Can I articulate my position, my stance, my big idea, in one sentence?
I was trying to say too much and, as result, I was saying nothing. Many speakers feel this way when they write speeches. They have too many ideas competing for attention and too many themes pulling them in different directions. There's no through-line to hold their arguments together and, so, their content feels jumbled and confused. What's more, they lack a big idea — a powerful insight, perspective, or thought that serves as the backbone of their presentation; the big idea is the spine that holds everything up.
Distilling your message into a single sentence will make your writing flow better, and make your key points easier to arrange. Think of the single sentence as a lighthouse guiding you through fog. If you become overwhelmed with an abundance of data or competing themes, the single sentence will help you stay on track. It will help inform the choices you make regarding what information to keep and what to set aside in your speech. Any piece of data, story, or anecdote that doesn't jive with your single sentence will wind up sidetracking and diluting your message.