How To Write and Give A Speech

Your voice could change the world! Don't let yourself think that you can't give a speech, or that no one cares what you have to say. Martin Luther King gave a speech. Think about the impact he had. Anyone can have that impact! Use your voice!

1. Coming Up With A Topic

Before you can give your speech, you are obviously going to have to write it. Writing a speech is much like writing an essay. Before you can do any writing, you are going to need a topic. Maybe one has already been assigned to you! If it has been, then you are all set! Maybe you have been given a topic, but need to narrow it done. For example, maybe your teacher told you to give a speech on a great need in society, you can narrow your topic down to "community service". Make sure you pick a topic on something you know about (or can at least research). Also, make sure it is something you enjoy. If you don't seem to be interested in your topic, then neither will your audience.

2. Writing the Speech

Before you write the speech, you need to come up with a basic outline first.
You need to come up with the following in your outline:
1. An introduction
2. A body
3. A conclusion

INTRO:
To make a good introduction, you need a hook. Just like when you're trying to catch fish, you put a hook in the water with some bait on it. Once the fish goes after the bait, they are caught on the line and the fish is yours! A speech is the same way! With a good hook in the intro, your audience will be "attracted" to your speech, and then they are yours!

BODY:
The body is the main part of your speech. This is what your speech is all about! You already have your topic, so you know what you're going to talk about. Now, you need to take that idea, and narrow it down to points. Typically a good speech has about 3 points to it.

CONCLUSION:
A good conclusion sums up everything you said in your speech, and reminds your audience what they should get out of this. The best way to end your conclusion is to give a challenge. Generally, you can close with a quote, as well.

Once you have an outline, just expound upon each point. How much should you expound? That depends on how long you want your speech to be. If its short, then just add a couple important sentences about each point. If it can be a bit longer, then say a bit more. If you have alot of time, then you may want to come up with more points instead of rambling on and on about each point. (Unless your points are detailed and you can say enough things about each point to fill your time, without boring your audience.) After you do that, then your speech is written!

3. Memorized or Notecards?

After you have your speech written, it's up to you to decide how you will deliver it. Will you use notecards? Memorize it? Use a sheet of paper with the whole speech on it? The best way to do it is to have it memorized. You may not be comfortable with that, though, especially if you are new to public speaking. In that case, it is recommended to use notecards. It is generally not a good idea to go up and give a speech with pieces of paper with your whole speech written on it.

Making notecards is very easy. All you need to do is put your intro, main points, and conclusion on them! Don't write down every word; just put down the main thoughts of each part of the speech. If you do use your notecards, try to look at them only when you need them or when you get stuck.

4. Practice!!!

1. stand in front of a mirror and give the speech to yourself. critique yourself.
2. set up a camera or have someone record you giving your speech. then watch yourself and again, critique yourself.
3. practice to a group of friends or family and ask their opinion. ask what they liked, and ask what you can do better

On the Day of the Speech

Everyone gets nervous before they give a speech. No matter how many times you speak, that nervous feeling won't go away just before you give a speech! (But you can learn to ignore it over time.) Just remember your notecards if you made some, and take a deep breath. You know what you're talking about. You have your notecards. You've practiced this speech several times, in front of several people. You can do this! :)

What helps me the most is praying before I give my speech, then being around my friends until its time to get up and give my speech! Being around your friends helps you take your mind off of it all.

A Word About Impromptus

Impromptus are on the spot, extemporaneous speeches. You are typically given a topic and then given about two minutes to prepare a couple minute speech. You can't do very much to prepare for them before you are given your topic, however, you can practice the general concept. Have random ideas running through your mind about what the possible topic could be. If you have no idea, then just go through random thoughts in your mind. Think about current events or issues. Have friends or family think up random topics for you to prepare impromptus on and then work on them. Practice coming up with an organized speech (i.e.- intro with a good hook, organized points, and a solid conclusion). Then, practice giving it. If you mess up while you give an impromptu speech, don't worry too much about it. Even the best of speaker's have problems giving speeches on the spot.

quote from Mark Twain

Quotes

Every good speech needs at least one quote. Finding just the right quote can be a hard task, though! In order to find a good one, you need to know your sources. I recommend Brainy Quote and The Quote Garden. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is a good book, as well. Once you have your sources, you need to determine just exactly what kind of quote you need. This will obviously vary depending on your speech. Is your speech a historical speech? Find a quote by someone in history who was talking about that subject! Maybe your speech is persuading someone to have a higher level of self esteem! If that is the case, then maybe you could use a quote from someone who encouraged self esteem! Once you have vaguely decided something of what you need, then simply search for it! You can search for quotes pretty easily on Brainy Quote or The Quote Garden. Check out a couple different quotes to make sure you find one that sounds JUST right. Once you think you have found it, make sure you find an appropriate place to put it. This could be your introduction. Or, maybe it is a challenging quote, and you could use it as your conclusion. Maybe it backs up one of your points! Find where it goes, and put it there!

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