How to write talking points

When you will need it

Step by step

1. Identify the single message the Member must land.
2. Write three points maximum, each one sentence, each sayable in one breath.
3. Support each point with one fact or one story — not both.
4. Write the pivot: how to return to the message from an off-topic question.
5. Draft answers to the three hardest questions.
6. Read it aloud and cut every clause that trips you.
7. Keep it to one page or one card.

What good looks like

• Each point can be said in a single breath
• The Member sounds like themselves
• There is one clear message, not five competing ones
• Hard questions have prepared, honest answers

Common mistakes

• Writing paragraphs instead of points
• Too many messages, so none lands
• Points that sound written rather than spoken
• No plan for the question the office does not want

Staffer tips

• Use contractions. People speak in contractions.
• Ban statistics longer than five words.
• Give the Member permission language for what they will not answer.