Overview
Before you start, ask yourself:
Audience
- size, status, age, profile, interests, agenda?
- what does the audience want to hear?
- what does the minister want to say to them? What:
- is the speech for (not ‘about’)?
- single idea does the Minister want to convey?
- specific things; up to three, does the Minister want to talk about/announce and how do they connect with the common theme?
Occasion
- is it: grand or informal, national or local, friendly or hostile, likely to interest local/national media: what tone is right?
- how long is allocated for the speech and how long does the minister want to speak for?
- what niceties have to be observed, eg people or organisations to praise or thank?
Context
- who is speaking before and/or after and what are they going to say?
- what real-life examples, recent events, case histories, historic events, extraordinary facts, figures or statistics can you use to illustrate your main theme and main points and connect them together in a coherent narrative?
- is there anything about the hosts, venue, timing or audience that can be used as illustrations (without being too obvious)?
