Monroe's motivated sequence

People who read a lot of news recognize that many articles follow a similar structure. Speeches also have a standard formula - Monroe's motivated sequence. So, if you find yourself giving a speech, consider outlining your thoughts in such a way that you:

• Grab your audience's attention
• Highlight a need that your audience should care about
• Offer specific solutions to the problems you've shared
• Help your audience visualize your solutions and their positive benefits
• Inspire your audience to take action

One of the key benefits of this approach is people listening to you will feel like active participants who are empowered to take action. Bad speeches often leave people feeling hopeless because a problem has been identified, but they don't know what they can do to help make it better, or if it can even be solved.