I used to be a speechwriter, and one of the first principles I learned was this classic formula for how to construct a speech:

• Tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em.
• Tell ‘em.
• Tell ‘em what you told ‘em.

Now Helen Coster rejects that formula in an article for Fortune. Citing Steve Jobs’ well-known 2005 commencement address at Stanford University (which has enjoyed 2 million+ views on YouTube), in which Jobs began: “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life.”

“Get right into the story and let the audience know what your talk will be about,” Coster advises. Coster quotes Nick Morgan of Public Words, Inc., a speech-coaching and speechwriting firm: “… jump right in with a framing story that suggests what the topic is without giving it all away, a statistic, a question or some kind of interaction with the audience.”

I look forward to trying this approach next time I write a speech.