Empowered to Write

8 Steps to Effectively Share a Message: Step 1 Create an Outline

 I could hear you groan, you know! Outlines seem tedious. Perhaps you never had to learn about outlines in English class. They were a pain! Breaking things down into smaller & smaller pieces with very specific tags to identify their place in the outline. It was painful & confusing.

Not Your English Class Outline

 This is not that type of outline. When I began as a speaker & author, I studied under Florence Littauer. We were taught that outlines help us formulate the message in a logical order. How many times have you listened to a speaker that motivated & inspired you yet later, you were unable to share anything they said in their presentation? The speech might have been very well written but if it wasn’t created in a systematic format, your brain is unable to retain the information.

Is There Enough for a Series?

When I come up with a great topic, like this one, the first thing I do is create an outline. This enables me to see if I am able to develop a message from the idea. If I can’t flesh it out into a simple outline, then I know I only have an informational graphic to share on Instagram.

It’s Easier than It Sounds

You want an outline that makes it easy for your readers or listeners to remember your material & easy for you to share it across multiple formats. An outline makes it easy for me to first create an infographic & then break it down into a blog series. Your outline is easy to create. Pick a word that represents your message & make an acrostic. For example, TALK: Teach, Act, Listen,Keep. Or you might you words that rhyme: Make, Take, Wake. You can use an analogy. To share my Simple Joy message, I created a message using a tree through the seasons. It takes some effort at first but it becomes very easy, very quickly.

Well Worth the Effort

Take the time to develop an outline & you have the foundation for a message that can go from infographic to book!

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