1. Who is your audience? Describe them (Review Week 1 on Audience Analysis).
2. What is your purpose? You have to sure of your needs and intended outcomes, as your message needs to be created to achieve this purpose.
3. What is your focus? Your story? On every topic, there is lots and lots of information. In order to be interesting, keep your audience’s attention, you need to create the context, the focus…the story.
4. Included in creating the story, is the decision of the emotion. What emotions do you want your audience to feel? Is there more than one emotion – from what feeling to what feeling?
5. What format is appropriate for your message? Letter, memo, email, phone, voice mail, video, face-to-face, meeting, etc.?
6. What is the approach? Direct (stating the purpose in the opening) or indirect (presenting the evidence first).
7. Brainstorm the introduction. It’s the most critical aspect. You need to get their attention in order to maintain their attention.
8. List the body points. Then group the points into like-kind groups. Eventually these items equate to headings or perhaps paragraphs.
9. Brainstorm your conclusion. What do you want them to remember? What is the feeling you want them to take with them when they leave?
10. What visuals help tell your story?