How to Write a Speech for a Public Forum Debate

Speaking in front of an audience can be daunting. When you are speaking as part of a debate, your goal is to sway the opinions of the majority of the public in your favor. This is feasible only if you do your homework and prepare a speech, or at least prepare an outline of what you plan to say and what subjects you want to address.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Know thy audience

1. Find out who you're going to be speaking to, if possible. Are you talking to graduate students? High school pupils? People at a town hall meeting? Ask the people organizing the public debate forum if they know who will be attending. Knowing who you are going to be talking to will alleviate some of the pressure of speaking before a crowd.

2. Tailor your speech to suit your audience. If you're speaking to high school students, you may want to use simpler language and include references they can relate too, such as anything related to modern pop culture. If you are speaking to an elderly audience, you may want to address issues that affect them, such as healthcare or reforms for senior citizens. Again, this depends on the topic of your debate and the argument you're going to be making. Do your best to personalize what you're going to say.

3. Show, don't just tell. Promote the issues and stances you are pushing by giving examples of why and how they work. Real-life examples work wonders and sound more convincing than just dry words and promises. If you are talking about introducing better traffic laws in a community, give examples of how existing laws failed to prevent accidents and who was affected by them. Alternatively, show how similar laws to the ones you are promoting helped lower traffic accidents elsewhere.

4. Research your topic and sub-topics on the Internet and use examples of what you've learned in your speech. Make sure to cite credible sources, such as newspapers, magazines or medical or academic journals.

5. Ask people in advance what issues they would like to see addressed in the debate. This includes members of the community or any other people affected by the issues you are discussing, not necessarily people who are going to be participating in the debate in person. When you write your speech, use their stories as real-life examples.

6. Avoid talking negatively about the views of the opposing side of the debate. Politicians tend to use a lot of finger-pointing during public debates and talk more negatively about their competitor rather than talk positively about themselves or their platform. This often makes a person look arrogant and unsure of themselves and their views.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not ramble and speak too fast, but do not dwell on one sub-topic, either. You want to make your points concise and understandable to all.