How to Write a Successful Speech

There is tons of reasons you may have to write speech. It could be an informative speech or maybe a persuasive one. Whatever the case may be, you need a guideline to follow so you don't miss anything. I hope this guideline helps.

Instructions

1. FIRST START WITH THE INTRODUCTION

   Capture Attention

   Whether you use a shocking statistic, ask the audience a thought-provoking question, hook them with a powerful anecdote, or engage them in a short activity, you must capture their attention early and link how you capture attention with your purpose. Listening to you speak is a decision each member of audience must make; it doesn't happen just because they are seated in front of you and you are the speaker.

2. State the Thesis

   The thesis or purpose of the speech must be made early and clearly. Do not merely just state a topic. This is vague and may not give the audience enough reason to listen to your message. For example, if a speaker states: "Today I'm going to talk about healthcare" instead of "Today I'd like to explore a vital issue in healthcare: Herbal medications and supplements - their benefits and limitations," more people would be inclined to daydream or wonder what the speaker will eventually cover, usually resulting in inattention. Be specific with your thesis - don't just state a topic.

3. Preview Main Points

   Audiences want structure. They want to know up front where you are going to take them during the body of the speech. Previewing has many benefits: it gives them a mental image of upcoming talking points, it demonstrates that you have planned and structured your speech around key ideas (which boosts your perceived credibility among them), and it just shows professional courtesy as to how you will utilize their time.

4. Motivate Audience to Listen (Relevance)
   Lastly, the audience must understand how the topic relates to them. In persuasion, you must give the audience a reason or "payoff" for listening to you. No one in your audience cares as much about how interesting your topic is, how credible you are, or how well-organized your information is as they do about "what's in it for them." You must make it clear that by adopting your position the audience will reap tangible benefits. How will your proposed solution save them money, make them manage time better, be healthier, be a better parent/employee, live longer, etc.

5. NEXT YOU WILL TRANSITION TO THE BODY OF THE SPEECH - Make it clear!

   Keep your main points brief and specific.

   Try using short, memorable phrases instead of long sentences. Even with persuasion, where your main points will probably be stated as claims, keep them short.

6. Let your sub-points substantiate and prove your main points.

   The word sub-point comes from the word "subordination," which means a logical order. Just like strategy (How to do well in an interview) has tactics (Allow the interviewer to bring up salary expectations), so follows main points and sub-points. Give this part of your organization close and careful thought. Not doing so may result in confusing or even losing your audience's attention or concentration.

7. Incorporate a rich variety of sources and support material in your sub-points.

   This is where you validate and prove the relevance of your sub-points. Whether you use statistics, facts, examples, testimonials (expert or peer), anecdotes, narratives, or other support material, make sure to keep it varied. Even an audience of aerospace engineers may see your speech as a little one-dimensional or even boring if you only use statistics in each of your sub-points. Likewise, if you only use anecdotes or narratives to clarify sub-points, there may be no tangible value to your speech other than some inspiring and heart-warming stories. Strive for variety and your audience will perceive you as more credible, the speech will be more interesting, and your main points will be remembered for a longer period of time.

8. In persuasion, include a combination of logical, emotional, and character appeals.

   Aristotle emphasized it over 2000 years ago, and today's most successful persuaders will mostly agree, a persuasive speech must appeal to the audience on three vital levels. Logical appeals (Logos) addresses how your audience reasons. Whether inductive (specific multiple instances to a general, hypothetical conclusion) or deductive (presenting general assumptions to a specific conclusion), most people reason in these two ways when making a decision. The speaker must understand that a claim must be supported by verifiable and relevant proof. This proof or evidence must sometimes be accompanied with a warrant, which substantiates or clarifies the evidence in terms they can relate to. Emotional appeals (Pathos) can build common ground between the speaker and the audience. By connecting with the audience on an issue such as the work ethic, patriotism, or other common values and utilizing strong vivid language with emotionally-charged words, the speaker is conveying an emotional appeal. However, if the speaker creates an unwarranted or unjustified disposition of making the audience feel fear, shame, blame, guilt, etc., then the speaker is not ethically using an emotional appeal. He/she is instead using coercion, a mild form of mind control. Character appeals (Ethos) were defined by Aristotle as how a speaker addresses his/her own "moral character." This has nothing to do with what church you attend, how spiritual you are, or what denomination you are or are not. It simply means do you provide honest, straightforward information in an easy to understand method. Moral character does include building trustworthiness, showing sincerity, and reflecting enthusiasm toward your audience. Just remember during your delivery to tell the truth and keep your word as priority number one.

9. Make transitions between main ideas clear.

   The bridges you build between main points are your transitions. Although simple to do, many speakers fail to include clear transitions in speeches. Transitions also allow you to take a breath, pause, and perhaps shift your position. No one in your audience should ever have to wonder "Has he finished that first main idea and moved on?" It is the speaker's job to include clear transitions between the introduction and body of the speech, as well as last body point to the conclusion. Equally important are transitions between main points.

10. NOW IT IS TIME FOR THE CONCLUSION TO YOUR SPEECH

    Restate the thesis.

    If the speech purpose was persuasive, also re-state your position on the topic. Make sure the audience has absolutely no doubt about your position. Make the re-statement as conversational as possible, preventing the tendency to sound too "canned" or scripted.

11. Summarize Main Points.

    Briefly re-cap key ideas or points. There is no need to reiterate any sub-points. If the speech was persuasive and problem-solution outlining was used, just re-state overall problem and your proposed solution mentioned earlier in the speech. Again, keep this as conversational as possible.

12. Give Audience a Call to Action or a Walkaway.

    A call to action asks the audience to do something with the new information they have just heard. You may be asking for specific action or a less subtle request, such as a challenge of a new way to think about your topic. A recent speech about Nursing Home Abuse used the following call to action (paraphrased): "Now that you know about the proven abuses in our nursing homes, I trust you will ask the tough questions and make the real observations before placing your loved one under the care of one of these facilities." A walkaway is a more creative device that utilizes a quote, humor, a story, audience interaction or other technique to bring the message home. A recent speech being presented on the critical importance to educational funding utilized the following: A candle in a tall holder had been burning throughout the speech. In the conclusion, the speaker utilized a walkaway by stating: "If we don't continue to fund and improve out educational efforts, we'll not only put out the fire and passion of learning, but we'll also drown out the beacon that draws so many to pursuing a higher education." The speaker then blew out the candle, making the room noticeably darker.

13. Open the Floor to Questions and Comments.

    Give the audience time to think through their questions. Nothing can hurt your credibility worse than appearing to be in a hurry to sit down and end the speech. Although you may be feeling this way inside, don't sabotage a good speech. Think about it - if someone in the audience has a question but perceives you as eager to just sit down, they will interpret this as the speaker doesn't really want to answer my question anyway. Or , the speaker doesn't really care about my question.