tips for writing a speech
From boosting the morale of a nation to fighting for freedom, knowing how to write a good speech is quintessential for your success. The art of storytelling, yes a speech is essentially a story, has its masters: Martin Luther King, Emmeline Pankhurst and former Prime Minister Winston Churchill come to mind. We looked at their iconic speeches, added a few tips of our own, and made a list of tips for writing a speech:
- Acknowledge your audience by thanking them for their time and attendance.
- Start with a topic sentence
- Start slow in pace, use long sentences for better effect
- Personal experiences and anecdotes help bolster your points and help you connect with the audience
- Build a crescendo by using shorter sentences and action verbs
- Invoke the desired emotion by asking rhetorical questions in a way that attracts your listeners’ attention
- Before introducing your main point take a few seconds in silence to look at your audience. (Write down the pause, specially if the speech is going to be delivered by another person)
- Slow down again by using the correct transition words and support your POV from a different angle.
- Cite a few sources, if applicable.
- Reiterate your main point, be as memorable as possible.
Vocal delivery includes components of speech delivery that relate to your voice. These include rate, volume, pitch, articulation, pronunciation, and fluency. So, practice as many times as it takes for you to feel comfortable.
In summary your speech will be great if you have passion and purpose!
- Avoid using words you don’t normally use.
- Learn the correct pronunciation of your peers’ names.
Take a look at these iconic speeches for inspiration!
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
“I Have a Dream”
Speech by the Martin Luther King Jr. at the “March on Washington,”
1963 (excerpts)
bromide press print, October 1908
“Freedom or Death”Many people come to Hartford to address meetings as advocates of some reform. Tonight it is not to advocate a reform that I address a meeting in Hartford. I do not come here as an advocate, because whatever position the suffrage movement may occupy in the United States of America, in England it has passed beyond the realm of advocacy and it has entered into the sphere of practical politics. It has become the subject of revolution and civil war, and so tonight I am not here to advocate woman suffrage. American suffragists can do that very well for themselves.
Emmeline Pankhurst
November 13, 1913— Hartford, Connecticut
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