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You are the only you that's existed in all of human history. Your experiences are yours and yours alone. Some of those experiences have taught you things that are absolutely worth sharing with an audience. And that's what we're here to learn how to do. Once you've found an idea that you're excited to share with an audience, you're ready to start putting a talk together. The purpose of a talk is to say something meaningful. But many talks never quite do that. The number one reason this happens is that a speaker does not have a proper plan for the talk as a whole. They may have planned what to say point by point or sentence by sentence, but did not plan how everything in the talk would link up to deliver a meaningful message. There’s a helpful word that people use to analyze plays, movies, and novels. It applies to talks, too. The word is throughline. The throughline of a talk is the main idea that ties together everything the speaker presents. Every talk should have a throughline. That doesn't mean a talk must only cover one topic, or only tell a single story, or proceed in only one direction. It just means that everything in the talk should connect to support the main idea. Here’s the start of a talk without a throughline: “I want to share with you some experiences I had during my recent trip to Cape Town, and then make a few observations about life on the road.” Now here’s the start of a talk where the throughline is made clear from the start: “On my recent trip to Cape Town, I learned something new about strangers, when you can trust them, and when you definitely can’t. Let me share with you two very different experiences I had.” The version without a throughline might work for your family, but the version with a throughline is more exciting for a general audience. Here are the throughlines of some popular TED Talks: “More choice actually makes us less happy.” “Vulnerability is something to be treasured, not hidden from.” “Let’s bring on a quiet revolution— a world redesigned for introverts.” “A history of the universe in 18 minutes shows a journey from chaos to order.” “Terrible city flags can reveal surprising design secrets.” “A ski trek to the South Pole threatened my life and changed my sense of purpose.” Remember lesson one when we compared a talk to a journey that a speaker and an audience go on together? If a talk is a journey, then the throughline is the path that journey takes. Following the path of a throughline makes sure there are no impossible leaps. By the end of the talk, the speaker and the audience have arrived together at a satisfying destination. So, how do you figure out your throughline? Pick an idea that can be properly explored in the time you have to give your talk. Then make sure everything you include in your talk links back to this main idea. Creating a great talk that fits into a limited period of time can be hard work. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. The wrong way is to include all the points you think you need, but cover them as briefly as possible— maybe skipping out on details or examples. You can create a short script this way with every topic you want to cover included in summary form. You may even think there’s a throughline connecting it all together. But throughlines that connect a great many things don’t often work. If you rush through many different topics without exploring them deeply, your points won’t land with any force. It’s a simple equation: overstuffed equals under-explained. To say something meaningful in a talk, you have to take the time to do at least two things. First, you have to show why what you have to say matters. What is the question you're trying to answer? What's the problem you're trying to solve? What's the experience you're trying to share? Second, you have to flesh out each point you make with real examples, stories, and facts. This is how an idea that’s important to you can be built in someone else’s mind. To give a really good talk, you may have to cut back on how many topics you want to cover and instead focus on a single connected thread— a throughline— that you have time to present thoroughly and completely. This is the right way to make a great talk fit into a limited amount of time. You may make fewer points than you would without a throughline, but the points you do make will have more of an impact. Less can be more. Choosing a throughline will help you determine which topics to include in your talk and which to leave out. It will help you filter out anything that doesn't connect to your main idea. If you’re having trouble focusing your throughline, a good exercise is to try to say it in no more than 15 words. What is the precise idea you want to build inside your listeners? What do you want them to take away from your talk? Here are some questions to ask yourself as you’re working out your throughline: Is this a topic that means something to me? Does it inspire curiosity? Does it offer the audience a new way of looking at something? Is my talk a gift? Does it ask a question? Is the information fresh or unexpected in some way? Can I truly explain the topic in the time I have, complete with necessary examples? Do I know enough about the topic, or do I need to do some research? Does this topic connect to my experience? What are the 15 words that capture my talk? Would those 15 words make someone interested to hear my talk? A speaking coach named Abigail Tenembaum recommends testing your throughline out on someone. Saying everything you'd like to include in your talk out loud will help you notice which bits are clear, which bits could use more explanation, and which bits should be cut in order for your central message to land more powerfully. Once you have your throughline, you’re ready to plan what you’ll attach to it. Whether your time limit is two minutes, 18 minutes, or an hour, remember: only cover as much as you have time to really explore in depth.