Conventional wisdom says the best speeches are not written; they are rewritten.

Yet, most speakers

present content that falls between a first draft and no preparation at all.

Don’t be like most speakers.

Allow yourself the time to edit for focus, clarity, concision, continuity, variety, and impact. If you do, you
will give your audience a performance that will dazzle them.

The previous article in the Speech Preparation Series showed you how to write the first draft of your
speech.

In this article and the next one, you will develop the skills required to improve your speech through
iterative speech editing.

Editing a Speech — An Iterative Process

Once you have a first draft, you begin to see how the different elements from your outline work
together to form your speech.

The next step is a highly iterative one. Just as you cannot expect the first draft to be the final draft, do
not pressure yourself to get it perfect after one session of editing. Expect to make many passes through
your speech, with each pass leaving the speech a little better than the previous version.

As you proceed, avoid falling in love with any particular component of the speech. Maybe you have the
perfect story or a great slide, but be prepared to cut it out if your core message can be conveyed in a
better way