You are your punctuation

Ted Sorensen, John F Kennedy's legendary speech writer, held the view that delivering a speech and writing a sound essay were virtually the same thing.

There is simple formula to follow in each case:

1) Tell your target what you are about to tell them.

2) Tell them.

3) Tell your target what you told them.

While the content of a speech, such as the type of evidence used, will differ from that of an essay, the structure of each narration is largely similar according to this approach.

Back in secondary school, I employed this method when writing my history essays, usually to great effect, achieving top marks.

However, when delivering a speech, a wider awareness of how the audience interprets what you are saying is important.

Understanding how an audience might listen to or engage with a speech starts with the fact that there is no punctuation for them to spot. The end of a sentence of speech, when delivered, does not include a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark. Similarly, there are no commas or semi-colons to identify.

Instead, you, as the orator, are your own punctuation. Your tone, body language, movements, and eye-content all serve as punctuation when giving a speech.

To deliver an effective speech, then, you must employ your punctuation arsenal, varying your hand gestures to emphasise a particular point, or walking in the opposite direction when changing your line of argument.

Using your voice and body in different ways when giving a speech should aid the content of your argument. The reason being is that auditory memory is usually inferior to visual memory, meaning that even if your audience forgets part of what you said, they are likely to recall on your specific body actions to remember the point you were making.

So if you're a great writer, there is no guarantee that you are also a great speaker, without first being able to use a form of punctuation effectively. The last point to consider is that, just as a writer adapts her writing when targeting different readers, so should a speaker adapt his speaking and gesture techniques when targeting a different audience.

Remember, your voice and your body are your punctuation when giving a speech.