Speech Tips - speech writing and public speaking

Free speech writing and public speaking help has been available at Speech Tips since March 2000. Whether you need to prepare a wedding speech or funeral eulogy, deliver a business speech or speak at a masonic evening, if you are attending a graduation or retirement, our goal is to take you from nervous speechwriter and potentially novice speech maker to being a confident, successful orator.

Speech Tips will guide you step-by-step from the speech planning process, through the speech writing stage, to preparation for your public speaking engagement and ultimately to delivery of the speech itself. Feel free to follow our public speaking course step-by-step or dive in at any point.



Free speechwriting and public speaking course directory
Section 1 - How to write a speech

1. Planning a speech
The purpose of planning a speech phase is to discover what you want to write, what you ought to write, and what you should omit from your completed speech.
a. Public speaking occasion
The nature of the occasion will obviously have a great bearing on your speech. The occasion will dictate not only the content of your speech, but also the duration, the tone, and the expectations of your audience. For example, humor may be inappropriate during a business presentation or a eulogy, while it may be welcome during a wedding speech, or a sports event. You should also be aware of your role and any observances that you should make during your speech (For example, a Best Man ought to close his speech with a toast to the Bride and Groom).
b. The speech theme
At the heart of every speech is a message. Your job as a public speaker is to pass that message to your audience and in so doing, convey a theme, evoke an emotion or elicit a response - be it emotional or otherwise.

c. The people
1.The subject(s) of your speech
My favorite way to collect my thoughts about the subject(s) is to use a piece of paper with helpful headings over blank paragraphs as an aid to your brainstorming. Samples of headings could be:
,First impressions .Fond memories Favorite Quotes Funny moments Features &
2.Associates of the Subject(s)

Associates of the subject(s) may include parents, siblings or other family members, friends or colleagues, and especially their husband, wife or fiance. These people are extremely important as a source for additional information about the subject of your speech.

3. audience, of course, are a critical part of delivering a speech. We will discuss the audience in detail under the topics Writing a speech and How to deliver a speech.

At this stage of planning, it is important to realize that your audience are not there to be lectured at. Your public speaking goal is to do one or more of the following:

* Engage your audience
* Stimulate your audience
* Entertain your audience
* Pique your audience's interest
* Convey a message, theme or order

4. none human

Note that even when the topic is non-human, a compelling story can often be told by focusing on the people involved - for example the inventors or engineers of a product, modern or historical figures of a country, or proponents or opponents of an argumentative thesis.

2. Writing a speech
By setting out a few clear goals before you start writing your speech, you will be better equipped to judge its progress and success of your speech prior to its public airing. A hilarious Best Man speech may have your audience rolling in the aisles, but if you fail to give tribute to the Bride and Groom you will have failed in your role.
1. Speech structure- How to organize your speech
Opening

The first thirty seconds of your speech are probably the most important. In that period of time you must grab the attention of the audience, and engage their interest in what you have to say in your speech. This can be achieved in several ways. For example you could raise a thought-provoking question, make an interesting or controversial statement, recite a relevant quotation or even recount a joke. Once you have won the attention of the audience, your speech should move seamlessly to the middle of your speech.
Body

The body of your speech will always be the largest part of your speech. At this point your audience will have been introduced to you and the subject of your speech (as set out in your opening) and will hopefully be ready to hear your arguments, your thoughts or even your ramblings on the subject of your speech.
Closing

Like your Opening, the Closing of your speech must contain some of your strongest material. You should view the closing of your speech as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to:

* – Summarize the main points of your speech
* – Provide some further food for thought for your listeners
* – Leave your audience with positive memories of your speech
* – End with a final thought/emotion
2. Outline
Create a speech outline

Opening
Introduce myself
Body
Pay tribute to key participants
Recount how I became friends with groom
Describe some of the groom's best traits - with humor
Words of advice to Groom from a married man
Closing
Ask the audience to be upstanding
Raise a toast to the bride and groom
Pay tribute to key participants
3. Drafts


Speech draft

"As my perspiring brow and nervous demeanor might suggest, I am honored to introduce myself as the Best Man for today's wonderful occasion. I will not be speaking for long today because of a throat problem. John says he will cut it if I bring up any embarrassing stories about him."
4. Feedback
At this stage you have got the speech to a point where you are quite happy, possibly even very happy. That's great. The day for your public speaking debut is fast approaching.
Examples of feedback you should seek include:

* Inappropriate content
* Error(s) of omission
* Grammatical problems
* Appropriate use of humor

5. Final version
Congratulations!

You started this process with a blank piece of paper. You now have a final version of your speech. That's great!

Section 2 - How to deliver a speech
It's time to commence your public speaking career and deliver a speech in public. You're probably nervous now, but that's okay. There is much preparation you can do that will put your mind at ease and make your public speaking event a comfortable, even enjoyable, day.

3. Preparing to make a speech
1. Preparing to make a speech
In this section we take a large imposing task and breaking it into a small number of very manageable tasks. In this section you will learn how to familiarize yourself with my Four Corners of Speechmaking:

* Your speech
* Your audience
* The public speaking venue
* Yourself, the novice public speaker.


2. Your speech
3. The Audience
4. The venue
5. Public speaking props
4. Delivering a speech
1. Speech tips

Section 3 - Speech Help