Monday Minute: Memorization

It is time for your Fearless Monday Minute. To memorize or not to memorize? That is the question that plagues many public speakers. I am firmly in the not memorizing camp, that comes from my years as an actor where I found the act of memorization to be laborious and extremely painful. One tool that I use to get me from the page to the stage is a speaker’s outline. So for my first pass at creating content, I will write out full sentences. But very quickly, in the second pass, I get rid of those sentences and focus instead on those key ideas. So that in the third pass, what I have are just bold words that allow me to recall and remember the ideas and the logistical and logical order of my content. If I am to memorize something, it’s the beginning, the end, and key transitions. May that serve you on your speaking journey.