How to write a speech
What is a speech?
• A speech is a formal talk given to an audience.
• The language of a speech should target and interest the
listeners.
• There are a range of language techniques that can help to
make your speech more powerful.
• Structuring your speech
• A speech often follows a three part structure:
1.a highly engaging and motivational opening
2.a well-structured argument with several main points that include objection
handling
3.a dynamic and memorable conclusion
• Keep the structure simple to help the audience follow your points and
ideas.
• Think about which points are more important and focus on reinforcing
them.
• You may want to put your most important points near the beginning of
the speech.
• Include supporting examples and facts, but don’t overload the speech
with too much detail.
• The opening
• Start with an opening that hooks your audience. Get their attention
and prepare them to focus on the words that will follow. For example,
you could use:
• A powerful image - ‘Imagine a huge clock - the slow, steady tick filling
this room. Counting away the seconds and minutes we have left to
act.’
• Humour - ‘You can take my advice … I’m not using it!’
• A shocking or surprising fact - ‘Did you know that a million species
have already vanished from our world?’
• Think carefully about how you want your audience to feel. Humour
may work well for some topics or audiences but might not with
others.
• Keep listeners engaged
• Here are just a few language techniques which can be used to keep
listeners engaged during a speech and make points memorable.
• Repetition - try repeating a key word or phrase to reinforce a point.
• For example, ‘We have seen what we need to do. Now we need to do it
and do it together.’
• Quote an expert or use a statistic - these details can make your speech
more convincing and give authority to your arguments.
• For example, ‘70 per cent of young people say being online helps them
understand what’s happening in the world.’
• Alliteration - repeating a sound in your speech could give your point more
impact.
• For example, repeating an ‘s’ sound,
• ‘This situation should send shock waves across our society.’
Persuasive device Definition Example
A question posed to an audience, to which the speaker
Wouldn’t you feel happier if you could
Rhetorical question predicts the answer and gains support from the
wear what you wanted to school?
audience by asking.
Grouping words or ideas in threes makes them School uniforms are uncomfortable, itchy
Rule of three
memorable and persuasive. and worst of all, bland.
Many students are forced to suffer the
indignity of wearing clothes that do not
Emotive language Language that appeals to the emotions.
match their personal style for the duration
of their school careers.
Consider what your opposition might say and deal with Some people might say that uniforms save
Handling objections
it before they do. time, however…
Hyperbole Using exaggeration for effect. Millions of school children every year…
Anecdote Using real life examples to support your argument. One girl in a school in Dartford claims…
Using ‘we’, ‘I’, ‘you’ to make your audience feel We all know how unimaginative school
Personal pronouns
included. uniforms are…
• The ending
• It could be useful to include phrases directed at the audience that
highlight you’re ending the speech:
• ‘I hope these ideas I’ve shared today will fill your thoughts on the way
home.’
• ‘Thank you all for listening today.’
• ‘My final message to you is …’
• Or you may want to finish your speech with a powerful image,
question or memorable idea:
• ‘You hold our fragile future in your hands - don’t break it.’
• ‘Do we really have any other choice?’
• ‘When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you have
done?’
• Remember
• An effective speech takes careful planning.
• Even the most powerful politicians who seem to be speaking
spontaneously may have spent time preparing what to say.
• What you say, the order in which you say it, and the techniques you
use to get your points across will all add impact to your speech.
• Focus on what you want the audience to know and how you want
them to feel at the end of the speech.
Example: Here’s a passage from a speech by Barack Obama about
climate change. Notice how he shapes his language to match his
audience and purpose:
• We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just
to ourselves but to all prosperity. We will respond to the threat of climate
change, knowing that the failure to do so will betray our children and
future generations.
• Some may still deny the overwhelming judgement of science, but none can
avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, crippling drought or powerful
storms. A path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and
sometimes difficult, but America cannot resist this transition.
• We must lead it! We cannot concede to other nations the technology that
will power new jobs and new industries; we must claim its promise. That’s
how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure. You
and I as citizens have the power to set this country’s course. You and I as
citizens have the obligation to shape the debates of our time not only with
the votes we cast but with the voices we lift in defence of our most
ancient values and enduring ideas. Will you join us?
• Analysis
• the audience is American citizens
• the purpose is to convince people to take responsibility for acting on climate change
• note the repeated use of the personal pronoun ‘we’ within the opening paragraph to engage
the listeners
• he deals with objections using the phrase ‘Some may still deny’ suggesting that the
opposition are in a minority ‘some’ and that their position is unsteady ‘may’
• in the second paragraph, Obama uses the highly emotive language ‘devastating’, ‘crippling’
and ‘powerful’ to influence his listeners and to highlight the negative impact that climate
change has had on America
• Obama then ends on a powerful message, using 'we' and 'our' to suggest to the audience
that they are all together and he is working with them
• he uses forceful language and imperatives in the repeated ‘We must’
• he finishes with a rhetorical question, calling the audience to take action
• Reference:
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztwtnbk/revision/2
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7lYJMqcpyA
• Rhetorical Devices for Persuasion
• Figurative Language (with examples)
