Speech Writer

When to Use This Skill

• Giving a keynote or conference talk
• Appearing as a guest on a podcast
• Preparing for a panel discussion or fireside chat
• Delivering a toast, award speech, or company all-hands
• Pitching on stage at a startup event

Core Principle

A SPEECH IS NOT AN ARTICLE READ ALOUD. Speeches are built for the ear — short sentences, repetition, pauses, and emotional beats that don't exist in written content.

Workflow

Phase 1: Speech Brief

Ask the user:

1. What's the event and format? (keynote, panel, podcast, toast)
2. How long? (5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 45 min)
3. Who's the audience? (industry, experience level, what they care about)
4. What's the ONE thing you want them to remember?
5. What's your speaking style? (storytelling, data-driven, high-energy, conversational)
6. Any required topics or themes from the organizer?

Minimum needed: questions 1, 2, and 4.

Phase 2: Structure by Format

Keynote / Conference Talk (15-45 min):

1. Hook (1-2 min) — Story, startling stat, or provocative question
2. Setup (3-5 min) — The problem or context everyone recognizes
3. Core Framework (60% of time) — 3 key points with stories
4. Callback (2-3 min) — Return to the opening story with new meaning
5. Close (1-2 min) — Clear takeaway + call to action

Podcast Guest (30-60 min):

1. Origin story — 2-minute version of how you got here
2. 3-5 talking points — Key insights with supporting stories
3. Contrarian take — One opinion that challenges conventional wisdom
4. Tactical takeaway — One thing listeners can do today
5. Plug — Natural mention of your product/service/content

Panel Discussion:

1. Opening statement (30 seconds)
2. 3 strong opinions with supporting evidence
3. 2-3 stories ready to deploy when relevant
4. One-liner zingers for memorable moments
5. Closing thought (15 seconds)

Phase 3: Write the Speech

Include:

• Full text with [PAUSE], [SLOW DOWN], [LOOK UP] delivery cues
• Timing markers every 5 minutes
• Transition phrases between sections
• Audience interaction moments (questions, show of hands)

Phase 4: Polish

1. Read aloud and time it (speeches run 20% longer than you think)
2. Cut any sentence longer than 20 words
3. Check for "written language" that doesn't work spoken (semicolons, parentheticals)
4. Ensure the opening hooks within 30 seconds
5. Verify the close has a clear, memorable final line

Examples

Example 1: 15-Minute Conference Talk on Pricing

Speech:

[0:00 — HOOK]

Last year, I got an email from a client that said — and I quote — "We love your work, but we found someone cheaper."

[PAUSE]

That email cost me about thirty seconds of panic. And then it taught me the most important lesson of my business career.

I wrote back: "I completely understand. I hope they do great work for you."

[PAUSE]

Six weeks later, that client came back. They paid double my original rate. And they apologized.

[2:00 — SETUP]

Here's what I've learned after ten years of pricing services: the problem is never that you're too expensive. The problem is that your price doesn't match your positioning.

[SLOW DOWN] If you sound like everyone else, you'll be compared to everyone else. And in a comparison, the cheapest option always wins.

So today I'm going to share three pricing shifts that took me from competing on price to never discussing price at all.

[3:00 — POINT 1]

Shift number one: Stop selling time. Start selling outcomes...

[8:00 — POINT 2]

Shift number two: Name your process...

[11:00 — POINT 3]

Shift number three: Fire the bottom 20% of your clients...

[13:00 — CALLBACK]

Remember that client who left for someone cheaper? When they came back, I didn't just raise my price. I renamed my service, packaged it around outcomes, and presented it as something completely different. Because it was.

[14:00 — CLOSE]

Here's what I want you to take away from this room today. [PAUSE] You do not have a pricing problem. You have a positioning problem. Fix your positioning, and your pricing fixes itself.

[LOOK UP] Thank you.

Example 2: Podcast Guest Talking Points

Show: Business podcast for solopreneurs Topic: Building a 6-figure business without social media

Talking Points:

Origin Story (2 min): "I deleted Instagram in 2022 — not as a stunt, I was just miserable. I was spending 10 hours a week creating content for 200 likes. Meanwhile, my email list of 800 people was generating 80% of my revenue. So I did the math and the math was embarrassing."

Key Insight 1 — The Platform Trap: "Social media teaches you to be a content creator when what you actually need to be is a business owner. Those are different skill sets with different ROIs."

Contrarian Take: "I think most business advice about 'being visible' is just anxiety dressed up as strategy. You don't need to be visible to 100,000 people. You need to be known by 500 of the right ones."

Tactical Takeaway: "If you want to test this, try one thing: take whatever you'd post on social media this week and email it to your list instead. Track what generates revenue. I'll bet you $100 the email wins."

Natural Plug: "I wrote a whole guide on this — it's a free download on my site called 'The Anti-Social Media Playbook.' No opt-in tricks, just the PDF link."

Recovery & Fallbacks

• User freezes on "the ONE thing": Ask them: "If the audience remembers nothing else, what sentence do you want stuck in their head?" That's the ONE thing.
• Speech runs too long: Cut the weakest of the 3 points. Two strong points beat three average ones. Also cut any story longer than 90 seconds.
• User says "I'm not a good speaker": Structure compensates. A well-structured speech delivered nervously is better than a rambling talk delivered confidently. Focus on clear structure and short sentences.
• Podcast host goes off-topic: Prepare "bridge phrases" to redirect: "That's a great point, and it connects to something I think about a lot, which is..."

Constraints

• NEVER write a speech that reads like an essay — spoken language is different from written language
• Keep sentences under 20 words for spoken delivery
• Include [PAUSE] markers — silence is a speaker's most powerful tool
• Every speech must open with a hook in the first 30 seconds (story or startling fact, never "Thank you for having me, I'm so honored...")
• Time every speech at 130 words per minute for pacing (a 15-min talk = ~1,950 words)