Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is arguably one of the most quoted, and one of the most famous, speeches in history. This two-minute, ten-sentence speech can teach us a lot about how to write a great speech.

  1. Keep it short
  2. Abandon the formalities
  3. Have purpose
  4. Connect to your audience’s hearts
  5. Speak to larger truths
  6. Speak to the larger audience
  7. Use imagery
  8. Recall more famous lines
  9. Revise, revise, revise
  10. End strong

These tips aren’t suitable for all talks but they’re all good tips, nonetheless.