Relying on a script when you speak? It’s time to break the habit.

Here are some tips for speakers to help get past the need to clutch a script.

Key Word Sheets

You know your topic.  You know the points you want to make.  You live your material. It takes careful and generous slicing and dicing to carve your life’s work into a cohesive message you can deliver in a short period of time. The Key Word Sheet will help you!

List Your Topics

List the topics you want to cover.  Write out some phrases for each. Take time to craft a few lines that you want to be sure to say a certain way. Practice that list for a while.  Finally make a key word sheet.  It might look like this:

• DRUNK STAT
• JOANIE STORY
• MOM
• FOUNDATION
• HELP FOR BILL
• DONATE

Key Word Sheet Practice Plan

When you are delivering a report, lose all the notes, and work from your Key Word Sheet. You see the Key Word. You simply know what to say. Are you still smooth? Don’t you feel more engagement with the audience when you aren’t buried in a script?

Put It On A Card

Put your Key Word Sheet on a 3×5 card.  Make several of them.  Put one in your pocket to practice every day.  One on the dashboard, kitchen counter, nightstand.

Practice Your Points

Practice what you want to say for each point.  Don’t always start at the top.  You’ll have a great open, a shaky middle, and a messy ending.

Talk Freely

Key Word Sheets allow you to have a cue, but talk more freely.  You will be able to engage more with your listeners and ad lib with confidence. Rest assured your listeners will get the important points you want to make. When you master this, you’ll talk without notes!

Find more speaking advice for before, during and after your speech. Check out the Bold Speaker Checklist.