Select a speech topic. Your topic should lead you to your “core message” which your entire presentation should support.

Create a speech outline. “A planned outline is vital” because “without structure, your audience will either wonder what your core message is or they will lose interest entirely.” Do not skip this vital step in your speech preparation.

Write the speech. Practice what you learned in school with writing assignments and begin with a rough draft. Edit, edit, edit! Keep in mind that your audience will hear your speech, not read your paper. Adding in things like figures of speech or other rhetorical devices will make your speech easier to listen to.

Apply gestures, staging, and vocal variety. One suggestion I would have for you is to read or recite your speech through out loud and take note of your own natural gestures and vocal variety. Circle or underline those words or phrases that provided these opportunities for natural gestures or vocal variety to provide some cues for yourself. Then, read through your speech again paying deliberate attention to opportunities you may have missed the first time. Block “stage movements” according to transitions in your speech to prevent pacing.

Practice and solicit feedback. Just as writers need someone to proofread for them, speakers also benefit from proofing.

Self-Critique: Prepare for the next speech. After you present your speech, critique yourself objectively. Your will gain so much more from your Toastmasters experience if you apply what you learned presenting one speech to your subsequent speeches.