How To Write A Speech?

Delivering a speech is far more different than writing a speech. In fact, you can say that a good presentation depends on the quality of the speech’s writing.

A surprising fact here is that many speakers nowadays don’t write good speeches. Many reasons cause this, such as a lack of confidence, speaking fast, missing eye contact, or getting stuck while speaking. As a result, they could lose their audience’s attention and get flopped.

To avoid such circumstances, we have provided a detailed guide on how to write a speech, along with excellent examples.

What is a Speech?

According to a simple definition of speech, it is a way of communicating or expressing thoughts in spoken words.

Speeches are delivered on many occasions, most likely at school and college functions, weddings, funerals, political movements, and professional settings. They serve the purpose of informing, persuading, or entertaining the right audience.

Average Speech Length and Approx Word Counts

An average person speaks 125 to 150 words per minute while delivering a speech. Before jumping on how to write a speech, let’s take a look at the average length and approximate word count of a speech.

Length of speech	Average word count delivery
5 minutes	650 Words
10 minutes	1300 Words
15 minutes	1950 Words
20 minutes	2,600 words
25 minutes	3,250 words
30 minutes	3,900 words
35 minutes	4,550 words
40 minutes	5,200 words

What Makes a Good Speech?

Everyone wants to be writing a good speech, but as a speaker and an author, I have found three things that make a speech perfect.

Clarity

Most people speak thousands of words, but the audience leaves with no takeaway. The reason behind this communication gap is a lack of clarity in your words. Therefore, always focus on clarity and follow a step-by-step speechstructure that connects your words to your audience.

Feelings/Story

A speech is more than just presenting stats, figures, and news reporting. It should touch your audience’s hearts. You can add 100 statistics, but only a single good story will impact the reader better. However, if you want to connect with your audience on a deeper level, add a real story from your own life.

Creating a Plot

Creating a well-structured plot is the backbone of any speech. It means developing a sequence of events that tell a story, including a beginning, middle, and end. The plot helps guide the audience through the message.

How to Write a Good Speech: 7 Easy-Follow Steps

To write a great speech, you have to go through a procedure. Below is a step-by-step breakdown of the process of effective speech writing.

1. Choose A Central Idea or Message

A perfect speech is always surrounded by a central idea or message the speaker must convey to the audience. Sometimes, for a broader audience, the speech has more than one message. Therefore, take your time, analyze the length of the presentation, and find out the core ideas you will deliver to the audience.

2. Define The Target Audience

To learn how to write a speech, make a clear image of the right audience in your mind. Answer some basic questions like:

• How big will your audience be? 
• What does your audience want to know about the subject?
• What is their understanding level? 
• How will the subject relate to or affect the lives of the audience?
• How long will your speech be enough for your target audience?

Answering these questions will help you better understand how to write a speech with the right tone and style.

3. Research and Organize Your Speech

At this stage, you have to follow two steps. First, you have to research stories, anecdotes, hooks, and events that you will use in your speaking. Second, create a clear structure of the speech, consisting of an introduction, body, and conclusion.

4. Write an Engaging Introduction

According to research, a good first impression is formed within 15 seconds. So, in such a short time, start the intro of the speech with an attractive opening, such as a hook, rhetorical question, surprising stats, or something that makes your audience laugh. 

5. Organize the Speech’s Body

Now that you know how to start a speech, it’s time to understand its body section. According to a general rule, the body of a speech consists of around 80% of the overall presentation, so you must prepare it well. 

An expert says that just like you present a single idea in each paragraph of an argumentative essay, do the same in speech writing. However, each idea or viewpoint must be linked with the previous one using transition words. 

Furthermore, each main point in the body must be supported with solid evidence, such as facts, stats, and examples. In addition to these, adding a personal touch, such as a story from your own life or the life of someone you admire, will engage your audience on a deeper level.

6. Conclude by Leaving a Powerful Impact

The last few moments are more memorable to your audience, so put a great effort into crafting your speech conclusion. Here are the key things you can use to conclude your speech for a lasting impact.

• A powerful call to action (encouraging others to act freely)
• Use a quote from a famous author and connect it to the message.
• End the speech by setting a challenging task for the audience that encourages them to act.
• Describe a story that makes the reader more vividly aware of the message you are trying to convey.
• You can even end by asking a question directly to the audience to think deeply about the topic.

7. Revise and Edit

After writing your first speech draft, take a break and revise it again with fresh eyes. Focus on grammar mistakes, sentence structure, transition words, and unnecessary paragraphs.

After improving them, the next step is to take your speech to someone else so they can read it, listen to it from you, and offer suggestions.

Following these editing and revising tips will help you understand how to write a speech that will be remembered throughout the years.

A Good Speech Writing Tips

Here are some tips for speech writing that you can follow to make your speech more effective and engaging to the target audience.

1. Add metaphors, similes, and analogies to add depth and lasting impact on the audience.
2. Use everyday words in your speech to make it understandable for the audience.
3. You should not write your speech to impress people but to convey a message.
4. Rehearsal your speech aloud to examine its flow, timing, and delivery.

5 Major Types of Speeches

When writing for public speaking, pay attention to the type of speech you are going to write since each has a different tone and style.

Informative

In an informative speech, the speaker informs the audience about a topic using statistics and evidence. The speaker has to maintain a neutral tone in this speech, which means there is no need to persuade the audience to act. If you have learned how to write a speech, select an informative speech topic from the list and start writing.

Persuasive

A persuasive speech is written to persuade readers about a specific viewpoint or encourage them to take a particular action. When writing a persuasive speech, your aim should be to change the audience’s opinion or behaviour on a given topic. We have compiled a list of persuasive speech topics if you want to write such a speech.

Graduation

A graduation speech is a formal speech delivered by a college community member, a successful alumnus, a professor, or a graduation student. This speech highlights achievements, reflects on experiences, and motivates the students for their future journeys. We have compiled a list of effective graduation speech ideas if you want to compose one.

Eulogy / Toast

A speech given at a funeral is known as an eulogy, while a speech given on the occasion of a wedding is called a toast. An eulogy reflects on the past life of a deceased person. A weddingspeech, on the other hand, expresses good wishes to the groom and bride for their future together.

Commemorative

A commemorative speech is often known as a memorial speech that pays tribute to your loved ones. These could be your parents, siblings, friends, cousins, or teachers. This type of speechoffers a glimpse of achievements and honors the personality addressed in the speech.

Famous Speeches in History Examples

Writing a speech will be easier once you read or listen to famous speeches from the past, as mentioned below.

• I have a dream by Martin Luther King Jr.
• We shall fight on the beaches by Winston Churchill.
• The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.
• Roosevelt’s first inaugural address.
• Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death by Patrick Henry and Franklin D.

Why Worried About How to Write a Speech?

Are you confused about how to write a good speech or not having time for it? Worry not. You can contact our expert speech writers now and ask them to write a good speech for you.

These experts have a decade of experience in writing different types of speeches. Order now and get an excellent speech at a discounted price with unlimited revision options.

Conclusion: Write A Compelling Speech Now!

Once you have learned how to write a speech, the time now is to practice it. Grab an idea that attracts you the most and start writing. You can even read or listen to the most famous speeches, as mentioned in this blog.

We have also noted some useful tips that will help make speech writing less hazardous. Lastly, don’t skip over the types of speeches because if you neglect them, capturing the target audience will be more complicated.