Wellspeech or ChatGPT: which should write your speech?

Using a chatbot anyway? A prompt checklist

A general chatbot writes from what you give it. A one-line request gets a speech that could be about anyone. These are the things a speechwriter would ask you. Put them in your prompt, and the draft has something real to work with.

1. Who you are to them. Your role and how you know them, in a sentence or two: "I am the best man, and the groom is my younger brother."
2. The room. The occasion, who will be listening (grandparents, colleagues, children) and whether it is formal or relaxed. For a wedding, say whether you follow UK or US customs.
3. The length in words, not only minutes. A chatbot cannot hear how fast you speak. Most people say about 120 to 160 words a minute in a speech, so ask for a word count and check it with the speech length calculator.
4. Two or three real stories. For each one: where you were, what happened, what someone said. Specific details do more than adjectives.
5. The tone. Mostly funny, mostly heartfelt or somewhere in between, and where the speech should turn sincere.
6. What to leave out. Exes, the bachelor or bachelorette party, health, money, anything the family would rather not hear said aloud.
7. Names, and how to say them. Everyone you will mention, with the pronunciation if it is not obvious, and anyone who has died who should be remembered.
8. How it should end. Who the toast is to, or the last thing you want people to hear.
9. Ask it to interview you first. Tell it to ask you a few questions, one at a time, before it writes anything. That is what brings back the detail you had forgotten.
10. Tell it not to invent anything. Ask it to use only the facts you give it and to ask when something is missing. Then check every name and date in the draft anyway.

A prompt to copy

Fill in the brackets, delete what does not apply, and paste it into the chatbot.

I need a speech that I will say out loud.

Occasion: [wedding / birthday / retirement / ...]
My role: [best man / daughter / colleague ...], and how I know them: [...]
Who will be listening: [family, friends, colleagues, children, grandparents ...]
Setting: [formal or relaxed, UK or US wedding, dinner or party ...]
Length: [number] minutes, about [number] words
Tone: [mostly funny / mostly heartfelt / a mix], turning sincere near the end
Names to get right: [name, how to say it, who they are]
Leave out: [exes, the bachelor party, health, money ...]
End with: [a toast to ... / the last line I want people to hear]

My stories:
- [where we were, what happened, what someone said]
- [...]
- [...]

Before you write, ask me up to five questions about these stories, one at a time. Use only the facts I give you, and do not invent stories, names, dates or quotes. Write it to be spoken: short sentences, one story told properly, and mark the pauses.

After the first draft

• Read it aloud at the pace you will really speak, and time it.
• Check every name, date and story. Delete anything it added that did not happen.
• Cut any line you would not say in your own voice.
• Print it in large type or put it on cue cards, and rehearse it twice.
• Would you rather plan it yourself first? The speech outline builder gives you a structure with timings for every part.