Seven Tips For Writing A Great Speech

A speech is similar to an essay, except that a speech is meant to be spoken, while an essay is meant to be read. In fact, most speeches are usually essays that are read aloud, with a few changes made to keep the audience listening on.

Seven Useful Speech-Writing Tips

If you wish to write a good speech that will keep your audience engaged till the end, here is a list of good speech-writing tips that you can follow:

1. Plan the speech: Before sitting down to write a speech, you should first plan the speech considering the event/occasion, the audience, the tone and the duration. Speeches can be informal, formal, sombre, humorous or business-like, depending on the event and audience it is required for. 
2. Pinpoint the main message/theme: Next, you will need to identify the main theme of the speech, and how you will deliver it to your audience. If it is a wedding speech, the main theme would be ‘congratulatory’, while for business speeches, the theme could range from the launch of a new product, company results, board meetings and so on. 
3. Get your audience’s attention: Make the opening lines of your speech interesting enough to get people listening to the whole speech. You can use a joke, quotation, an anecdote, an assertion or a thought-provoking question while drafting the introduction. This intro should not exceed 30 seconds. 
4. Make a list of the points you wish to cover: Just as you write informative essays, make a list of the things you’d like to speak about in your speech. 
5. Organise this list: Arrange the collected points, so that they support each other. Add or remove points, as required, to make the overall theme of your speech clear. Also ensure that the speech does not exceed the time limit.
6. Main speech content: The main content of your speech is nothing but a smooth transition from one point to another. You can use further jokes and anecdotes between points, to maintain attention and keep the audience from dozing off (which often happens during lengthy speeches). 
7. Write the conclusion: The conclusion of the speech should be just as strong as the introduction. First, summarise the points you earlier spoke about in your speech, before wrapping up with a comment or question that will get your listeners thinking and talking.

Most speeches go through a number of drafts, before they are finally perfected. While drafting your speech, first write it out in full, before keeping it away. After some time, go back to it, evaluate it, and make changes as necessary. Write as many drafts as you need, until you are satisfied that your speech is clear and compelling.

Next, get a few people to review the final draft of your speech. Ask them to find anything that is not appropriate for the event, as well as grammatical errors, organisation flaws, and lack of clarity in thought. Make changes, if required, based on their feedback. Read the speech aloud a few times, and make any other required changes, to ensure the speech sounds good.

Your impressive speech is now ready for the big occasion!

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Whatever the event or occasion, if you require a well-written speech to wow your audience, just email us at info@staredits.com or fill in our Contact Us form now!