The PREP framework is an easy and effective way to give a short, impromptu speech. If you have ever been called up to speak at short notice, you know how stressful it can be. PREP is an acrostic that stands for Point, Reason, Example, and Point.
- Point (claim): The claim says what you think. State your case. Start by stating your main point, claim, or proposition. In a short speech, it’s best to focus on just one point so that you don’t lose your audience. In a longer speech, use a series of PREPs to make different points and support them.
- Reasons: A reason says why you think that. Give reasons to explain why your point is true. Support or back up your case with evidence from research, facts, data, statistics, or the scriptures (if you are giving a religious speech). This adds credibility to your case.
- Examples/Illustrations: Give one or more examples/illustrations to support your main point (case) and the reasons given above. This is a good place to tell a powerful, pertinent story. Testimonies may also be used here. Also, engage the testimony of scholars/experts to 1) Show how a lot of scholars support your views and 2) Show how others have a different argument.
- Point: Conclude by showing how your position is right (both scientifically, biblically, practically, etc) in spite of the arguments against it and restating your argument. This helps your audience to remember it.
PREP can be used for both short and long speeches. Another way to frame PREP is to take each key point and 1) State it, 2) Explain it, 3) Show it, and 4) Conclude it. Those four steps are essentially what you do with PREP. Point (States it), Reason (Explains it), Example (Shows it), and Point (Concludes it).
I believe the PREP framework is an easy and effective way to give a short impromptu speech because it reduces the stress involved with public speaking, especially at short notice, by giving you a short acrostic to follow in your head as you speak. In addition to giving you a pathway to follow, the letters serve as reminder cues to help you think of something to say.
Example
Here is an example of PREP used to make a short speech at a party for a colleague who is leaving an organization.
Main point: Steph’s departure is going to be a big loss for our organization, and we will miss her tremendously.
Reasons: Steph hasn’t only been a co-worker. She has also been a friend and a sister to all of us. I speak for everyone when I say that we could always count on her to be there for any of us. In addition to that, Steph is a very talented web designer, partner-relations coordinator, and office manager.
Examples to support the main point and reasons: Our current beautiful website was Steph’s work. She was responsible for everything on the site, including the content. Even though it was a very difficult task, she worked with a great attitude and collaborated with all of us to get our ideas so that she could create a website that we would all love. Since creating the site, we have increased our number of website visitors and also the number of people donating to KAF. Steph has also done a fantastic job of building relationships with our partners that have resulted in us ministering to them and them generously giving to support our mission. In addition to all these, she has been great at managing the office and keeping everything really organized.
Restate the main point to conclude: These are just a few reasons why Steph’s departure is going to be a big loss for our organization, and we are going to miss her tremendously.
