The trick is to write out the entire speech, word for word, but don't force yourself to stay 100% on script when you actually give the talk. All through school

The trick is to write out the entire speech, word for word, but don't force yourself to stay 100% on script when you actually give the talk. All through school as I was growing up, I was always instructed never to write out a speech or presentation in complete sentences, only to plan an outline, write down the main points on notecards, and then practice, practice, practice. The idea was that this strategy would result in a more natural talk. The result, for me, was basically a recitation of the main points written on the notecards interspersed with some mumbling and fumbling. Every time I would practice, I'd find myself very consciously thinking "ok, now what do I say to get to the next main point?" It would be different every time, and the result was always a stuttery mess. My problem was that, with practice, the main points were the easiest part to memorize. It's the stuff in between that I would forget and stumble over. Now, I write a presentation as I would write an essay: plan, outline, draft and iterate, and read out lout repeatedly. Writing out the entire talk forces me to think about every supporting detail and every transition. It helps me to analyze the entire talk: I can easily pick out portions that don't flow well or don't make sense - or avoid writing them altogether, since every word of the speech is undergoing a drafting and editing process. I can identify phrases that are confusing and rewrite them, or even better, find phrases that particularly stand out and highlight them for emphasis. I can time the speech to within a very narrow window and find opportunities to expand or reduce the content, both on the paper and on the fly. Finally, I practice - not until I've memorized it (unless it's relatively short), but until it sounds natural. I take notes on the bits I stumble over repeatedly, and those become my notecards. This strategy probably isn't effective if you have to give a different talk every day or if you have minimal time to plan. But in my experience, it results in the most well-planned, natural talks with the highest content quality.