# Speech Writing > A speech is built to be heard, not read. The writer's job is to construct sentences that survive the air between the speaker's mouth and the audience's ear — sentences that can be re-listened-to in re Parent: [Writing and Documentation](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/writing-and-documentation/) · 19 facets · 72 facts · page: https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/ ## Overview - A speech is built to be heard, not read. The writer's job is to construct sentences that survive the air between the speaker's mouth and the audience's ear - sentences that can be re-listened-to in real time only by the listener's short-term memory. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#overview) ## 1. The talk arc (Duarte / Gallo synthesis) - Every well-formed speech has the same five-beat skeleton: — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#1-the-talk-arc-duarte-gallo-synthesis) - Hook - a sentence, image, statistic, or question that earns the next 30 seconds. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#1-the-talk-arc-duarte-gallo-synthesis) - Frame - what this talk is about and why the audience should care. One sentence. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#1-the-talk-arc-duarte-gallo-synthesis) - Three acts - the body. The rule of three is not aesthetic; it is cognitive. Three things stay with the audience, five don't. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#1-the-talk-arc-duarte-gallo-synthesis) - Turn - the moment where the talk pivots from explanation to implication. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#1-the-talk-arc-duarte-gallo-synthesis) - Call to action - what the audience should do, feel, or remember. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#1-the-talk-arc-duarte-gallo-synthesis) ## 2. The 18-minute rule - Carmine Gallo's distillation of TED's curation rule: 18 minutes is the ceiling for a focused, memorable single-speaker talk. For longer slots, structure as multiple sub-talks with clear act breaks. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#2-the-18-minute-rule) ## 3. The rule of three - Three is the smallest number that creates a pattern. Use it for: — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#3-the-rule-of-three) - Top-level structure (three acts, three stories, three asks) — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#3-the-rule-of-three) - Sentence-level lists ("government of the people, by the people, for the people") — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#3-the-rule-of-three) - Repeated refrains (Jobs: "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." - repeated three times) — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#3-the-rule-of-three) ## 4. Applause-line placement and craft - Place applause lines at act transitions and the CTA. Never two in a row. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#4-applause-line-placement-and-craft) ## 5. Speech reads differently than essay - Read every draft aloud. If you run out of breath, the sentence is too long. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#5-speech-reads-differently-than-essay) ## 6. Stage-direction annotation craft - Stage directions are inline notes to the speaker about delivery. They live in the delivery script, not the published transcript. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#6-stage-direction-annotation-craft) - [pause] - short pause, one breath — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#6-stage-direction-annotation-craft) - [long pause] - full silence, 2–4 seconds — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#6-stage-direction-annotation-craft) - [lower voice] - drop volume to draw the audience in — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#6-stage-direction-annotation-craft) - [slow] - drop pace to weight the line — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#6-stage-direction-annotation-craft) - [wait for laughter] - explicitly note that the speaker should hold — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#6-stage-direction-annotation-craft) - Place directions on their own line above the line they modify, in brackets. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#6-stage-direction-annotation-craft) ## 7. Trust the audience - Amateur speeches over-explain. Professional speeches withhold, then resolve. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#7-trust-the-audience) - Tell a story before naming its lesson; let the room reach the conclusion one beat ahead. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#7-trust-the-audience) - Use specific detail, not abstraction. "A blue notebook on the kitchen table" beats "a personal object." — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#7-trust-the-audience) - Cut your second-best example. Two strong points land harder than three uneven ones. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#7-trust-the-audience) - Don't apologize for the topic, the time slot, or the room. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#7-trust-the-audience) ## 8. Ghostwriting ethics - Capture their voice. Listen to 30+ minutes of their existing speech before drafting. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#8-ghostwriting-ethics) - Their stories, not yours. Use anecdotes from their life. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#8-ghostwriting-ethics) - No misattributed lived experience. Never invent a personal anecdote they did not actually experience. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#8-ghostwriting-ethics) - They get final cut. The speaker must be able to change anything. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#8-ghostwriting-ethics) ## Anti-Patterns - The written-essay-read-aloud. Long sentences, semicolons, nested clauses. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#anti-patterns) - The five-point list. Audiences forget points four and five. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#anti-patterns) - The apology open. "I'm not really a speaker…" — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#anti-patterns) - The unmotivated joke. Humor that doesn't serve the arc. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#anti-patterns) - The buried CTA. Telling the audience what to do in the third-to-last sentence. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#anti-patterns) - Stage directions in the published transcript. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#anti-patterns) ## References - Nancy Duarte, Resonate (Wiley, 2010). — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#references) - Carmine Gallo, Talk Like TED (St. Martin's Press, 2014). — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#references) - Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Address, June 12, 2005. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#references) - Sam Leith, Words Like Loaded Pistols (Basic Books, 2012). — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing/#references) ## Where this helps - Structuring a keynote or conference talk around the five-beat talk arc (hook, frame, and the rest) instead of a loose list of points. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Deciding how long a talk should run — the 18-minute rule as a ceiling for a single focused talk, restructured into sub-talks with act breaks for longer slots. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Ghostwriting a speech for an executive, where capturing their actual voice and using only their real anecdotes matters more than polished prose. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Annotating a delivery script with stage directions (pause lengths, emphasis) that live in the speaker's copy but never appear in the published transcript. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## How to apply this - Read every draft aloud during revision; running out of breath mid-sentence is the tell that a sentence is too long for spoken delivery. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Use the rule of three deliberately — at the structural level (three acts, three stories) and the sentence level — because three is the smallest number that reads as a pattern. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Place applause lines only at act transitions and the call to action, never two in a row, so each one still lands. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Withhold the lesson of a story until after the story is told, letting the audience arrive at the conclusion a beat ahead of the speaker naming it. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Common mistakes - Writing the written-essay-read-aloud: long sentences, semicolons, and nested clauses that work on the page but collapse when spoken. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Using the five-point list structure, which audiences reliably forget past point three or four. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Opening with an apology ("I'm not really a speaker...") instead of the hook. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Explaining the point of a story before telling it, over-explaining instead of trusting the audience to follow. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Limitations - The 18-minute rule is a curation heuristic (TED's), not a law — some formats and audiences tolerate or expect longer single-speaker talks, and the rule needs adapting rather than applying blindly. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Ghostwriting ethics require capturing a speaker's real anecdotes and voice, which means a ghostwriter cannot invent a personal experience the speaker didn't actually have, no matter how well it would fit the arc. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Ghostwriting quality depends on access — the guidance recommends 30+ minutes of listening to the speaker's existing material before drafting, which isn't always available on tight timelines. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Stage directions belong only in the delivery script; conflating them with the published transcript confuses the two very different audiences — the speaker delivering it live, and readers encountering it after the fact. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Where this helps - Structuring a keynote or conference talk around the five-beat talk arc (hook, frame, and the rest) instead of a loose list of points. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Deciding how long a talk should run — the 18-minute rule as a ceiling for a single focused talk, restructured into sub-talks with act breaks for longer slots. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Ghostwriting a speech for an executive, where capturing their actual voice and using only their real anecdotes matters more than polished prose. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Annotating a delivery script with stage directions (pause lengths, emphasis) that live in the speaker's copy but never appear in the published transcript. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## How to apply this - Read every draft aloud during revision; running out of breath mid-sentence is the tell that a sentence is too long for spoken delivery. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Use the rule of three deliberately — at the structural level (three acts, three stories) and the sentence level — because three is the smallest number that reads as a pattern. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Place applause lines only at act transitions and the call to action, never two in a row, so each one still lands. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Withhold the lesson of a story until after the story is told, letting the audience arrive at the conclusion a beat ahead of the speaker naming it. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Common mistakes - Writing the written-essay-read-aloud: long sentences, semicolons, and nested clauses that work on the page but collapse when spoken. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Using the five-point list structure, which audiences reliably forget past point three or four. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Opening with an apology ("I'm not really a speaker...") instead of the hook. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Explaining the point of a story before telling it, over-explaining instead of trusting the audience to follow. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Limitations - The 18-minute rule is a curation heuristic (TED's), not a law — some formats and audiences tolerate or expect longer single-speaker talks, and the rule needs adapting rather than applying blindly. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Ghostwriting ethics require capturing a speaker's real anecdotes and voice, which means a ghostwriter cannot invent a personal experience the speaker didn't actually have, no matter how well it would fit the arc. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Ghostwriting quality depends on access — the guidance recommends 30+ minutes of listening to the speaker's existing material before drafting, which isn't always available on tight timelines. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Stage directions belong only in the delivery script; conflating them with the published transcript confuses the two very different audiences — the speaker delivering it live, and readers encountering it after the fact. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/speech-writing/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Context files - [Speech Writing](https://llms-explorer.com/downloads/sources/mdb-context-hub/speech-writing.md)