Where do you start when you are writing your speech? A common question asked by many aspiring public speakers.
The three parts of any speech are the Opening, Body and Conclusion. Or as Sir Winston Churchill said, when asked how he put together those brilliant speeches of his; I tell them what I am going to tell them, I tell them and then I tell them what I have just told them.
Sounds simple doesn’t it but many people find they have so much beautiful research that they just have to include it in their presentation. Consequently they often find themselves with long rambling speeches. The first thing in organising your speeches is to know what you want to achieve. Is the speech to inform, inspire or instruct. When you know this then you need to decide what are the three main points you want to get across to the audience and which will achieve your aim?
In a ten minute speech you will probably only have time to present three main points. Use linking phrases such as, “my next point is”, to move from one point to the next. This makes up the body of your speech. From the body you can choose a phrase, statistic, story or question to open your speech.
Remember in your opening you will be telling your audience what you are going to tell them and you are also grabbing their attention. Hey listen to me I have something you need to hear!
You can then construct your conclusion – telling your audience what you have just told them and leaving them with a call to action – what do you want your audience to do with your message – go out and vote, take away ideas for their project or know how to put that machine together.
A well constructed organised speech will take the audience from your opening, through your logical important points to your conclusion. It should flow seamlessly whilst achieving the aim of your speech. If you have a time limit ensure that your speech fits into the time provided.
Once you have written and organised your speech – reread, and reread then polish the rough points until you are ready to shine with a polished professional speech.
Trish @ Trischel