When I enter a contest I select my stories and anecdotes as I would select a dress for a very special event. An ordinary, nice dress won’t do, I need a dress with the Wow Factor.
When it comes to contest speeches I believe the Wow Factor comes from a combination of a powerful theme, an intense event or situation and a dynamite character.
I’m going to look at each of these elements separately and suggest ways to build them into your story. This will take your stories from being fairly strong to being a forceful element in your speech.
First is your theme
This is the underpinning of the whole speech. This is the message you want your audience to take away. In a regular club speech you can do very nicely with a theme like ‘Be kind to animals’ or ‘Eat locally produced food’. In a contest you need a much stronger, more universal theme. ‘Peace’ for example, or ‘Individual Action can Change the World’.
One way to test the universality of the theme is to go to www.amazon.com and see if there are a lot of books published recently on the topic.
Or keep an eye on the motivational speakers when public television has pledge days (watch and learn!). Which themes and topics are being presented? If a theme appeals to you take it, give it your own spin and use it. If the theme is strong enough for this professional to select then chances are that it is a powerful and universal theme.
Don’t copy the television presentation, or the text from a book. Just pinpoint the bedrock theme and construct your own stories to carry it.
A strong theme such as ‘Peace’ has many facets. Don’t even think of covering more than one of them in a 5 – 7 minute speech. You’ll spread yourself too thin and dilute the message.
Maybe, as you are playing mentally with your theme, focusing and refining it, certain stories will come to your mind. It’s quite possible that your stories will help select your theme. If you can come up with three well-aligned stories they will carry your message very powerfully.
In a contest it’s good if your stories have more in common besides just the theme. Try to find linkages at other levels in addition to the theme – it will make a stronger speech. If one story is about your holiday in China, one is about a garden club sale and the third is about your mother’s new boyfriend there is very little alignment. This might not matter in a club speech but in a contest where you are squeezing out every last point it makes a difference.
When you think you have a good theme, test it. Ask yourself, is this theme important to other ages, both sexes, other nationalities, other religions? Would it appeal to them? Would your stories make them feel the way you want them to feel? Aim for universality.
Each of your stories should relate strongly to your theme and support it. They are a living, colorful representation of your theme. They focus your audience directly on the heart of your theme and its meaning.
Work on your stories until that focused clarity of meaning is vivid and inescapable.
