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Writing speeches isn't a job for the weak hearted. Or is that giving a speech? Actually, if writing an informative speech isn't handled well the speech will be pretty scary indeed. Writing a speech involves structure; a beginning, a middle and an end. Pretty basic right? Not so. Writing a good speech entails having a purpose and knowing your audience. Determine the purpose of your speech. Will you be entertaining, informing, or inspiring your audience? Hopefully all three. Set specific goals and create an outline. Know how much time you have and plan your speech accordingly. Who will be your audience? Are you the best man at a wedding or the keynote speaker at a medical convention? If your subject is unfamiliar to your audience reflect that in your writing. Speech topics that are unfamiliar need time to engage the audience and gain their trust. If you don't know your audience how will you know how your message will affect them? Believe it or not the first 30 seconds of your speech are probably the most important. That is your window of opportunity to grab your audience's attention and get them interested. The driest of topics can be made interesting but until you grab their attention you have no chance to let them know how fun your speech will be! You might know the more effective speech writing techniques to engage your audience such as, a thought-provoking question, a controversial statement, a relevant quotation, or a humorous joke or anecdote. Now that you have their attention move to the middle of your speech fluidly. This is where speech writing expertise really comes into play. Make your point in as few words as possible. Don't drone on. Be concise and succinct. Organize this part of your speech writing and then stick to your outline. If you started out with humor sprinkle it throughout the rest of your speech. This is where your timing on the speech writing will be critical. Now that you have made your point move to the closing. Just like your beginning, grab them and present your strongest material. You can summarize your points, provide a reflective question to keep them thinking, leave your audience with positive memories of you and your carefully written speech, and close with a final thought.
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Writing Speeches
