Apples of Gold — Preparing

Remember to start early. This process takes time! Since Original Oratories are your own words, they take a different kind of preparation:

Work out the body of your speech first with main points being clear, concise, and thought-provoking so that retention is easy for the audience.
Use clear transitions to form bridges between main points.
Craft a conclusion that first summarizes the main points and then ends memorably with a pithy quotation, interesting story, startling statistic, etc.
Then finally, create an introduction that immediately captures the attention of the audience with some pithy quotation, interesting story, startling statistic, etc.; then concretely state the topic and give a brief preview of the main points to follow.
Be balanced. Many contestants have strong emotional appeal and weak logic or a strong logical approach and poor use of emotional appeal.