Turn Your Script into a Roadmap of Ideas

Your script is more than just words on paper.  Whether you use a full script, notes, or bullets, the format of your script can add richness and meaning to your delivery. 

Here are some guidelines:

• One sentence per paragraph -- preferably a short, simple sentence.  This lets you look up at the audience and back to your script -- without losing your place. 
• Use a big font size.  Print out a few script pages in various font sizes and pick the one that works for you.
• Each script page should have a very narrow top margin -- with text ending no more than two-thirds down the page.  This keeps your head up and eyes out at the audience.
• Insert pauses right into the script -- each as a separate line.  (Pause)  Pause when you change subjects, highlight a point, or ask a rhetorical question.
• Highlight text in yellow for key ideas -- and emphasize them.
• Underline keywords in sentences for vocal oomph.
• New thought = new page.
• Big page numbers.  The speaker who is lost loses the audience.

Your script is much more than words on pages.  It's a roadmap of your ideas.  And it's a roadmap you can easily customize to suit your message and your style.

Comments

[Lee Potts]

Hi Pete,

Great ideas. Thanks.

When I'm doing the AV for our speakers, I have a copy of the script in case the remote control dies, then I can advance the slides for them. Some of the speakers would rather have me do it anyway so they don't have to deal with the remote at all.

One additional thing I do is write in big letters with a red Sharpie "SHORT" if the next slide (and script page) only has a few words on it. For instance, an agenda slide between section where all the speaker will be saying is something like, "Next we'll take a look at the western widgets."

[devin bean]

Thanks for the advice! I think on of my most eye-opening experiences was one time when I lost the final pages of my script. I had everything written out word-for-word, and I intended to give the speech exactly that way. I thought I had a powerful conclusions... but found that, upon losing the script, I could connect with the audience much more powerfully!

So henceforth I've used a script system rather like what you detailed here. First I write out the speech word-for-word, but then translate it into a script that I use for actually giving the speech. A roadmap. Great analogy, thanks again.