Eloquento — Public Speaking Basics | eloquento.org

Outline, rehearse, deliver

Eloquento — Public Speaking Basics | eloquento.org

Freezing on stage is one of the most commonly reported social fears, and it is usually a preparation problem rather than a personality problem. This page walks you from a blank outline to a delivered talk in an ordered procedure, with a timing table you can plan any length against and the classical rhetorical tools you can reach for at each stage.

Timing table: minutes to words

This is not a script library, a coaching service or a set of guaranteed outcomes; it is a reference procedure you run yourself.

5in this record

Procedure at a glance

Scroll the strip sideways — 6 cards.

Stage 1

Outline

Write the introduction, body and conclusion as three blocks of points. Do this before any sentences, because the frame sets the length.

Stage 2

Time it

Convert the outline into words and check the total against 120-150 words per minute. A five-minute talk is roughly 650-750 words.

Stage 3

Rehearse out loud

Run the talk standing and speaking at least once. Out-loud rehearsal is measurably more effective than silently reading the notes.

Stage 4

Drill delivery

Work pacing and one deliberate pause at the key point as separate exercises. The pause reads to an audience as confidence, not as forgetting.

Stage 5

Handle the day

Learn the first sentence to the word and plan a stop immediately after it. Fear of public speaking is one of the most commonly reported social fears; starting well interrupts it.

Check

Mark the mode per section

Label each block of the outline with ethos, pathos or logos. A body running on one mode alone is a recognisable failure.

Stage index

Failures by stage, and where to go back to

650-750words in a five-minute talkAt a comfortable pace of 120-150 words per minute, five minutes of speech is about 650 to 750 words.
120-150words per minuteThis is the comfortable speaking pace the timing table below is built on.
5parts of the rhetorical canonInvention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery - the five tasks you work through in order.

What the procedure actually is

Five ordered stages take you from a blank page to a delivered talk.

The procedure has five stages and you run them in order: outline the talk, time it against the word counts below, rehearse it out loud, drill the delivery, and deliver with a plan for nerves. Skipping a stage is the most common reason a talk falls apart on the day.

Each stage has a typical failure attached to it, listed in the numbered index further down the page. If you can name the failure you are hitting, you know which stage to go back to rather than starting over.

The whole procedure assumes no prior training. It uses the classic introduction-body-conclusion frame and the rhetorical tools that have been taught since the 5th century BCE, applied to a modern short talk.

  • Outline: write the introduction, body and conclusion as three blocks before any wording.
  • Time: convert the outline into words and check it against the timing table.
  • Rehearse: read the talk out loud at least once, standing, at speaking pace.
  • Drill: work pauses, pacing and nerve handling as separate exercises.
  • Deliver: enter with a first sentence memorised and a pause planned at the key point.

Timing table: minutes to words

Talk length in minutes converted to words at a comfortable pace of 120-150 words per minute
Talk lengthWords at 120 per minuteWords at 150 per minuteWorking range
3 minutes360 words450 words360-450 words
5 minutes600 words750 words650-750 words
7 minutes840 words1050 words840-1050 words
10 minutes1200 words1500 words1200-1500 words
15 minutes1800 words2250 words1800-2250 words
20 minutes2400 words3000 words2400-3000 words
Talk length in minutes converted to words at a comfortable pace of 120-150 words per minute

The five stages in detail

Each stage has one job and one typical failure; the cards below name both.

EthosPathosLogosThe rhetorical canon
The key terms of this guide, drawn to one scale

Questions people actually ask

I keep freezing at the start - what do I do?
Learn the first sentence to the word and plan a deliberate stop immediately after it. Fear of public speaking is one of the most commonly reported social fears, and a memorised opening removes the only part of the talk you have to improvise.
My talk always runs long. Where do I fix it?
Fix it at the timing stage, before rehearsal. Convert the outline into words, compare against 120-150 words per minute, and cut or expand until the count lands in the range for your minutes.
Should I memorise the whole speech?
No - memorise the first sentence and know the outline well enough to look up. The five canons treat memory as knowing the talk, not reciting it, and delivery suffers when you are reciting.
How do I stop sounding flat?
Check which mode each section is using. Ethos, pathos and logos are Aristotle's three modes of persuasion; a talk running on one mode alone reads flat or one-note.
Is out-loud rehearsal really worth the time?
Yes - rehearsing out loud is measurably more effective than silently reading the notes. Silent reading skips breath and pacing, which are the two things that go wrong on stage.