Public Speaking series, part 8

The best speeches are purpose-driven rather than topic-driven. The phrase “purpose-driven” was popularized in a recent book, so I’m using it here as a hook for attention and memory (always a good idea in an oral medium). We commonly think about speeches in terms of our topic, but I would like you to be outcome-driven—what do you want the audience to think, know, believe, or do when the speech is over? It’s not what you are talking about, but what you are trying to achieve, in the speech. Once you start thinking of your speech in terms of purpose and outcomes rather than topic, you will be able to focus much more and decide what is relevant or not in your speech. Purpose is largely based on audience and on contextual factors.

If you are early in your college education, outcome-orientation is something you should get used to.  Whether you are going into business, education, social work, or some other fields, the emphasis will not be what you do but whether you achieve what you are shooting for.  We would save a lot of hassle in life if that were our focus.