# ✅ Checkpoint: Structure, Voice, and Presence

By Better Wise



## Quiz

1. Which sentence passes the one-message test for a 5-minute talk?
   - Today I want to talk about how we can improve our onboarding flow and also cover retention metrics.
   - In summary, I will cover three areas: onboarding, retention, and support.
   - By the end, new users will reach first value in under 5 minutes, because our first screen does one job.
   - AI in healthcare.
2. Which of these are reliable hook types for opening a business talk? Select all that apply.
   - An agenda slide announcing the three sections you will cover.
   - A startling number, such as 'Forty percent of new users quit in the first ten minutes.'
   - An answerable question that opens a gap the audience wants closed.
   - An apology, such as 'I'm not really an expert, but...'
   - A concrete scene, such as 'Last Tuesday, 4:52 p.m., someone signed up and quit ten minutes later.'
3. A strong hook works by opening a ____ between what the audience already knows and what it suddenly needs to know.
4. What are the three parts of a strong close, in order?
   - Agenda recap, message restated word for word from the open, ask.
   - New statistic, new story, final thank-you.
   - Callback line, message restated in new words, one specific ask.
   - Thank-you, summary of each section, questions invitation.
5. A deliberate keynote pace sits around 130 to ____ words per minute, while nervous speakers typically rush at 170 to 190.
6. Which statements about the three planned pauses are correct? Select all that apply.
   - The beat is about half a second and sits between clauses, where a comma would be.
   - The landing runs 1.5 to 2 seconds and follows the line you want remembered.
   - Filler words like 'um' and 'so' should simply be deleted, leaving nothing in their place.
   - The reset runs 2 to 3 seconds and follows a story or precedes a new section.
   - Silence feels shorter to the speaker than to the room, so lengthen every pause you plan.
7. You are about to present on camera and your hands are trembling. Which response follows the lesson's advice?
   - Watch your own face on screen to check how much the trembling shows.
   - Clasp your hands in front of you and keep them still for the whole talk.
   - Give the hands a job (hold the clicker or gesture deliberately wider) and look at the lens, not your own image.
   - Open by telling the audience you are nervous so they understand.
8. To steady yourself before a talk, use the long exhale: inhale through the nose for 4 and exhale for ____, repeated about four times.
9. Record a 60-second delivery of your talk's open and close only, standing, at full voice. Watch it back on mute first, then with sound, and score yourself against the criteria below.


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## Contents

Part of [🎤 Public Speaking and Storytelling](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling.md)

- **🧭 Delivery Foundations: Structure, Voice, and Presence**
  - [🏗️ One Message, Strong Open, Strong Close](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/talk-architecture-one-message-strong-open-close.md)
  - [🎙️ Voice and Pacing Drills That Hold Attention](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/voice-and-pacing-drills.md) (sign-in required)
  - [🧘 Body Language and Nerves on Your Side](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/body-language-and-managing-nerves.md)
  - [✅ Checkpoint: Structure, Voice, and Presence](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/checkpoint-delivery-foundations.md) — this lesson
- **📖 Storytelling and Live Q&A**
  - [🌀 Story Arcs and Personal Anecdotes That Land](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/story-arcs-and-personal-anecdotes.md)
  - [💬 Handling Q&A Under Pressure](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/handling-qa-under-pressure.md)
  - [✅ Checkpoint: Storytelling and Q&A](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/checkpoint-storytelling-and-qa.md)
- **🎬 Adapt and Deliver: Capstone**
  - [🎛️ Same Talk, Three Rooms: Meetings, Pitches, Presentations](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/adapting-talks-for-meetings-pitches-presentations.md)
  - [🎥 Capstone: Build and Record Your 5-Minute Signature Talk](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/capstone-build-and-record-signature-talk.md) (premium content)
  - [✅ Checkpoint: Adaptive Delivery and Capstone](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/checkpoint-adaptive-delivery-capstone.md) (premium content)
- [Course cheatsheet](https://everwise.study/courses/public-speaking-and-storytelling/cheatsheet.md) (premium content)