Read Time: 4 Minutes

You're staring at a blank page.

You have brilliant ideas, valuable insights, and stories worth sharing. But you have no idea how to structure them into a speech people will actually remember.

No one teaches you a formula for making your message stick. So you wing it, ramble through your points, and watch your audience's attention drift away.

But here's what I discovered: the speakers who captivate audiences aren't more naturally talented. They're using a formula.

I analyzed the 100 most-viewed TED talks of all time. Speeches from Simon Sinek, Brené Brown, Amy Cuddy, and other thought leaders with over 2 billion YouTube views combined.

They all follow the same five-part pattern.

Once you see it, you'll never structure a speech the same way again.

Part 1: The Curiosity Hook

The Pattern: Open by creating cognitive tension. Present a puzzle, contradiction, or surprise that your audience's brain literally cannot ignore.

Why It Works: Your audience is distracted and skeptical. Generic openings get tuned out. But when you create mental tension through paradox, confession, drama, or shock, you force their brain to engage. They need resolution.

Example: In his talk on leadership and inspiration, Simon Sinek opens with: "How do you explain when things don't go as we assume? Or better... how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?"

The Takeaway: Don't ease into your topic. Create an itch that demands scratching in the first 30 seconds.

Part 2: The Empathy Story

The Pattern: Tell a story focused on internal conflict and emotional stakes, not just external facts. Use the formula Scene → Struggle → Stakes.

• Scene: Set the specific moment or situation where something happened
• Struggle: Reveal your internal confusion, frustration, or emotional conflict in that moment
• Stakes: Show why this mattered emotionally and what was at risk

Why It Works: Stories build trust and connection. But only if you make your audience feel what it was like to be in your shoes during your moment of confusion or pain. Facts alone don't create emotional investment.

Example: When Brené Brown talks about her vulnerability research, she shares: "About six weeks into this research, I ran into this unnamed thing that absolutely unraveled connection in a way that I didn't understand... And it turned out to be shame."

Here's how she uses the formula:

• Scene: Six weeks into her research project
• Struggle: She encountered something she couldn't understand that was disrupting her entire framework
• Stakes: Her understanding of human connection was being unraveled

She focuses on her internal confusion, not just research findings.

The Takeaway: Make your audience feel your struggle before revealing your solution.

Part 3: The Transformation Moment

The Pattern: Share your personal breakthrough, then immediately reframe it as a universal insight. Use the structure: Before State → Catalyst → After State → Universal Application.

Why It Works: Personal stories are engaging, but your audience needs to see how your discovery applies to them. The phrase "as it turns out" signals that this truth extends beyond just your experience.

Example: Simon Sinek transitions with: "About three and a half years ago, I made a discovery. This discovery profoundly changed my view on how I thought the world worked... As it turns out, there's a pattern."

The Takeaway: Position your insight as something that was always there, waiting to be uncovered. Not just your personal opinion.

Part 4: The Simple, Memorable Framework

The Pattern: Distill your insight into a simple framework using three techniques: keep it to three parts or less, use visual metaphors, and make it counterintuitive.

Why It Works: People can't apply complex advice. Memorable frameworks stick because they're simple enough to recall under pressure and distinctive enough to challenge assumptions.

Example: In his talk about procrastination, Tim Urban wants to make the feeling of deadline pressure visceral and memorable for his audience. So he created the "Panic Monster" character: "The panic monster is dormant most of the time, but he suddenly wakes up anytime a deadline gets too close." It's visual, simple, and makes an abstract feeling tangible.

The Takeaway: If your audience can't remember your framework tomorrow, it's too complicated.

Part 5: The Transformation Vision

The Pattern: End with one of two approaches: give permission to think differently, or offer one specific action they can take immediately.

Why It Works: Overwhelming people with ten steps paralyzes them. One clear path forward creates momentum. Permission shifts perspective. Specific actions create immediate wins.

Example: Mel Robbins gets concrete in her talk about motivation: "Tomorrow morning, set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier. And then when it goes off, take those sheets, throw them off, and stand up and start your day." No ambiguity, no excuses.

This five-part formula: Hook → Story → Discovery → Framework → Transformation—mirrors how humans naturally process trust, learning, and action.

Most speakers lead with their framework or jump straight into research. But insights without emotional investment feel like lectures.

When your audience has felt your struggle, your breakthrough becomes their breakthrough too. Now go crush it out there.

If you want more public speaking help, make sure to enroll in The Impromptu Speakers Academy here. It's my flagship program to help you become a great speaker at work in 20 days or less.

Preston