More than you know: the case for paragraphs

What’s the difference between bullet points and a speech composed of full sentences linked together in paragraphs?

It’s the difference between listening to music on your iPod or listening to a streaming service like Pandora.

Think about it: The music on your iPod, or your phone, or your wristwatch, or [insert name of gadget we have no idea we require until the moment it’s invented] is there because you put it there. You put it there because you like it. Those devices merely repeat what you already know.

Your ideas, only fresher

But go to Pandora and create a unique station based on the music you like. Say you create a Frank Sinatra station. They’ll play you lots of Sinatra, but they’ll also play you Harry Connick, Jr. and Josh Groban and even a smattering of newer artists you haven’t heard of yet. Maybe some indie musicians like my friend Dane Vannatter.

With Pandora, you’re still in your wheelhouse—it’s the music you love. But you get to hear it in a new way. You get new inputs.

That’s what a great speech can do that talking points can’t. Full sentences, paragraphs following paragraphs, can give you a new lens on your ideas. This keeps your thinking fresh. Your audience stays more engaged because you’re more engaged.

And if you’re even slightly nervous about speaking, you’ll never lose your train of thought with a fully scripted speech—it’s all there for you. Just add rehearsal(s) and go.

  • speeches
  • writing