How to Write a Speech

A succinct explanation of 'How to Write a Speech'

1. How to Write a
Speech

2. 1. Greetings & Self-Introduction
Thefirstthingtodoinanyspeechistogreetyour
audienceandintroduceyourself.
Eg:“Goodmorningoneandall,mynameisThomas,
andI’mheretodaytotalktoyouabout…”
Ifyouaremakingaspeechtoyourclassmates
Yourlanguagecanbemorecasual.Yourclassmates
alreadyknowwhoyouare,soyoucouldsay;“Hi
everyone.Mostofyouknowmealreadyknowme-
myname’sAshok.”

3. 2. Make a Great Opening Statement
Craftanintroductionthatwillcaptivateyourtarget
audience.
1.Arhetoricalquestion
Rhetoricalquestionsarequestionsthatyoudon’texpect
youraudiencetoanswerbutmakethemthink.
Eg:“I’mheretotalktoyouaboutwhatordinarypeoplecando
tofightagainstclimatechange.Why?Becausewe’rerunning
outoftimetoact.”
Asurprisingstatement
Afamousquote
Eg:“Asawiserwomanthanmeoncewrote:‘Itisourchoices,
thatshowwhatwetrulyare,farmorethanourabilities.’”

4. 3. Structure Your Speech
Tostructureyourspeechandmakeiteasyforyour
audiencetounderstandyourpoint,splititintothree
sections:Introduction,mainbody,andconclusion.
IntheIntroduction,youraimistotellyouraudiencewho
youareandwhatyou’retalkingabout.Then,youwantto
grabtheirattention.
Themainbodyofyourspeechiswhereyoumakeyour
arguments.Dividethismainbodyinto2-3points,and
separateeachpointintodifferentparagraphs.
Attheend,comestheconclusion.Agoodconclusiontakes
everythingyousaidandsumsitup.

5. 4. Begin Every Paragraph with a
Topic Sentence
Becauseyou’redividingyourspeechintoseparate
paragraphs,it’simportanttomakeitclearwhat
eachsectionisabout.Todothat,ensurethatyou
havetopicsentencesforeachparagraph.

6. 5. Express Your Opinion
Opinionsaretheelementthatmakeaspeech
interesting.Whateveryouarewritingaspeech
about,expressyourpersonalopinion.
Don’tjustwriteaboutyourtopic,writewhatyou
thinkaboutit.

7. 6. Write from the 1st person and
Engage your Audience
Whenwritingyourspeech,alwaysensurethatyou
writeusingthe1stperson.Thismeans,use“I”as
youwrite.Youmayalsousepronounssuchas“we”
and“you”Bydoingthis,youraudiencewillrecognise
thatwhatyou’resayingisyouropinion.
Eg:“I’msureyou’dallagreethat...”,or“Asa
community,weneedto…”.

8. 7. Use Personal Details and
Anecdotes
Everygoodspeechwriteraimstomaketheaudience
relatetothem.Ifyouraudiencerelatestoyou,theyare
farmorelikelytoagreewithwhatyou’resaying.
Oneofthebestwaystodothatistotellashortstory
aboutyourself,orprovideshortpersonaldetails.You
don’twanttospendtoomuchtimetalkingabout
yourselfandnotaboutyourargument,butsmall
detailswillbringyourspeechtolife.

9. 8. Use Emotive Language
Emotivelanguageisoneofthemostbasic,butmost
effectivetoolsaspeechwritercanuse.
Inyourspeech,thingsshouldn’tsimplybedescribed
justas“good”or“bad”.Theyshouldbe“fantastic”or
“horrible”,“pure”or“corrupted”,“exciting”or
“disappointing”.Noticehowtheseexamplewords
expressmorethanjust“good”or“bad”,theyalsoadd
otherflavourstoyourdescription.

10. 9. Use Figurative Language
Figurative language creates powerful images in your audience’s
mind. There are many types of figurative language, but these are
the main ones you should focus on using in your speech:
•Simile-Describing something to be like something else. For
instance, “She has eyes like a hawk”, “He’s thin as a twig”, or
“They’re fighting like cats and dogs”.
•Metaphor-Describing something by using a word that isn’t
literally relevant. For example, “I’m feeling blue”, or “The
weather was bitterlycold”.
Imagery-Using words to make you imagine how they would
affect your senses. For example; “A sweetapple”, “A sharppin”,
or “The lion roared”.

11. 10. Use contrast and Repetition
Contrastisapowerfultechnique.Ithighlightsyour
pointbecauseoftheclashofimageryitcreatesinthe
audience’smind.
Youcanexploitthisbyusingcontrastingwordsand
phrasesinyoursentences.Forinstance;“Ilovewriting,
butIhatewritingessays”.
Repetitionisforemphasis.Repetitionismemorable.
Repetitionisoneofmanypersuasivetechniqueswhich
willhelpyougetagoodgrade.