Overcome Speech Writer’s Block
How to Demolish Brick Walls
Are You Lost For Words?
You don’t have to be writing a best seller to suffer from writer’s block. Or in this case, speech writer’s block. Putting together a presentation for an office meeting can still be challenging.
You are hurtling towards the deadline. You have to be ready to deliver that presentation. The deadline looms like a brick wall. But your mind is blank. Panic starts to set in. You started to plan well ahead didn’t you? But the words aren’t coming together.
You gaze at that blank piece of paper but no words emerge. But don’t despair, overcoming speech writer’s block can be quite easy.
Concentrate!
Your mind wanders. You can’t focus on the task in hand. Concentrate!
Now’s not the time for daydreaming … or is it?
Sometimes, too much focus can lead to the mind going blank. The conscious mind that is.
So how do you overcome it? How can you free your mind from clutter to allow that presentation to be ready before the deadline?
Sleep On It!
Have you ever faced a seemingly intractable problem one day that has an obvious solution the following day?
The advice ‘to sleep on it’ actually works. Because, while we are asleep our unconscious mind continues to whirr away creatively to come up with a solution to the problem.
In fact, you don’t necessarily have to take a nap; you can just let your mind wander for a while and often inspiration will strike and you’ll be on your way to overcoming your writer’s block.
“Nearly every major decision of my business career was, to some degree, the result of daydreaming. … By daydreaming I mean loose, unstructured thinking with no particular goal in mind.”
Those were the words of Dov Frohman, Israeli electronics engineer, businessman, author and the inventor of the EPROM chip.
Of course, when you have an important presentation coming up, it’s difficult to persuade yourself to sit and daydream. It feels like time wasting.
Perhaps a slightly different approach is required.
Sprinting and Dreaming
Gazing into space and consciously daydreaming isn’t mandatory. Anything that distracts you from that deadline can help.
Most of us find it difficult to concentrate for long periods. So a short burst of creativity without allowing any distractions can be an effective way to work. Maybe try working in short sprints: say 15 or 20 minutes.
The idea is to focus really hard for that short period and then take a break.
Take a Break
Do something completely different for a few minutes. Something that engages your brain and distracts you from the challenge you face.
Just make a cup of tea, read a book, take a look at your social media or chat with the cat*.
It doesn’t matter what it is so long as your mind takes a break from thinking about your presentation.
The beauty of utilising the daydreaming process for speech ‘writing’ is that it’s likely the key elements are already stored on the ‘hard disc’ in your head, aka the unconscious mind.
With a modicum of mental editing to tidy things up, you’ll have your presentation imprinted on your mind, so there’s little or no need for speech notes.
So there you have it. Speech writer’s block overcome. Brick wall demolished. Sweet dreams!
Caution!
It can be all too easy to put off doing things because the task seems challenging. The sooner you start, the more time you’ll have to adopt the techniques suggested above. And the less pressure you’ll feel.
(* Note: Taking the cat to the office to help with your presentation isn’t recommended!)
Office life is boring. Not a mouse in sight. Is it time to go home yet?
Last updated 7th August 2024
Further reading:
6 Types of Writer’s Block: How to Up Your Productivity and Write With Joy by Henneke Duistermaat
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