You
are sat down with a blank piece of paper, ready to write your speech; an hour
later the page is still blank. You want to be entertaining and engaging, funny
even, but the words just aren’t coming to you.
Here are some top
tips to inspire you to write an awesome speech.
1.
Know your audience. Identifying
who your audience is will help with setting the pitch tone and content of your
speech, use the right language and engage your audience appropriately. Is your
speech in front of professionals or a casual setting? Setting the pitch and
tone at the right level will help you to get maximum engagement from your
audience.
2.
Write an outline. Much
like writing a story, a speech needs a beginning, middle and end. By writing an
outline of what you want to say will help when it comes to adding detail. What
are the main points that you want to cover? What is the reason behind giving
the speech? What do you want to achieve?
3.
How long does it need to be? Keep
this in mind will help when it comes to fleshing out the details. You may have
a set time that you need to stick to or the freedom for it to be as long as you
like but make sure that no matter what the length, you keep to the time you set
otherwise, you could run the risk of waffling which will detract from the main
points you want to cover.
4.
Get creative. Now
you have your main points, it’s time to flesh out the details. Let your typing
or writing run amok. Give yourself complete and utter freedom to write down
whatever comes to you. The more writing you do at this point the better your
speech will be. Even if you think of something crazy, write it down. At this
stage, it doesn't matter.
5.
Editing and proofing. Following
your outline as a guide, it is now time to give your writing some structure.
Take out the bits that don’t support your speech, focus on your intentions,
take out any waffle. Expand on the bits you know to be important.
6.
Practice. Perform
your speech in front of a friend or family member and ask for honest feedback.
This not only gives you the opportunity to time your speech but also to cut out
or add anything to make it better. Once you have edited your speech, then
recite it again and again until you are comfortable. The more you know your
speech the more natural it will be when you come to deliver it.
7. Enjoy. Even if you are delivering to a room full of
professionals, if you prepared well and comfortable with your speech you will
come across as confident and enjoying sharing with the room.
Next time you need to write an all-important speech, following
these tips will help you to not just write a speech, but to write an awesome
speech.
