[qznc]

The article does describe more than just the calligraphy, although that certainly is the main focus. Example of preparation unrelated to calligraphy:

> Mortimer Adler suggests making a detailed outline of the speech and then using those as notes. I wasn’t familiar with how to do this so I gave the speech like I would usually do and recorded it on my phone. It was excruciating to listen to myself but I did it. Took around 45 minutes. I transcribed everything I said onto paper and that gave me my first draft.

[convolvatron]

I agree. the calligraphy was in some sense the excuse for going over and over the talk and making the result a considered effort. I think many speakers have the same problem I do. I stop being able to look at my own work far too early, and have to really force myself to go through more than two passes.

Practice talks help a lot, not even because of the feedback from other people but because it forces me to pay attention to what I've done and how lacking it is. (edit: obviously feedback is helpful too)

maybe if I wrote it out multiple times in longhand I would make sure to finish all my thoughts/sentences and actually read the thing through