1. FOCUSED THINKING. If your clients can't describe what they want to talk about in one sentence, they may be guilty of fuzzy focus or trying to cover too many topics. Their listeners will probably be confused too, and attention will soon wander. Persuade your client to come up with a one-sentence summary of the purpose. If a client must make a speech and is unsure what to talk about, try asking, "What questions does this type of audience usually ask about you, your business, or the industry?" Then use the speech to answer these questions.

2. CLEAR STRUCTURE. Make it easy for people to follow exactly what your client wants to say. They'll remember it better--and your client will too as he or she delivers the speech. Poor or confusing structure makes audiences tune out.

3. MEMORABLE STORIES. People rarely remember the exact words. Instead, they remember the mental images that the words inspire. Support key points with vivid, relevant stories. Help the audience "make the movie" in their heads by using memorable characters, exciting situations, dialogue, suspense, and humor. I had a client kicking off a money-saving program in a speech for employees. I asked him to tell me a story about someone who had saved the company money. Do you know what he showed me? Statistics! "Statistics aren't sexy," I told him. "Numbers are numbing. Where's the made-for-television movie? Where's the excitement, the 'sex and violence'?" He had no idea. So we phoned the Accounting Department and got a memorable story about a shipping clerk who had saved the company $200,000.

4. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. Whenever you tell a story, figure out what questions the audience will be asking themselves. Then answer them. With this same retail client, we decided the audience would be wondering, "What did our company do with that $200,000?" We researched and prepared an answer: "$200,000 is 18 miles of shelving. It's designing an additional size. It's a month of radio commercials." And always be sure the audience knows up front why they are devoting the time to listen. If it isn't obvious, provide or even create an exciting answer.

5. EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS. The most powerful communication combines both intellectual and emotional connections. Intellectual means appealing to educated self-interest with data and reasoned arguments. Emotion comes from engaging the listeners' imaginations, involving them in your illustrative stories by frequent use of the word "you" and from answering their unspoken question, "What's in this for me?" Use what I call a high I/You ratio. For example: Not, "I'm going to talk to you about telecommunications," but "You are going to learn about the exciting world of telecommunications." Put the listener in your client's story. Not, "I want to tell you about Bobby Lewis," but "Come with me to Oklahoma City. Let me introduce you to my friend, proud father Bobby Lewis."

6. RIGHT LEVEL OF ABSTRACTION. Do your clients want to provide the big picture and generalities when their listeners are hungry for details, facts, and specific how-tos? Or is the audience drowning in data when they need to position themselves with an overview and find out why they should care? Get on the same wavelength with your listeners. My friend Dr. David Palmer, a Silicon Valley negotiations expert, refers to "fat" and "skinny" words. Fat words describe the big picture, goals, ideals, and outcomes. Skinny words are minute details and specific who, what, when, and how. In general, senior management needs fat words and descriptions. Middle management requires middle words and descriptions. Technical staff are hungry for skinny words and explanations.

7. PAUSES. You may think pauses are up to the speaker, but it doesn't hurt to write them in. Good music and good communication both contain changes of pace, pauses, and full rests. This is when listeners think about what has just been said. If your client rushes on at full speed because of nervousness or to crowd in as much information as possible, chances are they've left their listeners back at the station. Indicate spots where the speaker should pause--after they've said something profound or proactive or asked a rhetorical question. For limited-time presentations, keep your length on the short side.

8. STRONG OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS. You already know how important it is to engage the audience immediately with a powerful, relevant opening. It can be a story, quote, question, bold statement, little known fact, or "I love your conference theme..." Two ways I do not recommend any speaker starts is with an old joke or "It is a pleasure to be here..." Most business speakers do not know that the speaker should never close by asking for questions. If questions are appropriate, script such a request just before you script their final, hopefully dynamic remarks. Last words linger.

With skill, energy, and a bit of diplomacy, you can turn your most boring clients into media stars!

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Patricia Fripp is an award-winning speaker, executive speech coach, and in-demand sales presentation trainer.