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How to write a speech that your audience remembers

Whether in a work meeting or at an investor panel, you might give a speech at some point. And no matter how excited you are about the opportunity, the experience can be nerve-wracking . 

But feeling butterflies doesn’t mean you can’t give a great speech. With the proper preparation and a clear outline, apprehensive public speakers and natural wordsmiths alike can write and present a compelling message. Here’s how to write a good speech you’ll be proud to deliver.

What is good speech writing?

Good speech writing is the art of crafting words and ideas into a compelling, coherent, and memorable message that resonates with the audience. Here are some key elements of great speech writing:

• It begins with clearly understanding the speech's purpose and the audience it seeks to engage. 
• A well-written speech clearly conveys its central message, ensuring that the audience understands and retains the key points. 
• It is structured thoughtfully, with a captivating opening, a well-organized body, and a conclusion that reinforces the main message. 
• Good speech writing embraces the power of engaging content, weaving in stories, examples, and relatable anecdotes to connect with the audience on both intellectual and emotional levels. 

Ultimately, it is the combination of these elements, along with the authenticity and delivery of the speaker , that transforms words on a page into a powerful and impactful spoken narrative.

What makes a good speech?

A great speech includes several key qualities, but three fundamental elements make a speech truly effective:

Clarity and purpose

Remembering the audience, cohesive structure.

While other important factors make a speech a home run, these three elements are essential for writing an effective speech.

The main elements of a good speech

The main elements of a speech typically include:

• Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your speech and grabs the audience's attention. It should include a hook or attention-grabbing opening, introduce the topic, and provide an overview of what will be covered.
• Opening/captivating statement: This is a strong statement that immediately engages the audience and creates curiosity about the speech topics.
• Thesis statement/central idea: The thesis statement or central idea is a concise statement that summarizes the main point or argument of your speech. It serves as a roadmap for the audience to understand what your speech is about.
• Body: The body of the speech is where you elaborate on your main points or arguments. Each point is typically supported by evidence, examples, statistics, or anecdotes. The body should be organized logically and coherently, with smooth transitions between the main points.
• Supporting evidence: This includes facts, data, research findings, expert opinions, or personal stories that support and strengthen your main points. Well-chosen and credible evidence enhances the persuasive power of your speech.
• Transitions: Transitions are phrases or statements that connect different parts of your speech, guiding the audience from one idea to the next. Effective transitions signal the shifts in topics or ideas and help maintain a smooth flow throughout the speech.
• Counterarguments and rebuttals (if applicable): If your speech involves addressing opposing viewpoints or counterarguments, you should acknowledge and address them. Presenting counterarguments makes your speech more persuasive and demonstrates critical thinking.
• Conclusion: The conclusion is the final part of your speech and should bring your message to a satisfying close. Summarize your main points, restate your thesis statement, and leave the audience with a memorable closing thought or call to action.
• Closing statement: This is the final statement that leaves a lasting impression and reinforces the main message of your speech. It can be a call to action, a thought-provoking question, a powerful quote, or a memorable anecdote.
• Delivery and presentation: How you deliver your speech is also an essential element to consider. Pay attention to your tone, body language, eye contact , voice modulation, and timing. Practice and rehearse your speech, and try using the 7-38-55 rule to ensure confident and effective delivery.

While the order and emphasis of these elements may vary depending on the type of speech and audience, these elements provide a framework for organizing and delivering a successful speech.

How to structure a good speech

You know what message you want to transmit, who you’re delivering it to, and even how you want to say it. But you need to know how to start, develop, and close a speech before writing it. 

Think of a speech like an essay. It should have an introduction, conclusion, and body sections in between. This places ideas in a logical order that the audience can better understand and follow them. Learning how to make a speech with an outline gives your storytelling the scaffolding it needs to get its point across.

Here’s a general speech structure to guide your writing process:

• Explanation 1
• Explanation 2
• Explanation 3

How to write a compelling speech opener

Some research shows that engaged audiences pay attention for only 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Other estimates are even lower, citing that people stop listening intently in fewer than 10 minutes . If you make a good first impression at the beginning of your speech, you have a better chance of interesting your audience through the middle when attention spans fade. 

Implementing the INTRO model can help grab and keep your audience’s attention as soon as you start speaking. This acronym stands for interest, need, timing, roadmap, and objectives, and it represents the key points you should hit in an opening. 

Here’s what to include for each of these points: 

• Interest : Introduce yourself or your topic concisely and speak with confidence . Write a compelling opening statement using relevant data or an anecdote that the audience can relate to.
• Needs : The audience is listening to you because they have something to learn. If you’re pitching a new app idea to a panel of investors, those potential partners want to discover more about your product and what they can earn from it. Read the room and gently remind them of the purpose of your speech. 
• Timing : When appropriate, let your audience know how long you’ll speak. This lets listeners set expectations and keep tabs on their own attention span. If a weary audience member knows you’ll talk for 40 minutes, they can better manage their energy as that time goes on. 
• Routemap : Give a brief overview of the three main points you’ll cover in your speech. If an audience member’s attention starts to drop off and they miss a few sentences, they can more easily get their bearings if they know the general outline of the presentation.
• Objectives : Tell the audience what you hope to achieve, encouraging them to listen to the end for the payout. 

Writing the middle of a speech

The body of your speech is the most information-dense section. Facts, visual aids, PowerPoints — all this information meets an audience with a waning attention span. Sticking to the speech structure gives your message focus and keeps you from going off track, making everything you say as useful as possible.

Limit the middle of your speech to three points, and support them with no more than three explanations. Following this model organizes your thoughts and prevents you from offering more information than the audience can retain. 

Using this section of the speech to make your presentation interactive can add interest and engage your audience. Try including a video or demonstration to break the monotony. A quick poll or survey also keeps the audience on their toes. 

Wrapping the speech up

To you, restating your points at the end can feel repetitive and dull. You’ve practiced countless times and heard it all before. But repetition aids memory and learning , helping your audience retain what you’ve told them. Use your speech’s conclusion to summarize the main points with a few short sentences.

Try to end on a memorable note, like posing a motivational quote or a thoughtful question the audience can contemplate once they leave. In proposal or pitch-style speeches, consider landing on a call to action (CTA) that invites your audience to take the next step.

How to write a good speech

If public speaking gives you the jitters, you’re not alone. Roughly 80% of the population feels nervous before giving a speech, and another 10% percent experiences intense anxiety and sometimes even panic. 

The fear of failure can cause procrastination and can cause you to put off your speechwriting process until the last minute. Finding the right words takes time and preparation, and if you’re already feeling nervous, starting from a blank page might seem even harder.

But putting in the effort despite your stress is worth it. Presenting a speech you worked hard on fosters authenticity and connects you to the subject matter, which can help your audience understand your points better. Human connection is all about honesty and vulnerability, and if you want to connect to the people you’re speaking to, they should see that in you.

1. Identify your objectives and target audience

Before diving into the writing process, find healthy coping strategies to help you stop worrying . Then you can define your speech’s purpose, think about your target audience, and start identifying your objectives. Here are some questions to ask yourself and ground your thinking : 

• What purpose do I want my speech to achieve? 
• What would it mean to me if I achieved the speech’s purpose?
• What audience am I writing for? 
• What do I know about my audience? 
• What values do I want to transmit? 
• If the audience remembers one take-home message, what should it be? 
• What do I want my audience to feel, think, or do after I finish speaking? 
• What parts of my message could be confusing and require further explanation?

2. Know your audience

Understanding your audience is crucial for tailoring your speech effectively. Consider the demographics of your audience, their interests, and their expectations. For instance, if you're addressing a group of healthcare professionals, you'll want to use medical terminology and data that resonate with them. Conversely, if your audience is a group of young students, you'd adjust your content to be more relatable to their experiences and interests. 

3. Choose a clear message

Your message should be the central idea that you want your audience to take away from your speech. Let's say you're giving a speech on climate change. Your clear message might be something like, "Individual actions can make a significant impact on mitigating climate change." Throughout your speech, all your points and examples should support this central message, reinforcing it for your audience.

4. Structure your speech

Organizing your speech properly keeps your audience engaged and helps them follow your ideas. The introduction should grab your audience's attention and introduce the topic. For example, if you're discussing space exploration, you could start with a fascinating fact about a recent space mission. In the body, you'd present your main points logically, such as the history of space exploration, its scientific significance, and future prospects. Finally, in the conclusion, you'd summarize your key points and reiterate the importance of space exploration in advancing human knowledge.

5. Use engaging content for clarity

Engaging content includes stories, anecdotes, statistics, and examples that illustrate your main points. For instance, if you're giving a speech about the importance of reading, you might share a personal story about how a particular book changed your perspective. You could also include statistics on the benefits of reading, such as improved cognitive abilities and empathy.

6. Maintain clarity and simplicity

It's essential to communicate your ideas clearly. Avoid using overly technical jargon or complex language that might confuse your audience. For example, if you're discussing a medical breakthrough with a non-medical audience, explain complex terms in simple, understandable language.

7. Practice and rehearse

Practice is key to delivering a great speech. Rehearse multiple times to refine your delivery, timing, and tone. Consider using a mirror or recording yourself to observe your body language and gestures. For instance, if you're giving a motivational speech, practice your gestures and expressions to convey enthusiasm and confidence.

8. Consider nonverbal communication

Your body language, tone of voice, and gestures should align with your message . If you're delivering a speech on leadership, maintain strong eye contact to convey authority and connection with your audience. A steady pace and varied tone can also enhance your speech's impact.

9. Engage your audience

Engaging your audience keeps them interested and attentive. Encourage interaction by asking thought-provoking questions or sharing relatable anecdotes. If you're giving a speech on teamwork, ask the audience to recall a time when teamwork led to a successful outcome, fostering engagement and connection.

10. Prepare for Q&A

Anticipate potential questions or objections your audience might have and prepare concise, well-informed responses. If you're delivering a speech on a controversial topic, such as healthcare reform, be ready to address common concerns, like the impact on healthcare costs or access to services, during the Q&A session.

By following these steps and incorporating examples that align with your specific speech topic and purpose, you can craft and deliver a compelling and impactful speech that resonates with your audience.

Tools for writing a great speech

There are several helpful tools available for speechwriting, both technological and communication-related. Here are a few examples:

• Word processing software: Tools like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or other word processors provide a user-friendly environment for writing and editing speeches. They offer features like spell-checking, grammar correction, formatting options, and easy revision tracking.
• Presentation software: Software such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides is useful when creating visual aids to accompany your speech. These tools allow you to create engaging slideshows with text, images, charts, and videos to enhance your presentation.
• Speechwriting Templates: Online platforms or software offer pre-designed templates specifically for speechwriting. These templates provide guidance on structuring your speech and may include prompts for different sections like introductions, main points, and conclusions.
• Rhetorical devices and figures of speech: Rhetorical tools such as metaphors, similes, alliteration, and parallelism can add impact and persuasion to your speech. Resources like books, websites, or academic papers detailing various rhetorical devices can help you incorporate them effectively.
• Speechwriting apps: Mobile apps designed specifically for speechwriting can be helpful in organizing your thoughts, creating outlines, and composing a speech. These apps often provide features like voice recording, note-taking, and virtual prompts to keep you on track.
• Grammar and style checkers: Online tools or plugins like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor help improve the clarity and readability of your speech by checking for grammar, spelling, and style errors. They provide suggestions for sentence structure, word choice, and overall tone.
• Thesaurus and dictionary: Online or offline resources such as thesauruses and dictionaries help expand your vocabulary and find alternative words or phrases to express your ideas more effectively. They can also clarify meanings or provide context for unfamiliar terms.
• Online speechwriting communities: Joining online forums or communities focused on speechwriting can be beneficial for getting feedback, sharing ideas, and learning from experienced speechwriters. It's an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and improve your public speaking skills through collaboration.

Remember, while these tools can assist in the speechwriting process, it's essential to use them thoughtfully and adapt them to your specific needs and style. The most important aspect of speechwriting remains the creativity, authenticity, and connection with your audience that you bring to your speech.

5 tips for writing a speech

Behind every great speech is an excellent idea and a speaker who refined it. But a successful speech is about more than the initial words on the page, and there are a few more things you can do to help it land.

Here are five more tips for writing and practicing your speech:

1. Structure first, write second

If you start the writing process before organizing your thoughts, you may have to re-order, cut, and scrap the sentences you worked hard on. Save yourself some time by using a speech structure, like the one above, to order your talking points first. This can also help you identify unclear points or moments that disrupt your flow.

2. Do your homework

Data strengthens your argument with a scientific edge. Research your topic with an eye for attention-grabbing statistics, or look for findings you can use to support each point. If you’re pitching a product or service, pull information from company metrics that demonstrate past or potential successes. 

Audience members will likely have questions, so learn all talking points inside and out. If you tell investors that your product will provide 12% returns, for example, come prepared with projections that support that statement.

3. Sound like yourself

Memorable speakers have distinct voices. Think of Martin Luther King Jr’s urgent, inspiring timbre or Oprah’s empathetic, personal tone . Establish your voice — one that aligns with your personality and values — and stick with it. If you’re a motivational speaker, keep your tone upbeat to inspire your audience . If you’re the CEO of a startup, try sounding assured but approachable. 

4. Practice

As you practice a speech, you become more confident , gain a better handle on the material, and learn the outline so well that unexpected questions are less likely to trip you up. Practice in front of a colleague or friend for honest feedback about what you could change, and speak in front of the mirror to tweak your nonverbal communication and body language .

5. Remember to breathe

When you’re stressed, you breathe more rapidly . It can be challenging to talk normally when you can’t regulate your breath. Before your presentation, try some mindful breathing exercises so that when the day comes, you already have strategies that will calm you down and remain present . This can also help you control your voice and avoid speaking too quickly.

How to ghostwrite a great speech for someone else

Ghostwriting a speech requires a unique set of skills, as you're essentially writing a piece that will be delivered by someone else. Here are some tips on how to effectively ghostwrite a speech:

• Understand the speaker's voice and style : Begin by thoroughly understanding the speaker's personality, speaking style, and preferences. This includes their tone, humor, and any personal anecdotes they may want to include.
• Interview the speaker : Have a detailed conversation with the speaker to gather information about their speech's purpose, target audience, key messages, and any specific points they want to emphasize. Ask for personal stories or examples they may want to include.
• Research thoroughly : Research the topic to ensure you have a strong foundation of knowledge. This helps you craft a well-informed and credible speech.
• Create an outline : Develop a clear outline that includes the introduction, main points, supporting evidence, and a conclusion. Share this outline with the speaker for their input and approval.
• Write in the speaker's voice : While crafting the speech, maintain the speaker's voice and style. Use language and phrasing that feel natural to them. If they have a particular way of expressing ideas, incorporate that into the speech.
• Craft a captivating opening : Begin the speech with a compelling opening that grabs the audience's attention. This could be a relevant quote, an interesting fact, a personal anecdote, or a thought-provoking question.
• Organize content logically : Ensure the speech flows logically, with each point building on the previous one. Use transitions to guide the audience from one idea to the next smoothly.
• Incorporate engaging stories and examples : Include anecdotes, stories, and real-life examples that illustrate key points and make the speech relatable and memorable.
• Edit and revise : Edit the speech carefully for clarity, grammar, and coherence. Ensure the speech is the right length and aligns with the speaker's time constraints.
• Seek feedback : Share drafts of the speech with the speaker for their feedback and revisions. They may have specific changes or additions they'd like to make.
• Practice delivery : If possible, work with the speaker on their delivery. Practice the speech together, allowing the speaker to become familiar with the content and your writing style.
• Maintain confidentiality : As a ghostwriter, it's essential to respect the confidentiality and anonymity of the work. Do not disclose that you wrote the speech unless you have the speaker's permission to do so.
• Be flexible : Be open to making changes and revisions as per the speaker's preferences. Your goal is to make them look good and effectively convey their message.
• Meet deadlines : Stick to agreed-upon deadlines for drafts and revisions. Punctuality and reliability are essential in ghostwriting.
• Provide support : Support the speaker during their preparation and rehearsal process. This can include helping with cue cards, speech notes, or any other materials they need.

Remember that successful ghostwriting is about capturing the essence of the speaker while delivering a well-structured and engaging speech. Collaboration, communication, and adaptability are key to achieving this.

Give your best speech yet

Learn how to make a speech that’ll hold an audience’s attention by structuring your thoughts and practicing frequently. Put the effort into writing and preparing your content, and aim to improve your breathing, eye contact , and body language as you practice. The more you work on your speech, the more confident you’ll become.

The energy you invest in writing an effective speech will help your audience remember and connect to every concept. Remember: some life-changing philosophies have come from good speeches, so give your words a chance to resonate with others. You might even change their thinking.

Boost your speech skills

Enhance your public speaking with personalized coaching tailored to your needs

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

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How to write a good speech in 7 steps

By:  Susan Dugdale  

- an easily followed format for writing a great speech

Did you know writing a speech doesn't have be an anxious, nail biting experience?

Unsure? Don't be.

You may have lived with the idea you were never good with words for a long time. Or perhaps giving speeches at school brought you out in cold sweats.

However learning how to write a speech is relatively straight forward when you learn to write out loud.

And that's the journey I am offering to take you on: step by step.

To learn quickly, go slow

Take all the time you need. This speech format has 7 steps, each building on the next.

Walk, rather than run, your way through all of them. Don't be tempted to rush. Familiarize yourself with the ideas. Try them out.

I know there are well-advertised short cuts and promises of 'write a speech in 5 minutes'. However in reality they only truly work for somebody who already has the basic foundations of speech writing in place.

The foundation of good speech writing 

These steps are the backbone of sound speech preparation. Learn and follow them well at the outset and yes, given more experience and practice you could probably flick something together quickly. Like any skill, the more it's used, the easier it gets.

In the meantime...

Step 1: Begin with a speech overview or outline

Are you in a hurry? Without time to read a whole page? Grab ... The Quick How to Write a Speech Checklist And come back to get the details later.

• WHO you are writing your speech for (your target audience)
• WHY you are preparing this speech. What's the main purpose of your speech? Is it to inform or tell your audience about something? To teach them a new skill or demonstrate something? To persuade or to entertain? (See 4 types of speeches: informative, demonstrative, persuasive and special occasion or entertaining for more.) What do you want them to think, feel or do as a result of listening the speech?
• WHAT your speech is going to be about (its topic) - You'll want to have thought through your main points and have ranked them in order of importance. And have sorted the supporting research you need to make those points effectively.
• HOW much time you have for your speech eg. 3 minutes, 5 minutes... The amount of time you've been allocated dictates how much content you need. If you're unsure check this page: how many words per minute in a speech: a quick reference guide . You'll find estimates of the number of words required for 1 - 10 minute speeches by slow, medium and fast talkers.

Use an outline

The best way to make sure you deliver a perfect speech is to start by carefully completing a speech outline covering the essentials: WHO, WHY, WHAT and HOW.

Beginning to write without thinking your speech through is a bit like heading off on a journey not knowing why you're traveling or where you're going to end up. You can find yourself lost in a deep, dark, murky muddle of ideas very quickly!

Pulling together a speech overview or outline is a much safer option. It's the map you'll follow to get where you want to go.

Get a blank speech outline template to complete

Click the link to find out a whole lot more about preparing a speech outline . ☺ You'll also find a free printable blank speech outline template.  I recommend using it!

Understanding speech construction

Before you begin to write, using your completed outline as a guide, let's briefly look at what you're aiming to prepare.

• an opening or introduction
• the body where the bulk of the information is given
• and an ending (or summary).

Imagine your speech as a sandwich

If you think of a speech as a sandwich you'll get the idea.

The opening and ending are the slices of bread holding the filling (the major points or the body of your speech) together.

You can build yourself a simple sandwich with one filling (one big idea) or you could go gourmet and add up to three or, even five. The choice is yours.

But whatever you choose to serve, as a good cook, you need to consider who is going to eat it! And that's your audience.

So let's find out who they are before we do anything else. 

Step 2: Know who you are talking to

Understanding your audience.

Did you know a  good speech is never written from the speaker's point of view?  ( If you need to know more about why check out this page on  building rapport .)

Begin with the most important idea/point on your outline.

Consider HOW you can explain (show, tell) that to your audience in the most effective way for them to easily understand it.   

Writing from the audience's point of view

To help you write from an audience point of view, it's a good idea to identify either a real person or the type of person who is most likely to be listening to you.

Make sure you select someone who represents the "majority" of the people who will be in your audience. That is they are neither struggling to comprehend you at the bottom of your scale or light-years ahead at the top.

Now imagine they are sitting next to you eagerly waiting to hear what you're going to say. Give them a name, for example, Joe, to help make them real.

Ask yourself

• How do I need to tailor my information to meet Joe's needs? For example, do you tell personal stories to illustrate your main points? Absolutely! Yes. This is a very powerful technique. (Click storytelling in speeches to find out more.)
• What type or level of language is right for Joe as well as my topic? For example if I use jargon (activity, industry or profession specific vocabulary) will it be understood?

Step 3: Writing as you speak

Writing oral language.

Write down what you want to say about your first main point as if you were talking directly to Joe.

If it helps, say it all out loud before you write it down and/or record it.

Use the information below as a guide

(Click to download The Characteristics of Spoken Language  as a pdf.) 

You do not have to write absolutely everything you're going to say down * but you do need to write down, or outline, the sequence of ideas to ensure they are logical and easily followed.

Remember too, to explain or illustrate your point with examples from your research. 

( * Tip: If this is your first speech the safety net of having everything written down could be just what you need. It's easier to recover from a patch of jitters when you have a word by word manuscript than if you have either none, or a bare outline. Your call!)

Step 4: Checking tone and language

The focus of this step is re-working what you've done in Step 2 and 3.

You identified who you were talking to (Step 2) and in Step 3, wrote up your first main point.  Is it right? Have you made yourself clear?  Check it.

How well you complete this step depends on how well you understand the needs of the people who are going to listen to your speech.

Please do not assume because you know what you're talking about the person (Joe) you've chosen to represent your audience will too. Joe is not a mind-reader!

How to check what you've prepared

• Check the "tone" of your language . Is it right for the occasion, subject matter and your audience?
• Check the length of your sentences. You need short sentences. If they're too long or complicated you risk losing your listeners.

Check for jargon too. These are industry, activity or group exclusive words.

For instance take the phrase: authentic learning . This comes from teaching and refers to connecting lessons to the daily life of students. Authentic learning is learning that is relevant and meaningful for students. If you're not a teacher you may not understand the phrase.

The use of any vocabulary requiring insider knowledge needs to be thought through from the audience perspective. Jargon can close people out.

• Read what you've written out loud. If it flows naturally, in a logical manner, continue the process with your next main idea. If it doesn't, rework.

We use whole sentences and part ones, and we mix them up with asides or appeals e.g. "Did you get that? Of course you did. Right...Let's move it along. I was saying ..."

Click for more about the differences between spoken and written language .

And now repeat the process

Repeat this process for the remainder of your main ideas.

Because you've done the first one carefully, the rest should follow fairly easily.

Step 5: Use transitions

Providing links or transitions between main ideas.

Between each of your main ideas you need to provide a bridge or pathway for your audience. The clearer the pathway or bridge, the easier it is for them to make the transition from one idea to the next.

If your speech contains more than three main ideas and each is building on the last, then consider using a "catch-up" or summary as part of your transitions.

Is your speech being evaluated? Find out exactly what aspects you're being assessed on using this standard speech evaluation form

Link/transition examples

A link can be as simple as:

"We've explored one scenario for the ending of Block Buster 111, but let's consider another. This time..."

What follows this transition is the introduction of Main Idea Two.

Here's a summarizing link/transition example:

"We've ended Blockbuster 111 four ways so far. In the first, everybody died. In the second, everybody died BUT their ghosts remained to haunt the area. In the third, one villain died. His partner reformed and after a fight-out with the hero, they both strode off into the sunset, friends forever. In the fourth, the hero dies in a major battle but is reborn sometime in the future.

And now what about one more? What if nobody died? The fifth possibility..."

Go back through your main ideas checking the links. Remember Joe as you go. Try each transition or link out loud and really listen to yourself. Is it obvious? Easily followed?

Keep them if they are clear and concise.

For more about transitions (with examples) see Andrew Dlugan's excellent article, Speech Transitions: Magical words and Phrases .

Step 6: The end of your speech

The ideal ending is highly memorable . You want it to live on in the minds of your listeners long after your speech is finished. Often it combines a call to action with a summary of major points.

Example speech endings

Example 1: The desired outcome of a speech persuading people to vote for you in an upcoming election is that they get out there on voting day and do so. You can help that outcome along by calling them to register their support by signing a prepared pledge statement as they leave.

"We're agreed we want change. You can help us give it to you by signing this pledge statement as you leave. Be part of the change you want to see!

Example 2: The desired outcome is increased sales figures. The call to action is made urgent with the introduction of time specific incentives.

"You have three weeks from the time you leave this hall to make that dream family holiday in New Zealand yours. Can you do it? Will you do it? The kids will love it. Your wife will love it. Do it now!"

How to figure out the right call to action

A clue for working out what the most appropriate call to action might be, is to go back to your original purpose for giving the speech.

• Was it to motivate or inspire?
• Was it to persuade to a particular point of view?
• Was it to share specialist information?
• Was it to celebrate a person, a place, time or event?

Ask yourself what you want people to do as a result of having listened to your speech.

For more about ending speeches

Visit this page for more about how to end a speech effectively . You'll find two additional types of speech endings with examples.

Write and test

Write your ending and test it out loud. Try it out on a friend, or two. Is it good? Does it work?

Step 7: The introduction

Once you've got the filling (main ideas) the linking and the ending in place, it's time to focus on the introduction.

The introduction comes last as it's the most important part of your speech. This is the bit that either has people sitting up alert or slumped and waiting for you to end. It's the tone setter!

What makes a great speech opening?

Ideally you want an opening that makes listening to you the only thing the 'Joes' in the audience want to do.

You want them to forget they're hungry or that their chair is hard or that their bills need paying.

The way to do that is to capture their interest straight away. You do this with a "hook".

Hooks to catch your audience's attention

Hooks come in as many forms as there are speeches and audiences. Your task is work out what specific hook is needed to catch your audience.

Go back to the purpose. Why are you giving this speech?

Once you have your answer, consider your call to action. What do you want the audience to do, and, or take away, as a result of listening to you?

Next think about the imaginary or real person you wrote for when you were focusing on your main ideas.

Choosing the best hook

• Is it humor?
• Would shock tactics work?
• Is it a rhetorical question?
• Is it formality or informality?
• Is it an outline or overview of what you're going to cover, including the call to action?
• Or is it a mix of all these elements?

A hook example

Here's an example from a fictional political speech. The speaker is lobbying for votes. His audience are predominately workers whose future's are not secure.

"How's your imagination this morning? Good? (Pause for response from audience) Great, I'm glad. Because we're going to put it to work starting right now.

I want you to see your future. What does it look like? Are you happy? Is everything as you want it to be? No? Let's change that. We could do it. And we could do it today.

At the end of this speech you're going to be given the opportunity to change your world, for a better one ...

No, I'm not a magician. Or a simpleton with big ideas and precious little commonsense. I'm an ordinary man, just like you. And I have a plan to share!"

And then our speaker is off into his main points supported by examples. The end, which he has already foreshadowed in his opening, is the call to vote for him.

Prepare several hooks

Experiment with several openings until you've found the one that serves your audience, your subject matter and your purpose best.

For many more examples of speech openings go to: how to write a speech introduction . You'll find 12 of the very best ways to start a speech.

That completes the initial seven steps towards writing your speech. If you've followed them all the way through, congratulations, you now have the text of your speech!

Although you might have the words, you're still a couple of steps away from being ready to deliver them. Both of them are essential if you want the very best outcome possible. They are below. Please take them.

Step 8: Checking content and timing

This step pulls everything together.

Check once, check twice, check three times & then once more!

Go through your speech really carefully.

On the first read through check you've got your main points in their correct order with supporting material, plus an effective introduction and ending.

On the second read through check the linking passages or transitions making sure they are clear and easily followed.

On the third reading check your sentence structure, language use and tone.

Double, triple check the timing

Now go though once more.

This time read it aloud slowly and time yourself.

If it's too long for the time allowance you've been given make the necessary cuts.

Start by looking at your examples rather than the main ideas themselves. If you've used several examples to illustrate one principal idea, cut the least important out.

Also look to see if you've repeated yourself unnecessarily or, gone off track. If it's not relevant, cut it.

Repeat the process, condensing until your speech fits the required length, preferably coming in just under your time limit.

You can also find out how approximately long it will take you to say the words you have by using this very handy words to minutes converter . It's an excellent tool, one I frequently use. While it can't give you a precise time, it does provide a reasonable estimate.

Step 9: Rehearsing your speech

And NOW you are finished with writing the speech, and are ready for REHEARSAL .

Please don't be tempted to skip this step. It is not an extra thrown in for good measure. It's essential.

The "not-so-secret" secret of successful speeches combines good writing with practice, practice and then, practicing some more.

Go to how to practice public speaking and you'll find rehearsal techniques and suggestions to boost your speech delivery from ordinary to extraordinary.

The Quick How to Write a Speech Checklist

Before you begin writing you need:.

• Your speech OUTLINE with your main ideas ranked in the order you're going to present them. (If you haven't done one complete this 4 step sample speech outline . It will make the writing process much easier.)
• Your RESEARCH
• You also need to know WHO you're speaking to, the PURPOSE of the speech and HOW long you're speaking for

The basic format

• the body where you present your main ideas

Split your time allowance so that you spend approximately 70% on the body and 15% each on the introduction and ending.

How to write the speech

• Write your main ideas out incorporating your examples and research
• Link them together making sure each flows in a smooth, logical progression
• Write your ending, summarizing your main ideas briefly and end with a call for action
• Write your introduction considering the 'hook' you're going to use to get your audience listening
• An often quoted saying to explain the process is: Tell them what you're going to tell them (Introduction) Tell them (Body of your speech - the main ideas plus examples) Tell them what you told them (The ending)

TEST before presenting. Read aloud several times to check the flow of material, the suitability of language and the timing.

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10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills

Few are immune to the fear of public speaking. Marjorie North offers 10 tips for speakers to calm the nerves and deliverable memorable orations.

Marjorie North

Snakes? Fine. Flying? No problem. Public speaking? Yikes! Just thinking about public speaking — routinely described as one of the greatest (and most common) fears — can make your palms sweat. But there are many ways to tackle this anxiety and learn to deliver a memorable speech.

In part one of this series,  Mastering the Basics of Communication , I shared strategies to improve how you communicate. In part two, How to Communicate More Effectively in the Workplace , I examined how to apply these techniques as you interact with colleagues and supervisors in the workplace. For the third and final part of this series, I’m providing you with public speaking tips that will help reduce your anxiety, dispel myths, and improve your performance.

Here Are My 10 Tips for Public Speaking:

1. nervousness is normal. practice and prepare.

All people feel some physiological reactions like pounding hearts and trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings with the sense that you will perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes you sweat also makes you more alert and ready to give your best performance.

The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice — a lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend to critique your performance.

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2. Know Your Audience. Your Speech Is About Them, Not You.

Before you begin to craft your message, consider who the message is intended for. Learn as much about your listeners as you can. This will help you determine your choice of words, level of information, organization pattern, and motivational statement.

3. Organize Your Material in the Most Effective Manner to Attain Your Purpose.

Create the framework for your speech. Write down the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, central idea, and main points. Make sure to grab the audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds.

4. Watch for Feedback and Adapt to It.

Keep the focus on the audience. Gauge their reactions, adjust your message, and stay flexible. Delivering a canned speech will guarantee that you lose the attention of or confuse even the most devoted listeners.

5. Let Your Personality Come Through.

Be yourself, don’t become a talking head — in any type of communication. You will establish better credibility if your personality shines through, and your audience will trust what you have to say if they can see you as a real person.

6. Use Humor, Tell Stories, and Use Effective Language.

Inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, and you will certainly grab your audience’s attention. Audiences generally like a personal touch in a speech. A story can provide that.

7. Don’t Read Unless You Have to. Work from an Outline.

Reading from a script or slide fractures the interpersonal connection. By maintaining eye contact with the audience, you keep the focus on yourself and your message. A brief outline can serve to jog your memory and keep you on task.

8. Use Your Voice and Hands Effectively. Omit Nervous Gestures.

Nonverbal communication carries most of the message. Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly and without distraction.

9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic End.

Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today I’m going to talk to you about X”? Most people don’t. Instead, use a startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation. Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong statement that your audience is sure to remember.

10. Use Audiovisual Aids Wisely.

Too many can break the direct connection to the audience, so use them sparingly. They should enhance or clarify your content, or capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

Good communication is never perfect, and nobody expects you to be perfect. However, putting in the requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a better speech. You may not be able to shake your nerves entirely, but you can learn to minimize them.

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About the Author

North is a consultant for political candidates, physicians, and lawyers, and runs a private practice specializing in public speaking, and executive communication skills. Previously, she was the clinical director in the department of speech and language pathology and audiology at Northeastern University.

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How to Give a Speech: 10 Tips for Powerful Public Speaking

When we start preparing to give a speech, it can be a nerve-wracking experience. It’s completely normal—most of us feel a combination of excitement and nerves when we’re about to take the stage.

However, with some strategic planning and practical advice, you can make sure your speech is powerful and effective. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to give a speech that will leave your audience engaged and inspired.

We’ll examine 10 tips to help you build a powerful speech, from outlining your points methodically to crafting captivating introductions . Whether you’re a beginner or experienced public speaker, these nuggets of wisdom will help you take your next speech to the next level. Let’s get started!

Quick Review of Key Points

Preparing ahead of time is the key to giving an effective speech. Make sure to structure your speaking points, rehearse your delivery, and be aware of the needs of your audience for maximum impact.

How to Prepare for a Speech

Preparing for a speech is an essential step to public speaking success. It can help to build your confidence, create content that reaches the audience, and reduce performance anxiety.

Although it can be time-consuming in the beginning, preparation will ensure less stress and more comfort during delivery. Here are some tips to consider when preparing for a speech:

Practice : Before delivering a speech, practice it out loud several times. This will allow you to gain experience in speaking without an audience and increase your confidence when you do have one.

Practicing also helps to identify awkward moments in the speech or any difficult phrases which then can be changed or removed altogether. Additionally, it helps you determine where to pause for effect. Research : Depending on the topic of the speech , research should be done beforehand to gather information that is relevant and interesting for the audience. It is important to get acquainted with the language typically used by audiences to ensure a clear understanding of what is being said.

Additionally, relevant statistics and stories concerning the topic are a great way to draw in listeners and make the presentation more engaging .

Know Your Audience : When preparing your speech, be sure to consider who will be listening. For instance, if giving a presentation at work, include industry jargon that members would understand and include relevant topics from publications that might be familiar to the employees.

On the other hand, if consulting business professionals in their field then technical language may be easier for them to comprehend than laypeople or students.

By gathering valuable information about the topic and getting comfortable with a speech’s content and delivery through practice, speakers will gain more assurance during their talk as well as respect from their audience.

Preparing beforehand not only gives insight into how to engage listeners but also encourages more meaningful conversations after the event. Now that we have discussed how to prepare for a speech let us move on to creating an outline which will provide structure during delivery.

Create an Outline

After determining the audience and purpose of your speech, the next step to effective public speaking is to create an outline .

An outline serves as a roadmap to ensure that your speech has a logical flow and contains all important points. It also can help keep you on track during the speech itself, allowing you to stay focused and organized.

When constructing an outline, consider drawing up both a main point and sub-points for each portion of the speech. Both should be relevant to the goal of the presentation and backed up by facts and research.

Brainstorming can help in this process; try grouping your ideas together in clusters to make sure you cover all possible angles.

Furthermore, writing out exact quotations or figures can prove beneficial in forming a cohesive argument. At this stage, it is also wise to decide where transitions, humor, stories, or other engaging techniques will be included.

While there are differing opinions as to whether outlines should be memorized or simply used as a reference while speaking, many agree that they should serve their purpose – not only articulate the main thoughts of the speech but also assist the speaker with maintaining focus and preventing distractions.

The debate between those who advocate for memorization versus casual consulting touches upon issues such as rehearsal time, risk of errors in delivery, ease of practice versus actual performance and more.

Each side has valid arguments that should be weighed prior to deciding what type of approach best suits your needs.

Having a firmly constructed outline acts as a valuable tool when it comes time to deliver a powerful public speech. By actively utilizing this tactic, speakers may not only enhance their clarity and coherence, but also add structure and vibrance to their presentations.

Now that we have explored what goes into crafting an effective outline, let’s dive deeper into how we can best collect resources and research our topics for maximum impact.

Collect Sources and Research

Collecting sources and research is a crucial step for any public speaking engagement. It ensures that you have the necessary information to make strong points and back up your statements.

Before writing your speech, take time to research your topic to gain familiarity with different perspectives, facts, and counterpoints. This will help you to craft an argument that can stand up to scrutiny while also adding a breadth of knowledge to your speech.

Interviews can be a powerful source of evidence and anecdotes, so try to include one or two relevant interviews in your research process. Relying solely on secondary sources such as books and articles can lead to a narrow scope of understanding.

Interviews provide an opportunity to hear directly from an expert and create an interesting dynamic in your speech by adding personal experiences as well as commentary from a professional.

In research it is important to stay objective. Gather a variety of perspectives and be open-minded about their merits. Don’t forget to consider both sides of the argument when researching for your speech.

Doing this allows you to understand the opposing perspective and enables you to anticipate potential counter arguments from your audience.

By acknowledging them beforehand, you may increase the persuasive power of your speech by showing confidence in the points you make.

Once you have collected all sources, review them carefully and separate the most pertinent information from the less useful material.

Synthesising this information into concise yet impactful points is a critical part in delivering powerful talks without overloading your audience with too much data or going off track during your speech delivery.

Organizing Your Speech

Before you start putting your words together, it’s important to consider how the different parts of a speech fit together. By taking the time to organize the ideas in your speech , you’ll be able to deliver a presentation that is well-constructed and easy to understand.

One way to help with organizing your speech is to write an outline . An outline is like a map or plan that will provide you with a framework for each section of your speech.

Start by writing out your main points and then include additional details underneath each one. This will help keep your speech focused and provide direction for where you are going next.

Another approach for organizing your speech is known as the “inverted pyramid” method. This structure starts with your conclusion at the beginning of the speech, and then works backward by providing more explanation and detail as it moves toward the introduction.

This method can be helpful when speaking about topics that are unfamiliar to the audience since it doesn’t require them to wait until near the end of the presentation to learn what you’ve been talking about.

No matter which organization approach you choose, make sure to practice it before giving your speech so that you are comfortable with its flow. Lastly, remember that it’s ok to adjust things while you speak if they don’t seem or feel quite right.

Now let’s take a look at how we can use these organizing techniques to actually put our speeches together – starting with structuring our speech.

Structure Your Speech

Creating a strong structure for your speech will ensure that the audience stays engaged and understands your main points. As you are developing an outline, map out how you want to begin and end your speech.

Break up the information into smaller sections with either verbal or visual cues so that your audience can clearly see how you are transitioning between topics . Consider adding humor judiciously throughout your presentation as this could help engage the audience and lighten any tension.

The length of your presentation is also important. You will want to make sure that you include all of the necessary information without going over time.

Oftentimes less is more; if you can say it in five minutes why use ten? Make sure that you practice timed rehearsals so that you can gauge how long you’re actually speaking.

In contrast, avoid trying to pack too much content into one presentation as this could overwhelm both you and the audience. If needed, offer supplemental reading materials for those who may be interested in delving further into the subject matter.

Paragraphs can also be helpful when organizing large amounts of content within the body of your presentation. Utilizing paragraph breaks gives your audience a break and helps to highlight key ideas or summaries before moving onto a new topic area.

Finally, it is crucial to remember what your desired outcome is from the presentation; plan accordingly by ensuring that the beginning, middle, and end serve their respective purposes and adhere to that goal.

With careful deliberations, structuring a successful presentation can be achieved with relative ease.

Having established a solid structure for your speech, it’s important to focus on another key element: rehearsal. The next section will discuss the benefits of practicing before delivering a powerful public speaking performance.

Rehearse Your Speech

Rehearsing is integral to giving a successful speech. When you rehearse your presentation, you give your mind an opportunity to become familiar with the notes and concepts that you are presenting. It also increases your confidence and reduces anxiety or self-doubt.

In fact, studies have found that those who rehearsed their presentation had higher scores in public speaking performance and language proficiency evaluations.

When it comes to how much rehearsal is enough, opinions are divided. Some people believe that over-rehearsing can lead to a more robotic speech with less natural emotion and connection with the audience .

On the other hand, others argue that no matter how well-versed someone is on the topic, additional rehearsal time improves both the delivery of the speech and memorization of key points and facts.

Ultimately, it’s important to practice until you personally find the most comfortable level for yourself, as this will ultimately result in a more engaging delivery.

Finally, if at all possible, try to practice in front of a friend or colleague for honest feedback on any elements that need improvement before the big day. Rehearsal dedication may be tedious, but it results in big rewards on stage–enabling you to deliver your content with clarity, confidence, and poise.

With thoughtful preparation complete, it’s now time to step into the spotlight and give your speech!

Giving Your Speech

The key to success when giving a speech is to be well prepared and confident. Every individual’s preparation process will vary, but the basics should stay the same.

Start by studying your content, understanding the material and being able to repeat it in your own words. Clarify any potentially difficult points. Create visual aids like PowerPoint slides or handouts that supplement the key ideas in your speech.

Practice your public speaking skills with informal conversations with friends and family or rehearse it alone in front of a mirror. Use visualization; imagine yourself confidently delivering your speech. Consider addressing a practice audience if possible to become more accustomed to a live size group.

On the day of the event, arrive early and plan for any potential obstacles: What if my computer doesn’t work? What if I forget something? Allow sufficient time for setup and check-in.

When you are ready to give your speech, take some deep breaths, focus on the positives, and distract yourself from any anxious thoughts with positive affirmations. Remember you have prepared diligently for this moment, you are well prepared and you will succeed!

Start strong by engaging the audience immediately with an attention grabbing opening statement. Speak clearly and make sure that everyone can hear and understand your message.

Slow down and emphasize points as needed throughout your presentation. Be aware of pace, volume, and tone of voice: too fast/monotone can confuse/bore listeners while pauses add a dramatic effect that keeps their interest piqued.

Ultimately, giving a successful speech will depend on knowing your material well enough to speak confidently in front of your audience without hesitation or missteps.

When you do make a mistake (and they happen!) don’t panic – know that mistakes are inevitable but don’t be discouraged; get back on track as soon as possible and continue at the same energy level you had before the mistake occurred.

Having successfully given your speech, take a moment to reflect on what went well and what could be improved upon for next time before transitioning into the next step: mastering delivery.

Master Your Delivery

Mastering your delivery is the key to an effective speech. Without purposeful body language and careful emphasis on certain words , your speech may lack wow-factor and prevent listeners from tuning in. Following these simple tips can help you get started with delivering an engaging and memorable speech:

The most important part of delivery is practice. Rehearse and perfect your speech ahead of time – this allows for more natural flow and confidence during your presentation. It also helps to create pauses between sentences for clarity, emphasize key points, and not be too casual or stiff.

Practicing inflections and varying tones adds interest to your speech by keeping listeners’ attention.

Additionally, it’s important to project your voic e so everyone in the room can hear you; make sure you’re speaking loud enough but don’t feel pressure to shout or yell at any point unless that’s part of the atmosphere of the event.

It’s also crucial to maintain good posture while speaking – stand tall with both feet on the ground, keep your back straight, hold yourself up without gesturing too much or leaning against a podium if applicable.

To further engage listeners, use purposeful hand gestures as they help emphasize certain points and add visual interest – however, avoid overusing them as it can hinders communication.

Make meaningful eye contact with audience members throughout the presentation – otherwise you might come across as unenthusiastic or bored with what you’re saying which deters attention away from the content itself.

By mastering your delivery, you can boost the impact of your presentation considerably – providing a memorable experience for your audience that stands out from others’. As such, it’s worth investing time into practicing ahead of time until delivery feels comfortable and second nature.

Having said this, making use of visual aids such as PowerPoint slides can greatly improve the impact of a speech once delivery has been mastered – let’s look into that next.

Use Visual Aids

Using visual aids can help presenters express concepts more clearly and engage the audience.

Visuals are particularly useful when conveying complex information, such as data, trends, or statistics — they impart meaning at a glance. But some public speakers may wonder if visual aids can be distracting or unnecessary.

Even though visuals can attract attention away from a presenter’s verbal delivery, carefully designed visuals can actually support the speech and help provide clarity. If done well, visuals are effective for capturing an audience’s interest and helping them to better understand the content being presented.

For example, a graph or chart should relate to the points made in the speech and should be discussed in more detail during its appearance onscreen. The presentation can also include larger images that effectively reinforce the ideas conveyed in the speech.

Videos and sound clips are other powerful forms of multimedia that could be employed to make the speech more meaningful.

To ensure that visuals enhance the message of the presentation, key factors to consider include relevancy to topic, good graphic design or aesthetics, accurate size to prevent distortion or blurriness, and seamless integration into the keynote slides or printed handouts .

In this way, visuals offer an opportunity for presenters to demonstrate their creativity and keep their audiences interested in what is being said. Thus, used wisely and aptly, visuals can add tremendous value to speeches by presenting arguments more efficiently and driving home important points. Now let’s explore effective techniques for speech giving that will allow you to craft and deliver your speeches with confidence.

Effective Techniques for Speech Giving

There are a number of effective techniques for giving a speech that will help you deliver it with confidence and poise.

First, practice your delivery in advance. You should practice both in front of a mirror or recording device to check for any distracting habits such as talking too quickly or mispronouncing words.

Second, use simple, clear language and short, concise sentences. Avoid overly technical terms and jargon that may leave your audience confused.

Third, work to establish a connection with your audience by using appropriate facial expressions and hand gestures while speaking.

Fourth, utilize effective persuasive techniques such as presenting evidence, strong arguments supported by facts, personal anecdotes and vivid metaphors.

Finally, articulate an organized structure for your speech. Your speech should have an introduction, body and conclusion to clearly communicate the main point and provide the audience with the necessary context to understand it better.

While these techniques may sound intimidating at first, they can be learned over time with practice and will make all the difference in how successful your speech delivery is received by your audience.

To build on these skills further , the next section will provide tips on how to build confidence when giving a speech.

Building Confidence

Building confidence is key when giving a powerful speech, as it will enable you to deliver the speech in a more poised and credible manner.

To create this confidence , start by understanding that any hesitation or butterflies prior to your speech are completely normal and should not be feared. Instead, view them as natural states of anticipation for something exciting, knowing that you are about to give an amazing speech.

Next, understanding who your audience is and tailoring your speech to meet their expectations will help build your confidence.

Familiarizing yourself with their interests and knowledge on the subject matter ahead of time can equip you with the understanding needed to respond appropriately if questions arise or objections surface during the speech.

Further, practice is key when building confidence for a public speaking engagement . Rehearsing with friends or colleagues before hand will give you an opportunity to learn where problem areas are within the content of your speech, as well as help solidify your delivery by becoming more comfortable with each step.

Checking sound levels in the room you’re presenting in coupled with learning where exits/emergency locations are located within that space can also help alleviate stress levels and boost self-assurance while delivering the speech.

Finally, wearing comfortable clothing and dressing professionally adds an extra layer of confidence when speaking in public.

If possible, bring an additional outfit on hand during the presentation in case of spills or accidents that would require a quick change between sections of the talk. Having this back-up plan in place can aid in keeping peace of mind at ease throughout the speech.

In conclusion, building confidence prior to a public speaking event can mean the difference between a good and great delivery of your message.

By taking into account each of these tips you can ensure that this part of your preparation runs smoothly and sets you up for success when delivering powerful speeches.

With a well-crafted note card of talking points and strong sense of self-assurance, it’s time to start speaking with passion!

Speaking with Passion

As a public speaker, your audience expects you to engage not only with your words but also with your emotions. To share the most impactful message, it is important to speak passionately about your subject.

Doing so will make your speech more memorable and thereby more effective in convincing your audience of its legitimacy.

The power of speaking authentically with emotion lies in its relatability and connection. Showing feelings allows people to connect with you as a person rather than just a speaker. It opens the door to understanding through empathy and active listening .

Examples might include adding personal stories , telling jokes, or displaying your feelings openly during the delivery of your message.

However, not all topics lend themselves easily to expressing emotion. If the subject matter is overly complex or technical there may be less opportunity for emotional expression—but this doesn’t mean those conversations can’t incorporate emotion.

Even if faced with a difficult situation such as death or financial turmoil, emotions can still be conveyed in a respectful way that keeps audiences engaged.

Remember that how much emotion you show depends on the type of audience you’re sharing it with—using sensitivity when delivering passionate speeches helps avoid awkwardness or embarrassment for any attendees who may find opinionated language uncomfortable for whatever reason.

Striking the right balance between being straightforward and showing compassion takes practice, so take the time to develop a style that works best for you and improves upon each performance.

Finally, incorporating passion into a speech gives it life and makes it relatable and engaging—which are essential elements to speaking effectively.

Having passion means giving ourselves permission to take ownership over our stories, making them deeply personal in order to reach our goals and touch people’s hearts in meaningful ways. With that said, let’s move on to discussing how we should tackle dealing with challenges while giving a speech.

Dealing with Challenges

The process of delivering a speech can be challenging, but it is also rewarding. Difficulties can arise during the process that may threaten to derail your success. To ensure you are adequately prepared for these possible pitfalls it is important to consider strategies for proactively mitigating the risk of encountering these challenges. 1. Public Speaking Anxiety: Many people experience some form of anxiety when asked to speak in public. There are a number of techniques available to combat this fear and increase confidence, such as deep breathing exercises, mental rehearsal, positive self-talk and visualization of success.

Learning about the audience, creating an engaging presentation and using props or visual aids can also help reduce anxiety levels and create a better overall experience for both the speaker and the audience. 2. Unfamiliar Topics or Audiences: When presenting on unfamiliar topics or to an unknown audience it can be difficult to prepare effectively.

In this situation it is important to conduct research on the topic and familiarize yourself with the needs of your audience so that the content is tailored accordingly. It is also helpful to use humor or stories related to the topic in order to engage your audience and make them more receptive to your message. 3. Lack of Support: If you lack support from family, friends, colleagues or mentors, it can be difficult to push through difficult conversations or speeches without any additional motivation.

To overcome this challenge, seek out peer mentorship opportunities or find compatible online communities where people discuss similar topics or objectives. Here you can share ideas, provide feedback and learn from others who have experienced similar issues. 4. Time Constraints: One of the biggest challenges when giving a speech is managing your time effectively in order to deliver an effective message without going over allotted timeslots and boring your audience .

To successfully address this challenge try setting manageable goals for each section of your speech and practice regularly. Replicating real-time conditions as closely as possible will help you stay within time constraints when delivering your speech on the day itself. In conclusion, there are many potential challenges you may face when giving a speech or taking part in a public speaking event – but with proper preparation and practice they are easily managed if approached correctly.

With knowledge of techniques for dealing with such scenarios comes increased confidence when stepping up to the podium – further improving your chances of delivering an effective speech that resonates with your audience members.

Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

How should i end my speech to leave a lasting impression.

The best way to end your speech is by reinforcing your main point and summarizing the key takeaways. You should also encourage the audience to take action, whether it be to sign up for a newsletter, make a donation, or visit your website for more information. This final call to action will not only leave a lasting impression on the audience but will also help you achieve any goals you might have had when making your speech in the first place.

What techniques can I use to keep my audience engaged during my speech?

One of the best techniques for keeping an audience engaged during a speech is to keep it interactive . Ask questions throughout the presentation, as well as allowing for audience input and discussion. This can help to keep people’s attention and create a more engaging experience.

Another great tip is to use humor. Even if you don’t consider yourself a natural comedian, sprinkling in a few jokes here and there can break up the monotony of long speeches and keep people interested. Humor can also help to make points stick in people’s minds, making them easier to remember.

Finally, try to be enthusiastic about the content of your speech. If you show too much indifference or lethargic behavior, it will discourage your audience from paying attention and taking your message seriously.

Instead, be passionate about what you are saying so that the energy of your words carries into the room and engages your audience with excitement.

How can I use storytelling to make my speech more interesting?

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can be used to make any speech more interesting. Telling stories in your speech will help engage the audience and make your message stick. Here are some tips for using storytelling in your speech:

1. Choose stories that are relevant to your message and audience. Think about stories that will best illustrate the point you are trying to convey, or evoke emotions in your listeners. 2. Use vivid descriptions and visuals when telling your story. Be sure to include details such as setting, character descriptions, dialogue and plot points. This will help to bring the story to life for your audience. 3. Make sure the story you are telling has a strong conclusion or moral at the end. This will help add emphasis to your message and make it memorable. 4. Practice telling stories out loud before delivering a speech with them. Rehearsing will help you deliver your story more effectively and with more confidence in front of an audience. By using these tips, storytelling can be an effective tool to make any speech more interesting, engaging, and persuasive!

How can I prepare for my speech effectively?

Preparing for a speech effectively is essential to delivering an impactful and memorable presentation. Here are some tips: 1. Have a clear goal in mind. Before starting to prepare, ask yourself what the purpose of giving the speech is: what message do you want to convey? Defining this will help to structure your content and focus your research. 2. Research thoroughly. Make sure you understand the subject matter well, so that your delivery sounds confident and inspiring. Using facts and data will strengthen your arguments and make your talk more convincing. 3. Outline your speech. Make a rough outline of how you want it to go – from beginning to end – well in advance of the actual presentation. This will give you a strong foundation upon which you can craft an engaging talk with an effective narrative arc that keeps audiences interested and engaged. 4. Practice regularly. Rehearsing your speech out loud several times is key to ensuring that you know it well enough to feel comfortable when delivering it live in front of an audience.

5. Time yourself. Record how long it takes for you to go through your entire speech, so that you can adjust the length as needed before delivering it live – remember that most speeches should last no more than 10-15 minutes. 6. Identify potential questions from the audience and prepare answers before hand. Knowing ahead of time what kind of questions people may ask can help reduce the anxiety of not knowing what comes next, enabling you to stay confident when speaking in public. 7. Work on building up confidence levels before delivering a speech. Visualize yourself succeeding in delivering a great presentation; practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or positive self-talk; or use props during practice sessions such as water bottles or stress balls if needed to remain calm during the real thing!

What strategies can I use to reduce my anxiety when giving a speech?

1. Plan Ahead: Create an outline of your speech beforehand and practice it multiple times to become familiar with the content. Doing a trial run with the audience can also help you get used to speaking in front of people.

2. Visualize Success: Positive visualization is a great way to reduce anxiety before giving a speech. Imagine yourself confidently delivering the speech while feeling relaxed and composed.

3. Get Organized: Make sure you have all the materials necessary for your presentation, including notes, slides, etc., to reduce any additional stress that may come from not having what you need when you speak.

4. Take Deep Breaths: Before and during the speech, take a few deep breaths as this will help calm nerves and make sure your breathing is regulated throughout the duration of your presentation.

5. Speak Slowly: It is common to feel anxious while giving a speech and try to rush through it too quickly. Speaking slowly helps maintain composure while delivering your message effectively and clearly.

6. Pay Attention to Your Body: Your posture, stance, movements , facial expressions can all influence how confident you appear to your audience and how nervous you may be feeling inside. Check in with yourself frequently throughout the presentation and correct any tense body language or physical actions if needed.

7. Focus on the Audience: If you notice that your anxiety levels are growing as you present, shift your focus onto the audience instead of yourself as this will help refocus your attention away from negative thoughts that may arise from fear or insecurity.

8. Make Eye Contact: Establishing eye contact with your audience is a key confidence-builder for public speakers—it shows that you’re strong, engaged with them, and receptive to feedback or questions they might have regarding your speech topic .

9. Practice Positive Affirmations: Positive thoughts will boost your self-confidence as well as your mood which can help increase performance quality significantly during speeches or presentations in general—so don’t forget to tell yourself “you can do it!” several times throughout the day leading up to the event!

10. Seek Support of Friends & Family: Many experienced public speakers suggest seeking support of close friends & family members prior and during their speeches—not only does it allow helpful critique regarding content but it also creates a more comfortable atmosphere while speaking which can reduce pre-speech jitters drastically.

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How to Write the Perfect Speech Every Time

The key to giving a great speech is actually writing a great speech. All the speech-related advice out there focuses on our collective (and completely rational) fear of public speaking . What if I told you that delivering a speech is a whole lot easier when you know that the writing is airtight and kick-ass? Welcome to my TED Talk.

We’ve all sat through some drab commencement speakers, or perhaps your company’s last town hall featured some less-than-rousing monologues. Despite all the speakers who have caused us to nod off in our seats, writing a good speech doesn’t have to be as hard as it looks.

I spoke with speechwriter Chandler Dean , director at West Wing Writers . Whether you’re trying to inspire some graduates, get a promotion, and/or achieve world domination, here’s what you need to know to write the best possible speech for all your persuasion-related needs.

The basics: Good speeches all follow the same formula

Dean shares that the vast majority of persuasive speeches all follow one basic structure: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence . To craft an effective speech, try to follow this five-step structure:

Attention. Hook your audience.

Problem. Present the issue that you’re going to address.

Solution. Offer ways to solve the problem.

Vision. Help your audience visualize your solution (more on that below).

Call to action. Close out your speech by giving the audience action items.

The beauty of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is that you use it all the time without even realizing it. For instance, Dean pointed out that I used it myself when I messaged him requesting an interview. Even though this flow of persuasion is probably already natural to you, the five steps are a useful checklist to make sure you’re not skipping anything in your speech.

Spell things out for your audience

Dean explains the old adage of telling people your main point three times: “Tell them what you’re about to say, say the thing, and then tell them what you just said.”

Dean explains that although this might make your speech look repetitive on paper, keep in mind that this argument is meant for the ear, not the eye. The reason this is so important is that in a live, oral medium, people can’t go back and re-read the most important bits.You need to be a little redundant in order to help your audience organize and process what you want them to hear.

So, let me reiterate: Hit home your main point not once, not twice, but three times.

Tips and tricks to take your speech to the next level

Dean offers up these final reminders to ensure your speech is as compelling as possible.

Address the elephant in the room. If there’s anything out-of-the-ordinary about the event you’re speaking at, address it up top and your audience will find you more relatable

Write chronologically. Information should be relayed to the audience in the order that it happened, unless you’re deliberately withholding details for effect

Use visual metaphors. Find language that evokes some kind of visual, rather than speaking in abstract or theoretical terms. Dean brings up Conan O’Brien’s speech to the Harvard Class of 2000 as a fun example of using specificity to paint a picture. This not only grabs your audience’s attention, but ensures they remember what you say.

Tailor your speech to your audience. Remember who your audience is, and use details to speak to them specifically. Eric Schnure , author of The Political Speechwriter’s Companion calls these moments “howdahells,” as in “ How the hell did they know that? ” If you can find something specific to address that your specific audience finds relatable, that goes a long way to endearing you to the crowd.

Brevity. Use the fewest words possible to make your point. Done.

Finally: Is your speech running long? Do what my editors do and cut out all the adverbs . Quickly!

If you want to see these tips in action, check out Dean’s own close reading of his eighth grade graduation speech .

Follow Dean on Twitter @chandlerjdean .

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• Presentations
• Public Speaking

The Best Source for PowerPoint Templates (With Unlimited Use)

Before we dive into how to make a speech, let's look at a powerful tool that can help you design your presentation.

Envato Elements is a great place to find PowerPoint templates to use with your speech. These presentation templates are professionally designed to impress.

Envato Elements is an excellent value because you get unlimited access to digital elements once you become a subscriber. Envato Elements has more than just presentation templates . You get:

• stock images
• and much more

To become a subscriber, just sign up and pay a low monthly fee.

Sample Public Speaking Scenario

Here's a possible public speaking scenario:

You've just opened a small web design business in your town, and you join the town Chamber of Commerce. As a result, you're invited to give a short, five-minute presentation at the next Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Coming up with a public speaking speech for the scenario described above could be a challenge if you've never written or given a public speech before. Fortunately, there are some speech-writing steps that you can use that'll make speech writing easier.

Let's use this example and walk through the steps for writing a speech.

7 Steps for Writing a Speech

The steps for writing a speech for public speaking are like the steps for writing a presentation in general. But at each stage of the writing process, you need to keep your audience in mind:

1. Research Your Audience

Whenever you do any type of writing you need to consider who you're trying to reach with your writing. Speech writing is no different. The more you know about your target audience, the more effective your writing will be.

In the example above, you know that your audience is going to be the other members of the Chamber of Commerce. They're likely to be small business owners just like you are.

What to Do After You Research Your Audience:

Once you've defined your audience, you can gear your speech towards them. To do this, ask yourself questions like:

• What does this audience need?
• What problem can I solve for them?
• Is there anything else I need to consider about my listeners?

In the example we're using for this tutorial, most small businesses in your town fit one of the following three situations:

• They've got a website that works well.
• They've got a website, but the design is outdated or doesn't work well.
• They don't have a website.

2. Select a Topic

In this example your topic is already given. You've been invited to introduce your business. But you also know that the speech is going to be fairly short--only five minutes long.

While it's always a good idea to keep a speech focused, this is especially important for a short speech.

If I were writing the public speaking speech for the scenario we're working with, I'd narrow the topic down like this:

• Create a list of the strengths of my business.
• Compare the list of business strengths to the problems I observed with the other members' websites in the previous step.
• Focus my presentation on the areas where my business strengths meet weaknesses (needs) of other Chamber of Commerce members.

Let's say that I noticed that quite a few members of the chamber have websites that use outdated fonts, and the sites aren't mobile-friendly. Instead of listing everything my web design business could possibly do, I'd focus my short speech on those areas where I observed a need.

You can use a similar process to narrow the topic down any time you need to write a speech.

Avoid the temptation of trying to cover too much information. Most people are so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new data they receive each day that they can't keep up with it all. Your listeners are more likely to remember your public speaking speech if it's tightly focused on one or two points.

3. Research Your Topic

In the example we've been going over, you probably don't need to do a lot of research. And you've already narrowed your topic down.

But some public speaking situations may require that that you cover a topic that you're less familiar with. For more detailed speech writing tips on how to study your subject (and other public speaking tips), review the tutorial:

4. Write Your Speech

Once you've completed the steps above, you're ready to write your speech. Here are some basic speech writing tips:

• Begin with an outline . To create a speech your audience will remember, you've got to be organized. An outline is one of the best ways to organize your thoughts.
• Use a conversational tone . Write your speech the way you would normally talk. Work in some small talk or humor, if appropriate.
• Use the speaker notes . Typically, speaker notes aren't seen by the audience. So, this is a good place to put reminders to yourself.
• Be specific . It's better to give examples or statistics to support a point than it is to make a vague statement.
• Use short sentences . It's likely you're not going to give your speech word for word anyway. Shorter sentences are easier to remember.

In this example scenario for the short speech we're preparing for the Chamber of Commerce, your outline could look something like this:

• Introduction . Give your name and the name of your business. (Show title slide of website home page with URL)
• Type of Business . Describe what you do in a sentence or two. (Show slide with bulleted list)
• Give example of a recent web design project . Emphasize areas that you know the other businesses need. (Show slides with examples)
• Conclusion.  Let the audience know that you'd be happy to help with their web design needs. Offer to talk to anyone who's interested after the meeting. (Show closing slide that includes contact information)
• Give out handouts . Many presentation software packages allow you to print out your speech as a handout. For a networking-type presentation like the one in our example, this can be a good idea since it gives your listeners something to take with them that's got your contact information on it.

That simple speech format should be enough for the short speech in our example. If you find it's too short when you practice, you can always add more slides with examples.

If you've been asked to give a short speech, you can change the speech format above to fit your needs. If you're giving a longer speech, be sure to plan for audience breaks and question and answer sessions as you write.

5. Select a Presentation Tool

For most presentations, you'll want to use a professional presentation tool such as PowerPoint, Google Slides, or a similar package. A presentation tool allows you to add visual interest to your public speaking speech. Many of them allow you to add video or audio to further engage your audience.

If you don't already have a presentation tool, these tutorials can help you find the right one for your needs:

Once you've chosen a presentation tool, you're ready to choose a template for your presentation.

6. Select a Template and Finish

A presentation template controls the look and feel of your presentation. A good template design can make the difference between a memorable public speech with eye-catching graphics and a dull, forgettable talk.

You could design your own presentation template from scratch. But, if you've never designed a presentation template before, the result might look less than professional. And it could take a long time to get a good template. Plus, hiring a designer to create an original presentation template can be pricey.

A smart shortcut for most small business owners is to invest in a professional presentation template. They can customize it to fit with their branding and marketing materials. If you choose this option, you'll save time and money. Plus, with a professional presentation template you get a proven result.

You can find some great-looking presentation templates at  Envato Elements  or  GraphicRiver . To browse through some example templates, look at these articles:

Even a short speech like the one we've been using as an example in this tutorial could benefit from a good tutorial. If you've never used a template before, these PowerPoint tutorials can help:

7. How to Make a Public Speech

Now that you've completed all the steps above, you're ready to give your speech. Before you give your speech publicly, though, there are a few things you should remember:

• Don't read your speech . If you can, memorize your speech. If you can't, it's okay to use note cards or even your outline--but don't read those either. Just refer to them if you get stuck.
• Practice . Practice helps you get more comfortable with your speech. It'll also help you determine how your speech fits into the time slot you've been allotted.
• Do use visual aids . Of course, your presentation template adds a visual element to your public speech. But if other visual aids work with your presentation, they can be helpful as well.
• Dress comfortably, but professionally . The key is to fit in. If you're not sure how others at your meeting will be dressed, contact the organizer and ask.
• Speak and stand naturally . It's normal to be a little nervous but try to act as naturally as you can. Even if you make a mistake, keep going. Your audience probably won't even notice.
• Be enthusiastic . Excitement is contagious. If you're excited about your topic, your audience will likely be excited too.

In the example we're using in this tutorial (and with many public speaking opportunities), it's important not to disappear at the end of the meeting. Stick around and be prepared to interact individually with members of the audience. Have answers to questions anyone might have about your speech. And be sure to bring a stack of business cards to pass out.

5 Quick Tips to Make a Good Speech Great (& More Memorable)

After reading about the basics, here are some more tips on how to write a great speech really stand out:

1. Have a Strong Opening

Start your speech with a strong opening by presenting surprising facts or statistics. You could even start with a funny story or grand idea.

Another way to start your speech is to open with a question to spark your audience’s curiosity. If you engage your audience early in your speech, they're more likely to pay attention throughout your speech.

2. Connect With Your Audience

You want a speech that'll be memorable. One way to make your speech memorable is to connect with your audience. Using metaphors and analogies help your audience to connect and remember. For example, people use one writing tool to put the speech's theme in a 15-20 word short poem or memorable paragraph, then build your speech around it.

3. Have a Clear Structure

When writing your speech, have a clear path and a destination. Otherwise, you could have a disorganized speech. Messy speeches are unprofessional and forgettable. While writing your speech, leave out unnecessary information. Too many unnecessary details can cause people to lose focus.

4. Repeat Important Information

A key to writing memorable speeches is to repeat key phrases, words, and themes. When writing your speech, always bring your points back to your main point or theme. Repetition helps people remember your speech and drives home the topic of your speech.

5. Have a Strong Closing

Since the last thing that your audience listened to what your closing, they'll remember your closing the most. So, if your closing is forgettable, it can make your speech forgettable. So, recap your speech and repeat essential facts that you want the audience to remember in your closing.

Five PowerPoint Presentation Templates (From Envato Elements - For 2022)

If you’re writing a speech for a presentation, save time by using a premium presentation template:

1. Toetiec PowerPoint Presentation

Toetic PowerPoint Presentation has 90 unique slides and 1800 total slides that you can easily add your information onto. There are ten light and dark versions that come with this template. Also included in this template are vector icons, elements, and maps.

2. Suflen Multipurpose Presentation

Suflen Multipurpose Presentation template has a professional design that can work for any presentation topic. This template comes with over 450 total slides. With this template, you've got five color themes to choose from. Also, this template comes with illustrations, graphics, and picture placeholders.

3. Virtually PowerPoint

Virtually PowerPoint template is a modern and minimal style presentation template. This template comes with over 50 slides. You can use this template for any presentation theme.

4. Amarish PowerPoint Template

Amarish PowerPoint Template comes with five color themes that allow you to choose the color you want. This template is another multipurpose template that can work for any purpose. Also, this template comes with over 150 total slides and infographics, illustrations, and graphics.

5. Qubica PowerPoint Template

Qubica PowerPoint Template comes with over 150 total slides and five premade color themes. Easily add images into your presentation template by dragging the image of your choice into the picture placeholder. Everything in this template is entirely editable.

Learn More About How to Write a Great Speech

Here are some other tutorials that provide more information on giving a speech:

Learn More About Making Great Presentations

Download The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations eBook now for FREE with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. Get your ideas formed into a powerful presentation that'll move your audience!

Make Your Next Speech Your Best Ever!

You've just learned how to write a good public speaking speech. You've been given a sample speech format and plenty of other speech writing tips and resources on how to write a good speech. You've seen some templates that'll really make a PowerPoint stand out.

Now, it's up to you to write the best speech for your needs. Good luck!

Editorial Note: This post has been updated with contributions from Sarah Joy . Sarah is a freelance instructor for Envato Tuts+.

Speechwriting 101: Writing an Effective Speech

Whether you are a communications pro or a human resources executive, the time will come when you will need to write a speech for yourself or someone else.  when that time comes, your career may depend on your success..

J. Lyman MacInnis, a corporate coach,  Toronto Star  columnist, accounting executive and author of  “ The Elements of Great Public Speaking ,”  has seen careers stalled – even damaged – by a failure to communicate messages effectively before groups of people. On the flip side, solid speechwriting skills can help launch and sustain a successful career.  What you need are forethought and methodical preparation.

Know Your Audience

Learn as much as possible about the audience and the event.  This will help you target the insights, experience or knowledge you have that this group wants or needs:

• Why has the audience been brought together?
• What do the members of the audience have in common?
• How big an audience will it be?
• What do they know, and what do they need to know?
• Do they expect discussion about a specific subject and, if so, what?
• What is the audience’s attitude and knowledge about the subject of your talk?
• What is their attitude toward you as the speaker?
• Why are they interested in your topic?

Choose Your Core Message

If the core message is on target, you can do other things wrong. But if the message is wrong, it doesn’t matter what you put around it.  To write the most effective speech, you should have significant knowledge about your topic, sincerely care about it and be eager to talk about it.  Focus on a message that is relevant to the target audience, and remember: an audience wants opinion. If you offer too little substance, your audience will label you a lightweight.  If you offer too many ideas, you make it difficult for them to know what’s important to you.

Research and Organize

Research until you drop.  This is where you pick up the information, connect the ideas and arrive at the insights that make your talk fresh.  You’ll have an easier time if you gather far more information than you need.  Arrange your research and notes into general categories and leave space between them. Then go back and rearrange. Fit related pieces together like a puzzle.

Develop Structure to Deliver Your Message

First, consider whether your goal is to inform, persuade, motivate or entertain.  Then outline your speech and fill in the details:

• Introduction – The early minutes of a talk are important to establish your credibility and likeability.  Personal anecdotes often work well to get things started.  This is also where you’ll outline your main points.
• Body – Get to the issues you’re there to address, limiting them to five points at most.  Then bolster those few points with illustrations, evidence and anecdotes.  Be passionate: your conviction can be as persuasive as the appeal of your ideas.
• Conclusion – Wrap up with feeling as well as fact. End with something upbeat that will inspire your listeners.

You want to leave the audience exhilarated, not drained. In our fast-paced age, 20-25 minutes is about as long as anyone will listen attentively to a speech. As you write and edit your speech, the general rule is to allow about 90 seconds for every double-spaced page of copy.

Spice it Up

Once you have the basic structure of your speech, it’s time to add variety and interest.  Giving an audience exactly what it expects is like passing out sleeping pills. Remember that a speech is more like conversation than formal writing.  Its phrasing is loose – but without the extremes of slang, the incomplete thoughts, the interruptions that flavor everyday speech.

• Give it rhythm. A good speech has pacing.
• Vary the sentence structure. Use short sentences. Use occasional long ones to keep the audience alert. Fragments are fine if used sparingly and for emphasis.
• Use the active voice and avoid passive sentences. Active forms of speech make your sentences more powerful.
• Repeat key words and points. Besides helping your audience remember something, repetition builds greater awareness of central points or the main theme.
• Ask rhetorical questions in a way that attracts your listeners’ attention.
• Personal experiences and anecdotes help bolster your points and help you connect with the audience.
• Use quotes. Good quotes work on several levels, forcing the audience to think. Make sure quotes are clearly attributed and said by someone your audience will probably recognize.

Be sure to use all of these devices sparingly in your speeches. If overused, the speech becomes exaggerated. Used with care, they will work well to move the speech along and help you deliver your message in an interesting, compelling way.

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How to Write a Speech to Engage your Audience

February 19, 2021 - Dom Barnard

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.

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.

• What do I want to achieve?
• When I achieve this, what will that do for me?
• Why am I speaking?
• What is the purpose of this speech?
• Who are the audience and who do they represent?
• Who do I represent?
• What do I know about them? (culture, language, level of expertise)
• How much influence do they have?
• What is the main message and key points?
• What specific action is implied?
• What level of information should I include?
• What is important to them?

Popular speech structure

You 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:

• Explanation 1
• Explanation 2
• Explanation 3

Secondary Point (Optional: supports main)

Tertiary Point (Optional: supports secondary and main)

Attention span of your audience

Research 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:

• How many minutes is the audience’s attention span?
• What to do when you’re losing your audience

Speech introduction

Make 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 model

This is more focused on presentations but sections can be applied broadly to other general speeches.

1. Interest

You: Introduce yourself confidently and clearly Audience: Why should I listen to you?

You: Remind the audience the reasons for this speech Audience: What’s in it for me?

You: State length of speech at beginning, “Over the next 15 minutes” Audience: How long until I can get a coffee?

4. Routemap

You: State the main points, “Today I’m going to cover 4 main points” Audience: Which sections of the speech are important to me?

5. Objectives

You: Clearly state the objective, “By the end of this speech, I would like to…” Audience: So that’s what you want from me today…

Example: Great speech opening

This speech opening is by Jamie Oliver, giving a TED talk on teaching every child about food.

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead through the food that they eat. My name’s Jamie Oliver. I’m 34 years old. I’m from Essex in England and for the last seven years I’ve worked fairly tirelessly to save lives in my own way. I’m not a doctor; I’m a chef, I don’t have expensive equipment or medicine. I use information, education. I profoundly believe that the power of food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life. We have an awful, awful reality right now. America, you’re at the top of your game. This is one of the most unhealthy countries in the world.

How not to open your speech

Avoid the following opening comments:

• “ Apologies, I’m a little nervous about speaking ” – no need to make the audience aware of this, it will make them focus on how nervous you are instead of what you are saying
• “ I’ve got the graveyard shift ” – you are telling people not to expect much
• “ I’m what stands between you and lunch ” – even if people weren’t thinking it, after this comment, all they are thinking of is when will you finish so they can eat
• “ We are running late, so I’ll do my best to explain… ” – instead of this, state how long your speech will take so that people know when they will be leaving

Middle of the speech

The 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 speeches

Obama’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.

How to end a speech

Similar 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:

• Leave the audience with a lasting impression of your speech
• Summarise the main points
• Provide further ideas and discussion points for the audience to take away with them
• Thank the audience for taking the time to listen

Methods to end your speech

Quotation 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:

• 5 great ways to end a speech
• 10 ways to end your speech with a bang
• Presentations: language expert – signposting

Ideas for ending a speech

• Key message
• Refer to opening impact statement
• Objectives met
• Call to action
• End on an Up

Step-by-step process for writing a speech

Here’s how to write your speech from concept to completion.

• Outline your speech’s structure. What are the main ideas for each section?
• Write out the main ideas in your outline. Don’t worry about making it perfect – just write as much of it down as you can
• Edit and polish what you’ve written until you have a good first draft of your speech
• Now you need to practice and  memorize your speech . The more you practice, the more you’ll figure out which sections need changing. You’ll also get an idea of length and if you need to extend / shorten it.
• Update your speech, practice some more, and revise your speech until it has a great flow and you feel comfortable with it.

Classic speech transcripts

One 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:

• Bill Gates TED Talk Transcript from 2015: Warns of Pandemics, Epidemics
• Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg Commencement Speech at Harvard 2014
• Ronald Reagan Memorial Day Speech Transcript 1984
• I Have Been to the Mountaintop Speech Transcript – Martin Luther King Jr.

What this handout is about

This handout will help you create an effective speech by establishing the purpose of your speech and making it easily understandable. It will also help you to analyze your audience and keep the audience interested.

What’s different about a speech?

Writing for public speaking isn’t so different from other types of writing. You want to engage your audience’s attention, convey your ideas in a logical manner and use reliable evidence to support your point. But the conditions for public speaking favor some writing qualities over others. When you write a speech, your audience is made up of listeners. They have only one chance to comprehend the information as you read it, so your speech must be well-organized and easily understood. In addition, the content of the speech and your delivery must fit the audience.

What’s your purpose?

People have gathered to hear you speak on a specific issue, and they expect to get something out of it immediately. And you, the speaker, hope to have an immediate effect on your audience. The purpose of your speech is to get the response you want. Most speeches invite audiences to react in one of three ways: feeling, thinking, or acting. For example, eulogies encourage emotional response from the audience; college lectures stimulate listeners to think about a topic from a different perspective; protest speeches in the Pit recommend actions the audience can take.

As you establish your purpose, ask yourself these questions:

• What do you want the audience to learn or do?
• If you are making an argument, why do you want them to agree with you?
• If they already agree with you, why are you giving the speech?
• How can your audience benefit from what you have to say?

Audience analysis

If your purpose is to get a certain response from your audience, you must consider who they are (or who you’re pretending they are). If you can identify ways to connect with your listeners, you can make your speech interesting and useful.

As you think of ways to appeal to your audience, ask yourself:

• What do they have in common? Age? Interests? Ethnicity? Gender?
• Do they know as much about your topic as you, or will you be introducing them to new ideas?
• Why are these people listening to you? What are they looking for?
• What level of detail will be effective for them?
• What tone will be most effective in conveying your message?
• What might offend or alienate them?

For more help, see our handout on audience .

Creating an effective introduction

Get their attention, otherwise known as “the hook”.

Think about how you can relate to these listeners and get them to relate to you or your topic. Appealing to your audience on a personal level captures their attention and concern, increasing the chances of a successful speech. Speakers often begin with anecdotes to hook their audience’s attention. Other methods include presenting shocking statistics, asking direct questions of the audience, or enlisting audience participation.

Establish context and/or motive

Explain why your topic is important. Consider your purpose and how you came to speak to this audience. You may also want to connect the material to related or larger issues as well, especially those that may be important to your audience.

Get to the point

Tell your listeners your thesis right away and explain how you will support it. Don’t spend as much time developing your introductory paragraph and leading up to the thesis statement as you would in a research paper for a course. Moving from the intro into the body of the speech quickly will help keep your audience interested. You may be tempted to create suspense by keeping the audience guessing about your thesis until the end, then springing the implications of your discussion on them. But if you do so, they will most likely become bored or confused.

For more help, see our handout on introductions .

Making your speech easy to understand

Repeat crucial points and buzzwords.

Especially in longer speeches, it’s a good idea to keep reminding your audience of the main points you’ve made. For example, you could link an earlier main point or key term as you transition into or wrap up a new point. You could also address the relationship between earlier points and new points through discussion within a body paragraph. Using buzzwords or key terms throughout your paper is also a good idea. If your thesis says you’re going to expose unethical behavior of medical insurance companies, make sure the use of “ethics” recurs instead of switching to “immoral” or simply “wrong.” Repetition of key terms makes it easier for your audience to take in and connect information.

Incorporate previews and summaries into the speech

For example:

“I’m here today to talk to you about three issues that threaten our educational system: First, … Second, … Third,”

“I’ve talked to you today about such and such.”

These kinds of verbal cues permit the people in the audience to put together the pieces of your speech without thinking too hard, so they can spend more time paying attention to its content.

Use especially strong transitions

This will help your listeners see how new information relates to what they’ve heard so far. If you set up a counterargument in one paragraph so you can demolish it in the next, begin the demolition by saying something like,

“But this argument makes no sense when you consider that . . . .”

If you’re providing additional information to support your main point, you could say,

“Another fact that supports my main point is . . . .”

Helping your audience listen

Rely on shorter, simpler sentence structures.

Don’t get too complicated when you’re asking an audience to remember everything you say. Avoid using too many subordinate clauses, and place subjects and verbs close together.

Too complicated:

The product, which was invented in 1908 by Orville Z. McGillicuddy in Des Moines, Iowa, and which was on store shelves approximately one year later, still sells well.

Easier to understand:

Orville Z. McGillicuddy invented the product in 1908 and introduced it into stores shortly afterward. Almost a century later, the product still sells well.

Limit pronoun use

Listeners may have a hard time remembering or figuring out what “it,” “they,” or “this” refers to. Be specific by using a key noun instead of unclear pronouns.

Pronoun problem:

The U.S. government has failed to protect us from the scourge of so-called reality television, which exploits sex, violence, and petty conflict, and calls it human nature. This cannot continue.

Why the last sentence is unclear: “This” what? The government’s failure? Reality TV? Human nature?

More specific:

The U.S. government has failed to protect us from the scourge of so-called reality television, which exploits sex, violence, and petty conflict, and calls it human nature. This failure cannot continue.

Keeping audience interest

Incorporate the rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos, and logos.

When arguing a point, using ethos, pathos, and logos can help convince your audience to believe you and make your argument stronger. Ethos refers to an appeal to your audience by establishing your authenticity and trustworthiness as a speaker. If you employ pathos, you appeal to your audience’s emotions. Using logos includes the support of hard facts, statistics, and logical argumentation. The most effective speeches usually present a combination these rhetorical strategies.

Use statistics and quotations sparingly

Include only the most striking factual material to support your perspective, things that would likely stick in the listeners’ minds long after you’ve finished speaking. Otherwise, you run the risk of overwhelming your listeners with too much information.

Watch your tone

Be careful not to talk over the heads of your audience. On the other hand, don’t be condescending either. And as for grabbing their attention, yelling, cursing, using inappropriate humor, or brandishing a potentially offensive prop (say, autopsy photos) will only make the audience tune you out.

Creating an effective conclusion

Restate your main points, but don’t repeat them.

“I asked earlier why we should care about the rain forest. Now I hope it’s clear that . . .” “Remember how Mrs. Smith couldn’t afford her prescriptions? Under our plan, . . .”

Call to action

Speeches often close with an appeal to the audience to take action based on their new knowledge or understanding. If you do this, be sure the action you recommend is specific and realistic. For example, although your audience may not be able to affect foreign policy directly, they can vote or work for candidates whose foreign policy views they support. Relating the purpose of your speech to their lives not only creates a connection with your audience, but also reiterates the importance of your topic to them in particular or “the bigger picture.”

Practicing for effective presentation

Once you’ve completed a draft, read your speech to a friend or in front of a mirror. When you’ve finished reading, ask the following questions:

• Which pieces of information are clearest?
• Where did I connect with the audience?
• Where might listeners lose the thread of my argument or description?
• Where might listeners become bored?
• Where did I have trouble speaking clearly and/or emphatically?
• Did I stay within my time limit?

Other resources

• Toastmasters International is a nonprofit group that provides communication and leadership training.
• Allyn & Bacon Publishing’s Essence of Public Speaking Series is an extensive treatment of speech writing and delivery, including books on using humor, motivating your audience, word choice and presentation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Boone, Louis E., David L. Kurtz, and Judy R. Block. 1997. Contemporary Business Communication . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Ehrlich, Henry. 1994. Writing Effective Speeches . New York: Marlowe.

Lamb, Sandra E. 1998. How to Write It: A Complete Guide to Everything You’ll Ever Write . Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Faculty - August 13, 2018

Five Tips to Give a Great Speech

• Strategic Communication

Anybody can learn to give a great speech, says  Jane Praeger , a faculty member for the  Programs in Strategic Communication  at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. She offers five tips on how to keep speeches both simple and authentic.

1. Practice Beforehand

Practice replacing filler words like "um," "so," and "like" with silence. If you can rehearse in the space where you’ll be speaking, that’s a real plus. Go to the back of the room, imagine that you’re hard of hearing or distracted, and you’ll know how to reach those people.

2. Work the Room

Try to speak to audience members before your speech, so that you can focus on a few friendly faces, particularly if you get nervous. If you’re making eye contact with a friendly person in one quadrant, those nearby will think that you’re talking to them. Then do the same thing in another quadrant. You want to see your talk as a series of conversations with different people throughout the room.

3. Prepare with Relaxation Techniques

If you’re nervous before approaching the stage, take a few deep breaths. Picture yourself delivering a successful speech. Most people will be nervous for the first few minutes, but you want to channel that adrenaline into positive energy.

4. Don’t Read Your Speech

Tell your speech from heart or use a notecard with bullet points as a cheat sheet. Bring the card with you and place it on the lectern. If you freeze up mid-speech, you can take a deep breath, look at your card, and know exactly which story you’re going to tell next.

5. Stand Up Straight

Whether you walk across the stage or stand behind a lectern, try to maintain good posture. Imagine that your head is being held up by a string. Standing up straight shows that you have confidence in what you’re talking about and your audience will feel more inclined to listen.

Read the full story for five more tips at  Forbes  and learn more about the  Programs in Strategic Communication  at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.

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• 11 Tips for Giving a Great Speech

Chances are you’ll be asked to give speeches or presentations in classes at school. If you get involved in volunteer groups, brief speeches to open events or thank participants are a must. Then there are the speeches at events such as weddings, as well as speeches that you might have to give in the workplace. That amounts to the average person being required to give quite a lot of speeches, even if they don’t get involved in an area such as politics where the ability to give a good speech becomes even more important. You might also have suffered through quite a number of bad speeches from other people – whether that’s at family events where the microphone squeaks the whole way through or a school presentation where the headteacher can’t quite make the jokes work. If you don’t want to inflict the same sort of experience on others, here are our top tips for giving a great speech.

1. Practise your microphone technique

2. Keep it short

Particularly at something like a party or a wedding, no one will be unhappy if your speech runs a little short; it’ll just give them more time to investigate the canapés. If you are giving a speech for a class in school, and it’ll be assessed, you need to prioritise keeping it within the required time limits. But even under these circumstances, if you’ve been tasked – say – with giving a 10-15 minute speech, it’s usually better to come in nearer the 10 than the 15 minute mark. Put simply, even if your speech is terrible, your audience can probably tolerate it for 10 minutes. Much longer, and they’ll be struggling. This shouldn’t limit what you can cover; in the film Up , the whole of Carl and Ellie’s heartbreaking love story is told in under 12 minutes. Do you really need longer to make your points? Achieve brevity by writing out the speech you would give if you had all the time in the world, and then cut anything that seems extraneous or boring.

3. Consider what your audience wants to hear

If you are giving a speech in class because it’s your assignment, what your audience wants to hear is likely to be “the bell ringing for lunch”; you can’t help them there. But under other circumstances, consider what your audience wants to hear and what you want to say, and strive for there to be as much overlap as possible. In the context of a political speech, for instance, what you want to say might be why your party should receive votes; what your audience wants to hear is what your party would do for them, if they won power. Hopefully it should be possible to write a speech that meets both sets of needs, rather than focusing solely on whatever it is that you want to say and leaving your audience disappointed.

4. Pick a theme and stick to it

Here’s a goal for giving a speech: someone sitting near the back, who’s messing around on their phone for at least two-thirds of it and focusing mainly on how long it will be until lunch, should nonetheless be able to give a reasonably accurate answer to the question, “what was it about?” If you’re supposed to be giving a speech in defence of the nuclear deterrent, for example, both the topic and your position on it should be clearly identifiable. This means – to stick with the nuclear deterrent example – not talking for a while about jobs, and then the wider economy, and then the North-South divide, and then Scottish independence, and then Ukraine with a brief digression into South Ossetia before rounding off by squeaking out “and that’s why we should renew Trident!” seconds before you run out of time – no matter how relevant that cornucopia of topics may feel (and they are all relevant, albeit tenuously). It means that even if you do have to take a while to explain a more complex idea, you need to be concise, and bring it back to your theme as quickly as you can.

5. Speak slowly

Most people speak more quickly than they realise when they’re on stage, especially if they’re nervous. But no one will be able to follow your speech if you’re jabbering it out. Thankfully, this one is easy to fix with a little effort and practise. First of all, figure out how quickly you’re actually speaking: do a word count for your speech and then time yourself saying it. A fast speaker will speak at maybe 160 words per minute, a slow speaker at 100 wpm and an average speaker at 130 wpm. For a formal speech, you want to be speaking on the slow side. While this will vary by culture and environment, 120 wpm is a reasonable target to aim for; slow enough that everyone should be able to understand you, and fast enough that you hopefully won’t be sending them to sleep.

6. Tell a couple of jokes

This is a tricky tip because there are lots of pitfalls in the world of telling jokes. For instance, there’s the temptation to include an in-joke that three of your friends will understand and find hilarious, that is utterly baffling to everyone else in the room. Avoid this – if you include any jokes, witty references or anything along those lines, make sure they are accessible to everyone present. All the same, if you can manage a joke or two, it can be a useful way to break up a speech and retain the audience’s interest. A little self-deprecation (not too much!) or the use of classic joke formats such as “the scene was chaotic; it looked as if a bomb had hit and we didn’t know where to start on repairs – but that’s enough about the hen party…” work nicely even if you’re not very confident. Don’t turn it into a stand-up comedy sketch if you’re not a comedian, don’t wait for ages for laughter that’s not showing up, and don’t make jokes at the expense of anyone who you don’t know for sure can take it.

7. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself if you need to

If you follow US or UK politics at all, you’ve probably heard some of these phrases recently: take back control, make America great again, long-term economic plan, son of a bus driver. Three of these have already led the party or people they’re associated with to electoral victory; the fourth remains to be seen. To take the ‘son of a bus driver’ as an example, this refers to Sadiq Khan, now Mayor of London. There can be hardly anyone in London who doesn’t know what their Mayor’s dad did for a living. Meanwhile, many of them probably can’t remember his rival Zac Goldsmith’s name, let alone anything he said during the campaign. The point is that repetition works. In pursuit of point 4, if you want people to remember your key theme, you’re going to have to say it more than once. Don’t assume that everyone will have paid attention to everything you’ve said, unless you’re in a classroom setting where they’ll get told off if they don’t.

8. Only use the visual aids you need

This tip applies to two things: PowerPoints and notes. If you can do without either (and your assignment allows it), then do. Every time you’re glancing over your notes or up at the screen, fiddling with the laptop to get the slide to move on, fighting with a video that isn’t working or struggling to read your own handwriting, is time that you’re not spending engaging with your audience. A well-written, clear speech delivered without notes is always going to be better than someone awkwardly reading aloud the bullet points on their PowerPoint slides. If you must do a presentation – for instance, because there are photos that need to be included – have as little text on it as possible, preferably none. That way, if there are people at the back who can’t really see the screen through the sea of heads in front of them, they’ll still be able to follow what you’re saying.

9. Get a friend to check for awkward mannerisms

Mannerisms that are entirely fine in normal life become awkward and strange when you’re speaking in public. Perhaps you’re inclined to fiddle with your hair or your cuffs, you rock back and forth on the balls of your feet, or you have a habit of reaching your hand to your cheek when you’re talking. No one would notice in everyday conversation, but when you’re on a stage, it’ll become all they’ll see. Some of this is easily avoidable – for instance, if you have long hair that you’re inclined to twirl or otherwise fiddle with, tie it up. For other mannerisms, get the critical friend who helped you sort out your microphone technique to tell you what they are, and do your best to suppress the more annoying ones.

10. Look around the room

Talking about eye contact usually has the effect of making normal eye contact a lot harder, and so does giving a speech. All of a sudden, you’re up on stage, and you have no idea what a normal way to look at a group of people is. Some speakers deal with this by picking a point in the middle distance and speaking to it; others by picking a particular person near to the back and addressing their entire speech at them. This is obviously no fun for that person, who probably spends the whole thing feeling extremely uncomfortable, but it’s not too weird for everyone else. Better still, though, if you can manage it, is to look slowly and steadily around the room, trying to make eye contact with a decent range of people, before returning to the middle distance for a while, rinse and repeat. This needs to be slow and steady, or you give the impression that you’ve just smelled smoke and are casting about for a fire exit before the stampede beings.

11. Don’t be scared of a good reaction

If your speech is genuinely engaging, funny, inspiring or any of the other things you might hope it would be, your audience will react to it. There might be laughter, or applause, or even a bit of cheering depending on the setting. This can be daunting because when you’re practising your speech in front of your bedroom mirror, there’s no way to prepare for it. And it’s where even the best speakers can go wrong, by launching straight into what they were going to say next without waiting for the laughter or applause to stop, or by looking painfully awkward while it’s going on. It’s a pitfall that’s mostly solved by being aware it might happen. If your audience is applauding you or otherwise reacting well, it’s OK to smile, look up, wait for them to stop and then keep going with your speech – it’s as simple as that. You could even throw in a “thank you” before you continue in the knowledge that it’s all going well. Image credits: microphones ; audience ; boy with microphone ; clock ; winding road ; enjoy a joke ; sticky notes ; 

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How to Write a Speech in Just a Few Simple Steps

In fact, once you understand the concepts below, you can use our Online Speech Writer to organize and print your presentation. A little warning, though, the process is very simple if you follow every step . If you skip a step, you can get bogged down, and the process can take a lot of time. However, if you follow the steps, you can write an effective speech in just a few minutes (versus hours or days)!

This post is the second in a series designed to help people create a perfect speech from scratch. Last week, I gave you a few ways to start a speech . Next week, I will show you how to end a speech . We will also cover a few unique types of presentations in future posts such as writing a eulogy . We will cover a few other types of speeches that are common such as a wedding speech , a persuasive speech , and a graduation speech.

A Few Concepts You Need to Know Before Writing a Speech.

Remember that if you want to hold your audience’s attention, less is more . Short is better than long. No one ever said, “That meeting was so good, I wish everyone would have spoken longer.” So, a few concepts (bullet points) covered really well is much better than a bunch of stuff covered in a cursory way. Another great tip is that writing a presentation word-for-word and then trying to memorize your entire speech is hard. To make this writing process easier, people will often use note cards and try to practice in front of the mirror. This often will just make you more nervous. Instead, create a presentation outline and use literary devices to add “meat to the content.” For instance, examples and stories are fantastic reinforcement for your points or concepts. You can also use analogies, quotes, and visual aids to prove your points.

When you do practice, practice in front of an audience. Live audiences will let you practice making eye contact and make sure you are using proper body language when you present. A run-through in front of real people will also help you fit your speech into the proper time limit.

For additional details, see Create a Persuasive Speech Outline .

How to Write a Good Speech in Just a Few Simple Steps

Step #1: narrow down your topic first, and your speech writing will be faster and easier..

So, the first thing you want to do is narrow down your topic. An easy way to do this is to use the five W’s from journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why?

An Example of Using the Who, What, When, Where, Why Technique.

For instance, let’s say that I am giving a work presentation about our company financials last quarter. The who is the company. The when is last quarter. If I narrow down the where, I might want to focus on just the Midwest Region. So, now I have to ask, “What exactly happened with our company offices in the Midwest Region last quarter?”

Well. sales increased more in that region than anywhere else. The final question is, “Why?” Why was this region different from the other regions? They hired a new regional sales manager. She and her team focused on repeat business from past customers. After finding answers to each of these questions, I can create a much more narrow and focused title. Financials from Last Quarter Becomes… A Focus on Generating Repeat Business from Past Customers in the Midwest Region Generated a Sharp Increase in Revenue Last Quarter. If you have trouble narrowing down the focus of your topic, make sure to focus on the WHY? Why would your audience care about the topic that you are presenting? Why should they pay attention to you? If you can add the answers to these questions into your title, your presentation will be more narrow and interesting to your audience.

Step #2: Create a Speech Outline Out of Your Main Ideas.

Keep listing these important points until you have five to ten of them. Then, rank them from the most important idea to the least important. The process here is to brainstorm possible concepts or different points to cover, and then sort them from most important to least important.

By the way, you won’t be able to effectively cover ALL of the points that you brainstormed. You will only want to cover three, four, or five of these items. That is why you want to sort them by importance. If you can only cover a few points, why not cover the most important?

The number of items that you cover will be determined by the required length of time that you have to speak. A good rule of thumb is to cover one item or bullet for every seven to 10 minutes that you have to speak. However, you definitely want to limit your bullets to just five per sitting. For a short speech (less than 20 minutes,) three points is a good number. If you have 45 to 50 minutes, you probably want to cover five bullet points.

Pro Tip! Go through the same process of determining the “Why?” for each of your bullet points. This will make your entire presentation something that the audience will want to pay attention to. Just read each of your bullets and ask, “Why does my audience need to know this?” Whatever the answer is, add that why to the statement that you made in the bullet point.

Now that you have your topic and your three to five bullet points, you have a great presentation outline. You can also use this outline as your slide or visual aid.

Step #3: Insert “Impact Ideas” to Add Content to Your Presentation.

Instead, use what we call a Presentation Impact Idea to better explain each bullet point. Pretend that your audience members are a jury. The bullet points are the statements that you are trying to prove. And the “Impact Ideas” are the pieces of evidence that prove that each statement is true. Below are some of my favorite items, but anything that answers the question, “How can I prove this bullet point to my audience?” will do.

• Add a Personal Story or Example : Relay a quick story that occurred to actual people. These stories are solid proof that what you are saying is true because it happened before. The funny thing about stories is that most presenters avoid stories like the plague. But professional speakers use almost nothing but great stories to make their points. (That is why most speakers are boring and most professional speakers are interesting.) Going back to the jury analogy, a story about a personal experience is like an eye-witness testifying in court.
• Quotes : A simple quote from an expert that you can remember will add a lot of credibility to your speech. By inserting a quote, you are borrowing credibility from another expert. To continue with the jury analogy, this is like bringing in an expert witness.
• Analogy : After you have used a quote from an expert or a story to verify that your bullet point is true, adding an analogy can add flavor to your presentation and make your points memorable. If you recall from literature class, an analogy is a comparison. You can use these to compare a point that you are trying to explain to something that the audience can better relate to. (Like comparing a presentation to a jury trial.) For additional information, visit the post about how to insert analogies into presentations .

You may also like How to Design and Deliver a Memorable Speech .

If You Really Want to Learn to Write an Amazing Speech, Register for a Class

Obviously, this is a very abbreviated version of our turn-key process to help people design speeches. If you want a complete guide to designing and delivering presentations or need help preparing your final draft, you have a couple of options. You can purchase access to our Online Public Speaking Course for a do-it-yourself type of process. Or you can register for a seat in our in-person public speaking training sessions if you want access to a personal presentation coach. Remember that the Online Course is also included in the tuition for our presentation classes, so if you attend a class, you get lifetime access to the online course.

For additional help, make sure to visit our 101 presentation tips blog post.

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How to Start a Speech: 7 Tips and Examples for a Captivating Opening

By Status.net Editorial Team on December 12, 2023 — 10 minutes to read

1. Choosing the Right Opening Line

Finding the perfect opening line for your speech is important in grabbing your audience’s attention. A strong opening line sets the stage for the points you want to make and helps you establish a connection with your listeners.

1. Start with a question

Engage your audience from the very beginning by asking them a thought-provoking question related to your topic. This approach encourages them to think, and it can create a sense of anticipation about what’s coming next.

• “Have you ever wondered how much time we spend on our phones every day?”

2. Share a personal story

A relatable personal story can create an emotional connection with your audience. Make sure your story is short, relevant to your speech, and ends with a clear point.

• “When I was a child, my grandmother used to tell me that every kind deed we do plants a seed of goodness in the world. It was this philosophy that inspired me to start volunteering.”

3. Use a quote or a statistic

Incorporate a powerful quote or an intriguing statistic at the outset of your speech to engage your audience and provide context for your topic.

• “As the great Maya Angelou once said, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'”

4. Make them laugh

Injecting a little humor into your opening line puts everyone at ease and makes your speech more memorable. Just make sure your joke is relevant and doesn’t offend your audience.

• “They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor is cute, forget the fruit!”

5. Paint a mental picture

Draw your audience in by describing a vivid scene or painting an illustration in their minds. This creates an immersive experience that makes it easier for your audience to follow your speech.

• “Picture this: you’re walking down the beach, and you look out on the horizon. The sun is setting, and the sky is a breathtaking canvas of reds, oranges, and pinks.”

2. Using a Personal Story

Sharing a personal story can be a highly effective way to engage your audience from the very beginning of your speech. When you open your talk with a powerful, relatable story, it helps create an emotional connection with your listeners, making them more invested in what you have to say.

Think about an experience from your life that is relevant to the topic of your speech. Your story doesn’t have to be grand or dramatic, but it should be clear and vivid. Include enough detail to paint a picture in your audience’s minds, but keep it concise and on point.

The key to successfully using a personal story is to make it relatable. Choose a situation that your audience can empathize with or easily understand. For example, if you’re giving a speech about overcoming adversity, you could talk about a time where you faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge and overcame it.

Make sure to connect your story to the main point or theme of your speech. After sharing your experience, explain how it relates to the topic at hand, and let your audience see the relevance to their own lives. This will make your speech more impactful and show your listeners why your personal story holds meaning.

3. Making a Shocking Statement

Starting your speech with a shocking statement can instantly grab your audience’s attention. This technique works especially well when your speech topic relates to a hot-button issue or a controversial subject. Just make sure that the statement is relevant and true, as false claims may damage your credibility.

For example, “Believe it or not, 90% of startups fail during their first five years in the market.” This statement might surprise your listeners and make them more receptive to your ideas on how to avoid pitfalls and foster a successful business.

So next time you’re crafting a speech, consider opening with a powerful shocking statement. It could be just the thing to get your audience sitting up and paying full attention. (Try to keep your shocking statement relevant to your speech topic and factual to enhance your credibility.)

4. Using Humor

Humor can be an excellent way to break the ice and grab your audience’s attention. Opening your speech with a funny story or a joke can make a memorable first impression. Just be sure to keep it relevant to your topic and audience.

A good joke can set a light-hearted tone, lead into the importance of effective time management, and get your audience engaged from the start.

When using humor in your speech, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Be relatable: Choose a story or joke that your audience can easily relate to. It will be more engaging and connect your listeners to your message.
• Keep it appropriate: Make sure the humor fits the occasion and audience. Stay away from controversial topics and avoid offending any particular group.
• Practice your delivery: Timing and delivery are essential when telling a joke. Practice saying it out loud and adjust your pacing and tone of voice to ensure your audience gets the joke.
• Go with the flow: If your joke flops or doesn’t get the reaction you were hoping for, don’t panic or apologize. Simply move on to the next part of your speech smoothly, and don’t let it shake your confidence.
• Don’t overdo it: While humor can be useful in capturing your audience’s attention, remember that you’re not a stand-up comedian. Use it sparingly and focus on getting your message across clearly and effectively.

5. Incorporating a Quote

When you want to start your speech with a powerful quote, ensure that the quote is relevant to your topic. Choose a quote from a credible source, such as a famous historical figure, a well-known author, or a respected expert in your field. This will not only grab your audience’s attention but also establish your speech’s credibility.

For example, if you’re giving a speech about resilience, you might use this quote by Nelson Mandela: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Once you’ve found the perfect quote, integrate it smoothly into your speech’s introduction. You can briefly introduce the source of the quote, providing context for why their words are significant. For example:

Nelson Mandela, an inspirational leader known for his perseverance, once said: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

When you’re incorporating a quote in your speech, practice your delivery to ensure it has the intended impact. Focus on your tone, pace, and pronunciation. By doing so, you can convey the quote’s meaning effectively and connect with your audience emotionally.

Connect the quote to your main points by briefly explaining how it relates to the subject matter of your speech. By creating a natural transition from the quote to your topic, you can maintain your audience’s interest and set the stage for a compelling speech.

In our resilience example, this could look like:

“This quote by Mandela beautifully illustrates the power of resilience. Today, I want to share with you some stories of remarkable individuals who, like Mandela, overcame obstacles and rose every time they fell. Through their experiences, we might learn how to cultivate our own resilience and make the most of life’s challenges.”

6. Starting with a Question

Opening your speech with a question can be a great way to engage your audience from the start. This strategy encourages your listeners to think and become active participants in your presentation. Your opening question should be related to your core message, sparking their curiosity, and setting the stage for the following content. Here are a few examples:

• For a motivational speech : “Have you ever wondered what you would do if you couldn’t fail?”
• For a business presentation : “What’s the biggest challenge your team faces daily, and how can we overcome it?”
• For an educational talk : “How does the way we use technology today impact the future of our society?”

When choosing the right starting question, consider your audience. You want to ask something that is relevant to their experiences and interests. The question should be interesting enough to draw their attention and resonate with their emotions. For instance, if you’re presenting to a group of entrepreneurs, gear your question towards entrepreneurship, and so on.

To boost your question’s impact, consider using rhetorical questions. These don’t require a verbal response, but get your audience thinking about their experiences or opinions. Here’s an example:

• For an environmental speech : “What kind of world do we want to leave for our children?”

After posing your question, take a moment to let it sink in, and gauge the audience’s reaction. You can also use a brief pause to give the listeners time to think about their answers before moving on with your speech.

7. Acknowledging the Occasion

When starting a speech, you can acknowledge the occasion that brought everyone together. This helps create a connection with your audience and sets the stage for the rest of your speech. Make sure to mention the event name, its purpose, and any relevant individuals or groups you would like to thank for organizing it. For example:

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the 10th annual Charity Gala Dinner. I’m truly grateful to the fundraising committee for inviting me to speak tonight.”

After addressing the event itself, include a brief personal touch to show your connection with the topic or the audience. This helps the audience relate to you and gain interest in what you have to say. Here’s an example:

“As a long-time supporter of this cause, I am honored to share my thoughts on how we can continue making a difference in our community.”

Next, give a brief overview of your speech so the audience knows what to expect. This sets the context and helps them follow your points. You could say something like:

“Tonight, I’ll be sharing my experiences volunteering at the local food bank and discussing the impact of your generous donations.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some effective opening lines for speeches.

A powerful opening line will grab your audience’s attention and set the stage for the rest of your speech. Some effective opening lines include:

• Start with a bold statement: “The world needs your creativity now more than ever.”
• Share a surprising fact: “Did you know that the average person spends (…) years of their life at work?”
• Pose a thought-provoking question: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
• Tell a short, engaging story: “When I was 10 years old, I discovered my passion for baking in my grandmother’s kitchen.”

Can you provide examples of engaging introductions for speeches?

• Use humor: “As a kid, I believed that 7 pm bedtime was a form of torture. Now, as an adult, I find myself dreaming of 7 pm bedtime.”
• Share a personal experience: “On a trip to Italy, I found myself lost in the winding streets of a small village. It was there, amidst my confusion, that I stumbled upon the best gelato I’d ever tasted.”
• Use an analogy: “Starting a new business is like taking a journey into the unknown. There will be challenges to overcome, and you’ll need resilience, determination, and a strong compass.”

Which speech styles can make a powerful impact on the audience?

Different speech styles will resonate with different audiences. Some styles to consider include:

• Inspirational: Motivate your audience to take action or overcome challenges.
• Storytelling: Share personal experiences or anecdotes to illustrate your points and keep listeners engaged.
• Educational: Provide useful information and insights to help your audience learn or grow.
• Persuasive: Present a compelling argument to convince your audience to adopt a particular perspective or take specific action.

How do successful speakers establish a connection with their listeners?

Establishing a connection with your listeners is key to delivering an impactful speech. Some ways to connect with your audience include:

• Show empathy: Demonstrating understanding and concern for your audience’s feelings and experiences will generate a sense of trust and connection.
• Be relatable: Share personal stories or examples that allow your audience to see themselves in your experiences, thus making your speech more relatable.
• Keep it genuine: Avoid overrehearsing or coming across as scripted. Instead, strive for authenticity and flexibility in your delivery.
• Encourage participation: Engaging your audience through questions, activities, or conversation can help build rapport and make them feel more involved.

What are some techniques for maintaining a friendly and professional tone in speeches?

To maintain a friendly and professional tone in your speeches, consider these tips:

• Balance humor and seriousness: Use humor to lighten the mood and engage your audience, but make sure to also cover the serious points in your speech.
• Speak naturally: Use your everyday vocabulary and avoid jargon or overly formal language when possible.
• Show respect: Acknowledge differing opinions and experiences, and treat your audience with courtesy and fairness.
• Provide useful information: Offer valuable insights and solutions to your audience’s concerns, ensuring they leave your speech feeling more informed and empowered.
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in Leadership [Examples, Tips]
• Effective Nonverbal Communication in the Workplace (Examples)
• Empathy: Definition, Types, and Tips for Effective Practice
• How to Improve Key Communication Skills
• 38 Empathy Statements: Examples of Empathy
• What is Self Compassion? (Exercises, Methods, Examples)

Give a Successful Speech Every Time

Sean d'souza outlines the effectiveness of the 13 box system..

Posted July 17, 2017

Can you give a speech that actually inspires action? According to expert communicator Sean D’Souza, that’s exactly what every speech should do. Sean teaches us how to use the 13 Box System for constructing informative, engaging presentations that get people to take specific actions. Discover the best way to organize your speech, how to grab (and keep) your audience’s attention , and what to say in your conclusion to really ensure follow-through. Listen here.

Peter : Welcome to the Bregman Leadership podcast. I'm Peter Bregman, your host and CEO of Bregman Partners. This podcast is part of my mission to help you get massive traction on the things that matter most. With us today is Sean D'Souza. Sean was introduced to me by my friend Howie Jacobson. Howie has introduced me to a few really interesting people. Sean is among them. And I don't exactly know how to describe Sean. I will say that I learn a lot from him. He's a tremendous communicator.

When I was just talking with him recently before the show, and we were sort of talking about how to describe him ... He's a dancer, he's a chef, he's a cartoonist, he's a writer, and all of those things are true, and what I think we have to learn from him today on the podcast is is in his role as communicator because everything I've read from him I've really enjoyed, and I've learned from. And specifically years ago I read something that he wrote on the 13 boxes method of writing speeches, and I think he has a lot to say on the topic that could be useful to you as listeners. So Sean, welcome to the Bregman Leadership podcast.

Sean: I don't know how many times I've heard you say that on the podcast, but it's a pleasure to be there. It's a pleasure to be here.

Peter: I'm glad I say it with your name this time.

Sean: Well thank you.

Peter: So you and I both have a very very strong belief in communicating effectively and I want to start with the content in the 13 boxes method of organizing a speech because I think it's really useful and I also know that you have some views on why create a speech in the first place. So why don't we start there and we'll go into some detail, and we'll see where the conversation takes us?

Sean: Sure. So why do you create a speech in the first place? The reason why I think anyone should create a speech in the first place is to get one action. So you start off with the end of the speech. You go, "What is that end point?" And there'll be many books on this topic about the end point, but so many speeches that I hear, I listen to, I know that the presenter hasn't done their homework because they don't have a specific end point. What they have are a bunch of slides. What they have is fancy graphics. But what am I going to do at the end of it? What is the audience going to do at the end of it? That should be absolutely clear. And that can only be clear if the presentation itself is very clear.

When I say the presentation is very clear, it means that technically speaking, the audience should be able to recall everything you said which means you can't say a lot, and you're going into a lot of depth into one, two, or three things that you've covered. So to put it down, now I just said two things. See how confusing it is already. So people see 25 things on a presentation and if you were to nail it down to one thing, it is what is the audience going to do when the presentation is done?

Peter: So in terms of a presentation to just share knowledge, or to be interesting, or to give someone a wider perspective, all of those things don't necessarily demand action.

Sean: Correct.

Peter: Some of them are perspective. But you're saying that mostly when you're giving a speech you want to drive some kind of action. And if that's true, then the question is that you have to start with before even thinking about what you want to say is, what is the action that you're trying to drive?

Sean: Yeah. You think of yourself as a parent. Right? Every time you give a lecture to your kids. It's not like you want to give them a lecture. It's not like you just want to give them information. You have to be back ... You want to be very precise. You're saying, "I want you to be back home by 10 PM," right? And then all the preview to that is leading to 10 PM and all the dangers of not getting home by 10 PM, or whatever. Now you can give information. That's not difficult. But if I give you information on clouds, say "These are cirrus clouds, and cumulonimbus clouds," and all these clouds. And then, what do I want you to do at the end of it? I want to go out there and look at a cloud and go, "I know that cloud. I know what that cloud does."

So essentially everything does lead to one action when you think about it. If you don't think about it then you put a whole bunch of slides together. You put a whole bunch of information together. And by and large information causes confusion in people's heads. That's why their scribbling so many notes. If you have ten speakers you should have ten points. That's the end of the story. But instead you get three, four, five pages of notes and then no one acts on them and that's the whole point. You have to act on it.

Peter: So we could do a whole podcast on how to listen to speeches too because I think what ... Because so few people give good speeches and so few people are that focused. There's a whole conversation that says, "When you're listening to someone's circuitous, filled with complexity speech, how do you find that one nugget that you can pull out of it that would help you act in a way that would bring you closer to your objectives?"

Peter: So I think there's a whole conversation in that and maybe even just saying it is useful, because maybe we'll start listening to speeches slightly differently.

Sean: Well the short short version of that is very simple. I'm going to speak in Sweden in two days, but there'll be other speakers as well. And I keep all my points down to a single page. If I have to go to the second page, I don't need it. I mean, just one page. That's it. All the points down to a single page.

Peter: And you're making one main point. What's your one main point that you're making in Sweden?

Sean: You can increase your prices 15 minutes after you leave the room.

Peter: You can increase prices 15 minutes after you leave the room.

Sean: Yes, and not lose any customers.

Peter: Meaning when you're selling to somebody.

Sean : When you're selling to someone. So if you're selling ... Say you're selling a product or service, you can leave the room. In 15 minutes ... 15 minutes later, you can increase your prices on your website, on your documentation, and clients will pay the higher price and you don't lose customers.

Peter: Okay. So you've intrigued us and maybe we'll ask you ... Maybe I'll ask you a little bit at the end of the conversation how you do that. But let's go to the 13 boxes method because it's a method that puts some structure on what you're saying. How do you give a speech that leads people to take an action at the end of the speech predictably?

Sean : So the first thing you've got to realize is that you can't cover many points. You have to cover a maximum of three points. And the way I look at it is you have topics and you have subtopics. So say your topic is, I don't know, photography. Right? Now that's Now that's too broad a topic. And so you go down to a subtopic. And we're not going into the 13 boxes yet. We're just on the topic level. How do you choose a topic? And you say, "Okay I'm going to talk about photography." And then you go, "Okay I have all these nine points to cover in photography." Now this becomes very hard for the audience to follow. This is why they start scribbling notes. But if you say, "Well we're only going to talk about aperture, and then we're going to cover these three points in aperture." Now you have this clarity because at the end of it you want people to go, "Here's my camera. I'm going to turn the aperture to, I don't know, F2.6, or F16, or whatever, and this is the result I'm going to get."

Peter: Now wouldn't you want to take one step back from that and say, "The real topic of the speech is going to be how to make a subject pop in your photography, and in order to do that the one piece of the puzzle that I'm going to focus on is aperture." Don't you have to take that step back to say "What is the larger picture that we're trying to achieve?"

Sean: Yes. You have to do that. But your end point is going to be, "Okay this is how ..." When they step out of the room, what is that superpower that you've given them? What is that action plan that you've given them? And from there on you're going to go, "Okay. Here are the three points that you have to cover." So the 13 boxes really start off with an opening. And the opening is almost like a documentary. Sometimes when you're driving home and you listen to the radio and they give you these points, when they're doing documentaries, they go these very titillating points about what's going to show up. And so what you're starting out is with a story. I often start off with a story. And the reason why you start off with a story is because the audience is distracted.

They are always thinking about something else. They're always checking their Facebook . They're always doing something else, and you go on stage and say, "Did you know how Will Smith created blockbuster, after blockbuster, after blockbuster in a row? You would think that he was a great actor, but he science." And immediately no one is looking at their phones because you've started to tell a story. So you're first job is to tell a story or create a case study, or something that snaps the audience out. Because as long as they're still locked in their world, they're not in your world.

Peter: So you have to do something that grabs their attention. Can you do something other than tell a story? Are there other ways of grabbing attention?

Sean: You can do a lot of things. You can disagree with the point you just said. For instance you say, "How to make your audience faces stand out," whatever, and then you go the opposite way. You go, "Here's how you take a really rad photograph." And that contrast creates drama. So essentially what you're doing is you're always creating drama. The story and the case study are easier ways than just ... Say this pricing seminar I go, "Here's what I'm going to talk to you about. I'm going to tell you to reduce your prices by 50%, and then I'm going to tell you to reduce it by another 25%. What's going to happen to your business?" And immediately they go, "No no no. We don't want to reduce our prices. We're here to increase our prices." So now they're focused. And that's the first box in that 13 box thing which is, you're trying to get them to focus.

So you start off with the drama. You go on to the points that you're going to cover. You go into a bit of an agenda. The audience actually needs to know, "Hi, I'm Sean D'Souza. I'm speaking to you today and I'm going to cover three topics. These topics are ..." And how long is it going to take. Just very little stuff that gets them to know "I don't have to sit for an hour and a half. He's going to be 35 minutes."

Peter : Right. So the first thing you do is you grab their attention in a way that says "I'm going to put down my phone, and I actually kind of want to listen to this guy, or this woman."

Peter : And then the second thing is you give them a map of what you're about to do so they know they're not going to be stuck in their seats lost.

Sean : Correct. And this is all the first box. So you have to see this visually, and unfortunately we can't see visually but visualize a box and all of this information goes in this box. And what you then need to do, is you're now going into a phase where you're introducing the topics. So you're saying "What we're going to do today is going to make these faces look really grand on your camera. What we're going to do is cover point one, point two, and point three." And it's very important that you first announce the three things that you're going to cover. "You have to come to Auckland. In Auckland you get wine, food, and sightseeing." Now I know this is my map. This is my clarity. You're not talking about wine, or food, or sightseeing, you're just saying, "This is the overview."

Peter : Are you at risk of losing people because you're giving them a table of contents and they might look at it and say, "I don't really need to know about food and drink in Auckland," but really you're ... I mean that's the focus of your speech, but you're going to do it a more interesting way than the table of contents seems to convey.

Sean : Yes. And again what you're doing is you're always enticing. You're going ... So if you were to say, "What we're going to cover is food. Where do you find the cheapest food," or "Where do you find the most expensive food? Where do you find the most exotic food? The second thing we're going to cover is," say, "Drink. There are some wines in Auckland that you get nowhere else in the world." Right? So, again what you're doing is you're creating this ... Always the audiences, they want to be entertained and informed. They don't just want to be informed.

Peter : Interesting. And so every move you make at the beginning of the speech opens a mystery.

Sean : Correct.

Peter: So you're going to say ... You're going to tantalize the audience in effect. You're going to grab their attention, and you're going to share the pieces that you're about to share with them with a question. So it might be, if this was a corporate presentation and you're talking about budgets ... I'm trying to take something that listeners might find potentially a little boring .

Then you might say, you might frame it in terms of, "We've got a big challenge here in terms of closing the gap, in terms of being profitable." Right? "Closing the gap between our ..." Or, "Creating more of a gap between our income and expenses where a gap doesn't necessarily exist." This is a situation where you actually want a gap. You want much higher income than you have expenses. "And we're going to see in the next 20 minutes of this conversation, we're going to see why the money we're spending on toilets might be the ..." So you're trying to pitch it in a way that you're engaging their interest and you're showing some gap of sorts, or some opening where they might want to know where you're going with it. And you want do that in the very first box in the very beginning of the speech.

Sean : So the first box is about introducing what you're going to say. But the next three boxes they're your table of contents. How you make them interesting is totally up to you but you have to be careful that the audience doesn't get lost in that chatter. So often you may sound really boring to just have a table of contents, but if you've done a really good opening your audience will give you that chance. Like you've entertained them with a story about Will Smith when you were going to talk about budgeting. You've entertained them with how Japan was closed for 200 years and now you're going to talk about budgets. So when you start off with something that's very interesting in a case study or a story, they will give you that extra time and you can just stick to the three ... The next three boxes you can just go, "Okay what we're going to talk about is one, two, three." Right? "And let's start off with the first one."

You can go very quickly over those first three boxes. I'm sorry. The next ... These boxes are crazy when you talk about them but you give the introduction. You go, "I'm going to cover one, two, three. Let's start off with the first box." You can go very quickly over to that next box. That's when all the good stuff happens.

Peter : Why three?

Sean : Because I can't remember more stuff. So you need to actually test your presentation if you have the chance to do so by getting the audience. So what I do is at the end of my speech I will get the audience to repeat what I just said. And I'll go, "Okay, here's the summary. And what did we cover the first thing?" And they go, "Yeah, this and then that." And that's when you know it's not installed. It's not installed in their books, it's installed in their brain. And if you cover more than three, then ... So even when you're covering these three, you're not really covering three topics. You're covering three subtopics. "We're going to talk about the budget, increasing the budget, lowering the budget, driving the budget crazy."

Peter: And if you had only two, would that be okay? Or is there some magic to three?

Sean : Of course there is a magic to three. That imbalance is good. I mean we've always known there is this magic to three. It's like "We're going to fight them on the beaches. We're going to fight them on the land. We're going to fight them ..." Whatever. There is this sort of imbalance about three that two seems to land with a thud. It's like "I'm going to talk about this and this."

Peter: And one is too simple so you really want three.

Sean : Yeah. One is your main topic anyway. The three subtopics. So three is -

Peter : Is there a rule of thumb in terms of how to choose the three subtopics?

Sean : What I tend to do is go deeper. So when I choose a topic I go, "Okay how can I go one level down? And then another level down?" So I'm not just trying to go ... The broadest topic is, "Okay we're going to talk about," I don't know, "Lamps," or, "We're going to talk about real estate," or, "We're going to talk over budgeting." And that becomes very hard for the audience to go, "Oh this is a really interesting topic." So you go down from budgeting to hard nosed budgeting. And then hard nosed budgeting in difficult times. And now you've got a focus.

Peter : So as you're describing this I'm realizing for listeners it would probably be useful to have specific example that you're talking through. Can you think of a speech that, either the speech that you're giving or that you have to give, or that you had to give that fits this model so that they have a concrete example as you're discussing it?

Sean: Yeah. So for instance this pricing thing, I will start off with the first section. And now I'm going to talk about the three topics. So what are the three topics? "What I'm going to talk about today is first of all why you need to increase your prices. Secondly, how to go about a systematic way to increase your prices. And the third is, pricing sequencing. How people tend to choose products and services based on a dinner sequence. Just how they go out to dinner. So let's start off with why you have to increase your prices." And that's when I go into the next box. So now I've covered four boxes. I'm now into my fifth box where I'm talking about the first topic which is why you have to increase prices.

Peter: Or the first subtopic.

Peter: So you wake them up, you grab their attention, you tell them the main area that you're talking about which is increasing prices, and now you're going to go into three subtopics of that that you've told them to expect which is ... The first one of which is why to do it. So now what? Now what we do in ... So now we're in that first subtopic.

Sean : Correct. So no you have to really make your point. And what I tend to do is I use three here as well. I'm going, "Why do you have to increase your prices?" And then I will cover three points there. It's not very clear so I don't announce those points, but I cover three points. So I will say, "First of all, why you should increase prices is one, it helps in your ... You attract customers because higher prices actually attract better customers." Then I will cover the second point, and the third point. In that first subtopic I will cover three specific points, but not make it over that "Okay I'm covering three points again here." Because that will confuse the audience. It's like, "Three at the top, three in the middle." No. But I know in my own brain that this is what I'm covering. Three points.

Peter: It's a way also for you as a speaker to have grounded authority in a way too because it's very simple. I mean I'm not giving the speech, but I get the structure which is I'm going to grab their attention. I want to focus on raising prices, now I've got three pieces and I can go deep. It's a way of organizing in my mind that allows me to not get lost in my own talk-

Peter : Which I will sees sometimes people do.

Sean : Yeah. And you get depth as well. So you're not just making a point. But because you have to cover three points in that point, that subtopic ... If we were to take it a subtopic A, B, C, now under A you have one, two, three. Under B you have one, two, three. Under C you have one, two, three.

Peter: And I imagine that in those subtopics, why you need to raise prices, you're going to be telling stories, you're going to give examples, you might give references, you might show times when it didn't work and still paid off. You're going to ... That's where you do a little bit of a dance-

Peter : In exploring and painting a picture of this particular topic. And then you tell them you've done that topic and you're going to the next topic.

Sean : Correct. So what you're doing now is now you're a full blown entertainer. Right? It's not just information. The examples, the stories in between, what they create is this entertainment factor. And people ... Why you have to ... You got to recognize why people's attention goes down. Now we can talk for a while and if I switch over to a story, immediately your attention goes up again. I switch away from the story, it stabilizes again. Again the story comes up ... So what

I tend to do is I tend to put in examples and stories at intervals within those sections. The one, two, three.

So I'm going, "Okay this point is about blah blah blah," and then I will have either a story a demonstration. Now in this pricing I have to show them that a T-shirt costs $150. And I go, 'Who's going to pay $150 for a T-shirt?" And I show them a T-shirt. Well that gets the attention up again.

Peter : Right.

Sean : And here, and so -

Peter : So you're asking them questions, you're showing them surprising evidence, you're again kind of them giving them the unexpected in a way that supports the story you're trying to tell them.

Sean : Yeah. I mean it's unexpected but you can also have something that they already know. For instance, the basic objection of increasing prices is that clients will go away. And what I show them is a Coke bottle. I show them the big Coke bottle, and I show them the can. And I say, "You know the can costs more than the big bottle. How much sense does that make to you?"

Peter: Right.

Sean: Right? And they go, "Oh. Never thought of that before but I've seen it a million times." I say, "You know, you're saying that everything has a fixed price, should have a fixed price based on the marketplace. Well you bought a house, right? So the real estate person says that the house is worth 200,000. You want 250,000. The buyer wants to pay 180,00. The council says it's 120,000. This is a documented historical perspective of the house, and you have four prices there."

Peter: So you're using examples that illustrate the point that you're trying to make.

Sean : Right. But then as you're going through you also have to make sure that you bring up ... You have to consider their objections.

Peter : And you raise their objections for them.

Sean : Yes. You always do that. Yes. Because if you don't raise the objections and kind of demolish them, then they're stuck on that. You've gone to the next point and they're still stuck on the old one.

Peter : Great. So now we've done the three ... You've woken them up, you've given them the major topic, you've broken it into three subtopics, you've now gone into depth in each one of those three one at a time using story and entertainment and sort of surprising facts, now are we coming in for a landing?

Sean : Yes. You're coming in for landing. Essentially you're doing exactly. So every speaker that goes to any speaking place they tell them, "Tell them what you're going to tell them. Tell them what you are telling them. And them tell them you what you just told them." And the summary is extremely crucial. It's the opposite of the contents. So we started off with, "We're going to cover three topics. One, two, three." Then you cover those three topics in detail. And then you tell them, "What we just covered was this. Under A, we covered one, two, three points. Under B we covered, one, two, three points. Under C we covered one, two, three points." And-

Peter : And any way to wrap it up beyond that?

Sean : Yeah. And then there's the last box which is now what do you want them to do? How do you want them to do it? So it depends on what you're presentation is. It depends on, "Okay, now here's what you need to do. The next thing you need to do is break up into groups and find out the uniqueness of this company based on what I've just told you." Right? Or, "You say, okay go to the ground floor and pick up a Coke can and look out it." What do you want them to do so that they're going to take a next step? If you're in a ... All presentations are not from the stage. Some presentations you're in the room. You're selling to investors, you're selling to people. You want them to do something. You don't want them clap here.

Peter : So be explicit. You're saying be explicit about what it is exactly that you want them to do and tell them. Be upfront and straightforward about it.

Sean : Yeah. I tell the audience, "You know 95% of this audience is going to raise their prices within the next few minutes or within 24 hours." And they go, "Why 95%?" I go, "Because 5% will listen to everything and do nothing."

Peter : Right. And obviously that incites the 95% to want to be part of the 95%.

Sean : Exactly.

Peter : Or it incites the 100% to want to be part of the 95%.

Peter : Sean if we, on our site, could we create a link to a 13 boxes form something that people ... Because they've heard us talk about it, now is there a template or something that they could use to think about this?

Sean : Yes we can do that. For sure.

Peter : Okay. That'd be great so that people will-

Sean : Now I just want to make sure that this is not my invention. Okay. This is the work of my friend Eugene Moreau, and he came up with the 13 box system. We were sitting at a café and I came up with the name for it but that's my whole contribution to it other than other stuff that I've added to it along the way.

Peter : Right. And it's ... Thank you for that, and it's a great framework. And it's a framework that I use that, again Howie who introduced me to you sent me a book on it maybe ... Probably around the time that I came out with 18 Minutes and I structured my 18 Minutes, my book 18 Minutes I structured the speech that I'd given that and it's such a simple, clear approach to organizing my thoughts. It also takes an hour speech and it cuts the timing so I know what I'm doing in these first five minutes. And each section takes about ten minutes, and it makes something that otherwise might feel unmanageable into something very manageable.

So thank you for sharing with the guests, with our listeners today. And thank you for sharing it with me years and years ago. And I'm glad that it's spreading, and thank you for being on the Bregman Leadership podcast.

Sean: It's a pleasure. It's always a pleasure speaking to you.

Peter: I've been speaking with Sean D'Souza who was kind enough to, he's in Australia-

Sean: New Zealand.

Peter: New Zealand. Sorry. That's a terrible mistake to make. He's in New Zealand. When we're recording this it's 5 AM, so Sean I appreciate you waking up early in order to to do the podcast, and thank you always for how generous you are with everything that you create because a lot of it is out there for people to just read, and I appreciate it.

Sean: You're welcome. Thank you.

Peter: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Bregman Leadership podcast. If you did it would really help us if you subscribe on iTunes and leave a review. A common problem that I see in companies is a lot of busyness. A lot of hard work that fails to move the organization as a whole forward. That's the problem that we solve with our Big Arrow process. For more information about that, or to access all of my articles, videos, and podcasts, visit peterbregman.com. Thank you Clare Marshall for producing this episode, and thank you for listening.

Peter Bregman is recognized as the #1 executive coach in the world by Leading Global Coaches and is the best selling author and contributor of 16 books, including his most recent, Leading with Emotional Courage.

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How to Make a Good Speech for School

Last Updated: February 26, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,268,919 times.

A good speech in school will earn you the admiration of your teachers and peers alike. You probably won't deliver the kind of speech you hear in the movies, but that's a good thing: people will enjoy your original take much more. From getting an idea to conquering stage fright, here are the steps to take if you want to make your final speech a memorable, exciting success.

Sample Speeches

Writing the Speech

• If you're not sure which theme to choose, write down or summarize a few stories and statements you could include in your speech. Pick the ones you like best and see if there's a unifying theme to tie them together.
• See What to Do and What Not to Do for more advice on themes.

• Don't interrupt one point with a clause, or section set aside by commas or parentheses. Instead of saying "Our tennis and basketball teams, which we all know won the regional championships two years ago, need increased funding to compete," say "Our tennis and basketball teams both won the regional championships two years ago. Now we need to increase their funding to compete with other schools."
• You can reference your school's slang once or twice to get a laugh, but don't overdo it, especially if there are parents in the audience.

• Find a broad message that your whole audience can connect to their own life, but still deals with a specific idea. For instance: "Become an even better version of the hero who inspired you." (But don't steal your "original" idea from this website!)
• Your stories can be specific incidents in your life or from history, but you should connect them to a more general idea. For instance, you could tell a story about your sibling's hospital visit, then go on to talk about overcoming fear and hardship in general.
• If you like what you're writing but it doesn't fit the theme you had planned, it's fine to adjust your topic or switch it entirely. Switch back and forth between writing stories and brainstorming a theme if you keep getting stuck.

• Surprise your audience by diving right into a tough story. "When I was ten years old, I lost my father."
• Make your audience laugh by telling a joke, especially one that everyone in the room will get. "Hello everyone. Let's have a round of applause for the guy who installed air conditioning."
• Start with a grand, thought-provoking statement. "Our galaxy contains billions of earth-like planets, and we're only just beginning to discover them."
• Most likely, someone else will introduce you, and many of your classmates know you already. Unless you're asked specifically to introduce yourself, you can get right to the good stuff.

• To use an example from earlier, if your theme is "Become an even better version of the hero who inspired you," you could begin your speech with two or three sentence about your hero, then say "You all have heroes who inspire you, but you don't have to just follow them. You can become even greater than the people you look up to."

• Include phrases such as "Now I'd like to talk about..." and "But we should also remember..." when moving on to your next idea.

• Build up to a big ending, then crack a joke to wrap up a funny speech. "And I know when you walk to the ballot box tomorrow, you'll be ready to do the right thing. Protect the interests of yourself and your school by washing your hands afterward. Do you know how many people touch that thing?"
• If you're giving a commencement speech, leave people feeling excited or awed about the future. This is a big moment and you have the power to help them realize it. "Years from now, you will be the father or mother your kid looks up to. The writer who changes the way we think. The inventor who creates new ways to live. Come up to the stage and start becoming heroes!"

• Have a teacher, family member, or trusted friend check it over for grammar mistakes and offer feedback. Spelling isn't as important, since you'll be speaking out loud.

• If your topic involves a lot of numbers, plan to write them on the board so your audience can remember them

• Your notes are there to remind you what to say next and of important facts. "Move on to bear wrestling story (guy's name is Paul Bunyan)" is the level of detail you need.

Practicing and Delivering the Speech

• Practice giving your speech in as situation as similar to your actual speech as possible.
• In general, you should stay fairly still while giving a speech. Small hand gestures and occasionally moving to a new spot are fine, especially if they help you feel and appear confident

• If you speech is too long, you absolutely need to cut some material out of it or shorten the longer stories or ideas. If you're giving a commencement speech, aim for a 10 or 15 minute maximum. An election speech should be no more than a few minutes, and your teacher should be able to tell you the time limit for a class assignment speech.

• If you can't stop rushing, work out how long you should spend on each section and write the number of minutes at the top of each index card or paragraph. Practice near a clock so you can check whether you're on pace.

• Use slightly different words each time once you have the main ideas down. Try not to get caught up on exact memorization; using a new phrase to communicate the written idea makes your speech sound more natural.

• Practice varying your facial expression if your face looks fixed and mechanical.
• Try to vary the tone of your voice as well. Don't make it sound like you're reciting every word from memory; pretend you're speaking in ordinary conversation.

• Try to make eye contact with different members of your audience throughout the speech. Don't stare at any one person for too long.
• Resist the temptation to hide by standing near a corner or large object.
• Don't fidget, tap your foot, or make other nervous gestures. Try slowly walking back and forth across the stage to get rid of your nervous energy.

• Dressing nicely will increase your confidence and gain respect and attention from your audience.

What to Do and What Not to Do

• Memories your class shares and personal memories that many people will connect to, such as your first day at the school.
• Overcoming obstacles. Talk about how your classmates overcame problems related to academics, finances, and health, and how proud everyone is that they're standing here.
• The diversity of your classmates and celebrating the rich variety of experiences, personalities, and interests at your school. Describe some of the many ways people will go on to do good in the world.

• Address your audience directly. Ask them questions to get them thinking, although you shouldn't expect an answer.
• Use groups of three. The human brain loves repetition, and especially trios. Start three sentences with the same phrase, speaking louder each sentence.
• Use emotive language. Try to provoke a strong emotional response in your audience, not present a list of facts to them.

• Don't tell stories that only a few friends will understand. Even references that your whole class will get should be used sparingly if there are parents in the room as well.

• Go change the world!
• Today is not the last day of your education, but the first.
• The future belongs to you.
• If elected, I will be the voice of the students.
• It's time for change!

• If you're giving a high school commencement speech, remember that not everyone in your class will be attending college. Don't joke about your education letting you avoid a "bad" profession; chances are good there's a parent who has that job out in the audience.=

Common Questions: Tips for Writing & Rehearsing a Speech

How do you start a speech for school?

Start by introducing yourself and thanking the audience. You can kick off the speech with a relevant “what if” question that gets the audience thinking and expand on it. Or try starting with a strong statement or quote related to your topic, then follow it up with an impactful question to answer in your speech. [14] X Research source

Where do I start when I'm writing a speech?

Start by sitting down and brainstorming to get your creative juices flowing. What is the focus of your speech? Who is your audience? Why is your speech important? Once you have some notes down, start refining your ideas until you get to one main point or theme that you’ll base your speech on. [15] X Research source

What parts should I include in a speech to make it the most effective?

Create a speech that has a clear introduction for your main point or thesis statement. Then, include and expand on 2-3 main points to make up the body of your speech. To conclude, summarize and restate your thesis to include your key points, and then make your closing statement. [16] X Research source

How do I get better at giving a speech I've written?

Read the speech out loud several times to get a feel for it. Record or take video of yourself giving the speech to find any weak spots and adjust anything that feels awkward or choppy. Ask friends or family to watch you rehearse and give you honest feedback. Then, just keep practicing until you've nailed it. [17] X Research source

• Look at everyone in the audience, not just one person. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Make sure you don't offend or embarrass your audience. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Before you start, pick a spot on the wall to focus on. Throughout the speech, keep looking at that spot after each sentence. This shows to your audience and teacher that you can make eye contact! Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Things You'll Need

• Writing tool
• Index cards

You Might Also Like

• ↑ [v161163_b01].12 November 2019.
• ↑ https://finley-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/doe/sws/schools/f/finley-h/localcontent/how_to_write_a_speech.pdf
• ↑ https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/articles/for-the-novice-six-simple-steps-to-writing-a-fantastic-speech
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/speech-introductions
• ↑ [v161163_b01]. 12 November 2019.
• ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zv7fqp3/articles/z4w96v4
• ↑ https://classroom.synonym.com/write-good-speech-school-4859.html
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/speech-delivery
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-start-off-a-speech
• ↑ https://open.maricopa.edu/com225/chapter/selecting-a-topic-brainstorming-your-ideas/
• ↑ https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/support/writingcenter/public-speaking/resources-for-public-speaking/speech-structure
• ↑ https://open.maricopa.edu/com225/chapter/practicing-your-speech/

About This Article

To make a good speech for school, choose a theme or topic to focus your speech on so it's easier to write. When you're writing your speech, stick with simple language so your audience understands and doesn't get bored. Also, try to start your speech with a joke, story, or shocking fact that will immediately grab their attention. Remember to talk directly to your audience by asking rhetorical questions and making references they'll understand. End your speech with something memorable, like an inspirational quote or a call to action. To learn more about how to practice and memorize your speech before you present it, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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14 Tips On How To Improve Speaking Skills (Speak Like A Pro!)

If you feel nervous or flustered when it’s your time to talk, use these actionable practices to be more articulate and well-spoken in the workplace and beyond.

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Whether you’re chatting with coworkers at lunch, having an important conversation with your boss, or giving a big presentation, speaking with confidence and charisma can transform your daily life.

Research shows that communication skills are strong predictors of your success in the workplace and relationships . Yet, so many people still struggle with verbally expressing themselves. Excellent speakers benefit from:

• Improved communication
• Getting their ideas heard
• Earning more respect
• Being interrupted less
• Having more loyal and deep connections
• Not being underestimated or overlooked

If you are hesitating or flustered when it’s your turn to talk, here are 14 actionable tips for improving your speaking skills.

Watch our video below to learn powerful presentation skills in person, on video, and in meetings:

How to Improve Speaking Skills at Work and Beyond: 14 Action-Packed Tips

Most kids learn to talk around 1 to 2 years old, but learning to express yourself verbally is a lifelong learning experience. You can excel in your career and get what you want by mastering the art of talking. 

Many tools are available to improve your speech, whether you’re a native speaker or an English learner. Here are the top 14 science-backed ways to speak better: 

#1 Stay in your zone of genius (only talk about what you know)

You may notice that the most professional-sounding people tend to stay in their zone of genius when speaking publicly. You won’t hear Oprah pretending she’s an expert in electric cars. Nor will you hear Elon Musk advising about spirituality and personal development.

They both stay in their realms of expertise, which naturally makes them sound confident when they speak. They’re not faking it— they know what they’re talking about!

If you struggle to speak with conviction, you may inadvertently talk about topics you don’t know much about. Instead, focus on your zone of genius.

Your zone of genius is the mental space where your skills and interests converge .

It includes the subjects, facts, and stories you know the most about. These things are easy for you to talk about with others because you’re knowledgeable and passionate about them. 

Avoid talking off the cuff about topics you’re not familiar with. Not only does this make you sound uninformed or untrustworthy, but it can send off the message that you are a “know-it-all.” 

Masterful conversationalists are usually not afraid to say, “I don’t know.” Similarly, a public speaker won’t add random facts or opinions that they can’t back up with authentic knowledge on the topic.

Pro tip: Not a master in your subject? No worries! Most people have limited knowledge in a particular field. Try learning from the Three Book Rule, which states that if you read 3 books on a specific topic (for example, tennis), you’ll be more knowledgeable than 99% of the population.

#2 Read books or articles out loud

Reading is one of the most underrated tools for becoming a great speaker. It can make you sound more articulate and smooth in your speech. Plus, you learn new vocabulary and better comprehend the book in the process. 

Unlike conversations or spoken speeches, written text tends to have a better structure for learning, as authors and editors have worked together to keep the text free of grammatical errors or awkward sentences. Reading books aloud helps you learn to speak more smoothly in day-to-day conversations. 

Repeat this exercise at least once per week (or every night before bed if you’re determined):

• Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.
• Choose a book you enjoy, flip to a random page, or continue reading where you left off.
• Read the page out loud from start to end.
• Take note of words you had trouble pronouncing or sentences that sounded awkward out loud. Notice how fast or slow you read and the tone of your voice. Depending on the character’s speaking, you can also practice changing your voice if you’re reading fiction. This can help you practice vocal variety.
• Look up the pronunciation of specific words if needed. 
• Now read the page or passage out loud again. Change your performance based on what you noticed in the first round. Emphasize important points with a shift in volume or inflection (highness or lowness of your voice)  
• Optionally, use voice memos on your phone to record yourself reading.
• Listen back to your recordings and find places where your inflection, cadence (the rhythm of speech), and volume change. Do these align with the overall message of the piece? 

If you feel unsure about reading aloud, try listening to audiobook samples to hear how different speakers recite written words. You can also use a free resource like Librivox to listen to free audiobooks.

#3 Use tongue twisters to practice enunciation

Mumbling speech can make it challenging to understand what you’re saying. When people mumble, it sends the message that they don’t want to be heard or feel embarrassed by their speech. On the other hand, people who enunciate their words are seen as more intelligent. 

Eloquent speaking is undoubtedly an art, but it starts with the simple act of training your mouth to move in a certain way. Those silly tongue twisters from your childhood can be surprisingly useful. Repeating related sounds can improve your English speaking skills and articulation of specific words. 

Repeat these 10 times each or until you can say them over and over without fumbling: 

• Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather.
• Sally sells shells by the seashore.
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
• You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York. 
• I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen. 

Use tongue twisters regularly and as a vocal warm-up before you do a lot of talking. 

Bonus Tip: Learn the Art of Stage Presence

Did you know that public speaking is actually a skill? Many people struggle with stage anxiety because they feel they ‘missed the memo’ on public speaking or they are lacking because they do not have a natural stage presence. Not true!

Stage presence and public speaking are skills you need to be taught—very few people have them naturally. 

Watch our video below to learn the 7 steps to overcome stage fright and beat performance anxiety:

Here are all the aspects of public speaking you can master.

• How to make a first impression with an audience
• How to have stage presence
• Powerful body language
• How to speak with a commanding voice
• What to do with your hands while speaking

For every speaking skill you add to your toolbox, the less speaking anxiety you will feel.

If you want help really diving into your presentation skills, be sure to sign-up for our course…

Master Your People Skills

• Create a Memorable Presence
• Communicate with Confidence
• Achieve Your Goals

Have a question about the presentation or People School? Email Science of People support .

#4 Talk to yourself

One of the easiest ways to step into your power as a speaker is to start talking to yourself. People often dismiss those who talk to themselves as crazy when, in reality, talking to yourself is entirely normal. 

Scientists have found that talking to yourself is beneficial for enhancing your performance in sports, finding things you lost, and solving problems. A practice called mirror meditation combines neuroscience and self-reflection to overcome insecurities like physical appearance and public speaking. 

You can use self-talk with or without a mirror to achieve two primary goals:

• Build your confidence : Psychologists say that talking to yourself in a mirror can help externalize your inner dialogue and sort through your thoughts. Speaking positive things to your reflection is a form of positive affirmation. For example, you can calm your nerves before talking to someone important by telling your reflection, “You’ve got this! You are well-spoken, eloquent, and powerful with your words. You’re going to rock this conversation. I love you.” You don’t necessarily have to say these things out loud, but you want to signal to your mind that you are your number one fan (and you should be!).
• Rehearse before big moments (and sort through your thoughts) : For example, you can rehearse what you’ll say to your boss while you’re driving in the car on your way to work. Don’t worry about acting looking weird—nobody will be able to hear you. Use verbal recitation to gather your thoughts, so you can repeat the key points you want to discuss in the meeting. Similarly, before a big speech, you may want to walk around your room and go over a speech script in your head or out loud. 

Both methods can work synergistically to improve your speaking skills drastically. But the most important thing to remember about self-talk is: Avoid talking to yourself negatively whenever possible , especially before a critical communication event like a meeting, presentation, or important lunch. 

Listen to your internal voice and avoid internal statements like:

• “You sound stupid.”
• “I am horrible at public speaking.”
• “Your voice sounds embarrassing.”
• “You idiot, get it out already.” 

Replacing negative self-talk takes practice. Replace critical self-talk with positive affirmations ( here are 120 great ones ) and learn more about silencing your inner critic so you can feel more confident in your speech.   

#5 Learn from the best (& mimic them)

Humans are psychologically programmed to mimic each other. Mirror neurons are primal “monkey see, monkey do” parts of our brain that imitate the actions we see in other people. They explain why babies naturally smile when you smile or why you can learn to swim by watching others move in the water. 

Recent research has also revealed how these neurons are critical for learning language and communicating with others. You can even “hack” your mirror neurons to help you become a better speaker. Think about the best speakers you know and try a few of these simple practices to pick up on their best qualities:

• Watch a video of your favorite speaker three times in a row. Notice their tone of voice, stature, and vocal quirks. Learn a few sentences from the speech and try to re-enact them in a mirror. For example, if you want to mimic the conversational yet profound tone of Denzel Washington, watch this video of his speech at a graduation:

• Pretend you’re an actor and recite lines from a movie character you like. You can find specific scenes from movies on YouTube. Analyze how the script structure impacts your feelings about that character’s confidence and self-expression.
• Listen to a podcast of someone you admire and repeat things they say out loud. Podcasters are great speakers because they only have their voice to capture your attention. For example, Rob Dial of The Mindset Mentor is authentic, empowering, and energizing podcaster who speaks directly to the audience’s needs. 

Pro Tip : Speech mimicry helps you learn to speak more confidently in public or on stage, but remember to stay true to your unique qualities. You don’t want to copy other people’s words, or you will be inauthentic. Instead, take note of the specific qualities you want to adopt—such as a deeper voice, a slower pace of speaking, or a particular type of vocabulary—and integrate these into your existing communication style. 

#6 Always remember your MVP

An MVP isn’t just the star of a sports team. It’s the Most Valuable Point you need to make in any communication setting. If everything else you say was forgotten, what is one sentence that gets your point across?

Before you go into a meeting with your team, give a speech, or check in with your boss, think about your MVP. For example,

• I’m going into this check-in with my boss to ask for a raise of X dollars. 
• I want to sit down with my significant other tonight and resolve our miscommunication about X. 
• My main goal for today’s work lunch is to get to know 3 new things about each of my colleagues. 
• The key purpose of this article is to help people improve their speaking skills in various settings.  

Regardless of the communication setting, an MVP gives purpose to your words. 

Bonus: If you want to sound really convincing, practice turning your MVP into a specific sentence or two. Something like:

• “My performance in the past 6 months has doubled the company’s revenue, and, as a result, I believe I deserve a higher raise.”
• “There was a miscommunication earlier, but after some deep thinking, I realize it was my fault, and I am truly sorry.”

Having a concrete sentence or two memorized can help deliver your speech powerfully and convincingly.

#7 Sound more confident by speaking louder and lower

Speaking isn’t only about what you say but how you say it. A 2017 Yale study found that the sound of your voice is what makes people:

• Believe what you’re saying
• Feel certain emotions 

Think about it: How do you feel when you hear someone using filler words like “um” or “like” in every sentence? What about someone who talks softly? Or someone who raises their voice at the end of a statement to make it sound like a question?

You probably won’t perceive them as confident in what they’re saying. You may even be less likely to do business with them, believe their story, or give them what they’re asking for. 

There are three keys to sounding more confident when you talk:

• Speak louder (but don’t yell) : When you feel nervous, you may naturally talk more softly. But this can create a negative feedback loop that makes you sound (and feel) less confident. Instead, make your voice sound stronger by speaking at a moderate volume that you adjust based on the room and audience size. 
• Speak lower : Research shows that people who speak louder and lower are perceived as more dominant and authoritative. This is particularly important for women who talk in soft, high tones. You don’t need to change your natural voice completely; instead, practice speaking in the lower end of your range. 
• Talk at a moderately fast pace : If you speak too slowly, you could sound boring. People who drone on in a monotone don’t tend to keep our attention for long. On the other hand, if you speak too fast, you could sound annoying or difficult to understand. Studies have found that people who talk at a moderately fast pace (about 195 words per minute) seem more intelligent, persuasive, and attractive. Measure your voice with a Metronome app for Android or iOS and try to land in the 110-160 word per minute range.

Remember that your optimal vocal volume and pitch may change depending on your audience. Learn more tips about How to Speak with Confidence and Sound Better .  

Watch our video below to learn how to sound confident on the phone with 5 simple steps:

#8 Prepare your voice

Have you noticed your voice sounds groggy in the morning or strained after singing too loud on the drive to work? It’s not the best vocal state for negotiating a business deal or asking for a raise. 

Vocal care isn’t just for singers or public speakers. Proper preparation ensures your voice doesn’t crack when it comes time to speak up in a meeting. To sound better when talking, remember to:

• Use deep breathing : Shallow chest breathing can make you sound more jittery or nervous when talking. Deep belly breathing exercises can help improve your oxygen levels while simultaneously calming your body. 
• Exhale first : When it comes time to speak, most people breathe and start their sentences with an inhale. Instead, remember to exhale first. Blow out a strong breath just before you start talking.
• Stay hydrated : Your voice is directly affected by your level of hydration. Research even finds that hydrated voices sound better . If you are about to speak for an extended period in a speech or meeting, drink plenty of water in the hours leading up to the event.
• Use our 5 vocal warm-ups in our article and video below:

5 Vocal Warm-Ups Before Meetings, Speeches and Presentations

#9 Start and end with the best points

The serial-position effect explains why people remember the first and last things you say the most clearly. Whether talking to your coworkers about a project or giving a big pitch to a client, you should emphasize the best points at the beginning and the end.  

This is particularly important for presentations, but you can apply it to daily conversations. When preparing to speak, the first thing to do is brainstorm all your key points and ideas. It helps to jot them down on flashcards or digital slides. Arrange them so that the juiciest or most essential points come first. Then, reiterate them at the end as well.

For example, if you’re selling your marketing services to a client, the very first lines of the presentation may emphasize why your agency’s package is the best one available. This is sort of like a thesis. You might start with: “Top Level Agency is a one-stop shop for your marketing needs because we do all web design and digital production in-house (no freelancers or contractors!), offer 24-hour emergency technical support, and monthly payment plans.” 

Then, you can introduce yourself, explain the package offerings, and dig into more details. At the end of the presentation, repeat the key benefits they’ll get from working with your company. 

People remember the beginning and the end ! Avoiding burying your important points in the middle! Many people tell stories chronologically and accidentally bore their audience with background stories and foundational info that leaves a bad first impression. 

Pro Tip: Practice your opening and closing line the most. If you have these, you know you will start and end on a high.

#10 Master the art of presentations with 4 quick tips

From job interviews to congratulatory speeches to workplace meeting presentations, speaking in front of a group of people is a life skill that we all must practice at some point. It’s how you sell yourself, your ideas, or your products and services. Yet over 30% of Americans list public speaking (glossophobia) as one of their biggest fears. Fortunately, overcoming glossophobia can be as simple as preparation and practice. 

Here are four quick tips to transform your presentation skills:  

• Start with a hook : First impressions are everything! A sparkling one-liner, a fascinating story, or an intriguing question are the easiest ways to capture your audience’s attention before you dig into the details. Notice how Vanessa Van Edwards’ Tedx Talk starts with a funny phrase about her awkwardness: 

• Cut out excess info : A short presentation packed with information is far better than a long, boring drone full of fluff. Cut down your speech to the basics so that everything supports your main point. Avoid irrelevant facts or boring anecdotes. 
• Don’t just talk : The most captivating presentations use multiple modalities. Instead of just standing and talking, an engaging presenter will layer on the graphics, charts, videos, and visual demonstrations. 
• Pretend you’re a performer : In his book, Steal the Show , actor, and coach Michael Port says the quickest way to boost your confidence is to simply act like you’re giving a performance and you don’t have any stage fright. Transform your negative inner talk to something positive by tricking your mind into thinking you’re capable and confident in your speaking skills. 

Pro Tip : If you are planning for a big presentation and fear losing the audience’s attention, consider making your presentation more interactive by inviting the audience to participate. You can use non-awkward icebreakers , “raise your hand” questions or a social media poll on a related topic. 

Some presenters even invite an audience member to the stage for role-playing or a mini-case study. For example, in a meeting presentation about how you plan to improve upselling techniques in your stores, you may invite a coworker to act out a customer-salesperson scenario. 

Want more tips? Take your presentations to the next level with these 10 Presentation Ideas That Will Radically Improve Your Presentation Skills . 

#11 Use meaningful hand gestures

People who “talk with their hands” are naturally more magnetic. Studies show that gestures increase the value of spoken words by up to 60%! But you don’t just want to flail your hands around without purpose. Our analysis of the top TED Talks of all time found that there are specific movements that portray confidence.

These 7 powerful hand gestures include:

• Show the number : Any time you mention a number, use your fingers to add a visual element of that amount. 
• Increase or decrease : Spread your hands closer or farther away to demonstrate the intensity of a conversation point. For example, if you say, “this is a small problem,” you may close your hands together to show a small space. 
• Feel it in the heart : When discussing something emotional, gesture toward your heart or chest region. You may naturally put your hand over your heart when you say, “this means so much to me.”
• Guide your explanations : Use your hands to give a visual guide to a complex explanation. For example, suppose you’re discussing two opposing viewpoints. In that case, you might gesture to the right for Point 1 and to the left for Point 2.
• Bring things together : When you discuss the convergence of points or groups, bring your palms together in the center to demonstrate these two things merging. 
• Emblems : Cultural hand motions like thumbs up, A-OK, or pointing with an open hand can be used to highlight specific talking points. 
• You-me-we : Bring people into what you’re saying by gesturing towards them, yourself, and then between you. 

Watch this video with Vanessa Van Edwards to see how each gesture works:

Here are another 60 Hand Gestures You Should Be Using and Their Meaning . 

#12 Learn to decode body language (and use it to your advantage)

Have you ever wished you could tell what people are thinking? Decoding body language is an underrated social superpower. If you understand how to tell if your boss is being confrontational or your colleague is withholding information from you, you can have a major communication advantage. 

You’ve probably heard the statistic that 65 to 90% of communication is nonverbal. Unspoken cues often give us more insights into people than what they say out loud. Some of the most notable body language cues to look for include: 

• Lip pursing : People may be subconsciously holding something back. If you accidentally purse your lips during a speech, it may make you seem to withhold something from the audience. 
• Raised eyebrows: When someone is guilty, they might subtly raise their eyebrows to show fear. On the other hand, eyebrow raises can also indicate amusement or surprise. Take notice of your eyebrows while talking in the mirror and use them to emphasize your points.
• Touch : A light touch on the arm can be a thoughtful way to get someone’s attention or help. Combined with speaking in a soft or friendly tone, this can help you appear more kind and more compassionate.
• Firm handshake : A nice firm handshake can portray you as confident but not domineering. Deliver your handshakes with a well-rehearsed introduction like “I’m Joe. It is a pleasure to meet you.” 
• Laughing : In awkward situations, subordinates might laugh to appease the person in power, while superiors may refrain from laughing to uphold their status. As you speak, notice when you awkwardly laugh out of nervousness versus when you laugh because something is actually funny.  
• Sitting versus standing : A sitting person is physically lower than a standing person, making them potentially seem inferior or easier to reprimand. You almost always want to be standing when you are giving a speech or a presentation. On the other hand, sitting while having a tough conversation with your significant other can help create a level playing field for open-hearted discussion. 

Note how you use body language as you talk to others daily. There are so many ways you can combine speaking skills with a specific position or nonverbal cue to portray more confidence, kindness, or influence. Learn more about understanding Body Language In the Workplace: 15 Cues You Must Know . 

#13 Work on pronunciation with this app

Whether you are a native English speaker or learning the English language, countless words in the dictionary aren’t pronounced the way they are spelled. But proper pronunciation can make you sound more knowledgeable and well-spoken. 

The most commonly mispronounced words include:

• Desert vs. Dessert 
• Comfortable

Do you think you’re guilty of mispronunciations? Use the free app, Say It ( Android ) ( iOS ) to check your speech. Oxford University Press developed it to help practice sounds, words, and sentence pronunciation. 

Pro Tip : If you accidentally mispronounce a word in conversation or a presentation, don’t be afraid to correct yourself. It happens to everybody, and there is no shame in saying “excuse me” and repeating it. If you have an accent, embrace it! As long as people understand your words, pronunciation shouldn’t be an argument of tomAYto versus tomAHto. 

#14 Improve your listening skills

Paradoxically, the best speakers tend to be the best listeners. After all, communication is a two-way street. Listening is one of the most valuable social skills because it helps you:

• Understand other people
• Make deeper connections
• Demonstrate that you’re interested in what others have to say 
• Avoid dominating a conversation
• Learn how to speak better

Listening is particularly important if you feel shy or socially awkward . Next time you’re having a conversation, practice active listening with:

• Loud listening : When someone else is speaking, strategically use sounds like “oh,” “ah,” or “wow” to show you are engaged.
• Eye contact : Avoid using your phone or diverting eye contact when someone is talking. Instead, casually hold their gaze for 3-5 seconds to show that you care. But don’t be overbearing with eye contact , or you might appear weird.
• Asking questions : Show that you were paying attention to another person’s story or presentation by asking questions about what was said. Just be sure you don’t interrupt them or cut anyone off while inquiring.
• Wait for your turn to talk : A great conversationalist’s most obvious skill is knowing when to talk. Your decision to speak while someone else is still talking could send the message that you think your opinion is more important than theirs. Politely wait your turn and even leave a few seconds of pause after someone else finishes their thoughts. 

Stuttering and Language Processing Resources:

Do you struggle with stuttering or other language processing issues? You definitely can get help! Here are some great resources to check out:

• The Stuttering Foundation
• Find a Speech Therapist

Key Takeaways: Speak Better with Planning and Practicing

Nobody is born a masterful speaker, but the most charismatic people have cracked some communication code. Fortunately, the secrets to their verbal success are accessible to everyone. Start speaking better with these simple practices:

• Talk louder, lower, and at a moderate pace : If you find yourself speaking soft and slow, it can help to increase the volume, lower the tone, and speed up the rate of your words. This will help you sound and feel more confident while talking. 
• Mimic speakers you admire : Find people you want to sound like and listen to them regularly. Identify the characteristics you want to mimic, like their cheeriness, articulation, or authority. Learn lines from their videos and recite them as you watch.  
• Read out loud : Written words tend to be more edited than spoken ones. Practice reading your favorite books out loud so you can 
• Master pronunciation and enunciation : Avoid mispronunciations and mumbling. Instead, use the internet to learn how to pronounce words you’re unsure about and train your mouth to enunciate specific words with tongue twister exercises. 
• Use hand gestures: Your hands are among the most underrated tools for speaking. Use them to your advantage by emphasizing essential points. 

Whether you’re talking to an audience of 2 or 2,000, public speaking can catapult you to higher levels of self-development and professional success. To take your speaking skills to the next level, learn these 15 Science-Based Public Speaking Tips to Be a Master Speaker . 

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How to Give the Best Possible Speech (Even if You'd Rather Be Anywhere Else)

If you asked me if I think I’m a good public speaker, I’d tell you I have no idea. Not because I haven’t done it before, but because every time I have, I go onto autopilot and everything is a blur.

When my colleagues ask how it went, my answer is something like, “I stopped comprehending what I was saying after the first sentence, so, I’m really not sure. I mean no one threw anything at me, so that’s a good sign, right?”

Public speaking isn’t fun for most people, but it doesn’t have to be so scary. Forbes has seven tips that’ll help you put together the best speech possible, no matter the topic, audience, or location.

My favorite? Number five—humanizing yourself. Connecting with the audience is a surefire way to break down that wall of anxiety . (Because they’re people, too, not a bunch of robots trying to zap you with their laser eyes.)

Photo of person giving speech courtesy of Hero Images/Getty Images.

15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Powerful speech opening lines set the tone and mood of your speech. It’s what grips the audience to want to know more about the rest of your talk.

The first few seconds are critical. It’s when you have maximum attention of the audience. And you must capitalize on that!

Instead of starting off with something plain and obvious such as a ‘Thank you’ or ‘Good Morning’, there’s so much more you can do for a powerful speech opening (here’s a great article we wrote a while ago on how you should NOT start your speech ).

To help you with this, I’ve compiled some of my favourite openings from various speakers. These speakers have gone on to deliver TED talks , win international Toastmaster competitions or are just noteworthy people who have mastered the art of communication.

After each speaker’s opening line, I have added how you can include their style of opening into your own speech. Understanding how these great speakers do it will certainly give you an idea to create your own speech opening line which will grip the audience from the outset!

Alright! Let’s dive into the 15 powerful speech openings…

Note: Want to take your communications skills to the next level? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert communication coaches. We’ll look under the hood of your hurdles and pick two to three growth opportunities so you can speak with impact!

1. Ric Elias

Opening: “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

How to use the power of imagination to open your speech?

Putting your audience in a state of imagination can work extremely well to captivate them for the remainder of your talk.

It really helps to bring your audience in a certain mood that preps them for what’s about to come next. Speakers have used this with high effectiveness by transporting their audience into an imaginary land to help prove their point.

When Ric Elias opened his speech, the detail he used (3000 ft, sound of the engine going clack-clack-clack) made me feel that I too was in the plane. He was trying to make the audience experience what he was feeling – and, at least in my opinion, he did.

When using the imagination opening for speeches, the key is – detail. While we want the audience to wander into imagination, we want them to wander off to the image that we want to create for them. So, detail out your scenario if you’re going to use this technique.

Make your audience feel like they too are in the same circumstance as you were when you were in that particular situation.

2. Barack Obama

Opening: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”

3. Seth MacFarlane

Opening: “There’s nowhere I would rather be on a day like this than around all this electoral equipment.” (It was raining)

How to use humour to open your speech?

When you use humour in a manner that suits your personality, it can set you up for a great speech. Why? Because getting a laugh in the first 30 seconds or so is a great way to quickly get the audience to like you.

And when they like you, they are much more likely to listen to and believe in your ideas.

Obama effortlessly uses his opening line to entice laughter among the audience. He brilliantly used the setting (the context of Trump becoming President) and said a line that completely matched his style of speaking.

Saying a joke without really saying a joke and getting people to laugh requires you to be completely comfortable in your own skin. And that’s not easy for many people (me being one of them).

If the joke doesn’t land as expected, it could lead to a rocky start.

Keep in mind the following when attempting to deliver a funny introduction:

• Know your audience: Make sure your audience gets the context of the joke (if it’s an inside joke among the members you’re speaking to, that’s even better!). You can read this article we wrote where we give you tips on how you can actually get to know your audience better to ensure maximum impact with your speech openings
• The joke should suit your natural personality. Don’t make it look forced or it won’t elicit the desired response
• Test the opening out on a few people who match your real audience. Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary
• Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you

4. Mohammed Qahtani

Opening: Puts a cigarette on his lips, lights a lighter, stops just before lighting the cigarette. Looks at audience, “What?”

5. Darren Tay

Opening: Puts a white pair of briefs over his pants.

How to use props to begin your speech?

The reason props work so well in a talk is because in most cases the audience is not expecting anything more than just talking. So when a speaker pulls out an object that is unusual, everyone’s attention goes right to it.

It makes you wonder why that prop is being used in this particular speech.

The key word here is unusual . To grip the audience’s attention at the beginning of the speech, the prop being used should be something that the audience would never expect. Otherwise, it just becomes something that is common. And common = boring!

What Mohammed Qahtani and Darren Tay did superbly well in their talks was that they used props that nobody expected them to.

By pulling out a cigarette and lighter or a white pair of underwear, the audience can’t help but be gripped by what the speaker is about to do next. And that makes for a powerful speech opening.

6. Simon Sinek

Opening: “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?”

7. Julian Treasure

Opening: “The human voice. It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world. Probably the only one that can start a war or say “I love you.” And yet many people have the experience that when they speak people don’t listen to them. Why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”

How to use questions to open a speech?

I use this method often. Starting off with a question is the simplest way to start your speech in a manner that immediately engages the audience.

But we should keep our questions compelling as opposed to something that is fairly obvious.

I’ve heard many speakers start their speeches with questions like “How many of us want to be successful?”

No one is going to say ‘no’ to that and frankly, I just feel silly raising my hand at such questions.

Simon Sinek and Jullian Treasure used questions in a manner that really made the audience think and make them curious to find out what the answer to that question is.

What Jullian Treasure did even better was the use of a few statements which built up to his question. This made the question even more compelling and set the theme for what the rest of his talk would be about.

So think of what question you can ask in your speech that will:

• Set the theme for the remainder of your speech
• Not be something that is fairly obvious
• Be compelling enough so that the audience will actually want to know what the answer to that question will be

8. Aaron Beverley

Opening: Long pause (after an absurdly long introduction of a 57-word speech title). “Be honest. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

How to use silence for speech openings?

The reason this speech opening stands out is because of the fact that the title itself is 57 words long. The audience was already hilariously intrigued by what was going to come next.

But what’s so gripping here is the way Aaron holds the crowd’s suspense by…doing nothing. For about 10 to 12 seconds he did nothing but stand and look at the audience. Everyone quietened down. He then broke this silence by a humorous remark that brought the audience laughing down again.

When going on to open your speech, besides focusing on building a killer opening sentence, how about just being silent?

It’s important to keep in mind that the point of having a strong opening is so that the audience’s attention is all on you and are intrigued enough to want to listen to the rest of your speech.

Silence is a great way to do that. When you get on the stage, just pause for a few seconds (about 3 to 5 seconds) and just look at the crowd. Let the audience and yourself settle in to the fact that the spotlight is now on you.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about starting the speech off with a pure pause that just makes the beginning so much more powerful. It adds credibility to you as a speaker as well, making you look more comfortable and confident on stage. 

If you want to know more about the power of pausing in public speaking , check out this post we wrote. It will give you a deeper insight into the importance of pausing and how you can harness it for your own speeches. You can also check out this video to know more about Pausing for Public Speaking:

9. Dan Pink

Opening: “I need to make a confession at the outset here. Little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal.”

10. Kelly McGonigal

Opening: “I have a confession to make. But first I want you to make a little confession to me.”

How to use a build-up to open your speech?

When there are so many amazing ways to start a speech and grip an audience from the outset, why would you ever choose to begin your speech with a ‘Good morning?’.

That’s what I love about build-ups. They set the mood for something awesome that’s about to come in that the audience will feel like they just have to know about.

Instead of starting a speech as it is, see if you can add some build-up to your beginning itself. For instance, in Kelly McGonigal’s speech, she could have started off with the question of stress itself (which she eventually moves on to in her speech). It’s not a bad way to start the speech.

But by adding the statement of “I have a confession to make” and then not revealing the confession for a little bit, the audience is gripped to know what she’s about to do next and find out what indeed is her confession.

11. Tim Urban

Opening: “So in college, I was a government major. Which means that I had to write a lot of papers. Now when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this.”

12. Scott Dinsmore

Opening: “8 years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life.”

How to use storytelling as a speech opening?

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” Steve Jobs

Storytelling is the foundation of good speeches. Starting your speech with a story is a great way to grip the audience’s attention. It makes them yearn to want to know how the rest of the story is going to pan out.

Tim Urban starts off his speech with a story dating back to his college days. His use of slides is masterful and something we all can learn from. But while his story sounds simple, it does the job of intriguing the audience to want to know more.

As soon as I heard the opening lines, I thought to myself “If normal students write their paper in a certain manner, how does Tim write his papers?”

Combine such a simple yet intriguing opening with comedic slides, and you’ve got yourself a pretty gripping speech.

Scott Dismore’s statement has a similar impact. However, just a side note, Scott Dismore actually started his speech with “Wow, what an honour.”

I would advise to not start your talk with something such as that. It’s way too common and does not do the job an opening must, which is to grip your audience and set the tone for what’s coming.

13. Larry Smith

Opening: “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.”

14. Jane McGonigal

Opening: “You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

How to use provocative statements to start your speech?

Making a provocative statement creates a keen desire among the audience to want to know more about what you have to say. It immediately brings everyone into attention.

Larry Smith did just that by making his opening statement surprising, lightly humorous, and above all – fearful. These elements lead to an opening statement which creates so much curiosity among the audience that they need to know how your speech pans out.

This one time, I remember seeing a speaker start a speech with, “Last week, my best friend committed suicide.” The entire crowd was gripped. Everyone could feel the tension in the room.

They were just waiting for the speaker to continue to know where this speech will go.

That’s what a hard-hitting statement does, it intrigues your audience so much that they can’t wait to hear more! Just a tip, if you do start off with a provocative, hard-hitting statement, make sure you pause for a moment after saying it.

Silence after an impactful statement will allow your message to really sink in with the audience.

Related article: 5 Ways to Grab Your Audience’s Attention When You’re Losing it!

15. Ramona J Smith

Opening: In a boxing stance, “Life would sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs and hooks will come in the form of challenges, obstacles and failures. Yet if you stay in the ring and learn from those past fights, at the end of each round, you’ll be still standing.”

How to use your full body to grip the audience at the beginning of your speech?

In a talk, the audience is expecting you to do just that – talk. But when you enter the stage and start putting your full body into use in a way that the audience does not expect, it grabs their attention.

Body language is critical when it comes to public speaking. Hand gestures, stage movement, facial expressions are all things that need to be paid attention to while you’re speaking on stage. But that’s not I’m talking about here.

Here, I’m referring to a unique use of the body that grips the audience, like how Ramona did. By using her body to get into a boxing stance, imitating punches, jabs and hooks with her arms while talking – that’s what got the audience’s attention.

The reason I say this is so powerful is because if you take Ramona’s speech and remove the body usage from her opening, the entire magic of the opening falls flat.

While the content is definitely strong, without those movements, she would not have captured the audience’s attention as beautifully as she did with the use of her body.

So if you have a speech opening that seems slightly dull, see if you can add some body movement to it.

If your speech starts with a story of someone running, actually act out the running. If your speech starts with a story of someone reading, actually act out the reading.

It will make your speech opening that much more impactful.

Related article: 5 Body Language Tips to Command the Stage

Level up your public speaking in 15 minutes!

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Final Words

So there it is! 15 speech openings from some of my favourite speeches. Hopefully, these will act as a guide for you to create your own opening which is super impactful and sets you off on the path to becoming a powerful public speaker!

But remember, while a speech opening is super important, it’s just part of an overall structure.

If you’re serious about not just creating a great speech opening but to improve your public speaking at an overall level, I would highly recommend you to check out this course: Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking on Udemy. Not only does it have specific lectures on starting and ending a speech, but it also offers an in-depth guide into all the nuances of public speaking. 

Being the founder of TED Talks, Chris Anderson provides numerous examples of the best TED speakers to give us a very practical way of overcoming stage fear and delivering a speech that people will remember. His course has helped me personally and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn public speaking. 

No one is ever “done” learning public speaking. It’s a continuous process and you can always get better. Keep learning, keep conquering and keep being awesome!

Lastly, if you want to know how you should NOT open your speech, we’ve got a video for you:

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

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Trump acceptance speech at RNC tried to show voters a changed man. It didn't last long.

It's the final day of the republican national convention in milwaukee – and trump's first speech after the assassination attempt. our columnists weigh in..

It's the final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee – and Donald Trump's first public speech since surviving an assassination attempt . The former president will address Republicans in Fiserv Forum and voters across the country when he formally accepts the Republican Party's nomination Thursday night .

The hours and days immediately after the shooting focused on one message: unity. This week's RNC has followed suit with appeals to a united GOP and a new platform designed to entice even centrist persuasions. We've heard from lifelong Democrats and former "Never Trumpers" all with a singular focus: Reelect Trump.

Trump is not known for his unifying personality. But has this near-death experience changed him? As pundits speak of a subdued Trump , his social media shows us more of the same. Which Trump will we see tonight – and what will he say? USA TODAY Opinion columnists bring you live commentary and analysis, alongside on-the-ground coverage as the 2024 RNC comes to a close .

Trump speech calls for unity. So GOP is now cool with wokeness and drag queens, right?

Trump acceptance speech reveals same angry, ramblin' man

Former President Donald Trump tried to present himself as a reformed man Thursday night as he accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, and it was all going fine for a bit, but then he started going off the teleprompter.

Soon he was babbling about how great he is, hollering about “Crazy Nancy Pelosi” and digressing in ways that made me wonder if the speech would be over before the weekend.

The teleprompter kept him sounding reasonable, but once he started to drift, it was like paranoid jazz, a free-form flow of grievances and boasts.

Trump said of the 2020 election that he lost , “We had that horrible, horrible result that we’ll never let happen again, the election result, we’re never going to let that happen again.”

He returned to the teleprompter, but it was clear that the true Trump – aggrieved and angry – was back.

— Rex Huppke

Trump RNC speech needs to deliver message of unity

MILWAUKEE — Nikki Haley showed the country what unity can look like when the former ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor addressed the Republican National Convention . 

Now, it’s Donald Trump’s turn. He will formally accept his party’s nomination Thursday evening, the final day of the convention.  Will he be the sharp-tongued fighter we've seen so often in the past eight years? Or will he tone down his rhetoric?

The GOP and the country need to hear a message of unity from Trump. By unity, I don’t mean a bland agenda that all political parties would agree to. You can still have strong beliefs and promote them in a civil way.

Trump has seldom done that. But this is his chance to set a different tone. 

I’ve spoken to several people who know Trump or have worked closely with him, and they all say Trump seems to have been very moved by his near-death experience. He needs to show the country how it has affected him. Read the full column here .

— Ingrid Jacques

RNC adds Hulk Hogan to the growing list of washed-up celebrities excited about Trump

To make sure voters know the MAGA Republican Party is both unserious about governing and in no way toning down its message, Hulk Hogan spoke at the Republican National Convention in a prime-time slot Thursday night.

When last we saw Hogan, he was being fired by the WWE in 2015 after audio of him launching into a wildly racist rant was leaked . Picking “disgraced wrestler who used the N-word a lot” as a lead-in to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s speech was certainly a choice. 

Hogan did all the wrestling-talk and tough-guy mumbo jumbo that pretend wrestlers do, and he kept calling the people in the convention hall the “real Americans,” which is kind of offensive to us apparently non-real Americans.

“All the real Americans are going to be nicknamed Trumpites,” Hogan growled , adding that if the former president is elected there will be “Trumpites” running wild. 

That sounds more like a threat than a promise. And it showed, for the umpteenth time this convention, that Trump has turned the Republican Party into a carnival of washed-up weirdos.

Republicans keep asking if we're better than we were four years ago. The answer is layered, but Trump still isn't the answer. 

A particular moment that stood out Wednesday was when University of North Carolina fraternity brothers were recognized at the RNC . They went viral earlier this year for holding up the U.S. flag at a pro-Palestinian protest in April. When it happened, it was weird to see my alma mater in the headlines again. I graduated in 2019 and had only a few months before COVID-19 changed our country.

But it reminded me that Republicans at the convention keep asking whether we’re better off now than we were four years ago. That question is ridiculous, considering that four years ago, we were in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests and the height of coronavirus precautions. I can’t say we’re better off when COVID-19 is still a thing and a war is happening overseas, but it definitely wouldn’t be better under Trump.

— Sara Pequeño

Alina Habba continues RNC trend of mythologizing Trump

Alina Habba, one of Donald Trump’s many, many, many attorneys, took to the stage Thursday at the Republican National Convention and brought up the recent assassination attempt on the former president.

“President Trump did not just take a bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania,” she said. “He has and will continue to take them for each and every one of us .”

Let’s parse that suggestion a bit. First, the shooting at Trump’s recent rally that left him with a wounded ear was horrific, a true national tragedy.

But as of right now, we still have no idea whether Trump actually took a bullet . The doctors who treated him have said nothing, and his campaign has provided no medical report or information about the wound. Nothing.

Trump said he got hit by a bullet , but Trump says a lot of things. He was clearly injured, and I can’t imagine the emotional toll of surviving such an attack. But if he were hit by a bullet, I suspect his campaign would be eager to get that medical report out to the public.

Until we see that, Trump’s lackeys will continue to mythologize what happened.

Tucker Carlson spoke at the RNC as if he still matters

A strange man spoke at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, someone I did not recognize and felt was wildly unimportant.

I was told by a chyron on the television that his name is “Tucker Carlson.” Apparently, he used to host a show on Fox News but was fired for sharing offensive racial views , among other things.

I don’t recall this Carlson fellow and certainly haven’t heard anything of substance out of him, ever.

Nonetheless, there he was, in a prime-time slot at the RNC, saying a bunch of stuff that sounded dumb with the kind of grin you’d expect from someone who’s about to club you over the head and stuff you in their basement freezer.

He spoke about the recent assassination attempt on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, claiming, as many at the RNC have, that a great power saved the former president. (This conveniently overlooks the fact that the great power would have to also decide to not let one person at the Saturday rally get killed.)

“I think it was divine intervention,” the strange nobody said . “The effect it had on Donald Trump, he was no longer just a political party’s nominee or a former president or a future president, this was the leader of a nation.”

Following this speech, Carlson walked off stage and, I assume, returned to obscurity.

Fact-checking Trump: Expect to hear these 5 lies in RNC speech

Let's begin with a prediction: Former President Donald Trump is likely to tell many lies at the Republican National Convention before it ends Thursday.

Will Trump lean into the truth now, with his new national "unity" messaging, after surviving an assassination attempt Saturday? Seems unlikely. But we can hope.

Trump lies so often and so blatantly that it's easy to be bewildered in the whirlwind of prevarication. But he does become predictable if you listen to him long enough and understand the circumstances and context swirling around his remarks.

I met Trump as a failing casino operator in 2005 and then started covering him as a presidential candidate in 2015 . With two decades of experience, I've narrowed the field to the five most likely lies Trump will tell this week ‒ if he returns to what he considers a normal way of politicking ‒ and why he feels the need to tell them. Read the full column here .

— Chris Brennan

Trump arrives at RNC ahead of acceptance speech

Former President Donald Trump arrived at Fiserv Forum for the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Donald Trump is in the house pic.twitter.com/SXLvGSczL4 — Ingrid Jacques (@Ingrid_Jacques) July 18, 2024

What I want Donald Trump to say in his RNC speech

While his past casts doubt on this strategy, Donald Trump would be wise to take a unity approach to his speech . 

After the attempt on his life last weekend, Trump is in a unique position to call for tensions to cool in America. Our political leaders on both sides of the aisle would be wise to rally behind a concentrated effort to stop political violence in this country.

Despite his divisive and inflammatory past, Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, and showing strength while not seeking retribution against opponents is the best path forward to prevent escalations of violence. 

Portraying the shooting as an indication of the sickness in America is the proper approach. I hope Trump takes the time to attempt to heal the country Thursday night in whatever little way he can.

— Dace Potas

Has Trump changed? Michigan congresswoman says she senses difference in GOP nominee.

MILWAUKEE — I caught up with Michigan Congresswoman Lisa McClain on Thursday afternoon to talk about her thoughts on the Republican National Convention and what she expects from Donald Trump’s speech Thursday night .

McClain’s district includes parts of Oakland and Macomb counties, both extremely important to winning the battleground state come November. 

What will Trump say? At RNC, former president has chance to set new course for his party.

McClain was invited to sit in Trump’s box in the Fiserv Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday, so she’s seen the former president up close.

I asked her about whether he’s different after his near-assassination on Saturday in Pennsylvania.  

“You know, I sense a change,” McClain said. “I can't imagine what it would be like to have someone try and kill me, let alone almost succeed at that. I mean, think about that for a second. So I think it was a very surreal, very grounding experience for him.  

“I think he's more grounded on the issues, way more grounded on the issues.”

McClain said she thinks that will come through in his acceptance speech Thursday.

“We'll see with his speech tonight, but I really believe he is toning down and he's toned down. His actions match his words. Again, some people may not agree with them, but he's not going to tell you he's going to go right and then go left.”

Will Trump take ownership of Project 2025?

I’ve been interested in seeing how Project 2025 , a 922-page document outlining plans for a second Trump presidency, and the RNC have been discussed . In spite of Trump’s claim that he had “nothing to do with” the Heritage Foundation brainchild, don't be surprised to see sprinkles of the document's message in his speech tonight. CNN reports that at least 140 people who worked within his administration participated in its creation.

And if that isn’t enough to convince you Trump is lying, the Heritage Foundation is also a sponsor of this week’s convention.

Where are Ivanka and Melania? 

MILWAUKEE — Noticeably absent from the Republican National Convention this week have been former President Donald Trump’s wife, Melania , and his daughter Ivanka. 

Especially after Trump’s near-assassination Saturday, their absence seemed even more pronounced on Monday night, when Trump made his first appearance at the convention.

Melania Trump has never seemed to like the spotlight, and after the turmoil from her husband’s hush money trial (which ended with Trump as a convicted felon), it’s hard to blame her for wanting her privacy. 

Yet, it’s noteworthy she decided not to accompany him after he was nearly killed last weekend. 

Even more surprising is Ivanka Trump’s lack of involvement. She, along with her husband, Jared Kushner, served as senior advisers during Trump’s presidency, and she has played a pivotal role at prior conventions.

I was at the 2016 convention in Cleveland, and Ivanka was everywhere at that event. And I thought her introduction of her father before his acceptance speech was one of the highlights of the week. 

Both Melania and Ivanka are expected to attend Thursday , as Trump accepts his party’s nomination, but they are not scheduled to speak .

Party unity has been a focus this week, so it seems strange not to see a display of unity from Trump's family. 

What does Trump's version of unity look like?

While Democrats are busy kneecapping themselves and fighting over who should be their presidential nominee, Donald Trump is expected to accept the Republican nomination Thursday night and promote “unity.”

Unity is an interesting term coming from one of the most divisive political figures in U.S. history. Does it apply only to the Americans he hasn’t referred to as “vermin”?

Is Trump’s kind of unity found in the frightening “MASS DEPORTATION NOW!” signs that were handed out Wednesday at the Republican National Convention?

My guess is the kind of unity Trump finds acceptable is when his fans at the convention wear bandages on their ears, an homage to the injury he suffered in a recent assassination attempt. An injury, by the way, that he has released no medical information about.

Because Trump does what he wants and expects everyone else to faithfully follow along.

You know … unity. Read the full column here .

As Republicans rally around Trump, Democrats are still trying to ditch Biden

Republicans face an unprecedented dilemma after they turn out the lights on their national convention and head out from Milwaukee on Friday: Who will be at the top of the Democratic ticket when early voting starts in a mere two months?

The heavy push from Democratic leaders for President Joe Biden to take early political retirement seemed to have eased after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday and the opening of the Republican National Convention on Monday.

But the heat was turned up again – and to an even higher degree – on Wednesday with news that California Rep. Adam Schiff, a key Democratic House member and the party’s candidate for a Senate seat in November, had called for Biden to step aside .

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Biden’s old boss, former President Barack Obama, told the current president that his path to reelection has narrowed significantly. Not exactly the words of encouragement you would normally expect less than four months from Election Day.

Reports also indicate that Hollywood insider and Biden campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg told the president on Wednesday that major campaign donations are drying up.

In politics, as in much of life, it’s always smart to follow the money. Biden has only dug in deeper after nearly three weeks of persistent calls from inside the Democratic house to drop out. But he soon may be unable to afford putting off what seems to be an increasingly inevitable decision.

— Tim Swarens

What do young Republicans think about Trump during the RNC? I asked one.

I spoke recently with Peter Giunta, 30, the chairman of the New York State Young Republicans and an alternate delegate for the Republican National Convention . I wanted to know what young Republicans are thinking heading into the convention. Giunta mentioned the economy, crime and safety, and foreign affairs as issues that “actual Americans,” including young Americans, are focused on.

“I think the party's new platform really speaks to the direction of the party moving forward, and what it is that I personally am looking for, and a lot of young people are looking for,” Giunta told me. “Truthfully, this is a platform that makes the party competitive again in places like New York.”

I also asked him about the VP selection, which he said in a text is “proof of President Trump’s commitment to ensuring a stronger and safer future for our nation.” 

I think his comments, particularly the one about making the party more competitive in a blue state like New York, really speaks to the enthusiasm young Republicans feel about Trump and the future of the party.

From JD Vance to Amber Rose, 2024 RNC shows off a new GOP

The GOP seems to be morphing before our eyes because of a combination of events, including President Joe Biden's incompetence , Trump's influence on the party and the failed assassination attempt.

The convention has been a cacophony of professionals, misfits and patriots − not unlike the GOP itself. The real eye-catchers causing a stir are the "outsiders." People who either used to be Democrats or who embrace a message the GOP wants to send.  

A self-described lifelong Jewish Democrat, Shabbos Kestenbaum, spoke Wednesday night at the convention. On Monday, rapper Amber Rose spoke to delegates inside the convention hall in Milwaukee.

Conservatism is attractive, even if not all Republicans are as conservative as some in the party would like. Rose may not be a small-government, lower-taxes, America-first Republican, but the fact she no longer identifies with the Democratic Party is a starting point, one that many voters who have been outside traditional GOP circles can identify with.

Vance's populist appeal, coupled with Trump's, sends a strong message to independent voters and even moderate Democrats: This isn't the Republican Party of the past. Read the full column here .

— Nicole Russell

Conservatives should be disappointed with what we're seeing so far at the RNC

The 2024 RNC is a profound disappointment to conservative principles. As a friend of mine put it, “If you told me that union bosses, porn stars, and Russian apologists would speak at the RNC. I would’ve guessed you were insane .”

However, this is the reality we are living in. The Republicans have traded in attempts to appeal to pro-lifers, conservatives with hawkish foreign policy, and free market economists for a full embrace of right-wing populism.

This year’s RNC is about one thing: Making it clear anyone is welcome in the modern GOP, except so-called neocons .

The RNC is a victory lap for the Trump crowd, further fueled by the sharp rally behind the man who was shot at just days ago. As a young conservative, it saddens me that the RNC is seemingly drifting away from conservative values.

You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page , on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter .

The final days: How Biden and his inner circle blew it

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Taiwan hunkered down on Wednesday ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Gaemi, with financial markets closed, people given the day off work, flights cancelled, and the military put on stand-by amid forecasts of torrential rain and strong winds.

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What Undecided Voters Thought of Trump’s Speech: Mostly, Not Much

The former president did not win them over — not that they like the alternative.

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By Julie Bosman ,  Jack Healy ,  Eduardo Medina ,  Campbell Robertson and J. David Goodman

Former President Donald J. Trump began his prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday with a message of unity, presenting a softer image of himself that appeared aimed at courting undecided voters.

But then he went on for an hour and a half, a long verbal walk through the kinds of exaggerations about his record and attacks on Democrats that have become familiar to voters from Mr. Trump’s previous two campaigns and presidency.

For a group of undecided voters from around the country, who are sharing their thoughts on key moments in the race with The New York Times, the effect was not strong. Some found the speech off-putting. A few found bright spots. None were swayed.

“I still don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Sharon Reed, 77, a retired teacher-turned-farmer in rural Pennsylvania who previously voted for Mr. Trump but is torn this year. “He tried, I think, to be much more unifying at the beginning. But then he got on his high horse there at the end.”

Ms. Reed’s husband, who watched the speech with her and is leaning toward Mr. Trump, was somewhat more positive. “He’s hitting all the points that I like,” Mr. Reed said, mentioning in particular Mr. Trump’s talk about securing the border and “drill, baby, drill.”

Arnel Ramos, 21, a food service worker living in Milwaukee, had hoped that Mr. Trump would talk about his belief systems, and that she would get to know him better before she casts a ballot in her first presidential election.

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Takeaways from J.D. Vance’s first date with America

Domenico Montanaro

J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate, stands at a podium during a walkthrough for the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milkwaukee this week. Nickolai Hammar/NPR hide caption

For more updates from the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, head to the  NPR Network's live updates page .

MILWAUKEE — Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, has gained a reputation in Washington as one of Trump’s staunchest and hardest-charging defenders.

Look no further than in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump’s life Saturday. Vance quickly took to social media to lay the blame squarely on President Biden and called a top Democrat on Capitol Hill a “scumbag” for having introduced legislation some months ago to remove Secret Service protection from convicted felons.

J.D. Vance addresses the RNC, and America, with a focus on Rustbelt roots

The MAGA warrior, though, is not who America met Wednesday night when he took to the stage at the Republican National Convention for his keynote speech as Trump’s running mate. The Marine veteran, instead, showed a decidedly softer side.

Here are four takeaways from Vance’s speech and the rest of Night 3 in Milwaukee:

1. This was Vance’s first date with America.

When you first meet someone — go on a date, interview for a job — you’re trying to put the best, friendliest, most amenable version of you forward. No one wants to see flashes of anger, name-calling and the like.

That’s especially true when you’re running for vice president, and nearly half the country doesn’t have an opinion about you yet. An Economist/YouGov poll out this week found 48% haven’t formed an opinion on Vance — just 22% have a positive one, while 31% view him unfavorably.

Signs read "Make America Strong Again!" on the third night of the Republican National Convention. Grace Widyatmadja/NPR hide caption

So in this speech, Vance stressed his more personal side — telling his kids to go to sleep, talking about his love for his mom and grandma. There were only a couple moments early on in his speech when he hinted at his outrage toward the left, saying that Trump had endured “abuse, slander and persecution,” that “lies” have been told about him and “then think of him with that fist raised,” and how the left has called him a “tyrant, who must be stopped at all costs” and yet, he “called for calm” and “national unity.”

In that speech, Vance didn’t make the hard pivot to blaming Democrats and the president. That side of Vance will surface again in this campaign, but it didn’t during his introduction to America. Instead, what the country saw was a smiling, relatively young man of 39 with a wife who loves him in awe of the moment — and clearly subordinate to the man at the top of the ticket.

2. This is still all about Donald Trump.

It was true coming into this convention and whoever the pick would be, but it’s perhaps even truer after this speech — perhaps at no time in history has a vice-presidential pick mattered less.

Sure, Trump being 78 could, in theory, raise the stakes for this kind of pick, and Trump selected someone literally half his age for the ticket. But this convention has been less the Republican National Convention than the Trump National Convention, and the attendees are here for one man and one man alone.

Vance made clear he has no intention of outshining Trump, the way Sarah Palin upstaged the late Sen. John McCain at the 2008 convention, for example. Her barnburner of a speech had people ripping the “McCain” off the McCain-Palin bumper stickers.

That’s not happening this time around — and that’s exactly how Trump wants it.

Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

3. Vance’s speech was targeted at a general-election audience.

The strong subtext of this week’s Republican convention has been a blue-collar appeal – more in tone than in policy, however.

Vance leaned hard into that and his biography and his family roots in Appalachia. Before becoming a U.S. senator, he wrote a New York Times -best selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis . Vance even referred to himself on the stage Wednesday night as a “Hillbilly.”

Women headline a night at the RNC that framed Trump as compassionate, not combative

Wisconsin, the site of the RNC this year, is a swing state with a strong, blue-collar voter base. Vance is from a Midwestern state with a similar profile. Even though his home state of Ohio is not a swing state anymore, with its lurch toward the GOP, Trump is hoping Vance can appeal to voters in the so-called Blue Wall states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, which also have large white, working-class populations.

Vance hinted toward how important those states are early on in his speech when the Ohio delegation began cheering loudly for their state.

He cut them off and said, “We’ve got to chill with the Ohio love, we’ve got to win Michigan, too.”

4. Tone is one thing, but policy is another.

Vance said that the country needs a “leader who fights for the workers in this country,” that it needs someone to “fight for working men, union and non-union alike.” He added that under a Trump-Vance administration, they would no longer fight for Wall Street, but for the working man — even as Trump told Bloomberg News he would consider JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon his Treasury secretary.

Over the course of his presidency, Trump gained a reputation as having very anti-union policies . Vance, for his part, with his blue-collar roots, earned a 0% rating from the AFL-CIO in 2023.

With his choice of Vance as VP, Trump doubles down on his version of isolationism

And yet, the president of the Teamsters spoke at the RNC Tuesday night. He didn’t endorse, but his presence spoke volumes. It was a clear indication of the pressure he feels from some within his union. That has far more to do with culture than it does pro-union policies.

“To court workers is very different than being pro-labor,” Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told NPR’s Don Gonyea . “The rhetoric comes easy, and the rhetoric can sometimes be appealing. But when there's no follow-through, it's very damaging.”

At the heart of that cultural appeal is one policy area Republicans talked quite a bit about Wednesday: immigration and the fear of job losses because of it.

The hard line the party has on that issue is like the glue to its working-class appeal. That’s a similar story with right-wing populism across the globe.

Of course, the man who sets the tone — and policies — in this party is Trump, and everyone will finally hear from him Thursday night, his first major address since the shooting Saturday.

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