Guidelines for writing a successful speech The Speech

Tip #1: know your purpose The most common purposes in KY schools are: to narrate an incident for a specific purpose to inform to persuade You will need to maintain a clear sense of why you are writing your speech

Tip #2: Engage your audience The first 30 seconds of your speech are the most important. You must grab the attention of the audience, and engage their interest in what you have to say. Do NOT start your speech with the following: “I am here to tell you about …” (This is not engaging!) You could: raise a thought-provoking question make an interesting or controversial statement use a relevant quote Once you have hooked your audience, your speech should move seamlessly to the body of your speech.

Tip #3: Tell them what you’re going to tell them Since your audience will hear your words instead of reading them, they won’t be able to go back and re-listen if they don’t understand. Explain quickly what your main point is going to be. “Today I want to talk to you about the importance of physical activity and why we should have more gym time”

Tip #4: Choose your main ideas Don’t try to put too many ideas into your speech Develop and support all your main points in the body of your speech Aim for 3 main ideas developed into 3 body paragraphs

Provide a controlling idea, such as… A viewpoint or position An opinion A specific statement of purpose An angle or special approach to the subject

Offer relevant support, such as Facts, statistics Examples Reference to personal experience Comparisons, contrasts Causes, effects Reasons Quotes Summary of others’ ideas

Be sure to reveal your thinking by one or more of the following… Explaining Reasoning Analyzing Making connections Interpreting Evaluating Discussing problems Drawing conclusions Persuading Discussing advantages, disadvantages Offering advice, solutions

To use your powers of persuasion… “Problem-Solution” is a classic In the first part of the body of your speech you state the problem “Physical activity is very important but the problem is we don’t have enough gym time” (followed by relevant support) In the second part, you offer a solution “A solution would be to shorten the time we spend in home room in the morning and add fifteen minutes to the end of the day to create more time for gym…” (followed by relevant support)

Tip #5: Write in a conversational tone Use short sentences. It’s better to write two simple sentences than one long, complicated sentence. Use contractions. Say “I’m,” “we’re,” etc. Read your speech aloud while you’re writing it. You’ll hear if you sound like a book or a real person talking!

Tip #6: Use concrete words and examples Concrete details keep your audience interested. Which is more effective? a vague sentence like “time for physical activity is limited” or the more concrete like “we need more time in our school day to be active in sports.”

Tip # 7: A few no-no’s Don’t overstate… “This is absolutely and positively essential!” “It is indeed an honor and a privilege to address you” Don’t talk around the subject… “What I’m trying to get at is…” “What I mean is…” Don’t be too repetitive… “As I said before,” “and so I again repeat,” “let me say again”

Tip #8: The conclusion Close with a strong or memorable remark “If we can make physical activity a daily activity at our school, our students will not only feel and look better, they will be on their way to developing healthy lifestyles for a lifetime! Please help me spread the word.”

Information adapted from: Dr. Charles Whitaker, Prof of English Emeritus, EKU Prepared by: Jennifer Bernhard Reading/Writing Specialist Clark County Schools