Know your audience. A fantastic speech written for jaded teenagers flops if delivered to the local Chamber of Commerce, and vice versa. Try to visualize a "typical" member of the audience as you write, but language thrown in solely to appeal (such as an adult tossing out teenage slang) tends to come across as insincere and patronizing. Knowing your audience doesn't mean pretending you're one of them.

2torial #0694: Learn2 Write a Speech (Continued) Turn it into a speech   Now that you're got a pile of verbiage, it's time to turn it into a speech. Go through it with a hard eye, picking out the gems and discarding the dross. Then arrange them in a structure that suits both the topic and your perception of the audience. An outline is one option, but you may prefer to detail a list of the things you want to say and go back later numbering (in the margin) the items in order of importance. Then trim the list--maybe by a half. Repetition is essential for retention of a message. The old standard still holds true: Say what you are going to say, then say it, then say what you just said. With regards to voice, let your personality manifest itself on paper. When you finally speak, a comforable style will provide you a more relaxed environment to manifest your own personality. Step 4