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When I got married in 2008, my 9-year-old son stood on his chair and gave a succinct toast that, even putting aside my fatherly pride, was one of the most successful speeches I鈥檇 ever heard. He introduced himself, made the case for why my wife and I were good people who deserved each other, and wished us well.

Three years later, I was sitting in an auditorium listening to a senior vice president deliver one of the least effective speeches I鈥檇 ever heard. With nothing more than a jumble of thoughts in his head, he rambled, tossed out ideas as they occurred to him and didn鈥檛 know when to stop. It was a tortuous hour for his captive audience. The critical difference between these two speakers wasn鈥檛 age, experience or confidence鈥攖ypical grounds for distinguishing a strong speaker from a weak one鈥攊t was a point. My son had one; my boss鈥� boss鈥� boss did not.

In my 11 years as a public speaking instructor, 15 years as a competitive public speaker, four years as a university speech team coach and five years as a Toastmaster, I鈥檝e seen many people giving speeches, but too few making real points. Most speakers, in fact, confuse a point for a theme, a topic or a title. But a point is different: A point is a contention you can argue, defend and prove with reasoning or data. For example, the point of a speech about unsafe toys isn鈥檛 鈥渦nsafe toys.鈥� It could be: 鈥淧arents need to better protect their children from unsafe toys.鈥� Similarly, the point of a speech about animal cruelty isn鈥檛 鈥渁nimal cruelty.鈥� It could be: 鈥淲e need stronger animal welfare laws to prevent animal cruelty.鈥� Even your Table Topic is stronger when you make a real point: 鈥淢y favorite summer vacation鈥� becomes 鈥淢y summer vacation taught me the value of taking risks.鈥� Or, 鈥淭he superpower I most want鈥� becomes 鈥淚 would use the power of teleportation to make me more efficient.鈥�

So how do you turn a non-point into a point? Start by asking yourself five 颅questions, starting with the most important one.

Do you believe it?

Take the 鈥淚 Believe That鈥� test: Place the words 鈥淚 believe that鈥� in front of what you think is your point and see if your statement is grammatically correct. If it is indeed a complete thought, you鈥檙e well on your way to a real point. If not, rewrite the statement until it would satisfy your middle school English teacher. These three words force you to commit to a contention and make an argument for it.

The 鈥淚 Believe That鈥� test is not only helpful for speeches; it鈥檚 also useful for emails, job interviews, pitches, performance reviews鈥攁ny situation in which you鈥檙e trying to make an impact. Don鈥檛 just take my word for it. Read these famous 鈥淚 believes鈥� and consider what makes them so powerful:

鈥淚 believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.鈥濃�擬artin Luther King Jr.

鈥淚 believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil.鈥� 鈥� Robert F. Kennedy

鈥淚n spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.鈥� 鈥� Anne Frank

Once you鈥檝e passed this test, proceed to the following questions.

Is it a truism?

If your point is instantly true (鈥淚ce cream is delicious.鈥�), dig deeper to find a point you can argue. (鈥淪oft-serve ice cream is the most convenient summertime dessert.鈥�) One way to root out a truism is to follow up the point by asking yourself Why? If it鈥檚 a truism, there won鈥檛 be much of an answer. It answers itself. Another sign of a strong point is a feasible counterpoint. Can someone reasonably take the opposite point of view? If so, proceed.

Am I jamming too many ideas into my point?

Most of us know 鈥渓ess is more,鈥� but we also need to understand 鈥渕ore is less.鈥� If you have multiple thoughts or adjectives to convey, don鈥檛 jam them into a single point like clowns into a Volkswagen. Pick the most important one, focus on it and bring up the others later, one at a time. It may seem like you add value to your point when you add new words and ideas, but when you throw multiple points at an audience in a single sentence, you actually dilute the impact of each one. The audience is not only forced to split their attention between multiple points, but is left clueless as to which idea is more relevant.

Let鈥檚 test this. Which of these statements makes a stronger impact?

鈥淭his approach will improve our productivity, increase our efficiency, reduce our carbon footprint and allow us to expand operations,鈥� or 鈥淭his approach will substantially improve our efficiency, enabling us to put more resources into research and development.鈥�

The statement with the singular focus clearly packs a stronger and more memorable punch.

Am I using 鈥渂adjectives鈥�?

Badjectives are adjectives so broad that they convey no value. They鈥檙e deceptive because they seem to project a clear impression. Who wouldn鈥檛 want to be connected to something 鈥渆xcellent,鈥� 鈥渇antastic,鈥� 鈥渢errific鈥� or 鈥渧ery good鈥�? And of course, they鈥檙e very useful on Twitter.

But being so general robs your point of substance. What does it really mean to call something 鈥済reat鈥�? What makes it great? The audience has no idea. Using badjectives is like when a Little League庐 baseball or softball coach says, 鈥淐ome on now, Johnnie!鈥� versus 鈥淜eep your eye on the ball as it comes to you, Johnnie!鈥� One has no value, but the other makes a substantive point.

Whether you use them in a speech, in an email, in a compliment or even in a Tweet, precise descriptors in your point have a more powerful impact on your audience. So keep digging for words that say what you truly mean.

Can I speak about this for more than a minute?

If you can鈥檛 make the minimum time for a Table Topic, chances are your response does not have much of a point. Take this very tip, for example. I鈥檓 already done in less than a minute. The bottom line: Your point is the foundation of your speech. Without one, you have nothing to build on, and you鈥檙e offering your audience little value. In essence, you鈥檙e pointless. But armed with a strong point, you present to your audience an idea they can digest, take home and even benefit from. So the next time you convey a thought鈥攚hether standing on a chair or acting as a chairman鈥攄on鈥檛 just describe or discuss it. Make your point, put power behind your words and champion your ideas.