How common is it to write out a script for a talk? What are the benefits?

Question

I have never written a verbatim script for a talk. I have at times written notes or outlines, but I never read from them when presenting (and rarely when practicing). With enough (weeks) of practice, I can give a pretty good talk. With less practice, I sometimes digress and sometimes omit an important detail. But what I am most interested in is improving my presentation by removing awkward pauses (e.g. while I remember what to say about a slide) and by using appropriate intonation, phrasing, and cadence.Recently, a friend of mine who is a writing studies doctoral candidate suggested that the first step toward accomplishing these goals is to write out a script for each slide. This is a difficult task, but one that I plan to experiment with. I do not plan to actually read the script during the talk, but to memorize it while practicing.My questions are:1. How common is it to write a script for a talk?2. How does having a script help?3. How early in the preparation should I have a "final" version?

Answer 1

Hello, good question! In my public speaking classes, the first step to preparing for any type of presentation is to write a preparation outline. This is a very detailed outline that states, verbatim, what you will say in your presentation. So to answer part of your question, it is a very common process and a highly recommended one! The purpose of a preparation outline is to solidify your transitions and to make sure you will not divert from the focus of the presentation. You should finalize this outline before you even begin to make a slideshow (if using one). You use this outline to practice your presentation, but you do not read from it during the actual speech. After practicing several times with the outline, try practicing without it. Make notes of the places where you forgot your transitions and diverted from the main point. Then, take your preparation outline, and your notes from practicing without it, and make speakers notes. These should be very short hand notes you can quickly glance at to help you remember transitions and to stay focused. I hope this helps!