How do you introduce an audience in a speech?
In order to write a speech, you need to think about your audience, the required length, and the purpose or topic. This is true whether you are writing a wedding speech, conference presentation, investor pitch, or any other type of speech. Show Being a great speech writer can help you get a promotion, motivate people, sell a business idea, persuade others and much more – it’s an essential skill in the modern world. In this article, we cover key tips for writing a speech. Initial planning - Why? Who? What?You should invest time strategically considering the speech. This will help you decide on the key message and content about your topic. Here are some points to consider. Why?
Who?
What?
Popular speech structureYou need to catch the audience attention early, very early (see section below). Deliver a memorable beginning, a clear middle and structured ending. Popular speech structure: Opening Main Point
Secondary Point (Optional: supports main)
Tertiary Point (Optional: supports secondary and main)
Closing Build Career Skills OnlineFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Attention span of your audienceResearch shows that attention span is greatest at the beginning of a speech, reduces considerably during the middle of your speech and picks up again towards the end when your audience know you about to finish. Don't try to put too many ideas into your speech. Research shows that people remember very little from speeches, so just give them one or two ideas to hang onto. These two articles explain audience attention span in more detail, and how to write a speech to extend it: Speech introductionMake sure your opening few seconds are memorable as this is when your audience will make up their minds about you. Use a bold sentence to grab their attention, works best with numbers reinforcing your point. An example sentence might be – "After this speech, I’m confident 50% of you will go out and buy a VR headset." Follow these tips on how to write a speech intro: Remember the INTRO modelThis is more focused on presentations but sections can be applied broadly to other general speeches. 1. Interest You: Introduce yourself confidently and clearly 2. Needs You: Remind the audience the reasons for this speech 3. Timing You: State length of speech at beginning, “Over the next 15 minutes” 4. Routemap You: State the main points, “Today I’m going to cover 4 main points” 5. Objectives You: Clearly state the objective, “By the end of this speech, I would like to…” Example: Great speech openingThis speech opening is by Jamie Oliver, giving a TED talk on teaching every child about food.
How not to open your speechAvoid the following opening comments:
Middle of the speechThe body of your speech is where the majority of the information is. The audience has been introduced to the subject and reasons for the speech. Now you need to present your arguments and examples, data, illustrations backing up your key message. How to write a speech body can be difficult, the best way to build this section is to write down three points you are trying to convey in your speech, your main, secondary and tertiary points. Then write down three descriptions clarifying each of these points. The descriptions should be simple, memorable and meaningful. The middle of your speech is where the audience start losing attention. Keep this in mind and ensure your message is clear. Use images, jokes and rhetoric questions to keep the audience engaged. Don’t overwhelm your audience with many points. It is much more valuable to make a small number of points well, than to have too many points which aren’t made satisfactorily. Obama and his speechesObama’s speeches are well prepared with a focus on powerful words “A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things“. His speeches use simple language and quotes from famous speeches his listeners can relate to. For additional trademark Obama techniques, check out How Barack Obama prepares his speeches. Build Career Skills OnlineFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Start a Free TrialHow to end a speechSimilar to the opening, your closing statements should be impactful, re-stating the key message of your speech. We advise learning your ending few lines word for word. The ending is an opportunity to:
Methods to end your speechQuotation Close – use a famous quote to get the audience’s attention and create a link to your speech. Bookend Close – refer back to an opening statement and repeat it or add a few extra words to elaborate on it. Open Question – ask the audience a provocative question or a call to action to perform some task on the back of your speech. For additional tips on how to write a speech, in particular how to close your speech, read: Ideas for ending a speech
Step-by-step process for writing a speechHere's how to write your speech from concept to completion.
Classic speech transcriptsOne of the best ways for learning how to write a speech is reading other well written ones. Here are a list of famous speeches to read and learn from: |