alice Springs. It reinforces their own feelings of worthlessness and self-hate.”
• “Large mining corporations… lusting after Aboriginal Reserve land.”
• The dependency of the Aboriginal people termed as a “handy PR stunt” for government and policies equated to “apartheid in South Africa”.

Charlie becomes increasingly resistant against the traditions and policies of the government institutions.

• Many times he is seen throwing cigarettes into the fire -- his resentment towards the introduction of white customs. "You come from far away and bring us alcohol, ganja, tobacco... all bad!"
• Charlie rejects the white lifestyle by refusing to eat the food in the community, recognising its detrimental properties. Charlie on illness: “It’s all that… white man junk food we eat."

Paragraph 3: Resisting conformity is challenging for Robyn and Charlie, particularly in an oppressive society.

Robyn is met with harsh opposition and derogatory depictions in the media: 

• Labelled “the next town rape case.” 
• Discovers feces on her pillow one night in Alice Springs -- “let my presence be known as if I were a trespasser.”
• “‘Camel lady’ had that nice patronising belittling ring to it.”

Charlie is constantly shut down when embracing the ways of his culture; ultimately submitting to individualism also unveils his dependency on white society.

• He is charged with ‘recreational shooting’, and his hunting spear is considered "a dangerous weapon."
• Charlie’s confession earlier about his false teeth: “I can’t eat with them… I can eat without them” alluding to this dependency on society.
• The irreversible damage of white intervention is evident in Charlie’s poor health as a consequence of going back to “the old way” -- must go to the hospital.

Additional essay topic and prompts:

‘Resistance to conformity is at the forefront of Tracks and Charlie’s Country ’. To what extent do you agree?

Discuss the ways in which the environment assists the protagonists in their journey for self-discovery.

‘The connection to the land is significant for the characters of both Charlie’s Country and Tracks ’. Discuss.

‘The stories of Charlie and Robyn represent the plight of many others’. To what extent do you agree?

Compare the ways in which characters in Tracks and Charlie’s Country seek to discover what really matters to them.

‘Despite their deep hardship, Charlie and Robyn find transformation in their journeys’. Discuss.

Useful Resources

How to Write a Killer Comparative

Reading and Comparing Tracks into the Wild

Compare the Pair- A guide to structuring a reading and comparing essay

The link between your contention and topic sentences in relation to the prompt

Master Reading and Creating

• Symbols and Analysis
• Discussion Questions
• Sample Essay Topics
• Essay Topic Breakdown

Go Went Gone revolves around an unlikely connection between a retired university  professor , Richard, and a group of asylum seekers who come from all over the African continent . While he’s enjoyed a life of stability and privilege as a white male citizen, the lives of these asylum seekers could not be more different: no matter where they are in the world, uncertainty seems to follow. Richard initially sets out to learn their stories, but he is very quickly drawn into their histories of tragedy, as well as their dreams for the future. 

However, the more he tries to help them, the more he realises what he’s up against: a potent mix of stringent legal bureaucracy and the ignorance of his peers . These obstacles are richly interwoven with the novel’s context in post-reunification Germany (more on this under Symbols: Borders ), but bureaucracy and ignorance are everywhere - Australia included . This novel, therefore, bears reflection on our own relationship with the refugees who seek protection and opportunity on our shores - refugees who are virtually imprisoned and cut off from the world .

Richard ultimately realises that these men are simply people , people who have the same complexities and inconsistencies as anyone else. They sometimes betray his trust; at other times, they help him in return despite their socio-economic standing. The end of the novel is thus neither perfect nor whole - while the asylum seekers develop a relationship with Richard and vice versa, neither is able to entirely solve the other’s problems, though both learn how to be there for each other in their own ways. We don’t get many solutions to everything the refugees are facing, but what we end up with is a lesson or two in human empathy. 

The title of Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel Go Went Gone is a line she weaves into a couple of scenes. In one example, a group of asylum seekers in a repurposed nursing home learn to conjugate the verb in German. In another, a retired university professor reflects on this group, about to be relocated to another facility.

The various privileges Richard holds shape his identity in this text. It shapes how he approaches his retirement for example: now that “ he has time ”, he plans to spend it on highbrow pursuits like reading Proust and Dostoyevsky or listening to classical music. On the other hand, the asylum seekers sleep most of the time: “if you don’t sleep through half the morning, [a day] can be very long indeed.” Richard has the freedom to choose to spend his time on hobbies, but the asylum seekers face a daunting and seemingly-impossible array of tasks. After getting to know them more, he realises that while his to-do list includes menial things like “schedule repairman for dishwasher”, the refugees face daunting socio-political problems like needing to “eradicate corruption”. 

Freedom in general is a useful way to think about privilege in this text, and besides freedom to choose how you spend your time, this can also look like the freedom to tell your story. While Richard helps the men with this to some degree, even he has a limited amount of power here (and power can be another useful way of thinking about privilege). Richard realises that “people with the freedom to choose…get to decide which stories to hold on to” - and those are the people who get to decide the future of the refugees, at least from a legal perspective. 

Though Richard can’t necessarily help with these legal issues, he finds himself doing what he can for the refugees over time. He demonstrates a willingness to help them in quite substantial ways sometimes, for example buying a piece of land in Ghana for Karon and his family. In the end, we see him empathising with the refugees enough to offer them housing: though he is not a lawyer, he still finds ways to use his privilege for good and share what he can. He taps into his networks and finds housing for 147 refugees. 

The tricky thing with empathy though is that it’s never one-sided, not in this book and not in real life either. It’s not simply a case of Richard taking pity on the refugees - we might think of this as sympathy rather than empathy - but he develops complex, reciprocal and ‘real’ friendships with all of them. This can challenge him, and us, and our assumptions about what is right. When Richard loses his wallet at the store, Rufu offers to pay for him. He initially insists he “can’t accept”, but when he does Rufu doesn’t let him pay him back in full. Erpenbeck challenges us to empathise without dehumanising, condescending or assuming anything in the process. 

It’s an interesting way to think about social justice in general, particularly if you consider yourself an ‘ally’ of a marginalised group - how can we walk with people rather than speak for them and what they want?

Freedom of movement is sort of a form of privilege, but movement as a theme of its own is substantial enough to need a separate section. There are lots of different forms of movement in the novel, in particular movement between countries . In particular, it’s what brought the refugees to Germany at all, even though they didn’t necessarily have any control over that movement.

Contrast that with Richard’s friends, Jörg and Monika, who holiday in Italy and benefit from “freedom of movement [as] the right to travel”. Through this lens, we can see that this is really more of a luxury that the refugees simply do not have. Refugees experience something closer to forced displacement , rather than free travel, moving from one “temporary place” to the next often outside of their control. In this process, their lack of control often means they lose themselves in the rough-and-tumble of it all: “Becoming foreign. To yourself and others. So that’s what a transition looks like.”

3. Symbols & Analysis

Language and the law.

Many of the barriers faced by the refugees are reflected in their relationships with language; that is, their experiences learning German mirrors and sheds light on their relationship with other elements of German society. For example, there are times when they struggle to concentrate on learning: “It’s difficult to learn a language if you don’t know what it’s for”. This struggle reflects and symbolises the broader problems of uncertainty, unemployment and powerlessness in the men’s lives.

The symbol of language often intersects with the symbol of the “iron law”, so these are discussed together here. It’s hard on the one hand for these men to tell their stories in German, but it’s also hard for the German law to truly grapple with their stories. Indeed, Richard finds that the law doesn’t care if there are wars going on abroad or not: it only cares about “jurisdiction”, and about which country is technically responsible for the refugees. In this sense, the law mirrors and enables the callousness which runs through the halls of power - not to deter you from learning law if you want though! This might just be something to be aware of, and maybe something you’d want to change someday. 

There’s one law mentioned in the novel stating that asylum seekers can simply be accepted “if a country, a government or a mayor so wishes”, but that one word in particular - “ if ” - puts all the power in lawyers and politicians who know the language and the law and how to navigate it all. These symbols thus reflect power and privilege. 

Borders (+ Historical Context)

Throughout the novel, there’s a sense that borders between countries are somewhat arbitrary things. They can “suddenly become visible” and just as easily disappear; sometimes they’re easy to cross, sometimes they’re impossible to cross. Sometimes it’s easy physically, but harder in other ways - once you cross a border, you need housing, food, employment and so forth.

This complex understanding of borders draws on the history of Germany , and in particular of its capital Berlin, after World War II. After the war, Western powers (USA, UK, France) made a deal with the Soviet Union to each run half of Germany and half of Berlin. The Eastern half of Germany, and the Eastern half of Berlin, fell under Soviet control, and as East Germans started flocking to the West in search of better opportunities (sound familiar?), the Soviets built a wall around East Berlin. The Berlin Wall , built in 1961, became a border of its own, dividing a nation and a city and changing the citizenship of half of Germany overnight. Attempts to escape from the East continued for many years until the wall came down in 1989, changing all those citizenships right back, once again virtually overnight.

This history adds dimension to Erpenbeck’s novel. Refugees pass through many countries, but Erpenbeck draws on Germany’s history specifically as a once-divided nation itself. This helps to illustrate that national borders are just another arbitrary technicality that divides people, at the expense of these refugees. 

Bodies of Water

One motif that comes back a few times in the novel is the drowned man in the lake by Richard’s house. This has a few layers of meaning.

Firstly, the man drowns despite the lake being a perfectly “placid” body of water, and for whatever reason, this bothers Richard immensely: “he can’t avoid seeing the lake”. There’s an interesting contrast here to be drawn between this one death in a still body of water and the hundreds of deaths at sea that are recounted in the novel. Rashid’s stories are particularly confronting: “Under the water I saw all the corpses”. Erpenbeck questions the limits of human empathy - whose deaths are we more affected by, and why - through contrasting these different bodies of water, and those who die within them. Richard is more affected than most, who visit the lake all summer leaving “just as happy as they came” - but even he has his limits with how much he can see and understand. 

The next layer of meaning with this symbol then is more around the surface of the water itself: it is significant that in Rashid’s story, the casualties are below the surface. This reflects the common saying, “the tip of the iceberg” - the survivors who make it to Europe are really just the tip of the iceberg , only representing a fraction of the refugee experience. Often, that experience ends in death. Erpenbeck asks us to keep looking beneath the surface in order to empathise in full. 

Music and the Piano

This symbol is specific to Richard’s relationship with Osarobo , to whom he teaches the piano. There’s one scene where this symbolism is particularly powerful, where they watch videos of pianists “us[ing] the black and white keys to tell stories that have nothing at all to do with the keys’ colours.”

It speaks to the power of music to bring people together, and also to the importance of storytelling in any form: Rosa Canales argues the keys’ colours, and the colour of the fingers playing them, “become irrelevant to the stories emanating from beneath them”.

• “What languages can you speak?”
• “The German language is my bridge into this country” 
• “Empty phrases signify politeness in a language which neither of them is at home” 
• “The things you’ve experienced become baggage you can’t get rid of, while others - people with the freedom to choose - get to decide which stories to hold on to”
• “He hears Apollo’s voice saying: They give us money, but what I really want is work. He hears Tristan’s voice saying: Poco lavoro . He hears the voice of Osaboro, the piano player, saying: Yes, I want to work but it is not allowed. The refugees’ protest has created half-time jobs for at least twelve Germans thus far” 
• “Not so long ago, Richard thinks, this story of going abroad to find one's fortune was a German one”
• “Is it a rift between Black and White? Or Poor and Rich?” 
• “Where can a person go when he doesn't know where to go?” 

5. Discussion Questions

Here are some questions to think about before diving into essay-writing. There’s no right or wrong answer to any of these, and most will draw on your own experiences or reflections anyway. You may want to write some answers down, and brainstorm links between your responses and the novel. These reflections could be particularly useful if you’re writing a creative response to the text, but they’re also a really good way to get some personal perspective and apply the themes and lessons of this novel into your own life.

• Where do you ‘sit’ in the world? What privileges do you have or lack? What can you do that others cannot, and what can others do that you cannot?
• Think about the times you’ve travelled around the world - how many of those times were by choice? What might be the impact of moving across the world against your will?
• How do you show empathy to others? How do you receive empathy from others? What is that relationship ‘supposed’ to look like?
• What are some different names for where you live? How can you describe the same place in different languages or words? If you’re in Australia, what was your area called before 1788?
• Have you ever learned or spoken a language other than English? What language do you find easier to write, speak and think with? How might this impact someone’s ability to participate in different parts of life (school, work, friendships etc.)?

6. Sample Essay Topics

• Go Went Gone teaches us that anyone can be empathetic. Discuss. 
• In Go Went Gone , Erpenbeck argues that storytelling can be powerful but only to an extent. Do you agree?
• How does Erpenbeck explore the different ways people see time? 
• It’s possible to sympathise with Richard despite his relative privilege. Do you agree?
• Discuss the symbolic use of borders in Go Went Gone .
• Go Went Gone argues that the law is impartial. To what extent do you agree?
• “The German language is my bridge into this country.” How is language a privilege in Go Went Gone ?
• Who are the protagonists and antagonists of Go Went Gone ?
• Go Went Gone shows that it is impossible to truly understand another person’s experiences. To what extent do you agree?

In what ways do the people Richard meets challenge his assumptions about the world?

• Go Went Gone is less about borders between countries than it is about borders between people. Do you agree?

7. Essay Topic Breakdown

Whenever you get a new essay topic, you can use LSG’s THINK and EXECUTE strategy , a technique to help you write better VCE essays. This essay topic breakdown will focus on the THINK part of the strategy. If you’re unfamiliar with this strategy, then check it out in How To Write A Killer Text Response .

Within the THINK strategy, we have 3 steps, or ABC. These ABC components are:

Step 1: A nalyse

Step 2: B rainstorm

Step 3: C reate a Plan

Step 1: Analyse

This prompt alludes to certain assumptions that Richard might make about the world. If it’s hard to think of these off the top of your head, consider where our assumptions about the world come from: maybe from our jobs, our families and friends or our past experiences. Maybe there are some assumptions you’ve had in the past that you’ve since noticed or challenged. 

Then it asks us how the people Richard meets challenges those assumptions. There’s no way to get out of this question without discussing the refugees, so this will inform our brainstorm.

Step 2: Brainstorm

I think some of Richard’s assumptions at the beginning come from his status: being a professor emeritus makes you pretty elite, and he can’t really empathise with the refugees because his experiences of life are so different. Part of the challenge with this prompt might be to break down what life experiences entail, and where those differences lie: particularly because it’s asking us ‘in what ways’. These experiences could be with language, employment, or personal relationships just to name a few ideas. 

Step 3: Create a Plan

Because Richard’s life experiences are so vastly different, I’d contend that his assumptions are challenged in basically every way. However, I also think that his interest in the refugees exists because he knows they can challenge his assumptions. I want to use the motif of water surfaces to tie this argument together, particularly in the topic sentences, and this could look as follows:

Paragraph 1 : Richard realises that he only has a ‘surface-level’ appreciation of the refugees’ life experiences.

• He realises that he knows little about the African continent (“Nigeria has a coast?”) 
• He suffers from a “poverty of experience” which means he hasn’t had to interact with this knowledge before
• His renaming of the refugees (Apollo, Tristan etc.) suggests that he still needs his own frame of reference to understand their experiences
• He learns about the hardships of migration through the tragic stories of those like Rashid

Paragraph 2 : He also realises that he has a ‘surface-level’ understanding of migration in general.

• This comes from the fact that he has never actually moved countries; he’s only been reclassified as an East German, and then again as a German. Neither happened because he wanted them to.
• On the other hand, the refugees want to settle in Europe: they want the right to work and make a living - it’s just that the “iron law” acts as a major barrier. Their powerlessness is different from Richard’s.
• Part of migration is also learning the language, and Richard is initially quite ignorant about this: he observes that the Ethiopian German teacher “for whatever reason speaks excellent German”, not realising this is necessary for any migrant to survive in the new country.
• We can think of this as the difference between migration and diaspora, the specific term for the dispersion of a people.

Paragraph 3 : Richard is more open than most people to looking beneath the surface though, meaning that his assumptions are challenged partly because he is willing for them to be.

• The symbol of the lake works well here to explain this: he is bothered by its still surface, and what lies underneath, while others aren’t
• We can also contrast this to characters like Monika and Jörg who remain quite ignorant the whole time: Richard’s views have departed from this throughout the course of the novel
• Ultimately, the novel is about visibility: Richard’s incorrect assumptions mean that he isn’t seeing reality, and his “research project” is all about making that reality visible. 

‍ Go Went Gone is usually studied in the Australian curriculum under Area of Study 1 - Text Response. For a detailed guide on Text Response, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response .

Bombshells and The Penelopiad are studied as part of VCE English's Comparative. For one of most popular posts on Comparative (also known as Reading and Comparing), check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Comparative.

1. Introductions

Bombshells is a collection of six monologues written by Joanna Murray-Smith, each featuring one female character who is symbolic of a specific stage in life and role. Together, they are a telling account of the struggles of being a woman in a modern world, and the monologue format allows the author to emphasise how they are simultaneously unique and universally relatable.

The Penelopiad is Margaret Atwood’s retelling of Homer’s Odyssey from Odysseus’ wife Penelope’s point of view. The story is narrated first-person by Penelope who resides in the underworld, but is also peppered with spoken, sung or chanted testimonies from the twelve dead maids of the story who act as a Chorus, a traditional part of ancient Greek theatre. Although the story is old and much-retold, the voice is modern and the author’s messages concerning women and their position in the world and their relationship with men are universal, regardless of the historical period.

3. Characters

The Penelopiad

4. Sample paragraphs

Prompt: How do Bombshells and The Penelopiad emphasise the subtleties of the male-female relationship dynamic?

Introduction

While the narratives of both Bombshells and The Penelopiad are firmly focused on the female perspective of issues relevant to them, the texts also address the male perspective and role in such issues. Like the women, the men created by the authors have instrumental roles in the way the stories play out, which interestingly are sometimes disproportionate to their actual involvement in the plot.

Body paragraph

One of the main differences between the texts, other than the literary format, is the level of dialogue and active participation afforded to the male characters. In The Penelopiad , the male characters arguably largely direct Penelope’s life, from her father essentially selling her into marriage to Odysseus’ life-disrupting departure, return and ‘lies…tricks and… thieving’, not to mention her ‘quite spoiled’ son Telemachus’ will to usurp and disobey his mother. Penelope’s narration gives them large amounts of dialogue and paints them as three-dimensional people in her life, whereas the male characters in Bombshells have barely any dialogue – most of them have none – and yet manage to cause a similar level of turmoil in the female characters. The marriage of Theresa McTerry to her fiancé Ted, for example, sends her into long, capitalised rants heavily punctuated with exclamation marks and profanities; Murray-Smith does not even give Ted a full description. Even without forming the male characters into rich, detailed personas, she still manages to fully showcase the chaos visited upon Theresa by her ill-considered marriage. She draws greater attention to her inner panic and desperation than we see in Penelope, whose voice retains a sense of shocked detachment even when crying or suffering. As such, the differing approaches of the authors both showcase the fact that men can wreak significant havoc with women’s lives, and that we do not actually need to know much about the particulars of the men or their acts to comprehend the women’s suffering.

The approaches of Atwood and Murray-Smith towards the level of engagement of their male characters differ significantly, yet both show the full impact of their actions on the lives of their female counterparts. Even when the men are given only cursory mentions, their presence as an agent of change within the story is sufficient for them to dramatically alter the courses of the characters they consort with.

More full sample A+ essays available in our Ultimate VCE English Study Guide Bundle.

It’s very hard to look past the overt feminist overtones of both try – even though these are some of the most interesting parts of the texts and you definitely should discuss them, there is more to them than messages about women. Maybe expand your view to more general ideas about human beings, how we live our lives and the ways we react to situations of duress.

Also consider that these texts are in two different formats; how does the live performance of Bombshells change the way it is perceived? How do the different media of these texts support or emphasise the authors’ messages? What can a monologue do better than a book in terms of transmitting an idea and vice versa?

Want to download this study guide? Click the button below!

In your Language Analysis (or Analysing Argument) SAC, you will be required to analyse how language is used to persuade in three or more texts. While this may seem a bit daunting at first, it really isn’t much harder than a single text analysis once you know how to approach it. Of course, there are multiple ways to tackle this task, but here is just one possible method!

Introduction:

Begin with a sentence that briefly describes the incident that sparked the debate or the nature/context of the debate. Remember to use the background information already provided for you on the task book!

Next, introduce the texts one at a time, including the main aspects for each (eg. title, writer, source, form, tone, contention and target audience). You want to show the examiner that you are comparing the articles, rather than analysing them separately. To do this, use appropriate linking words as you move onto your outline of each new text.

Consider significant features for comparison, for example:

• Is the tone/style the same?
• Is there a different target audience?
• How do their key persuasive strategies differ?

You may choose to finish your introduction with a brief comment on any key difference or similarity.

Sample introduction: The recent return to vinyls and decline in CD sales has sparked discussion about the merits of the two forms of recorded sound. In his feature article, For the Record, published in the monthly magazine Audioworld in June 2015, Robert Tan contends that vinyls, as the more traditional form, are preferable to CDs. He utilises a disparaging tone within his article to criticise CDs as less functional than vinyls. In response to Tan’s article, reader Julie Parker uses a condescending and mocking tone to lampoon Tan for his point of view, in a letter published in the same magazine one month later.

Body paragraphs:

Block structure

Spend the first half of your essay focused on Article 1, then move into Article 2 for the second half of your essay (and, for those doing three articles, the later part of your essay based on Article 3). This structure is the most simple of all, and unfortunately does not offer you ample opportunity to delve into an insightful analysis. Hence, we would not recommend this structure for you. If possible, adopt the Bridge or Integrated structures discussed below.

Bridge structure

Analyse the first text, including any visuals that may accompany it. Students often spend too long on the first text and leave too little time to analyse the remaining texts in sufficient depth, so try to keep your analysis specific and concise! Remember to focus on the effects on the reader, rather than having a broad discussion of persuasive techniques.

Linking is essential in body paragraphs! Begin your analysis of each new text with a linking sentence to enable a smooth transition and to provide a specific point of contrast. Continue to link the texts throughout your analysis, for example, you could compare:

• The techniques of each writer and how these aim to position the reader in different ways.

Often your second and/or third texts will be a direct response to the first, so you could pick up on how the author rebuts or agrees with the arguments of the first text.

Integrated structure

In this type of structure, you will analyse both articles in each body paragraph.

For a detailed guide on Language Analysis including how to prepare for your SAC and exam, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Language Analysis .

If you'd like to see an in-depth explanation of these different essay structures with sample A+ annotated essays as examples, check out our How To Write A Killer Language Analysis ebook! This study guide includes heaps of other valuable content too, including the SIMPLICITY and SPECIFICITY strategy, which has helped hundreds of students achieve A+ in their assessments.

Conclusion:

In Lisa's videos above, she suggests a short and sweet summary in your conclusion by incorporating some quotes from the author's own conclusion. 

Alternatively, you could opt for a different approach. In your conclusion, aim to focus on how each text differs from the others in terms of the main techniques used by the author, and more importantly, the effect of these techniques on the reader or audience. You should summarise the main similarities and differences of each text without indicating any personal bias (ie. you should not state whether one text might be more or less persuasive than another). For example, a point of comparison could be the audience appeal - will any particular audience group be particularly engaged or offended? Why?

Finally, finish with a sentence suggesting a possible outlook for the issue.

Next Steps:

Watch our 'Language Analysis' playlist where Lisa analyses the VCAA 2016 exam over the span of 7 videos. From the first read all the way through to writing up the full essay, Lisa shows you step by step how you can improve your Language Analysis marks.

*This blog post was originally created by Christine Liu, with additions made by Lisa Tran to suit the new modifications in the English study design.

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Four Ways to Kill a Good Presentation Speech

Many business owners and community leaders who wish to take their enterprises to the next level eventually realize one important thing: proper public speaking skills are necessary weapons in one’s arsenal for corporate success. One of your corporate goals should be to enhance your speaking abilities.

Anyone can become a dynamic speaker. Anyone. Most of the time, though, on the path to success, there are stumbling blocks along the way. Locate and demolish them. Those blocks and boulders can kill an otherwise great speech. Here’s a small list of some of the obstacles that get in the way of a powerful presentation:

Starting the speech too informally. Projecting power onstage right from the start is an important element of any speech. When you approach the lectern and start your presentation, you should take command and grab the audience’s attention right away. Immediately. Don’t fidget or mumble, and for heaven’s sake, never start your speech with the word “okay.” This word became such a problem in many of one professor’s speech workshops that he promised to scream if anyone started a speech with “okay.” You can imagine the shocked faces of the students who committed this infraction when they heard a high-pitched scream coming from the professor’s mouth... but they learned to avoid using a weak opening.

Reading too much from the material. The audience doesn’t want narration—if folks wanted a line-by-line text overview, they’d have asked you to xerox the paper and distribute it to them. They want your dynamics behind the text, so make your reading exciting; put effort into meaningful voice intonation and appropriate pacing instead of reading aloud in monotone. You should memorize your entire presentation with the exception of a quote or small fragment that you may read word-for-word from your notes. Check the outline, sure, but don’t become a reader. Overt reading gives the impression that you haven’t prepared.

Not maintaining eye contact. Your audience is telling you something every time you set foot on stage. Listen to them. They seem to be saying, “Hey, I’m in your audience, and I want you to look me in the eye if you’re serious about your message. Please don’t look away. The wall isn’t human, and neither is the floor. Look at me .” Lack of proper room-sweeping eye contact means that you’re either afraid of the audience or being dishonest—and neither perception is very good for your presentation.

Hanging onto the lectern too much. Many business leaders often abuse this habit. Speech experts say that 93 percent of communication is nonverbal. Body language is a big communicator, and if you stay behind the podium, clutching it like a long-lost brother, you’re communicating that you’re insecure. Many speakers make it a point to avoid the lectern as often as possible to avoid looking as though they are hiding behind it. Rubbing, tapping, or gripping the lectern sends the wrong message. It’s okay to stand behind it, but rest a hand—one hand—lightly on the side of the lectern, and keep the other free to make gestures.

It’s wise to take a look at video-hosting sites, such as YouTube , and watch the speaking techniques of various corporate leaders. Notice their style and their strengths. Note, also, their weak points. As you practice learning better speaking habits, here’s a valuable exercise for you to do: study yourself in a mirror as you make your verbal delivery. Ask yourself: Based on what I am seeing in this presentation, would I leave the speech with a favorable or unfavorable image of the speaker and his business?

• Presentation Tips and Techniques
• May 2, 2017

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How to Write a Persuasive Speech: 7 Tips for Success

• The Speaker Lab
• June 12, 2024

Table of Contents

Mastering the art of a persuasive speech is about more than just making an argument. It’s about engaging your audience, tapping into their emotions, and guiding them to your point of view with precision.

In our dive into persuasive speaking, we’ll look at how selecting enthralling topics can captivate listeners from the get-go and ensure they hang on every word. By structuring your thoughts clearly, you’ll convey messages that not only resonate but also inspire action. And as we venture further, expect practical insights on delivering these ideas with confidence.

This guide will equip you for impact whether you’re eyeing higher education debates or business pitches. So—ready to persuade? Let’s start building those skills!

Crafting the Essentials of Persuasive Speech

What makes a persuasive speech not just good, but great? It’s all about nailing the essentials. Let’s talk shop and get into what constitutes a persuasive speech.

Defining Persuasive Speech and Its Significance

A powerful tool in any speaker’s arsenal, a persuasive speech aims to convince your audience to adopt your point of view or take action. But why is this skill so crucial? In various contexts—from boardrooms to auditoriums—mastering persuasion can be the key that unlocks doors, whether you’re advocating for human rights or pitching an innovative product. It’s not just about having facts at your fingertips; it’s also about striking chords with audience members on both logical and emotional levels.

In essence, successful persuasion hinges on blending ethos , pathos , and logos —three rhetorical arguments that make different appeals in order to sway people without crossing ethical lines. Imagine stirring up the kind of passion Martin Luther King, Jr. did with his “I Have A Dream” speech—that’s what we’re aiming for.

The Anatomy of Persuasive Speech

Diving deeper into crafting effective messages requires understanding key elements like thesis statements—a concise summary of your argument. Your speech should also have main points bolstered by supporting evidence. An intriguing thesis acts as a magnet drawing listeners in while logically laid out arguments keep them hooked.

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Selecting Captivating Topics for Persuasive Speeches

Choosing the right topic is like picking the perfect outfit for an interview. It’s your first chance to impress and persuade. A good persuasive speech topic isn’t just interesting—it should also resonate with you personally, offer fresh insights, and be relevant to your audience. Your chosen topic should spark curiosity.

Criteria for Choosing Your Topic

Picking out a topic that resonates with you and hooks your audience starts with introspection. Think about what gets you fired up: Is it human rights or health insurance debates? Does discussing violent video games or tobacco products prohibition spark that inner debater in you? Now blend this passion with issues relevant to high school curriculums or hot topics from social media chatter—this fusion ensures relevance and personal engagement.

Next, ensure alignment between your chosen subject matter and specific purpose—a mission statement of sorts for your talk. It should clarify why this issue matters here, now, to these listeners. For example, if organ donation rates are low locally yet awareness is high—an effective persuasive speech could pivot towards addressing myths rather than general advocacy.

Brainstorming Ideas That Spark Interest

To uncover gems among standard persuasive speech ideas requires creativity. Begin by listing down all potential subjects that fascinate you—music therapy’s role in mental health recovery perhaps, or how genetically modified foods affect nutrition security.

Dive deeper into each idea by considering its counter arguments, as well as how you might answer such counterarguments.

Structuring Your Persuasive Speech Outline

A persuasive speech outline is your battle plan. It’s where you lay out the strategies to sway your audience and anchor them to every word.

Main Points in a Persuasive Speech

Your outline should map the journey from opening gambit to final plea, with main points acting as guideposts. Your main points aren’t just there for show but also to convince and convert. These points should be clear, concise, and crafted to push the envelope on what your listeners consider possible.

As most successful persuaders will tell you, a well-structured outline doesn’t simply support an argument; it elevates it. That’s why every point must be backed by evidence support strong enough to withstand counter arguments while remaining ethical—no room for manipulation here.

The Blueprint of Your Argument

An effective persuasive speech starts with a thesis statement bold enough yet plausible enough that even skeptics pause for thought. You then need to connect each section back to this central claim.

The body of your argument should alternate between serving up hard-hitting facts (logos) and plucking at the audience’s heartstrings (pathos). And let’s not forget ethos—audiences should be able to trust what you say because you know this topic inside and out due its personal resonance or professional relevance.

To hammer home your main points, make sure you reiterate them in your conclusion, along with your thesis. This method ensures that audiences don’t lose track of your argument in between points.

Mastering Persuasive Speaking Techniques

To effectively deliver a persuasive speech, it’s all about the blend of strategy and sincerity. Think of your speech as a three-course meal served to engage every sense; you need just the right ingredients mixed with skillful preparation.

The secret sauce? Ethos, pathos, logos—your credibility, their emotions, and logic neatly tied together. Present facts illustrated with tales that tug at heartstrings while showcasing your expertise on the topic. These approaches have been used by great leaders throughout history.

Engaging the Audience’s Emotions in Your Persuasive Speech

A dash of emotion can transform your talk from mundane to memorable. When you speak, aim for the heart to build an emotional connection that lasts beyond those final applause. Tell a personal story or paint scenarios that resonate on an individual level. It makes audience members feel like they’re part of something larger than themselves—a surefire way to keep them listening and ready to adopt your viewpoint.

Using Persuasive Speaking Techniques Effectively

An unforgettable opening ensures you grab attention immediately but remember: this is no time for fluff. Get straight into what matters with clear main points outlined upfront because if there’s one thing we know—it’s that nobody likes being lost in translation (or speeches). Counter arguments proactively so when doubts arise, they’re already addressed head-on.

Your thesis statement isn’t just another sentence; it’s the rudder on your ship of an argument. As such it needs to be strong so that everyone knows why they should care about exotic animals or health insurance debates.

Crafting Messages That Resonate

Persuasion isn’t merely about changing minds temporarily—it’s making ideas stick long after curtains close. So layer stories atop statistics until suddenly—the world views genetically modified foods differently because you’ve shown them both sides using evidence support wrapped in narratives too compelling to ignore.

Overcoming Public Speaking Challenges

Stage fright and nervousness can turn a spotlight into a glaring interrogation lamp. It’s common, but you don’t have to let it derail your speech . Deep breathing exercises before taking the stage can help steady those jitters. Remember, even the pros feel butterflies; they’ve just learned how to make them fly in formation.

Dealing with Stage Fright and Nervousness

Facing an audience can intimidating unless you’re prepared. Preparation is your armor against fear. Know your material inside out, because when you do, confidence isn’t far behind. And if that doesn’t cut it? Picture success: visualize yourself crushing it on stage, leaving audiences hanging onto every word.

If sweaty palms still persist, focus on making connections rather than impressing people—that shift in perspective might just be what keeps nerves from taking center stage.

Handling Difficult Audience Members During Your Speech

Sometimes audience members throw curveballs harder than a major league pitcher, but with tact and grace under pressure, you’ll turn that curveball into a homerun. If someone challenges or interrupts you mid-speech, stay calm. Thank them for their input and transition back to your main points swiftly yet respectfully.

A difficult question? Embrace it as an opportunity to showcase depth of knowledge or gracefully defer it until after the presentation so everyone stays engaged without going off track.

Remember: Persuasion begins where discomfort ends—and overcoming these hurdles will leave listeners remembering not just what was said but who said it with conviction.

Ethical Considerations in Persuasion

When you step onto the stage to deliver a persuasive speech, you’re not just sharing an opinion; you’re asking your audience to trust and follow your guidance. Balancing persuasion with honesty is no small feat, but it’s essential for maintaining credibility. You might be tempted to stretch the truth or hide inconvenient facts, but avoiding manipulation in speaking is crucial.

A successful persuasive speaker knows that ethical concerns in persuasive speaking form the bedrock of genuine connection with your audience members. It’s easy to get lost in crafting arguments so compelling they border on coercive. But ask yourself if what you’re doing serves as a bridge between differing viewpoints or simply bulldozes over counter arguments without regard for their validity.

Steering Clear of Manipulative Tactics

Persuasive speeches should light fires under topics like human rights or health insurance—not ignite controversy through deceitful tactics. Ethos, pathos, and logos can become tools for trickery when used improperly. As a responsible communicator aiming at engaging the audience’s emotions ethically, steer clear from creating emotional whirlwinds devoid of factual basis.

To stay true to ethical persuasion principles means ensuring every fact presented has been verified twice over—no exaggeration, deceit, or rumormongering allowed. Stick firmly within reality’s bounds while discussing controversial subjects such as tobacco products regulation or organ donation processes; this helps maintain an atmosphere where constructive debate thrives.

Maintaining Honesty Throughout Your Speech

Your thesis statement isn’t just there for show—it’s your pledge of integrity throughout your address on music therapy benefits or violent video games’ effects on youth behavior patterns. Weaving personal experience into narratives may bolster relatability yet must never wander off into fabrication territory even if spinning tales better suited for your argument seems tempting.

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Leveraging Online Platforms t0 Develop Your Skills

The savvy speakers among us know that to stay ahead of the game, sharpening your speaking chops online is not just smart; it’s essential. With an array of top-notch courses, you can fast-track your way to becoming a more persuasive and effective speaker.

Building Public Speaking Skills Online

The journey to mastering public speaking starts with one click. The internet bursts at the seams with resources like Toastmasters International tailored to help you build public speaking skills online. Whether it’s refining thesis statements or practicing eye contact through video feedback, their tools are designed for real-world success without leaving your desk.

In addition to Toastmasters International, the National Speakers Association and SpeakerHub also have a myriad of resources for speakers of all levels. And of course, there are our own resources here at The Speaker Lab , where we offer you speaker training that will get you booked and paid to speak.

Top-Notch Courses for Developing Your Skills

No need to spend hours in traditional classrooms when you can speed up learning on-the-go or from the comfort of home. Top-notch programs, such as this course from the University of Colorado Boulder, turn theory into action faster than ever before. Interactive classes like these engage learners like no other. Just remember though—these resources aren’t magic wands; commitment still tops necessity lists if real growth is what you’re after.

FAQs on Persuasive Speeches

What is a persuasive speech example.

Persuasive speech aims to sway the crowd. Think MLK’s “I Have a Dream” pushing for civil rights.

What are the 5 elements of persuasive speech?

The five key slices: a solid intro, clear message, credible evidence, emotional appeal, and a killer conclusion.

How do I start a persuasive speech?

Kick off with an attention grabber—quote, question or startling stat—to hook your listeners right away.

What is a persuasive way of speaking?

Surefire persuasion speaks directly to interests while mixing logic and emotion to shift opinions.

Mastering a persuasive speech is about connection, clarity, and conviction. Remember the essentials: a well-structured argument supports your message and engaging topics capture attention.

Outline each argument with care, making it easy for listeners to follow, then balance facts with stories that stir emotions.

Hone your delivery like great leaders do. Practice making eye contact; refine those public speaking skills online or in person—it’s how you keep an audience listening.

Ethics matter as much as eloquence does. Persuade honestly without manipulating minds or exploiting fears—that’s true success in persuasion.

In every good persuasive speech lies the power to change views, inspire action, even alter history itself. So take these insights and go forth—persuade ethically, speak confidently!

• Last Updated: June 4, 2024

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7 tips for giving a great speech.

Published: July 05, 2022

A great speech presents clear, relatable content in an engaging way. Use these seven techniques to calm your nerves and prepare for giving a great speech.

Whether it's designed to share a brand message with an unfamiliar crowd or to inspire employees during difficult times, a great speech can prove to be a critical tool in a business leader's communication toolkit. 

What Makes a Great Speech?

One of the most important qualities of a great speech is that it’s relatively short.

Consider Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Both are powerful but brief, clocking in at two minutes and 17 minutes, respectively.

However, a speech’s length is only one factor. A great speech must also captivate the audience, be presented clearly and confidently, and have a well-defined message.

Here are some techniques you can use to deliver a great, memorable speech, whether it's for work or elsewhere.

1. Consider Your Speech a Performance

A speech is primarily about the words, but a performance is so much more. It’s inflection, gesture, tension, resolution, and suspense.

But it doesn't have to be overwhelming, and you don't have to be an Oscar winner to do it well.

Go see a one-person play, and you’ll instantly understand what I mean. Performers work hard at capturing and  keeping an audience’s attention , and words are only one tool in their arsenal.

This means after you finish writing a speech, the work isn't done. Make sure to rehearse the speech in front of a few people, the mirror, or a recording device. You'll feel more confident after you've practiced, even if it's just a few times.

2. Harness the Power of Eye Contact

When nerves take over, you might naturally want to look at the floor, your slides, your hands, or the back of the room. But remember that you're in a room with humans who want to connect with you and your words.

If you try to make eye contact with people while you deliver your speech, they're more likely to feel personally engaged and gain your trust. Eye contact communicates confidence and authority – two traits key to conveying your point effectively.

3. Let Go of the Lectern

The lectern can be a crutch. It’s a physical barrier between you and your audience, and you may want to consider stepping out from behind it. Not only will your movement help create a livelier presentation, but it will help the audience perceive you as more open and accessible. Movement can also help ease your nerves.

To help you stay focused when delivering your speech, map out where you want to be on stage for each key point you want to make. You can record videos of your practice sessions to pick up on subconscious nervous gestures or ticks and work to correct them.

4. Pay Attention to Your Posture

Your  body language conveys confidence . Slouching can make you look like you aren't confident. Practice standing up straight, keeping your shoulders back and your head steady. However, don't worry too much because your body will tighten, making you look and feel nervous. Remember to relax.

Additionally, breathing is important for calming your nerves. Slouching leaves less room for your lungs to fully breathe. Even if your speech is short, it’s critical to optimize your breathing habits so you feel better both mentally and physically.

Take deep, calm breaths as much as you need to beforehand. Don't forget to pause and breathe during the speech too. Taking care of yourself is crucial.

5. Spice Up Your Speech with Stories

The power of storytelling lies in the images that audience members create in their heads as you spin your yarn.

Try not to overload your speech with data points, unless it's primarily a data-driven topic. Listeners will be more likely to remember pertinent anecdotes that inspire compassion, elicit laughter, or simply intrigue them.

Stories – especially brief, relevant ones – are a powerful tool for delivering a great speech. Weaving them into your presentation can transform your listeners into active participants.

6. Vary Your Speaking Cadence

When delivering a speech, it’s important to deliberately mix up speaking patterns such as volume, speed, and tone. 

When in doubt,  slow down your speech  to let your audience catch up – especially if you tend to speak quickly. Remembering to pause can be very helpful in steadying the speech.

If you know you’re naturally a fast talker, build some pauses into your speech. Determine points at which to take a breather, or incorporate statements like “Now think about that for a moment” or “Let that sink in.” It takes an audience more time to process your points than it will take for you to articulate them.

Remember that you're the expert. Give people time to ponder your brilliant message.

7. Discuss What You Know and Care About

If you're asked to give a speech, you're probably already an expert on the subject.

Passion translates to energy and authenticity, which help engage an audience. Emotion pulls the audience in and gets them invested in hearing more. Take them with you on this journey from the start by talking with passion.

If you find you’re not moved by your topic, modify it so it's more relevant to you and your audience. The more relevant it is, the more engaging your speech will be, and the more confident you'll feel delivering it.

As an expert worthy of giving a great speech, you'll likely excel at providing the main content points. But using these techniques can help you get your message across in a compelling and memorable way. Focus on crafting a clear, concise message that’s rife with relevant anecdotes. Practice the performance, adjust any small habits as needed, and remember that you deserve to be up there. Remember to breathe.

A version of this article was originally published on September 08, 2014.

Photo: Getty Images

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13 Powerful Ways to Kickstart Your Presentation or Speech

Anuj Malhotra

“How do I make a killer start to my speech that makes the audience sit upright, pay rapt attention to my words, and look forward to the complete presentation?”

Everybody wants this winning start to their presentation. But getting started is the hardest part. Any presenter who has been charged with the task of presenting has faced the “tyranny of the blank page”. So how do they get started?

A question is a great start. It is personal, arouses curiosity and interest in the audience as to mentally answer the question. A quotation is a great start too. Words of a famous personality or a well known quotation adds credibility to the speech and carries the power of familiarity. Are there any other ways to make a killer start to the presentation and keep the audience hooked? Yes, there are many.

Ted talks in particular threw many ideas my way for opening a speech. Here are 13 ways to kickstart your presentation:

#1- Make an Actionable Statement / Disrupt the Status Quo

Make a powerful statement that disrupts the status quo. Make a call to action or a call to change right in the start. This breaks the audience expectation. What were they expecting? A formal introduction about the presenter or the topic. Instead, you infuse energy into the room by making a strong statement. How?

Read this power-packed opening:

“I'm going to begin today with a story and end with a revolution. Are you ready?”

Source- Ted Talk- What it's like to be a woman in Hollywood by Naomi McDougall

The presenter pricked up the ears of the audience with her revolutionary call. She further energises the atmosphere by seeking their participation. How can you use this strategy for your presentation? By changing the status quo.

Say something like “Today I will change the way you look at food.” People in general are not comfortable with change but your audience is different. It has come to learn something new, leave their old habits and adopt healthier ones, change their way of thinking, or anything that brings a positive change in their life. Give that promise right in the start. A reason why audience is lethargic and bored to death is because the presenter is not sharing anything new or something that will bring a change in their life.

#2- Start with the Audience

As many presentation experts advice “It’s not about you. It’s about THEM.” Take this advice literally and start talking about the audience if you can. Nothing can make it more personal than talking about the audience. So do you pick up one man or woman from the audience and start talking about their life? You might do that but how about treating the entire audience as one person, one living entity. Here are examples to dissipate the mental fog:

There are about 5,000 women here today. Among us, 1,250 have been or will be sexually assaulted at some point in our lives. One in four. Only 10 percent will report it. The other 90 percent take refuge in silence -- half of them, because the incident involves a close family member or someone they know, and that makes it much more difficult to deal with and talk about.

Source- Ted Talk- Why women stay silent after sexual assault- Inés Hercovich

Now the above opening would have been quite shocking for the female audience because it is not just a statistic anymore but a real life possibility. Audience is the central character in the story behind this statistic. It is uncomfortable and therefore demanding attention. It is also disturbing the status quo which is what we tried in the first opening technique too. Here’s another simple but effective use of this technique:

As you've probably noticed, in recent years, a lot of western forests have burned in large and destructive wildfires. If you're like me -- this western landscape is actually why my family and I live here.  

Source- Ted Talk : Why wildfires have gotten worse — and what we can do about it, Paul Hessburg

Many might have noticed, many might have not. Those who would not have noticed would feel guilty of not noticing an important event and feel thankful to the presenter for making them aware. Here’s how another speaker addressed the audience right in the opening:  

Congratulations. By being here, listening, alive, a member of a growing species, you are one of history's greatest winners -- the culmination of a success story four billion years in the making. You are life's one percent.

Source- Ted Talk : How to win at evolution and survive a mass extinction- Lauren Sallan

Related Blog:   5 Public Speaking Lessons From The 5 Most Watched TED Talks Of All Time

#3- speak out your mind.

Be candid. Be yourself. So if you are shaking with anxiety, you can start with this confession, even though they can see the same with their eyes. Why? Because people like other people who are straightforward, who are not wearing a mask. If you are super excited, you can do “yay”. Forget all formalities, the stage is yours at that moment. Own it!

What are you doing on this stage in front of all these people? Run! Run now. That's the voice of my anxiety talking. Even when there's absolutely nothing wrong, I sometimes get this overwhelming sense of doom, like danger is lurking just around the corner.

Source- Ted Talk- Don't suffer from your depression in silence by Nikki Webber Allen

Now the presenter may not be feeling anxious and the opening was pre-planned but it is a confession of a common feeling she experiences. It is genuine. Many might criticize it for playing the sympathy card but what’s wrong in seeking some moral support from your audience. I don’t see any harm. Break all the walls between you and the audience.

#4- Share a Story

Now you must be wondering why this came so late. It is after all the most effective technique of getting the audience interested in you and your presentation. Everybody loves listening to stories- not of kings and queens that existed once upon a time but real stories and the story of the person standing in front of them.

Stories do not have to be some big event in your life. Everyday commonplace conversations, observations of surroundings and your personal take on that could be a story and a very interesting one. More importantly, how you narrate that story makes a big difference. Read this presentation opening by a medical specialist that is highly amusing:

A few years ago, I always had this thing happening to me, especially at family gatherings like teas with aunts and uncles or something like this. When people come up to you, and they ask you, "So, what are you doing?" And I would have this magical one-word reply, which would make everybody happy: "Medicine. I'm going to be a doctor." Very easy, that's it, everybody's happy and pleased. And it could be so easy, but this effect really only lasts for 30 seconds with me, because that's then the time when one of them would ask, "So, in what area of medicine? What specialty do you want to go into?" And then I would have to strip down in all honesty and just say, "OK, so I'm fascinated with the colon. It all started with the anus, and now it's basically the whole intestinal tract."

Source- Ted Talk : The surprisingly charming science of your gut by Giulia Enders

Stories may be happy or sad. The best motivational speakers share their darkest stories that send shivers down the spine but they also reveal how they overcame those despite all odds.

I'd like to take you back about seven years in my life. Friday afternoon, a few days before Christmas 2009. I was the director of operations at a consumer products company in San Francisco, and I was called into a meeting that was already in progress. That meeting turned out to be my exit interview. I was fired, along with several others. I was 64 years old at the time.

Source- Ted Talk : How I became an entrepreneur at 66 by Paul Tasner

#5- Quote History

All of us would like to reconnect with our history. After all, history is nothing but the story of those before us (his story). There is also a certain nostalgia associated with the events or objects of past. For instance, we still have a soft spot for cassettes even though they are outdated. History is full of memories of mankind.

As a speaker, you can tap into the emotions and shared memories of your audience by taking a trip down the memory lane, even if the memory lane is yours.

A little over 100 years ago, in 1915, Einstein published his theory of general relativity, which is sort of a strange name, but it's a theory that explains gravity. It states that mass -- all matter, the planets -- attracts mass, not because of an instantaneous force, as Newton claimed, but because all matter -- all of us, all the planets -- wrinkles the flexible fabric of space-time.

Source- Ted Talk : How LIGO discovered gravitational waves — and what might be next by Gabriela Gonzalez

Let's go back to 1957. Representatives from six European countries had come to Rome to sign the treaty that was to create the European Union. Europe was destroyed. A world war had emerged from Europe. The human suffering was unbelievable and unprecedented. Those men wanted to create a peaceful, democratic Europe, a Europe that works for its people.

Source- Ted Talk : The new age of corporate monopolies by Margrethe Vestager

#6- State a Fact

Increase the general knowledge of your audience by sharing a fact. The audience have come to listen to you to learn something. Let the learning commence from the start.

Sharing facts also make the speaker look credible since you have done some research. You can take a factual event from history or throw light on a fact related to your presentation subject.

It has been 128 years since the last country in the world abolished slavery and 53 years since Martin Luther King pronounced his "I Have A Dream" speech. But we still live in a world where the color of our skin not only gives a first impression, but a lasting one that remains.

Source- Ted Talk : The beauty of human skin in every color by Angélica Dass

#7- Introduce Yourself

Now, we know we discussed above that presentation is about the audience and not about you. That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about yourself, your experiences and thoughts. Do it but do not boast about yourself. Do not try to make the audience feel small.

If you belong to a profession that not many people have heard of or if introducing yourself will set a context for the presentation topic, share it with your audience by all means. There is no boasting in saying “I’m a surgeon and I witness the battle of life and death every day.” That is your truth and should be shared. Don’t go about listing your awards and years of experience. Self praise is no recommendation, remember that.

I'm a neuroscientist, and I'm the co-founder of Backyard Brains, and our mission is to train the next generation of neuroscientists by taking graduate-level neuroscience research equipment and making it available for kids in middle schools and high schools.

Source- Ted Talk : Electrical experiments with plants that count and communicate by Greg Gage

#8- Share a Joke

Some people are born with a sense of humor. Naturally such presenters are loved the most.

For those not born with that, sharing a joke can be a tricky thing. It can work and evoke guffaws or it can land flat embarrassing you to death. Take care that the joke is not stale and cliche. Also that it is not so intelligent that it goes over the head. Try out your jokes on your friends and see their reaction to be safe.

You might argue that audience is not there to listen to jokes. But nobody ever complained about having a good time. You do not have to be overly serious. You are not at a funeral.

Just sharing a joke that made me laugh today 😀

#9- Picture It!

Set the imaginations of your audience rolling. Let them put their minds to use and picture a world that you want them to see. Engage them right from the start.

Audience will surely take no offence. Everybody daydreams. Rather than letting them daydream a world of their own, make it a shared dream with “Picture it” opening:

Picture it: a big, sweaty, tattooed man in a cowboy hat and chaps, is in the ring as the arena full of fans cheer him on. Their hero: "Cowboy" Gator Magraw. Gator bounces off the ropes and is quickly body-slammed to the mat. His wild opponent leaps into the air, crashing down onto Gator's rib cage. Gator struggles to breathe, wondering: "Is this really what my father wanted for me?" That wild man in the chaps ... was me.

Source- Ted Talk : A pro wrestler's guide to confidence- Mike Kinney

#10- Matter of Fact Statement

How do friends talk to each other? Do we think about our opening line? No.

Relating this to presentation speech, break down all walls that exist between you and your audience. Imagine this is not the first time you are speaking to them. Imagine you meet them everyday. Your starting would then be a casual thought or rushing straight to the point without indulging in any formalities:

So when I do my job, people hate me. In fact, the better I do my job, the more people hate me. And no, I'm not a meter maid, and I'm not an undertaker. I am a progressive, lesbian talking head on Fox News.

Source- Ted Talk : Let’s try emotional correctness, Sally Kohn

Many Ted speakers have used this technique. Probably because they present on the stage so often, they do not have any inhibitions.

So when people voice fears of artificial intelligence, very often, they invoke images of humanoid robots run amok. You know? Terminator? You know, that might be something to consider, but that's a distant threat.

Source- Ted Talk : We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads, Zeynep Tufekci

So there's a lot of valid concern these days that our technology is getting so smart that we've put ourselves on the path to a jobless future. And I think the example of a self-driving car is actually the easiest one to see.

Source- Ted Talk : Why jobs of the future won't feel like work by David Lee

#11- Ask a Question

You knew this already. That is why we mentioned this technique so late. It’s old but effective. We started this article with a question too. It’s effective because it involves the audience. It seeks their participation. It forces them to answer mentally.

The question you ask also matters. Ask a question that they will not know the answer to. Because the answer lies with you and you’ll give that answer through your talk.

A question can even be mind-boggling as Elif Shafak puts to her audience:

"Can you taste words?" It was a question that caught me by surprise. This summer, I was giving a talk at a literary festival, and afterwards, as I was signing books, a teenage girl came with her friend, and this is what she asked me.

Source- Ted Talk : The revolutionary power of diverse thought by Elif Shafak

What does it mean to be a witness? Why is it important to bear witness to people's suffering, especially when those people are isolated from us? And what happens when we turn away?

Source- Ted Talk : Why I risked my life to expose a government massacre by Anjan Sundaram

#12- Use a Quotation

This is another basic technique that you probably knew already. If you have used famous quotations to make your start, you did a good job.

Everybody loves a good thought. We share it on our Facebook timelines, post it on Twitter and pin it on our Pinterest board. Some even take a printout of their favorite quote and pin it on their walls so they are inspired by it everyday.

Also, when you begin with quotes of a towering personality such as “Mahatma Gandhi once famously said..” our mind is eager to know what the famous personality said. You can also use a quotation and contradict it with your own opinion.

Now, Hegel -- he very famously said that Africa was a place without history, without past, without narrative. Yet, I'd argue that no other continent has nurtured, has fought for, has celebrated its history more concertedly.

Source- Ted Talk : The powerful stories that shaped Africa by Gus Casely-Hayford

#13- Combine 2 or More Techniques

You can make a stronger, impactful beginning by combing any of the above techniques we discussed.

Take the example below. The speaker starts with a fact, adds a powerful quotation and then disrupts the status quo.

According to the UN, billions of people still live without an address. The economist Hernando de Soto said, "Without an address, you live outside the law. You might as well not exist." I'm here to tell you how my team and I are trying to change that.

Source- Ted Talk : A precise, three-word address for every place on earth by Chris Sheldrick

Wasn’t that great? Taking another example, the one below starts with a confession story and moves on to asking questions:

Today I want to confess something to you, but first of all I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. How many people here have children? And how many of you are confident that you know how to bring up your children in exactly the right way?

Source- Ted Talk : Lessons from the longest study on human development by Helen Pearson

Your Amazing Speech Opening Might Be Hidden in the Middle of your Talk:

What we think might be a great start might not be that great. Instead, a line buried somewhere down in our rough script might be a killer presentation start.

I was listening to Ted talk by Euna Lee on “What I learned as a prisoner in North Korea”. She makes a decent start,  

I recently read about what the young generation of workers want in Harvard Business Review. One thing that stuck out to me was: don't just talk about impact, but make an impact.

However, she begins telling a story later on which seemed like a perfect thriller novel opening and would have made a better start to her presentation:

It was March 17, 2009. It is St. Patrick's Day for all of you, but it was the day that turned my life upside down.

Write down multiple speech opening lines and show it to your friends and family. Which one touches their heart and mind the most? Use that.

A great start raises your spirits to maintain that continuum throughout the speech. End powerfully the way you started. Make it an evening for you and your audience to remember.

Which presentation opening strategy did you like the most? Tell us in the comments below.

Related posts:

5 public speaking lessons from the 5 most watched ted talks of all time.

• Elon Musk’s Top 10 Most Influential Presentations
• Steve Jobs vs Elon Musk Presentation Styles and What You Can Learn From Them
• 13 Maneiras poderosas de iniciar sua apresentação ou discurso

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How To Write A Killer Best Man Speech (With Templates)

A funny, heartfelt speech from the best man is one of the most memorable parts of a wedding. Here’s how to give a great toast (without embarrassing yourself).

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A best man speech is the perfect way to send your brother or friend the best wishes in their marriage, but standing up in front of the crowd can be super nerve-wracking. If you’ve been invited to be the best man at a wedding but have no idea what to say in your speech, you’re not alone! 

Over 75% of the population cites public speaking as one of their biggest fears. Thankfully, it’s a people skill that anyone can develop. A great event toast can be a game-changer and make you feel like a celebrity amongst the wedding guests. 

Watch our video to learn the best (and worst) speech openers:

Here’s how to overcome your public speaking anxiety and give a knockout best man speech that will incite laughter, smiles, or even sentimental tears. 

Quick Answer: How to Write a Best Man Speech Fast (with Template!)

A killer best man toast has a formula:

• Start with a funny or complimentary introduction
• Lead into a short story
• Add a dash of vulnerability
• End with genuine congratulations to the bride and groom. 

You won’t want to wing the speech after you’ve had a few drinks when you feel strapped for time before the wedding. Instead, take just 30 minutes of planning and note-making to save you (and the bride & groom) the embarrassment of an excessively long or inappropriate ramble. 

If you want to write a best man speech fast, follow this brief template for a great toast. Your toast should be roughly 3 to 5 minutes long. You can use numbered index cards to jot down the highlights of each section. Then, rehearse a few times in the mirror in the days leading up to the event. 

The most straightforward speech outline includes seven main components: 

• A great one-liner : This could be a funny joke, a compliment, or an inspirational quote about brotherhood or marriage. The first 15 seconds of the toast should capture the audience’s attention and leave them excited for more. Modify this:

“I’d like to begin by congratulating the groom for his superb taste in choosing the best man [chuckle].” 

• Compliment the wedding : Build your respect with the guests by highlighting things you like about the wedding. For example, you can compliment the beauty of the venue, the delicious food, or the great choice of music. Modify this:

“All jokes aside, this is a beautiful wedding. The bride and groom look like a movie star couple together. And if you didn’t taste the cake, you are missing out!” 

• Express gratitude : Say “thank you” to those who made the wedding possible and show appreciation to the groom for choosing you as his best man. Modify this:

“I am so grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Zimerman for hosting us here today, and thank you to the bride and groom for inviting me to be part of their special day.” 

• Tell a story : Did you and the groom meet as kids on the baseball field? Were you there when he first met his bride? Did you share a funny experience in college that is appropriate to share? The “meat” of the speech will be a short story about your relationship with the groom. A great story sounds like this:

 “When I first met Jeff, he was in a period of transition in life, like we all go through. He had just started a new job at my office in San Francisco, and we met because of our mutual addiction to double shot espressos (iced with a little cream) at 6 AM every morning from the corner coffee shop Bob’s Cup O’ Joe. When we both arrived at the office at the same time, 3 days in a row with eyes like this [widen eyes big], I knew we would be friends for life. A million espressos, meetings, and after-work beers later, I am so proud to call Jeff my best friend. When he told me about meeting a beautiful blonde named Anne at Bob’s Cup O’ Joe a few years later, I knew something would become of it. She even drank the same double shot espressos, iced with a little cream!”  

• Admire the couple : Strengthen your bond with the newlyweds by expressing your support for their marriage. If you know a bit about the bride and groom’s relationship, list a few things you admire about their bond. You may emphasize how the bride has positively impacted the groom’s life or how they make a great team. 

“Jeff and Anne are a perfect pair, and it seriously warms my heart to see a couple so amazingly in love. They compliment each other in every way and radiate joy when they are together.” 

• Summarize your thoughts : Before you wrap up your speech, go back and highlight your key ideas. You can pre-write 2-3 crisp sentences summarizing your support of the couple’s marriage. Modify this:

“I wish I could say I predicted this day would come, but Jeff’s incredible character and charm won Anne over. I am so grateful to be friends with both of them and to join you all in this celebration.” 

• Toast to the future : At the end of your speech, raise your glass for a toast to the couple’s love. Modify this: 

“Please join me in raising our glasses to a lifetime of happiness and espressos for Jeff and Anne Allison!” 

Here is an awesome example of a short and sweet 4-minute toast that left the crowd cracking up:

It’s best to memorize your speech, but there is no shame in bringing a few index cards in your pocket to reference if you get nervous. Don’t forget to prepare and rehearse in advance. 

For a more in-depth speech, see our step-by-step guide below. 

What to Say in a Best Man Speech (Do’s and Don’ts)

A best man’s speech traditionally takes place at the wedding reception after the maid of honor gives her speech. The best man’s speech should be positive, respectful, and congratulatory. It can last 3 to 5 minutes and should focus on a central theme or story about the groom. 

Remember, a best man speech is not the time to “wing it.” If you do that, there may come the point when everything suddenly goes silent, and a crowd of 50-100+ people is staring at you, waiting for what you’re going to say about the groom. You probably don’t want to end up with a cringing audience while telling a story about the groom’s previous relationships:

Instead, remember these key best man speech tips for a successful toast: 

Here are a few examples of what you should say in a best man speech:

• How did you meet the groom?
• What is one of your favorite memories with him?
• How did the groom meet the bride? Were you there?
• What is special about the groom?
• What do you like most about him? 
• What are his positive traits? 
• Playful banter : You don’t want to be too corny and cheesy with your bro. Depending on your relationship with the groom and the culture of the wedding, you may want to throw in a little banter with your dude. For example, you might make a funny joke about how much the groom loves going out to eat:

You should also avoid some key topics in a best man speech. 

Do not mention:

• The groom’s past relationships
• Sexual jokes
• Drugs, alcohol, or past mistakes
• Insecurities of the groom
• Financial or personal information 
• Insults to the bride or the wedding guests 
• Overly embarrassing stories
• Teasing the bride
• Anything that could potentially harm your friendship

Keep things positive and lighthearted. While a little witty banter or playful teasing can be fun (depending on your relationship with the groom), you should avoid insulting him or highlighting any major insecurities. The “playful” part of the speech is an excellent fun icebreaker, but it shouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings or make them feel publicly embarrassed in front of their wedding guests.

How to Write a Best Man Speech for Best Friend or Brother: Easy Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re ready to prepare something more in-depth than the quick ideas above, this step-by-step guide can help you write a thoughtful speech that the groom may remember forever. After all, being named the best man at your friend or brother’s wedding is a tremendous honor. But like any honor, it comes with some responsibilities. After you finish all your bachelor party and wedding duties, an epic best man speech can be like the fireworks at the show’s end. 

Here are 5 simple steps to make it count:

#1 Start with a theme

Before you start writing and rehearsing your speech, it helps to decide on a theme for your talk. This will give a nice flow to the speech. A theme ensures that you stay on track to communicate your congratulations and appreciation to the groom. 

What is the main message you want to get across? A few theme ideas include:

• Anecdotes : Best man toasts center around storytelling. This theme is the easiest way to stay on track because you are telling a simple story from beginning to end. 
• Humor : Whether you’re naturally funny or working on your jokes ,  your speech is the perfect opportunity to get the audience laughing. Best man speeches are known for getting a little saucy, but you must be careful about offending the crowd or making crude jokes that might insult the bride and groom. If you want to tease the groom with some witty banter, it helps to make fun of yourself or reference an appropriate inside joke.
• Inspirational : Have you and the groom achieved an important business goal or accomplishment together? Do you have a shared role model or favorite motivational book you both read in college? This speech theme can leave the audience feeling inspired.
• Morality : Use your speech to highlight the great person the groom is. Perhaps you give examples of his integrity, trustworthiness, or generosity. You can emphasize how lucky you are to know the groom and how glad you are that he found a woman to spend his life with. 
• Sentimentality : When humor and storytelling aren’t your fortes, it doesn’t hurt to get a little corny. Sentimental speeches require a level of emotional vulnerability, but they can leave a huge impact on the newlyweds and their attendees.

#2 Create an outline

You wouldn’t go on a road trip without a navigation system, so don’t go into your speech without a plan. The best toasts and speeches follow the same structure. Pull out a piece of paper and brainstorm some ideas using this format, then use the following steps to fill in the details:

• Hook/Opening statement : The opening statement should be a 1 to 3-line description about the groom. The first 7 seconds of the speech should hook the audience immediately. It warms them up to you and makes them want to pay attention to the amusing stories. You’ll find an abundance of opening-line ideas in the next section. 
• Background context : Now comes the why of your speech. This is where the context of your relationship with the groom comes in. You can throw in some funny jokes and a few details about your experience with him. Use this intro to build up the anticipation for the story to come. Write down a few ideas of stories you can tell. 
• Tell the story : Choose 1-3 short stories about the groom that is funny, slightly embarrassing, or interesting. Jot down a few of the sensory elements you want to reference, like the smelly locker room or the squeaking of tire wheels. Most stories follow a bell-curve pattern—they start with an intro, lead to rising action, peak with a capstone moment, then tie back to the beginning. Keep this in mind as you brainstorm and follow the story-planning steps below. 
• Take-home message : After you get a good laugh or “awww” out of the audience, you’ll want to bring the story back to the beginning. What do you want them to remember about your speech and friendship with the groom? 
• Thank the wedding party : Use a quick sentence to thank the wedding party and hosts. Express your genuine gratitude for being invited. 
• Closing toast and congratulations : After wrapping up the story and thanking the wedding party, you should invite the audience to toast the bride and groom with you. For an extra cheery finale, act as if you are speaking on their behalf and include lots of well-wishes for the newlyweds. 

Pro Tip : Before filling in your outline details, watch this video for an overview of how to give a memorable toast. Human behavior expert Vanessa Van Edwards explains the most common mistakes (don’t start with “I,” “me,” or “my”) and a few secrets to getting the audience to perk up in their seats. 

#3 Nail the opening line 

Once you have your outline, it’s time to dig into the details. People decide their first impression of you within 7 seconds, so it’s extra important to nail the opening line of your speech. Best men use this opportunity to crack a joke, compliment the wedding, or set a sentimental tone for the speech. 

Avoid making the first lines about you. No “me”, “I”, or “my”. Instead, start with a juicy or mysterious line about the groom, for example:

If you need a little inspiration, here are some hilarious and quirky best man speech opening lines: 

• “Caring, loyal, honest, good-looking, and an all-around-great guy… OK, enough about me, onto the groom…!” 
• “This is the perfect chance to tell you about [Groom] and how talented, special, smart, good-looking, and… sorry, man, I can’t read your handwriting here.” 
• “I’d like to give a toast to the bride and groom.” [pull a piece of toasted bread from your pocket and give it to them]
• “[Groom’s name] is the kind of person you call when you lock yourself out of the dorm bathroom without any clothes on.” 
• “The bride and groom asked me not to share embarrassing stories or crude jokes during my speech… so that’s it from me! Thanks for listening, everyone.”
• “I’d like to start by congratulating the groom for his excellent taste in choosing the best man.” 
• “[Groom] had a tough time choosing his best man. First, he called his most handsome friend, but he said no. Then, he called his smartest friend, and he said no. Then, he called his most successful friend, who also said no. Then he called me, and I said, ‘Bro, I can’t say no to you four times.'”
• “What can I say about [Groom]? I guess I’ll start at the very beginning. He was born on [groom’s birthday]. Our parents were hoping for a girl, but I’ve always said… close enough.”

Here is a genuinely funny opening line from a best brother wedding speech:

Pro Tip : Don’t forget to pause for laughter. If it doesn’t come, you can chuckle at yourself and cue the audience that they are supposed to laugh by saying, “This is where you are supposed to laugh,” or joking, “Sound guy, can you please cue the laugh track?” Then, keep going with your speech.

Don’t worry. You need not be a jokester to give a great opening line. If you want to go the nostalgic or tearjerker route, be sure it is highly personalized and thoughtful. Here are some sentimental opening line ideas:

• “There are friends, and there is family, but friends also become family. This is so true for [Groom] and me. We’ve been best friends since we were X years old, and I’ve always considered him my brother.” 
• “There’s an old Irish proverb that says a good friend is like a four-leaf clover—hard to find and lucky to have. I think that’s true. Good friends are hard to find, and I’m lucky to have called [Groom] my best friend for the last X years.” 
• “I’ve heard that the best relationships come from the foundation of a deep friendship. Experts say that laughter, mutual respect, and enjoying each other’s company are the ingredients for a long-lasting, joyful marriage. After knowing [Groom] and [Bride] for X years, there is no doubt in my mind that they will make a great pair.” 
• “In Good Will Hunting , Robin Williams said, ‘It doesn’t matter if the guy is perfect or the girl is perfect as long as they are perfect for each other.” Anyone who has seen [Groom] and [Bride] together can agree that this is true for them. I haven’t seen a perfect pair, and I’m happy to be part of this celebration of their love.” 

To learn more about the best speech openers, use this guide on How to Start a Speech: The Best (and Worst) Speech Openers . Some top tips include:

• Avoid starting with a lackluster nicety like “thanks for having me.” 
• Don’t mention your nervousness.
• Avoid mentioning technical difficulties like the microphone or saying, “Can you hear me?” 

Bonus Tip: Learn the Art of Stage Presence

Did you know that public speaking is actually a skill? Many people struggle with stage anxiety because they feel they ‘missed the memo’ on public speaking or they are lacking because they do not have a natural stage presence. Not true!

Stage presence and public speaking are skills you need to be taught—very few people have them naturally. 

Watch our video to learn 7 steps to overcome stage fright and beat performance anxiety:

Here are all the aspects of public speaking you can master.

• How to make a first impression with an audience
• How to have stage presence
• Powerful body language
• How to speak with a commanding voice
• What to do with your hands while speaking

For every speaking skill you add to your toolbox, the less speaking anxiety you will feel.

If you want help really diving into your presentation skills, be sure to sign up for our course…

Master Your People Skills

• Create a Memorable Presence
• Communicate with Confidence
• Achieve Your Goals

Have a question about the presentation or People School? Email Science of People support .

#4 Background context

Now that you’ve grabbed the audience’s attention, it’s time to give them a little background on why you are giving a speech in the first place. This is another sneak peek at some details you’ll cover in the speech. 

The whole point of this part is to tell them how you know the groom—but it isn’t about you. You’ll often hear wedding speeches that start with a drab, “I met the groom in college” or, “My name is ___, and I’m the best man.” You can do better than that! Try saying:

• “The groom was the first friend I made on the high school football team. I had no idea we would become roommates in a bachelor pad throughout college.” 
• “As little kids, the groom and I were known to be a dangerous duo in the neighborhood. He always carried the eggs and toilet paper, then instructed me where to throw them. But you can guess who always took the blame for his antics….” 
• “The groom and I have been friends and business partners for X years, and as you’ll hear shortly, he is the main reason I broke my arm during the last office basketball game. But first, I want to tell you a less embarrassing story….” 

Pro Tip : Focus on the groom, and don’t make it about you. One of the biggest mistakes people make during wedding speeches is talking too much about themselves. Your speech shouldn’t discuss where you’re from, what you think, or how you ended up at the party. The best man’s speech is a time to focus on the groom and his bride. 

#5 Tell the story  

After your punchy opening line and background info, it’s time to tell the perfect story about the groom. Depending on the length of your speech and the details of your story, some best man speeches cover 1 to 3 short stories. 

Reference back to the memories you wrote when brainstorming. Pick a story that includes the most of these captivating elements:

• A little bit of embarrassment : Whether it’s you, the groom, or a mutual friend, it helps to poke some fun at someone in the story. If you fear being offensive, the best person to joke about is yourself.  
• Audience member references : You can get major bonus points if you bring wedding guests into the storytelling moment. You might say, “Mom, you might want to close your ears on this one!” or, “Brian, we’re talking about you!” 
• Sensory details : What did the scenery look like? What were the prominent smells, sounds, and tastes at the moment? A great story should make the audience feel like they were with you. Don’t forget to mention the frigid cold lake you jumped into or the outrageously spicy food that left you both panting and crying for water. 
• A final punch line : Ideally, the best story ends with a shocking moment or funny line. It should leave the audience laughing, crying, surprised, or even gasping. For example, in an epic adventure story about you and the groom on a hunting trip, you may end with, “Just as the shark was about to bite the line, Joe reeled in the massive bluefin and yelled, ‘I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat!’”

Pro Tip : If you have to ask, “Is this appropriate?” it probably isn’t. Some stories are better for late-night beers than they are for weddings. Avoid telling stories related to sexual topics, drugs, alcohol, illegal activities, or anything you wouldn’t want grandma to hear. 

#6 Take-home message

When the story finishes, you’ve hopefully elicited some laughter or maybe some tears. All jokes aside, there is a reason you were the best man, and you are probably a significant person to the groom. This is a great time to emphasize the best qualities of the groom and why you’re so happy for his new love. 

Here is an excellent example of tying together the opening and closing lines with a heartfelt message about finding the perfect soul mate:

#7 End your speech with a heartfelt toast

We’ve all heard “let’s raise a glass to [Bride] and [Groom]” before. You can do better than that! The final toast is like the fireworks at the end of your best man speech. Instead of something mediocre, invite the audience to join you in a genuine, thoughtful congratulations. Examples include:

• “Please join me in raising our glasses to the beautiful bride and handsome groom. May your lives together be long, healthy, and happy. We love you so much and are excited for you. Cheers!” 
• “Lift your glasses to thank Mr. and Mrs. [Bride’s Parents] for hosting this beautiful wedding. Let us all toast to the perfect union of the bride and groom. We wish you a bright and beautiful future. Cheers!”
• “Here’s to the past, for all you’ve learned. Here’s to the present for this beautiful moment we all share. Here’s to the future for all you’ve got to look forward to. Cheers to the happy couple!” 

Pro Tip : Make your toast inclusive and communal, so the audience feels like they’re cheering for the couple with you. Use words like “we”, “lets”, and “us”. This congratulation invites them to join as if you are speaking on their behalf. 

#8 Use a best man speech template

A template makes things simple if you’re still feeling uneasy about writing your best man speech. You can take the structure of an example speech and incorporate your ideas and stories to make it your own. 

Best man speech example for a best friend :  

“Tonight, you’ll learn why the groom was destined to marry [Bride]. The year was 2002, and we were all in a bar with friends on New Year’s Eve in New York City. Snow was falling outside, and we were sipping champagne, waiting for the big ball to drop. Seemingly out of nowhere, a woman with a red dress entered the room, and everything seemed to stop. All the bachelors in our group were captivated, but only [Groom] had the guts to walk up to her. Rumor has it that his first opening line was ‘

Everyone talks about a woman’s glow when she’s falling in love, but I swear that [Groom] was smiling from ear to ear from the second they met. We could hardly get him to stop talking about her by the following week. We’d be watching football and drinking beers only to have [Bride’s] name brought up every 5 minutes. 

Fast forward 3 years, and we’ve all seen how much [Bride] has positively impacted his life. When he came to me to tell me he was proposing, my only response was, ‘ Finally, dude !’

There’s something extra special about these two. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. They love and respect each other so much. [Bride] was the one for [Groom] from the second they locked eyes in that hazy NYC bar. We are all so happy to be here for your big day. Let’s raise our glasses to the beautiful bride and groom! Cheers!” 

Another Best man speech example for a best friend :  

“The groom was the first friend I made on the high school basketball team. He wasn’t very good [pause for laughter]. I was the tallest player and obviously had the best free throw, but I was majorly lacking in the ladies department. Thankfully, [Groom] took me under his wing and showed me how to be a true gentleman. That includes opening doors for women and carrying their bags instead of just running in with my own. What would I have done without you, man?

Even though he was no good at basketball, [Groom] always had his head on his shoulders. He’s a respectful, intelligent, and relatively clean-cut guy. All joking aside, it’s no surprise that he ended up with a woman as intelligent and beautiful as [Bride]. You both deserve a lifetime of love, happiness, and success together. Please raise your glasses and join me in congratulating the bride and groom! We love you!” 

#9 Practice your body language

Public speaking isn’t only about what you say but how you carry yourself. Your body language can drastically affect your confidence, your delivery, and how the audience perceives you. Use these body language hacks to take your speech to the next level: 

• Signal “friend” : Smile and show your open palms to send the message that you are the audience’s friend. This makes people feel more comfortable with your presence and more likely to listen.
• Stand up straight : When you look confident, you also feel more confident. Check your posture if your voice is a little shaky before the speech. Roll back your shoulders and tuck your shoulder blades down towards your back. Slightly lift your chest and chin as you speak. 
• Make eye contact: Throughout the speech, you should change your eye contact with different audience members. As you mention specific compliments or thanks, make eye contact with the bride, groom, groomsmen, bridesmaids, and the bride’s father.
• Genuinely smile : Smiling may seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget when you feel so focused on a perfect delivery. At the same time, you don’t want to look like you’re fake smiling throughout the speech. Use these 9 Simple Tips to Smile Better (in any situation!)
• Use your hands : It’s easy to let your nerves get the best of you and feel like a “deer in the headlights.” Instead of tucking your hands in your pockets, widen your stance and take up space. Use your hands and gestures while you talk to show that you are comfortable and happy during the speech. 

Want more tips? Here are 17 Body Language Presentation Cues to Use in Your Next Speech . 

#10 Rehearse before the big day

Experts say you should rehearse a speech 10 times before performing it. Research also shows that people who mentally prepare themselves before a speech by imagining it going well are more likely to perform fluently and easily. So before you get in front of an audience, be sure you’ve gone over your speech at least 10 times, either in your head or out loud. Better yet, practice in the mirror, on camera, or in front of a trusted friend. 

It also helps to review the gist of the speech with the groom (without giving away any secret details) to make sure it’s alright with him. A few weeks before the wedding, you may pull him aside and ask, “Hey man, is it OK if I tell the story about ____ in my best man speech? I think it’ll get some good laughs.” 

Although this example is long, this best man very clearly rehearsed his speech for a near-perfect performance without any notes:

Key Takeaways: Express Gratitude and Sentimentality in 3-5 Minutes

Ultimately, a best man speech is an opportunity to make your best bro look good in front of all his friends and family. Your speech should demonstrate how much you value your brotherhood or friendship. At the same time, you can enjoy 5 minutes of wedding fame without making things all about you. A great toast can make you a memorable celebrity at the wedding and have people laughing at your

Before jumping up at the reception and speaking off the cuff, remember to:

• Outline and plan your speech ahead of time. Use notecards if needed.
• Focus on the groom and his bride. Don’t go on and on about yourself. 
• Nail the opening line with a funny joke, quote, or teaser that leads into a great story. 
• Avoid inappropriate or cringey topics that could embarrass the groom.
• Express gratitude to the groom and wedding hosts. 

Giving a toast or speech is an essential social skill that can make you one of the most likable people in a room. If you want to learn more about the art of giving showstopping toasts, read this guide on How to Give an Awesome Toast: Advanced Strategies for Speeches . 

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6 Examples of Killer Speech

Openings that you can use.

Think about a speech you saw or heard that stuck with you. What is it about that speech that makes you remember it long after you’ve heard it? The speaker was probably dynamic and engaging or the topic was compelling and of particular interest to you. The speech probably had a killer opening as well.

The introduction to a speech is one of its most crucial aspects. It’s where you grab your audience’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the speech. If your speech opening isn’t memorable, the rest of your speech probably won’t be either.

To help you understand the impact a good opening can have, here’s a list of six killer speech intros. The fact that these speeches are so memorable shows why public speaking is important and why your introduction should be strong.

Julian Treasure: Start with a question 

“The human voice: It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world, probably. It’s the only one that can start a war or say ‘I love you.’ And yet many people have the experience that when they speak, people don’t listen to them. And why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”

Julian Treasure’s speech “How to speak so that people want to listen” showcases a tried and true speech opening technique: asking a question. You shouldn’t ask just any question, though. It should be a compelling, thought-provoking question that doesn’t have a straightforward answer.

Asking the audience what they had for lunch that day isn’t compelling, unless you have an interesting reason for asking it that you follow up with. Treasure’s compelling question doesn’t require an immediate answer but instead asks you to think.

Ric Elias: Incredible story

“Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well, I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

One way to grab the attention of your audience right away is to tell an exciting or unbelievable story. Ric Elias’s speech about surviving a plane crash goes straight into the action, asking the listener to imagine unbelievable situation he was in. With an opening like that, who wouldn’t want to keep listening to find out what happens next?

To make your intro story more effective, don’t finish it right away. Come back to it later in the speech so that your audience is held in anticipation.

Dan Pink: Make a “confession” 

“I need to make a confession at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret, something that I’m not particularly proud of.”

Dan Pink’s speech grabs your attention right away because he makes a confession. He’s letting you in on a secret about himself or something he did and you want to listen because you want to hear it.

Letting your audience know a secret or confessing information about yourself makes them feel exclusive, like they have access to something that others don’t. Exclusivity always piques interest.

Jane McGonigal: Provocative statement 

“I’m a gamer, so I like to have goals. I like special missions and secret objectives. So here’s my special mission for this talk: I’m going to try to increase the life span of every single person in this room by seven and a half minutes. Literally, you will live seven and a half minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

Starting a speech with a provocative statement is similar to starting with a question. You make the audience think. You surprise them or say something unexpected and they keep listening to hear an explanation.

Jane McGonigal uses this tactic in her speech , claiming she will expand the life span of every audience member by seven and half minutes. It’s intriguing, provocative, and makes you wonder instantly how she’s going to do it.

Pamela Meyer: Set up a problem (then solve it) 

“Okay, now I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. Also, the person to your left is a liar. Also, the person sitting in your very seats is a liar. We’re all liars.”

People love hearing about a big problem and then knowing the solution — it’s a common framework from literature that you can borrow for your speech. By telling her entire audience that they are liars, Pamela Meyer sets up a problem that seems difficult to solve: how to know who is a liar. She unravels the solution in the rest of her speech , explaining how to become a liespotter.

Sir Ken Robinson: Humor  

“Good morning. How are you?” (Audience replies “Good”) “It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.”

Humor can be an impactful way to start a speech, but it’s also risky. Your joke might fall flat and leave everyone feeling uncomfortable. If you tell the right joke, however, it can go over well.

Sir Ken Robinson’s speech , “Do schools kill creativity?” is one of the most watched TED Talks of all time and for good reason. His speech is engaging and dynamic, centering on a topic that almost everyone can easily relate to. What could’ve been a boring start — “Good morning. How are you?” — becomes a funny and memorable speech opening thanks to Robinson’s timing and deadpan delivery.

Make your speech opening memorable

If you want to deliver an engaging address that your audience members will speak about years later, be sure to craft an unforgettable opening. By using any of the above techniques, you’re likely to have a more solid start to your speech. Who knows? Maybe your speech opening will be so good it’ll end up on a list just like this one.

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Mastering the Art of Teleprompter Reading

By Mike Simpson

You’re on the elevator, riding up from the lobby to the top floor to drop off your resume with Human Resources in response to a job posting for your dream career.

You’re excited, but nervous, because you know your resume is going to be just one of hundreds that the hiring manager is going to look over before even thinking about inviting anyone in for an interview.

If only there were a way to make yourself stand out. If only…

The doors open and a woman in a sharp looking business suit steps in with you. She looks over and sees the top floor button is already lit. She smiles and in that instant a current of nervous energy rips through your body. This isn’t just any generic passenger you’re sharing the ride with…this is the hiring manager you’re hoping to impress!

Your heart starts pounding, your palms are sweaty, you feel light headed…

This is your chance!

You have a 12 floor uninterrupted ride up with her and in those moments, in that tiny elevator, she’s your captive audience.

You open your mouth and turn to her with a look of enthusiasm…and speak.

Let’s hope that elevator pitch  (or elevator speech) is ready!

Here’s the deal, after you make your successful elevator pitch (which you will after reading this article!), you need to know that you will get an interview…

But here’s the thing: there are over 100 other difficult interview questions you could be asked in your job interview. Sounds stressful right?

Well don’t worry, because we created a free PDF that outlines the most common questions and gives you word for word sample answers that you can use at your next interview.

Click the link below to get your copy now!

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What Is An Elevator Pitch?

So what exactly is an elevator pitch?

In a nutshell it’s just what it sounds like: a short, 30-60 second well crafted business pitch telling someone who you are and why they should want to hire you .

It’s called the elevator pitch because it’s meant to represent the amount of time you’d have if you were stuck in an elevator with someone riding from the bottom of the building to the top.

“Well, this stinks. I live in a town of nothing but one floor buildings. How am I supposed to use an elevator pitch? Clearly this article means nothing to someone who doesn’t live in the heart of a big city or surrounded by high rise buildings.”

Elevator speeches are good for so much more than just catching someone in a small enclosed space. You never know who you might run into at a cocktail party, or the movie theater, or grocery store…or any other number of places.

A solid elevator pitch will allow you to distill down to the most pure form exactly who you are and what you offer, and that focus can help to set you apart from all the other candidates who are vying for the same job.

Think of it as a commercial and you’re the product . You’ve got 30 seconds to market yourself and convince whoever is listening to not only NOT change the channel, but to buy what you’re selling…you as the Perfect Candidate!!

“So where do I start? Should I lock myself in the bathroom with a stopwatch and pretend it’s an elevator? Do I need a jingle?”

Hmmm…all we’ll say is do whatever works for you…but let’s all agree to skip the singing…for now. Instead, let’s focus on answering a few basic questions by doing a little pretending.

How To Write An Elevator Pitch

Let’s imagine you’re in sales and you just got into an elevator with the CEO of a huge manufacturing company. The doors shut…it’s just the two of you…and you have 60 seconds to convince him to not only listen to you, but to consider you as a potential employee, not just a fellow passenger on a short ride upstairs. So how do you do that!?

Let’s watch…er, we mean, read:

What do you do? Can you tell someone what you do in such a way that it’s interesting? Can you turn it into a quick little anecdote or story that will capture someone’s attention?

“Let me tell you about the time I took our products all the way to the North Pole. I’m in sales. I started out selling refrigerators to moose in Canada.”

Now that we’ve got your job title, can you tell us what you do when you’re doing what you were hired to do?

“In four short years, I’ve helped lead my team to the number one spot in sales…”

Okay, great…but what’s next?! What’s your objective ? What’s your goal?

“…but I knew we could do better. That’s why I took our refrigerators all the way up to the penguins in the North Pole.”

What makes you the best at what you do? Okay, now’s your chance to shine. Why are you the Perfect Candidate?

“Did you know that broken beaks from trying to eat frozen fish is the number one problem facing penguins today? Their issue isn’t that it’s not cold enough for them to keep their fish fresh, it’s that it’s too cold. I knew that by putting their fish in our double insulated hermetically sealed refrigerators instead of the traditional snow bank, the penguins would be able to keep fish fresh longer without having to freeze them, making it easier for the penguins to eat. As a result, we’ve more than quadrupling our current sales and are not only ranked number one regionally, but nationally as well.”

What’s your hook? You’ve just told a great story, but besides being entertained, why should your audience care?

“Now, just imagine what I can do for your products…”

Wait, who are you? D’oh! Nothing says missed opportunity quite like totally forgetting to tell someone your name.

“My name is Bob Mackrel,”

And most importantly…what do you want?

“…and I’m looking for my next big sales challenge. My I give you my business card?”

Boom. And there you have it: the perfect (if not a little outlandish) elevator pitch. In 30 seconds you’ve told your audience what you do, why what you do is important, hooked them in with what you plan to do next for their company, and who you are.

Easy, cheesy, right?

Penguins and refrigerators aside, this pitch was clearly perfect for the audience because our boy Bob knew the CEO, knew the company, and knew that his skills with sales would be a great match. Bob tailored his pitch.

“Again with the tailoring! That’s all you guys talk about…tailoring!”

That’s because it works! Again, think of our commercial analogy. When you’re watching TV, which ads do you skip over or tune out? The ones that don’t apply to you…right? And the ones you listen to and remember are the ones that DO apply to you.

“Ahh…I see what you’re saying. That does make sense!”

The nice thing about an elevator pitch is that it’s short and sweet and to the point, which means once you get the basics figured out, you should be able to use it on just about anyone in any situation…as long as you make sure to always tailor your hook to your specific audience.

Elevator Pitch Mistakes To Avoid

So now that you know what to do in your elevator pitch, let’s quickly talk about what NOT to do.

Speaking too fast.

Yes, you only have about 60 seconds, but try to avoid cramming 15 minutes of information into one minute.

Using highly technical terms, acronyms or slang.

You want your pitch to be easily understood by any audience and that means try to avoid using words that will confuse the average person. The last thing you want is for whoever is listening to you to feel dumb. Remember, think commercial!

Not being focused.

This isn’t a general conversation and you’re not discussing the weather (unless that’s your job, in which case, never mind). Keep your pitch clear and focused.

Not practicing what you’re going to say.

First, write down your pitch. Read it over. Have your friends and family read it. Does it make sense? Make sure it flows well and that there aren’t any spots that feel rough or awkward. Then practice it. Practice it again. Keep practicing it until it becomes so easy for you to pitch that you can do it at the drop of a hat.

Being robotic.

This is all about a face to face interaction with someone you want to impress. Having an easy, approachable, conversational style to your pitch will get you much further than an overly rehearsed monologue approach.

Not having a business card or other take-away with you.

Okay, you’ve sold them on you…now how are they going to get a hold of you when they decide it’s time to bring you in? Make sure you always have something on you to pass on that will allow people to not only remember you, but contact you later on.

Not saying anything.

It does absolutely nothing for you to have a killer elevator pitch if you never use it. Now it’s your turn! Here are three example elevator pitches to get you started. Remember, these are just examples! Make sure you do the work to craft one specific to you and your audience!

3 Great Examples To Use As Inspiration

Graphic designer/logo branding specialist.

Hi, I’m Pam Tone and I’m a graphic designer. Did you know it takes the average person just two seconds to look at a company logo and decide if they like it? Did you know that a badly designed logo can do irreversible damage to a company brand and that most companies go through at least three to four versions in a single year before settling on their final design, costing both time and money? Having worked for over 10 years as a professional graphic designer specializing in brand identification means I’ve built my reputation on the longevity of my logo designs. I can say that not only are my clients happy with what I’ve done for them, but my designs have gone on to win national and international logo and branding awards. I have worked hand in hand with some of the biggest advertising agencies and companies and out of over 300 contracts, have had only one logo changed, and that was as a result of a merger, not poor design. I’d like to bring that award winning history to your company. Would you be willing to meet with me for 20 minutes to go over my portfolio and see how I can help make sure your logo properly reflects your brand?

TEACHER/EDUCATOR

Mobile app developer.

Hi, I’m Chip Ohm and I’m a developer. Did you know one of the biggest challenges facing companies these days is tracking employee work time? Of course, when you have a building where your employees are required to clock in and out it makes things easier, but what about employees who work from home or are on the road? I’ve come up with an easy way for both employees and employers to log and keep track of hours using just their cell phones and an app I’ve designed. The app allows employees to log in from wherever they are and input their start and stop times at the push of a button. You don’t even need to be in an area with a signal. The program captures all the data and holds it in a file which is then automatically uploaded to the employer’s servers as soon as the user is back in signal range. The system is not only simple, but it’s tamper proof. Not only has this app helped streamline the timecard process for remote employees, but it’s reduced timecard inconsistencies and paycheck errors by 90%, saving both time and money. So, how does your company handle logging in hours for your remote clients?

So there you have it! Now that you’ve read through this article and seen a few examples, it’s time to craft your own elevator pitch. Remember, keep it simple, keep it short, and keep it tailored.

And as always…good luck!

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How to Make a Killer First Impression: Your 30-Second Elevator Speech

You know what your organization does and what your role is in making it happen, but can you describe these things in 30 seconds? In the time it takes to ride an elevator from the top floor of a building to the basement, you should be able to powerfully explain your work to a prospect and have that person want to do business with you and your company or firm. You have less than a minute to make a killer first impression, so what matters is what you say before the elevator doors open.

Preparing for the “Elevator” If you want to network successfully or grow your business, you need an elevator speech, but don’t let the name fool you. An elevator speech may be hypothetically intended to prepare you for a brief, chance encounter with a total stranger in an elevator, but its value extends far beyond a metal box. You should be armed with it whenever you want to promptly introduce yourself to a new contact. This could come in the checkout line at the supermarket, at your gym, or when you buy your morning cup of coffee. You need to be prepared to describe with  passion, precision, and persuasiveness  what you do—anytime, anywhere.  

A great elevator speech showcases your uniqueness and professionalism, and allows you to position yourself; however, be careful not to make it sound like it’s all about you, you, you. Who cares that you’re a tax accountant with five years of experience with a big-name firm? Instead, try this opener: “Hi, I’m John Doe. I help my clients decrease their tax liability.” Or, “I help my clients improve their operations and workflow.”

Either statement should have your listener begging for more information, but this isn’t your 30-second speech; it’s just the teaser. If you begin reciting your speech right away, you come across as rehearsed, so when you write your elevator speech, you also need to consider your deliverables. These are the actual services you provide, and the results or impact you and your organization have. Think of it in terms of the benefits your clients could derive from these services. An example of a successful client outcome can add real value here: “I helped a client see a 40% reduction in his business’ tax obligation last year.”

This message should clearly state how you are different from other tax accountants or how your company or firm is better than the competition. It’s a good way of setting the foundation for soliciting an action or response from your listener, such as, “How effectively is your accountant meeting your business or personal needs?”

While your elevator speech should be a concise, carefully planned description about your work and/or your firm or company, it should not be a sales pitch. Don't get caught up in using the entire encounter to tell the listener how great your service is. Your work or that of your organization, not the product, intrigues the listener.

Finally, your elevator speech must roll off your tongue effortlessly. Be relaxed. Practice your speech in front of the mirror. Run it by as many people who will listen. Get feedback from colleagues, clients you trust, friends, and family. Record it and play it back. Do you sound confident and sincere? Is the message engaging? If not, tweak accordingly.

When ready, take your pitch on the road, or into the elevator, whichever the case may be. The results may surprise you!

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Usher Honors His 'Best Friend' and Wife, Jennifer Goicoechea, During Acceptance Speech at New York Benefit

The couple, who share two children, got married in Las Vegas after Usher's Super Bowl LVIII halftime performance.

Usher continues to be smitten with his wife, Jennifer Goicoechea Raymond , after the couple married in Las Vegas earlier this year.

On Monday, June 11, the pair attended the Apollo Spring Benefit 2024 in New York City, where the "Bop" artist was honored with the Icon Award. During his acceptance speech, Usher celebrated his wife, who attended the ceremony with him.

"Last and most certainly not least, without your love, passion, support to my best friend, Jennifer Raymond. I love you baby," he said, per People . "My wife, who is in the audience tonight. Thank you for your support and I'm so happy that we could do this together. Mother's Days are so awesome. I'm hoping that y'all going to hook me up for Father's Day."

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Usher and Jennifer share two children: a daughter, Sovereign Bo, who is 3 years old, and a son, Sire Castrello, who is 2. Usher also has two older sons, Usher "Cinco" Raymond V, 16, and Naviyd Ely , 15, with his ex-wife, Tameka Foster. Jennifer is Usher's third wife. Before marrying Jennifer, Usher was married to Grace Miguel from 2015 to 2018.

Before meeting Jennifer, Usher dated TLC member Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas . In a February interview with People , he disclosed that Chilli once declined his marriage proposal .

"I wanted to marry her. I proposed and she told me no. I went through a great deal of pain after that, not trusting women or wanting to open up," he said at the time, adding that he's no longer "hurt" by Thomas' decision. "We've since become cool with each other, celebrate each other and it's always light when we see each other."

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AI speech-to-text can hallucinate violent language

By louis dipietro cornell ann s. bowers college of computing and information science.

Speak a little too haltingly and with long pauses, and a speech-to-text transcriber might put harmful, violent words in your mouth, Cornell researchers have discovered.

 OpenAI’s Whisper – an artificial intelligence-powered speech recognition system – occasionally makes up or “hallucinates” entire phrases and sentences, sometimes conjuring up violent language, invented personal information and fake websites that could be repurposed for phishing attempts, the researchers said. Unlike other widely used speech-to-text tools, Whisper is more likely to hallucinate when analyzing speech from people who speak with longer pauses between their words, such as those with speech impairments, researchers found.

 “With hallucinations, artificial intelligence is making up something from nothing,” said Allison Koenecke , assistant professor of information science in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. She is the lead author of “ Careless Whisper: Speech-to-Text Hallucination Harms ”, presented at the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT), beginning June 3. “That can lead to huge downstream consequences if these transcriptions are used in the context of AI-based hiring, in courtroom trials or patient notes in medical settings.”

 Released in 2022, OpenAI’s Whisper is trained on 680,000 hours of audio data and, according to OpenAI , can transcribe audio data with near human-level accuracy. OpenAI has improved its model behind Whisper since researchers carried out this work last year, and the hallucination rate has decreased, Koenecke said.

In their analysis, researchers found that roughly 1% of Whisper’s audio transcriptions contained entire hallucinated phrases – including references to websites, real and fake, that could be reappropriated for cyberattacks. For instance, in one sound bite, Whisper correctly transcribed a single, simple sentence, but then hallucinated five additional sentences that contained the words “terror,” “knife” and “killed,” none of which were in the original audio.

In other examples of hallucinated transcriptions, Whisper conjured random names, fragments of addresses and irrelevant – and sometimes completely fake – websites. Hallucinated traces of YouTuber lingo, like “Thanks for watching and Electric Unicorn,” also wormed into transcriptions.

Researchers ran more than 13,000 speech clips into Whisper. The audio data came from AphasiaBank, a research-specific repository of audio recordings of people with aphasia, a condition that limits or completely impairs a person’s ability to speak. The repository also includes clips from people with no speech impairments. From their analysis, researchers hypothesize that longer pauses and silences between words are more likely to trigger harmful hallucinations.

“It seems that the underlying large language model-type technology is seeding silence as some sort of word,” Koenecke said, adding that Whisper hallucinated “Thank you” after analyzing a silent audio file.

Koenecke cautions that even a small percentage of harmful hallucinations could do real damage.

“On average, your transcriptions are going to be great, but on the margin, for a very small share of these, you might have a massive potential harm,” she said.

Training the large language models (LLMs) underlying Whisper with audio data from diverse speakers is a good start, Koenecke said, but a better solution is for OpenAI to tweak its model to account for the different ways people speak, particularly those with speech impairments.

 “The problem is less about the quantity of data, and more about the actual modeling choices that are being used here,” Koenecke said. “We hope that more can be done to ameliorate these hallucinations, especially for speakers who tend to speak with longer nonvocal durations.”

Along with Koenecke, paper co-authors are: doctoral student Anna Seo Gyeong Choi; Katelyn Mei of the University of Washington; Hilke Schellmann of New York University, and Mona Sloane of the University of Virginia.

This research was partly funded by the Pulitzer Center and the Cornell Center for Social Sciences.

Louis DiPietro is a writer for the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

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How Biden Adopted Trump’s Trade War With China

The president has proposed new barriers to electric vehicles, steel and other goods..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Donald Trump upended decades of American policy when he started a trade war with China. Many thought that President Biden would reverse those policies. Instead, he’s stepping them up. Today, my colleague, Jim Tankersley, explains.

It’s Monday, May 13.

Jim, it’s very nice to have you in the studio.

It’s so great to be here, Sabrina. Thank you so much.

So we are going to talk today about something I find very interesting and I know you’ve been following. We’re in the middle of a presidential campaign. You are an economics reporter looking at these two candidates, and you’ve been trying to understand how Trump and Biden are thinking about our number one economic rival, and that is China.

As we know, Trump has been very loud and very clear about his views on China. What about Biden?

Well, no one is going to accuse President Biden of being as loud as former President Trump. But I think he’s actually been fairly clear in a way that might surprise a lot of people about how he sees economic competition with China.

We’re going after China in the wrong way. China is stealing intellectual property. China is conditioning —

And Biden has, kind of surprisingly, sounded a lot, in his own Joe Biden way, like Trump.

They’re not competing. They’re cheating. They’re cheating. And we’ve seen the damage here in America.

He has been very clear that he thinks China is cheating in trade.

The bottom line is I want fair competition with China, not conflict. And we’re in a stronger position to win the economic competition of the 21st century against China or anyone else because we’re investing in America and American workers again. Finally.

And maybe the most surprising thing from a policy perspective is just how much Biden has built on top of the anti-China moves that Trump made and really is the verge of his own sort of trade war with China.

Interesting. So remind us, Jim, what did Trump do when he actually came into office? We, of course, remember Trump really talking about China and banging that drum hard during the campaign, but remind us what he actually did when he came into office.

Yeah, it’s really instructive to start with the campaign, because Trump is talking about China in some very specific ways.

We have a $500 billion deficit, trade deficit, with China. We’re going to turn it around. And we have the cards. Don’t forget —

They’re ripping us off. They’re stealing our jobs.

They’re using our country as a piggy bank to rebuild China, and many other countries are doing the same thing. So we’re losing our good jobs, so many.

The economic context here is the United States has lost a couple of million jobs in what was called the China shock of the early 2000s. And Trump is tapping into that.

But when the Chinese come in, and they want to make great trade deals — and they make the best trade deals, and not anymore. When I’m there, we turn it around, folks. We turn it around. We have —

And what he’s promising as president is that he’s going to bring those jobs back.

I’ll be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I’ll take them back from China, from Japan.

And not just any jobs, good-paying manufacturing jobs, all of it — clothes, shoes, steel, all of these jobs that have been lost that American workers, particularly in the industrial Midwest, used to do. Trump’s going to bring them back with policy meant to rebalance the trade relationship with China to get a better deal with China.

So he’s saying China is eating our lunch and has been for decades. That’s the reason why factory workers in rural North Carolina don’t have work. It’s those guys. And I’m going to change that.

Right. And he likes to say it’s because our leaders didn’t cut the right deal with them, so I’m going to make a better deal. And to get a better deal, you need leverage. So a year into his presidency, he starts taking steps to amass leverage with China.

And so what does that look like?

Just an hour ago, surrounded by a hand-picked group of steelworkers, President Trump revealed he was not bluffing.

It starts with tariffs. Tariffs are taxes that the government imposes on imports.

Two key global imports into America now face a major new barrier.

Today, I’m defending America’s national security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum.

And in this case, it’s imports from a lot of different countries, but particularly China.

Let’s take it straight to the White House. The president of the United States announcing new trade tariffs against China. Let’s listen in.

This has been long in the making. You’ve heard —

So Trump starts, in 2018, this series of tariffs that he’s imposing on all sorts of things — washing machines, solar panels, steel, aluminum. I went to Delaware to a lighting store at that time, I remember, where basically everything they sold came from China and was subject to the Trump tariffs, because that’s where lighting was made now.

Interesting.

Hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods now start falling under these Trump tariffs. The Chinese, of course, don’t take this lying down.

China says it is not afraid of a trade war with the US, and it’s fighting back against President Trump with its own tariffs on US goods.

They do their own retaliatory tariffs. Now American exports to China cost more for Chinese consumers. And boom, all of a sudden, we are in the midst of a full-blown trade war between the United States and Beijing.

Right. And that trade war was kind of a shock because for decades, politicians had avoided that kind of policy. It was the consensus of the political class in the United States that there should not be tariffs like that. It should be free trade. And Trump just came in and blew up the consensus.

Yeah. And Sabrina, I may have mentioned this once or 700 times before on this program, but I talk to a lot of economists in my job.

Yeah, it’s weird. I talk to a lot of economists. And in 2018 when this started, there were very, very, very few economists of any political persuasion who thought that imposing all these tariffs were a good idea. Republican economists in particular, this is antithetical to how they think about the world, which is low taxes, free trade. And even Democratic economists who thought they had some problems with the way free trade had been conducted did not think that Trump’s “I’m going to get a better deal” approach was going to work. And so there was a lot of criticism at the time, and a lot of politicians really didn’t like it, a lot of Democrats, many Republicans. And it all added up to just a real, whoa, I don’t think this is going to work.

So that begs the question, did it?

Well, it depends on what you mean by work. Economically, it does not appear to have achieved what Trump wanted. There’s no evidence yet in the best economic research that’s been done on this that enormous amounts of manufacturing jobs came back to the United States because of Trump’s tariffs. There was research, for example, on the tariffs on washing machines. They appear to have helped a couple thousand jobs, manufacturing jobs be created in the United States, but they also raised the price of washing machines for everybody who bought them by enough that each additional job that was created by those tariffs effectively cost consumers, like, $800,000 per job.

There’s like lots of evidence that the sectors Trump was targeting to try to help here, he didn’t. There just wasn’t a lot of employment rebound to the United States. But politically, it really worked. The tariffs were very popular. They had this effect of showing voters in those hollowed-out manufacturing areas that Trump was on their team and that he was fighting for them. Even if they didn’t see the jobs coming back, they felt like he was standing up for them.

So the research suggests this was a savvy political move by Trump. And in the process, it sort of changes the political economic landscape in both parties in the United States.

Right. So Trump made these policies that seemed, for many, many years in the American political system, fringe, isolationist, economically bad, suddenly quite palatable and even desirable to mainstream policymakers.

Yeah. Suddenly getting tough on China is something everyone wants to do across both parties. And so from a political messaging standpoint, being tough on China is now where the mainstream is. But at the same time, there is still big disagreement over whether Trump is getting tough on China in the right way, whether he’s actually being effective at changing the trade relationship with China.

Remember that Trump was imposing these tariffs as a way to get leverage for a better deal with China. Well, he gets a deal of sorts, actually, with the Chinese government, which includes some things about tariffs, and also China agreeing to buy some products from the United States. Trump spins it as this huge win, but nobody else really, including Republicans, acts like Trump has solved the problem that Trump himself has identified. This deal is not enough to make everybody go, well, everything’s great with China now. We can move on to the next thing.

China remains this huge issue. And the question of what is the most effective way to deal with them is still an animating force in politics.

Got it. So politically, huge win, but policy-wise and economically, and fundamentally, the problem of China still very much unresolved.

Absolutely.

So then Biden comes in. What does Biden do? Does he keep the tariffs on?

Biden comes to office, and there remains this real pressure from economists to roll back what they consider to be the ineffective parts of Trump’s trade policy. That includes many of the tariffs. And it’s especially true at a time when almost immediately after Biden takes office, inflation spikes. And so Americans are paying a lot of money for products, and there’s this pressure on Biden, including from inside his administration, to roll back some of the China tariffs to give Americans some relief on prices.

And Biden considers this, but he doesn’t do it. He doesn’t reverse Trump’s tariff policy. In the end, he’s actually building on it.

We’ll be right back.

So Jim, you said that Biden is actually building on Trump’s anti-China policy. What exactly does that look like?

So Biden builds on the Trump China policy in three key ways, but he does it with a really specific goal that I just want you to keep in mind as we talk about all of this, which is that Biden isn’t just trying to beat China on everything. He’s not trying to cut a better deal. Biden is trying to beat China in a specific race to own the clean-energy future.

Clean energy.

Yeah. So keep that in mind, clean energy. And the animating force behind all of the things Biden does with China is that Biden wants to beat China on what he thinks are the jobs of the future, and that’s green technology.

Got it. OK. So what does he do first?

OK. Thing number one — let’s talk about the tariffs. He does not roll them back. And actually, he builds on them. For years, for the most part, he just lets the tariffs be. His administration reviews them. And it’s only now, this week, when his administration is going to actually act on the tariffs. And what they’re going to do is raise some of them. They’re going to raise them on strategic green tech things, like electric vehicles, in order to make them more expensive.

And I think it’s important to know the backdrop here, which is since Biden has taken office, China has started flooding global markets with really low-cost green technologies. Solar panels, electric vehicles are the two really big ones. And Biden’s aides are terrified that those imports are going to wash over the United States and basically wipe out American automakers, solar panel manufacturers, that essentially, if Americans can just buy super-cheap stuff from China, they’re not going to buy it from American factories. Those factories are going to go out of business.

So Biden’s goal of manufacturing jobs in clean energy, China is really threatening that by dumping all these products on the American market.

Exactly. And so what he wants to do is protect those factories with tariffs. And that means increasing the tariffs that Trump put on electric vehicles in hopes that American consumers will find them too expensive to buy.

But doesn’t that go against Biden’s goal of clean energy and things better for the environment? Lots of mass-market electric vehicles into the United States would seem to advance that goal. And here, he’s saying, no, you can’t come in.

Right, because Biden isn’t just trying to reduce emissions at all costs. He wants to reduce emissions while boosting American manufacturing jobs. He doesn’t want China to get a monopoly in these areas. And he’s also, in particular, worried about the politics of lost American manufacturing jobs. So Biden does not want to just let you buy cheaper Chinese technologies, even if that means reducing emissions.

He wants to boost American manufacturing of those things to compete with China, which brings us to our second thing that Biden has done to build on Trump’s China policy, which is that Biden has started to act like the Chinese government in particular areas by showering American manufacturers with subsidies.

I see. So dumping government money into American businesses.

Yes, tax incentives, direct grants. This is a way that China has, in the past decades, built its manufacturing dominance, is with state support for factories. Biden is trying to do that in particular targeted industries, including electric vehicles, solar power, wind power, semiconductors. Biden has passed a bunch of legislation that showers those sectors with incentives and government support in hopes of growing up much faster American industry.

Got it. So basically, Biden is trying to beat China at its own game.

Yeah, he’s essentially using tariffs to build a fortress around American industry so that he can train the troops to fight the clean energy battle with China.

And the troops being American companies.

Yes. It’s like, we’re going to give them protection — protectionist policy — in order to get up to size, get up to strength as an army in this battle for clean energy dominance against the Chinese.

Got it. So he’s trying to build up the fortress. What’s the third thing Biden does? You mentioned three things.

Biden does not want the United States going it alone against China. He’s trying to build an international coalition, wealthy countries and some other emerging countries that are going to take on China and try to stop the Chinese from using their trade playbook to take over all these new emerging industrial markets.

But, Jim, why? What does the US get from bringing our allies into this trade war? Why does the US want that?

Some of this really is about stopping China from gaining access to new markets. It’s like, if you put the low-cost Chinese exports on a boat, and it’s going around the world, looking for a dock to stop and offload the stuff and sell it, Biden wants barriers up at every possible port. And he wants factories in those places that are competing with the Chinese.

And a crucial fact to know here is that the United States and Europe, they are behind China when it comes to clean-energy technology. The Chinese government has invested a lot more than America and Europe in building up its industrial capacity for clean energy. So America and its allies want to deny China dominance of those markets and to build up their own access to them.

And they’re behind, so they’ve got to get going. It’s like they’re in a race, and they’re trailing.

Yeah, it’s an economic race to own these industries, and it’s that global emissions race. They also want to be bringing down fossil-fuel emissions faster than they currently are, and this is their plan.

So I guess, Jim, the question in my mind is, Trump effectively broke the seal, right? He started all of these tariffs. He started this trade war with China. But he did it in this kind of jackhammer, non-targeted way, and it didn’t really work economically. Now Biden is taking it a step further. But the question is, is his effort here going to work?

The answer to whether it’s going to work really depends on what your goals are. And Biden and Trump have very different goals. If Trump wins the White House back, he has made very clear that his goal is to try to rip the United States trade relationship with China even more than he already has. He just wants less trade with China and more stuff of all types made in the United States that used to be made in China. That’s a very difficult goal, but it’s not Biden’s goal.

Biden’s goal is that he wants America to make more stuff in these targeted industries. And there is real skepticism from free-market economists that his industrial policies will work on that, but there’s a lot of enthusiasm for it from a new strain of Democratic economists, in particular, who believe that the only chance Biden has to make that work is by pulling all of these levers, by doing the big subsidies and by putting up the tariffs, that you have to have both the troops training and the wall around them. And if it’s going to work, he has to build on the Trump policies. And so I guess you’re asking, will it work? It may be dependent upon just how far he’s willing to go on the subsidies and the barriers.

There’s a chance of it.

So, Jim, at the highest level, whatever the economic outcome here, it strikes me that these moves by Biden are pretty remarkably different from the policies of the Democratic Party over the decades, really going in the opposite direction. I’m thinking of Bill Clinton and NAFTA in the 1990s. Free trade was the real central mantra of the Democratic Party, really of both parties.

Yeah, and Biden is a real break from Clinton. And Clinton was the one who actually signed the law that really opened up trade with China, and Biden’s a break from that. He’s a break from even President Obama when he was vice president. Biden is doing something different. He’s breaking from that Democratic tradition, and he’s building on what Trump did, but with some throwback elements to it from the Roosevelt administration and the Eisenhower administration. This is this grand American tradition of industrial policy that gave us the space race and the interstate highway system. It’s the idea of using the power of the federal government to build up specific industrial capacities. It was in vogue for a time. It fell out of fashion and was replaced by this idea that the government should get out of the way, and you let the free market drive innovation. And now that industrial policy idea is back in vogue, and Biden is doing it.

So it isn’t just a shift or an evolution. It’s actually a return to big government spending of the ‘30s and the ‘40s and the ‘50s of American industrialism of that era. So what goes around comes around.

Yeah, and it’s a return to that older economic theory with new elements. And it’s in part because of the almost jealousy that American policymakers have of China and the success that it’s had building up its own industrial base. But it also has this political element to it. It’s, in part, animated by the success that Trump had making China an issue with working-class American voters.

You didn’t have to lose your job to China to feel like China was a stand-in for the forces that have taken away good-paying middle-class jobs from American workers who expected those jobs to be there. And so Trump tapped into that. And Biden is trying to tap into that. And the political incentives are pushing every future American president to do more of that. So I think we are going to see even more of this going forward, and that’s why we’re in such an interesting moment right now.

So we’re going to see more fortresses.

More fortresses, more troops, more money.

Jim, thank you.

You’re welcome.

Here’s what else you should know today. Intense fighting between Hamas fighters and Israeli troops raged in parts of Northern Gaza over the weekend, an area where Israel had declared Hamas defeated earlier in the war, only to see the group reconstitute in the power vacuum that was left behind. The persistent lawlessness raised concerns about the future of Gaza among American officials. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the return of Hamas to the North left him concerned that Israeli victories there would be, quote, “not sustainable,” and said that Israel had not presented the United States with any plan for when the war ends.

And the United Nations aid agency in Gaza said early on Sunday that about 300,000 people had fled from Rafah over the past week, the city in the enclave’s southernmost tip where more than a million displaced Gazans had sought shelter from Israeli bombardments elsewhere. The UN made the announcement hours after the Israeli government issued new evacuation orders in Rafah, deepening fears that the Israeli military was preparing to invade the city despite international warnings.

Today’s episode was produced by Nina Feldman, Carlos Prieto, Sidney Harper, and Luke Vander Ploeg. It was edited by M.J. Davis Lin, Brendan Klinkenberg, and Lisa Chow. Contains original music by Diane Wong, Marion Lozano, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.

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Donald Trump upended decades of American policy when he started a trade war with China. Many thought that President Biden would reverse those policies. Instead, he’s stepping them up.

Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House, explains.

On today’s episode

Jim Tankersley , who covers economic policy at the White House for The New York Times.

Background reading

Mr. Biden, competing with Mr. Trump to be tough on China , called for steel tariffs last month.

The Biden administration may raise tariffs on electric vehicles from China to 100 percent .

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