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Grammar girl, here I'm in your unfocused and you can think of me as your friendly guide to the English language.

Writing, history, rules, and cool stuff.

Today, we're going to talk about how to write a speech and how to pronounce the word that spelled A-S-K.

Today, we're going to tackle two of the scariest things you may ever be asked to do.

Writing and Delivering a Speech.

To help your next presentation go well, here are some quick and dirty tips for writing scripts and

speeches. Tip number one, keep it short. A-Braham Lincoln's Getty's Burgadras is one of the most

famous speeches in history and it's just 10 sentences long. Of course, not every presenter can be

as brief as Lincoln and a two-minute speech wouldn't be appropriate if you've been asked to

fail half an hour. Don't cut yourself short but do fill your time with relevant material that'll

keep your audience interested. Tip number two, take control of your listener's expectations.

A strong introduction is important whether you're writing or speaking but it takes a lot longer

to listen to a speech than to read an article and it'll help your audience commit to your

presentation if you start by telling them why it's important. For example, we're going to

spend the next 30 minutes talking about the zombie apocalypse because if you're prepared for

zombies, you're prepared for anything. It also helps to include an interesting anecdote or

question to hook the audience. Like, did you know that FEMA recently released tips on how to

survive a zombie apocalypse? Also, remember that your presentation begins as soon as you take the

stage. Don't spend 10 minutes thanking everyone in the room before you get to the meat of your

piece. A brief thank you is fine. Tip three, keep important information at the beginning of your

sentences. Keep your listeners hooked throughout your speech by crafting your sentences in a way

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