How to Write a Speech

Writing a speech is in many ways like writing a paper, except that there is no penalty for spelling and punctuation errors. Try not to use words you are not comfortable pronouncing or don't know the meaning of because it can lead to a less fluently delivered speech.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Assess how much time your speech should take. If you don't have a time limit, try to keep your speech brief yet informative.
2. Think about your audience and let your perception of the audience shape the tone of your speech as you write it.
3. Begin with an introduction that establishes who you are, what your purpose is, what you'll be talking about and how long you're going to take. You may want to include a joke, anecdote or interesting fact to grab the audience's attention.
4. Organize your information into three to seven main points and prioritize them according to importance and effectiveness.
5. Delete points that aren't crucial to your speech if you have too many for your time frame.
6. Start with your most important point, then go to your least important point and move slowly back toward the most important. For example, if you have five points with No. 5 being the most important and No. 1 being the least important, your presentation order would be 5-1-2-3-4.
7. Add support to each point using statistics, facts, examples, anecdotes, quotations or other supporting material.
8. Link your introduction, points and conclusions together with smooth transitions.
9. Write a conclusion that summarizes each of your points, restates your main purpose and leaves the audience with a lasting impression.

Tips & Warnings

• The introduction should make up about 10 to 15 percent of the total speech. The conclusion should make up 5 to 10 percent.
• When preparing your speech, make your notes easy to read by writing or printing them in large, clear letters.
• Rehearse and time your speech before delivering it. Prune it if necessary. If you'll be presenting a great deal of information, consider using handouts or visual aids to help your audience remember your points.