2. Speech Writing

Here are a few tips/ guidelines to write your speech

  1. Purpose of speech :  consider what the exact purpose of your speech is ? Is it to influence the audience to take an action, or inspire them or inform them.
  2. Create an outline of speech basis this – laying out its key parts, main ideas, anecdotes/ stories you want to include and the final concluding message
  3. Structure of  speech : Decide what the structure of your speech will be. Will it be chronological, problem vs solution or purely informative
  4. Write the first draft – dont worry about the size. You can always shorten the speech later as needed

Some points to remember

  • Write for the ears and not for the eyes – Avoid the temptation to use overtly complicated words and long sentences. Crisp, short sentences written in a conversational style are best.

  • Less is more – Don’t include too many numbers, rhetorical devices or unusual words in your speech. This has the effect of dazzling the audience and of making it harder for it to connect with your speech’s contents.

  • Remember the rule of 3 – For best impact, focus only on 3 core points or 3 core stories in a speech. Having fewer means losing out on substance but having more runs the risk of losing the audience’s attention.

  • Go with the flow – When your creative juices are running, let them be! Your main priority is to get a first draft written. You can always edit things later and cut out what you feel might be unnecessary. But at first, write on!

  • Edit it mercilessly. If one part of your speech doesn’t fit with the core message of your speech, axe it! Keep track of the length of your script. A rough guideline is 1 minute of speaking = 100 to 120 words.
  • Pay particular attention to your opening and conclusion! The opening must catch the audience’s attention and trigger an interest about the rest of the speech and what will follow. The speech’s conclusion must be powerful and if it includes a call to action of some sorts so much for the better!

It can be very useful to read your speech out loud when editing it. This way sentences or words combinations that are awkward can be spotted far more easily.