Conciseness is an essential skill in public speaking. A concise speech is brief without being empty. Conciseness means stating your points in straightforward and simple language. A concise speech doesn’t have any repetitive words, clutter, and verbosity. It makes speech easier to understand, and it keeps your listeners engaged. In writing a speech, conciseness impacts your delivery. You can learn how to speak concisely with practice.
How to speak concisely
- Cut out redundant words. Avoid repeating two words that mean the same thing in the same sentence.
- Avoid using complicated language.
- Use shorter words
- Remove unnecessary filler words.
- Be as straightforward as possible, and avoid overexplaining.
- Don’t digress too far from your point.
- Try to work within the timeframe.
How to write a concise speech
- Practice your speech on someone who can give you feedback
- Review and shorten your speech as many times as possible
- Look out for redundant pairs and remove them.
- Remove qualifiers and modifiers that weaken your speech.
- Cut down on prepositional phrases.