This curriculum is free with a SpeechWriters Lab account — no payment required. Sign in to access this week's lesson.
Level 1 · Week 4 of 4
The Message
Why This Matters
The Gettysburg Address runs about two minutes — roughly the same length as your Level 1 gate speech — and it has exactly one idea. Most failing Level 1 manuscripts we score don't fail from lack of content. They fail because they're trying to say four things in the space built for one.
This Week's Exercise
Write your speech's single core message in one sentence, under 15 words. If you can't, that's the actual problem to solve this week.
Go through every paragraph and ask: does this sentence serve the one message, or is it a tangent I like? Cut the tangents, even the good ones.
Rewrite your closing line so it echoes your one-sentence message directly — not a summary, an echo.
Show the one-sentence message to someone else without the rest of the speech. If they can't repeat it back in their own words, simplify further.
Coach's Note — Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln didn't try to cover the whole war in two minutes. He said one true thing, and let it stand. Brevity isn't the enemy of depth — it's usually the proof of it.