You might think of a great speaker as someone who is eloquent yet also sounds as though he or she is speaking without having prepared a written speech. Although that’s possible in certain situations, most speakers spend time preparing in the ways we’ve already discussed in Chapters 12 and 13—writing a speech and preparing an outline of some sort. Deciding just how to prepare for your speech affects, and is affected by, your choice of delivery style. We’ll examine four specific delivery options and the potential benefits and pitfalls of each.