why is the purpose statement an important aspect of speechwriting

Speechwriting

8 Purpose and Thesis

Speechwriting Essentials

In this chapter . . .

As discussed in the chapter on Speaking Occasion , speechwriting begins with careful analysis of the speech occasion and its given circumstances, leading to the choice of an appropriate topic. As with essay writing, the early work of speechwriting follows familiar steps: brainstorming, research, pre-writing, thesis, and so on.

This chapter focuses on techniques that are unique to speechwriting. As a spoken form, speeches must be clear about the purpose and main idea or “takeaway.” Planned redundancy means that you will be repeating these elements several times over during the speech.

Furthermore, finding purpose and thesis are essential whether you’re preparing an outline for extemporaneous delivery or a completely written manuscript for presentation. When you know your topic, your general and specific purpose, and your thesis or central idea, you have all the elements you need to write a speech that is focused, clear, and audience friendly.

Recognizing the General Purpose

Speeches have traditionally been grouped into one of three categories according to their primary purpose: 1) to inform, 2) to persuade, or 3) to inspire, honor, or entertain. These broad goals are commonly known as the general purpose of a speech . Earlier, you learned about the actor’s tool of intention or objectives. The general purpose is like a super-objective; it defines the broadest goal of a speech. These three purposes are not necessarily exclusive to the others. A speech designed to be persuasive can also be informative and entertaining. However, a speech should have one primary goal. That is its general purpose.

Why is it helpful to talk about speeches in such broad terms? Being perfectly clear about what you want your speech to do or make happen for your audience will keep you focused. You can make a clearer distinction between whether you want your audience to leave your speech knowing more (to inform), or ready to take action (to persuade), or feeling something (to inspire)

It’s okay to use synonyms for these broad categories. Here are some of them:

To inform could be to explain, to demonstrate, to describe, to teach.
To persuade could be to convince, to argue, to motivate, to prove.
To inspire might be to honor, or entertain, to celebrate, to mourn.

In summary, the first question you must ask yourself when starting to prepare a speech is, “Is the primary purpose of my speech to inform, to persuade, or to inspire?”

Articulating Specific Purpose

A specific purpose statement builds upon your general purpose and makes it specific (as the name suggests). For example, if you have been invited to give a speech about how to do something, your general purpose is “to inform.” Choosing a topic appropriate to that general purpose, you decide to speak about how to protect a personal from cyberattacks. Now you are on your way to identifying a specific purpose.

A good specific purpose statement has three elements: goal, target audience, and content.

If you think about the above as a kind of recipe, then the first two “ingredients” — your goal and your audience — should be simple. Words describing the target audience should be as specific as possible. Instead of “my peers,” you could say, for example, “students in their senior year at my university.”

The third ingredient in this recipe is content, or what we call the topic of your speech. This is where things get a bit difficult. You want your content to be specific and something that you can express succinctly in a sentence. Here are some common problems that speakers make in defining the content, and the fix:

Now you know the “recipe” for a specific purpose statement. It’s made up of T o, plus an active W ord, a specific A udience, and clearly stated C ontent. Remember this formula: T + W + A + C.

A: for a group of new students

C: the term “plagiarism”

Here are some further examples a good specific purpose statement:

To explain to a group of first-year students how to join a school organization.
To persuade the members of the Greek society to take a spring break trip in Daytona Beach.
To motivate my classmates in English 101 to participate in a study abroad program.
To convince first-year students that they need at least seven hours of sleep per night to do well in their studies.
To inspire my Church community about the accomplishments of our pastor.

The General and Specific Purpose Statements are writing tools in the sense that they help you, as a speechwriter, clarify your ideas.

Creating a Thesis Statement

Once you are clear about your general purpose and specific purpose, you can turn your attention to crafting a thesis statement. A thesis is the central idea in an essay or a speech. In speechwriting, the thesis or central idea explains the message of the content. It’s the speech’s “takeaway.” A good thesis statement will also reveal and clarify the ideas or assertions you’ll be addressing in your speech (your main points). Consider this example:

General Purpose: To persuade. Specific Purpose: To motivate my classmates in English 101 to participate in a study abroad program. Thesis: A semester-long study abroad experience produces lifelong benefits by teaching you about another culture, developing your language skills, and enhancing your future career prospects.

The difference between a specific purpose statement and a thesis statement is clear in this example. The thesis provides the takeaway (the lifelong benefits of study abroad). It also points to the assertions that will be addressed in the speech. Like the specific purpose statement, the thesis statement is a writing tool. You’ll incorporate it into your speech, usually as part of the introduction and conclusion.

All good expository, rhetorical, and even narrative writing contains a thesis. Many students and even experienced writers struggle with formulating a thesis. We struggle when we attempt to “come up with something” before doing the necessary research and reflection. A thesis only becomes clear through the thinking and writing process. As you develop your speech content, keep asking yourself: What is important here? If the audience can remember only one thing about this topic, what do I want them to remember?

Example #2: General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To demonstrate to my audience the correct method for cleaning a computer keyboard. Central Idea: Your computer keyboard needs regular cleaning to function well, and you can achieve that in four easy steps.

Example # 3 General Purpose: To Inform Specific Purpose: To describe how makeup is done for the TV show The Walking Dead . Central Idea: The wildly popular zombie show The Walking Dead achieves incredibly scary and believable makeup effects, and in the next few minutes I will tell you who does it, what they use, and how they do it.

Notice in the examples above that neither the specific purpose nor the central idea ever exceeds one sentence. If your central idea consists of more than one sentence, then you are probably including too much information.

Problems to Avoid

The first problem many students have in writing their specific purpose statement has already been mentioned: specific purpose statements sometimes try to cover far too much and are too broad. For example:

“To explain to my classmates the history of ballet.”

Aside from the fact that this subject may be difficult for everyone in your audience to relate to, it’s enough for a three-hour lecture, maybe even a whole course. You’ll probably find that your first attempt at a specific purpose statement will need refining. These examples are much more specific and much more manageable given the limited amount of time you’ll have.

To explain to my classmates how ballet came to be performed and studied in the U.S.
To explain to my classmates the difference between Russian and French ballet.
To explain to my classmates how ballet originated as an art form in the Renaissance.
To explain to my classmates the origin of the ballet dancers’ clothing.

The second problem happens when the “communication verb” in the specific purpose does not match the content; for example, persuasive content is paired with “to inform” or “to explain.” Can you find the errors in the following purpose statements?

To inform my audience why capital punishment is unconstitutional. (This is persuasive. It can’t be informative since it’s taking a side)
To persuade my audience about the three types of individual retirement accounts. (Even though the purpose statement says “persuade,” it isn’t persuading the audience of anything. It is informative.)
To inform my classmates that Universal Studios is a better theme park than Six Flags over Georgia. (This is clearly an opinion; hence it is a persuasive speech and not merely informative)

The third problem exists when the content part of the specific purpose statement has two parts. One specific purpose is enough. These examples cover two different topics.

To explain to my audience how to swing a golf club and choose the best golf shoes.
To persuade my classmates to be involved in the Special Olympics and vote to fund better classes for the intellectually disabled.

To fix this problem of combined or hybrid purposes, you’ll need to select one of the topics in these examples and speak on that one alone.

The fourth problem with both specific purpose and central idea statements is related to formatting. There are some general guidelines that need to be followed in terms of how you write out these elements of your speech:

Don’t write either statement as a question.
Always use complete sentences for central idea statements and infinitive phrases (beginning with “to”) for the specific purpose statement.
Use concrete language (“I admire Beyoncé for being a talented performer and businesswoman”) and avoid subjective or slang terms (“My speech is about why I think Beyoncé is the bomb”) or jargon and acronyms (“PLA is better than CBE for adult learners.”)

There are also problems to avoid in writing the central idea statement. As mentioned above, remember that:

The specific purpose and central idea statements are not the same thing, although they are related.
The central idea statement should be clear and not complicated or wordy; it should “stand out” to the audience. As you practice delivery, you should emphasize it with your voice.
The central idea statement should not be the first thing you say but should follow the steps of a good introduction as outlined in the next chapters.

You should be aware that all aspects of your speech are constantly going to change as you move toward the moment of giving your speech. The exact wording of your central idea may change, and you can experiment with different versions for effectiveness. However, your specific purpose statement should not change unless there is a good reason to do so. There are many aspects to consider in the seemingly simple task of writing a specific purpose statement and its companion, the central idea statement. Writing good ones at the beginning will save you some trouble later in the speech preparation process.

7.2 The Topic, General Purpose, Specific Purpose, and Thesis

Before any work can be done on crafting the body of your speech or presentation, you must first do some prep work—selecting a topic, formulating a general purpose, a specific purpose statement, and crafting a central idea, or thesis statement. In doing so, you lay the foundation for your speech by making important decisions about what you will speak about and for what purpose you will speak. These decisions will influence and guide the entire speechwriting process, so it is wise to think carefully and critically during these beginning stages.

Selecting a Topic

But you need not run for president or student government in order to give a meaningful speech. On the contrary, opportunities abound for those interested in engaging speech as a tool for change. Perhaps the simplest way to find a topic is to ask yourself a few questions, including:

• What important events are occurring locally, nationally and internationally? • What do I care about most? • Is there someone or something I can advocate for? • What makes me angry/happy? • What beliefs/attitudes do I want to share? • Is there some information the audience needs to know?

Students speak about what is interesting to them and their audiences. What topics do you think are relevant today? There are other questions you might ask yourself, too, but these should lead you to at least a few topical choices. The most important work that these questions do is to locate topics within your pre-existing sphere of knowledge and interest. David Zarefsky (2010) also identifies brainstorming as a way to develop speech topics, a strategy that can be helpful if the questions listed above did not yield an appropriate or interesting topic. Starting with a topic you are already interested in will likely make writing and presenting your speech a more enjoyable and meaningful experience. It means that your entire speechwriting process will focus on something you find important and that you can present this information to people who stand to benefit from your speech.

Once you have answered these questions and narrowed your responses, you are still not done selecting your topic. For instance, you might have decided that you really care about breeds of dogs. This is a very broad topic and could easily lead to a dozen different speeches. To resolve this problem, speakers must also consider the audience to whom they will speak, the scope of their presentation, and the outcome they wish to achieve.

Formulating the Purpose Statements

By honing in on a very specific topic, you begin the work of formulating your purpose statement . In short, a purpose statement clearly states what it is you would like to achieve. Purpose statements are especially helpful for guiding you as you prepare your speech. When deciding which main points, facts, and examples to include, you should simply ask yourself whether they are relevant not only to the topic you have selected, but also whether they support the goal you outlined in your purpose statement. The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to celebrate, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein, a specific purpose statement “expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives you hope to achieve” (2004). For instance, the home design enthusiast might write the following specific purpose statement: At the end of my speech, the audience will learn the pro’s and con’s of flipping houses. In short, the general purpose statement lays out the broader goal of the speech while the specific purpose statement describes precisely what the speech is intended to do. Some of your professors may ask that you include the general purpose and add the specific purpose.

Writing the Thesis Statement

Depending on your instructor’s approach, a thesis statement may be written two different ways. A thesis statement may encapsulate the main points of a speech in just a sentence or two, and be designed to give audiences a quick preview of what the entire speech will be about. The thesis statement for a speech, like the thesis of a research-based essay, should be easily identifiable and ought to very succinctly sum up the main points you will present. Some instructors prefer that your thesis, or central idea, be a single, declarative statement providing the audience with an overall statement that provides the essence of the speech, followed by a separate preview statement.

If you are a Harry Potter enthusiast, you may write a thesis statement (central idea) the following way using the above approach: J.K. Rowling is a renowned author of the Harry Potter series with a Cinderella like story having gone from relatively humble beginnings, through personal struggles, and finally success and fame.

Writing the Preview Statement

However, some instructors prefer that you separate your thesis from your preview statement . A preview statement (or series of statements) is a guide to your speech. This is the part of the speech that literally tells the audience exactly what main points you will cover. If you were to open your Waze app, it would tell you exactly how to get there. Best of all, you would know what to look for! So, if we take our J.K Rowling example, let’s rewrite that using this approach separating out the thesis and preview:

J.K. Rowling is a renowned author of the Harry Potter series with a Cinderella like rags to riches story. First, I will tell you about J.K. Rowling’s humble beginnings. Then, I will describe her personal struggles as a single mom. Finally, I will explain how she overcame adversity and became one of the richest women in the United Kingdom.

There is no best way to approach this. This is up to your instructor.

Writing the Body of Your Speech

Once you have finished the important work of deciding what your speech will be about, as well as formulating the purpose statement and crafting the thesis, you should turn your attention to writing the body of your speech. All of your main points are contained in the body, and normally this section is prepared well before you ever write the introduction or conclusion. The body of your speech will consume the largest amount of time to present; and it is the opportunity for you to elaborate on facts, evidence, examples, and opinions that support your thesis statement and do the work you have outlined in the specific purpose statement. Combining these various elements into a cohesive and compelling speech, however, is not without its difficulties, the first of which is deciding which elements to include and how they ought to be organized to best suit your purpose.

clearly states what it is you would like to achieve

“expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives you hope to achieve" (O'Hair, Stewart, & Rubenstein, 2004)

single, declarative sentence that captures the essence or main point of your entire presentation

the part of the speech that literally tells the audience exactly what main points you will cover

Introduction to Speech Communication Copyright © 2021 by Individual authors retain copyright of their work. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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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Chapter Eleven – Outlining the Speech

Why outline.

Screenshot from a youtube video that explains how to build a power point

Screenshot from youtube video.

Most speakers and audience members would agree that an organized speech is both easier to present as well as more effective. Public speaking teachers especially believe in the power of organizing your speech, which is why they encourage (and often require) that you create an outline for your speech. Outlines , or textual arrangements of all the various elements of a speech, are a very common way of organizing a speech before it is delivered. Most extemporaneous speakers keep a brief outline with them during the speech as a way to ensure that they do not leave out any important elements and to keep them on track. Writing an outline is also important to the speechwriting process since doing so forces speakers to think about the main points and sub-points, the examples they wish to include, and the ways in which these elements correspond to one another. In short, the outline functions both as an organization tool and as a reference for delivering a speech.

A full-sentence outline lays a strong foundation for your message. It will call on you to have one clear and specific purpose for your message. As we have seen in other chapters of this book, writing your specific purpose in clear language serves you well:

It helps you frame a clear, concrete thesis statement. It helps you exclude irrelevant information. It helps you focus only on information that directly bears on your thesis. It reduces the amount of research you must do. It helps both you and your audience remember the central message of your speech. It suggests what kind of supporting evidence is needed, so less effort is expended in trying to figure out what to do next.

Finally, a solid full-sentence outline helps your audience understand your message because they will be able to follow your reasoning. Remember that live audiences for oral communications lack the ability to “rewind” your message to figure out what you said, so it is critically important to help the audience follow your reasoning as it reaches their ears.

Your authors have noted among their past and present students a reluctance to write full-sentence outlines. It’s a task too often perceived as busywork, unnecessary, time consuming, and restricted. On one hand, we understand that reluctance. But on the other hand, we find that students who carefully write a full-sentence outline show a stronger tendency to give powerful presentations of excellent messages.

Outlines Test the Scope of Content

When you begin with a clear, concrete thesis statement, it acts as kind of compass for your outline. Each of the main points should directly explicate. The test of the scope will be a comparison of each main point to the thesis statement. If you find a poor match, you will know you’ve wandered outside the scope of the thesis.

Let’s say the general purpose of your speech is to inform, and your broad topic area is wind-generated energy. Now you must narrow this to a specific purpose. You have many choices, but let’s say your specific purpose is to inform a group of property owners about the economics of wind farms where electrical energy is generated.

Your first main point could be that modern windmills require a very small land base, making the cost of real estate low. This is directly related to economics. All you need is information to support your claim that only a small land base is needed.

In your second main point, you might be tempted to claim that windmills don’t pollute in the ways other sources do. However, you will quickly note that this claim is unrelated to the thesis. You must resist the temptation to add it. Perhaps in another speech, your thesis will address environmental impact, but in this speech, you must stay within the economic scope. Perhaps you will say that once windmills are in place, they require virtually no maintenance. This claim is related to the thesis. Now all you need is supporting information to support this second claim.

Your third point, the point some audience members will want to hear, is the cost for generating electrical energy with windmills compared with other sources. This is clearly within the scope of energy economics. You should have no difficulty finding authoritative sources of information to support that claim.

When you write in outline form, it is much easier to test the scope of your content because you can visually locate specific information very easily and then check it against your thesis statement.

Outlines Test the Logical Relation of Parts

You have many choices for your topic, and therefore, there are many ways your content can be logically organized. In the example above, we simply listed three main points that were important economic considerations about wind farms. Often the main points of a speech can be arranged into a logical pattern; let’s review some of these patterns:

A chronological pattern arranges main ideas in the order events occur. In some instances, reverse order might make sense. For instance, if your topic is archaeology, you might use the reverse order, describing the newest artifacts first.

A cause-and-effect pattern calls on you to describe a specific situation and explain what the effect is. However, most effects have more than one cause. Even dental cavities have multiple causes: genetics, poor nutrition, teeth too tightly spaced, sugar, ineffective brushing, and so on. If you choose a cause-and-effect pattern, make sure you have enough reliable support to do the topic justice.

A biographical pattern is usually chronological. In describing the events of an individual’s life, you will want to choose the three most significant events. Otherwise, the speech will end up as a very lengthy and often pointless timeline or bullet point list. For example, Mark Twain had several clear phases in his life. They include his life as a Mississippi riverboat captain, his success as a world-renowned writer and speaker, and his family life. A simple timeline would present great difficulty in highlighting the relationships between important events. An outline, however, would help you emphasize the key events that contributed to Mark Twain’s extraordinary life.

Although a comparison-contrast pattern appears to dictate just two main points, McCroskey, Wrench, and Richmond explain how a comparison-and-contrast can be structured as a speech with three main points. They say that “you can easily create a third point by giving basic information about what is being compared and what is being contrasted. For example, if you are giving a speech about two different medications, you could start by discussing what the medications’ basic purposes are. Then you could talk about the similarities, and then the differences, between the two medications” [1] .

Whatever logical pattern you use, if you examine your thesis statement and then look at the three main points in your outline, you should easily be able to see the logical way in which they relate.

Outlines Test the Relevance of Supporting Ideas

When you create an outline, you can clearly see that you need supporting evidence for each of your main points. For instance, using the example above, your first main point claims that less land is needed for windmills than for other utilities. Your supporting evidence should be about the amount of acreage required for a windmill and the amount of acreage required for other energy generation sites, such as nuclear power plants or hydroelectric generators. Your sources should come from experts in economics, economic development, or engineering. The evidence might even be expert opinion but not the opinions of ordinary people. The expert opinion will provide stronger support for your point.

Similarly, your second point claims that once a wind turbine is in place, there is virtually no maintenance cost. Your supporting evidence should show how much annual maintenance for a windmill costs, and what the costs are for other energy plants. If you used a comparison with nuclear plants to support your first main point, you should do so again for the sake of consistency. It becomes very clear, then, that the third main point about the amount of electricity and its profitability needs authoritative references to compare it to the profit from energy generated at a nuclear power plant. In this third main point, you should make use of just a few well-selected statistics from authoritative sources to show the effectiveness of wind farms compared to the other energy sources you’ve cited.

Where do you find the kind of information you would need to support these main points? A reference librarian can quickly guide you to authoritative statistics and help you make use of them.

An important step you will notice is that the full-sentence outline includes its authoritative sources within the text. This is a major departure from the way you’ve learned to write a research paper. In a research paper, you can add that information to the end of a sentence, leaving the reader to turn to the last page for a fuller citation. In a speech, however, your listeners can’t do that. From the beginning of the supporting point, you need to fully cite your source so your audience can assess its importance.

Because this is such a profound change from the academic habits that you’re probably used to, you will have to make a concerted effort to overcome the habits of the past and provide the information your listeners need when they need it.

Outlines Test the Balance and Proportion of the Speech

Part of the value of writing a full-sentence outline is the visual space you use for each of your main points. Is each main point of approximately the same importance? Does each main point have the same number of supporting points? If you find that one of your main points has eight supporting points while the others only have three each, you have two choices: either choose the best three from the eight supporting points or strengthen the authoritative support for your other two main points.

Remember that you should use the best supporting evidence you can find even if it means investing more time in your search for knowledge.

As you write the preparation outline, you may find it necessary to rearrange your points or to add or subtract supporting material. You may also realize that some of your main points are sufficiently supported while others are lacking. The final draft of your preparation outline should include full sentences, making up a complete script of your entire speech. In most cases, however, the preparation outline is reserved for planning purposes only and is translated into a speaking outline before you deliver the speech.

Outlines Serve as Notes during the Speech

Although we recommend writing a full-sentence outline during the speech preparation phase, you should also create a shortened outline that you can use as notes, a speaking outline, which allows for strong delivery. If you were to use the full-sentence outline when delivering your speech, you would do a great deal of reading, which would limit your ability to give eye contact and use gestures, hurting your connection with your audience.

Although some cases call for reading a speech verbatim from the full-sentence outline (manuscript delivery), in most cases speakers will simply refer to their speaking outline for quick reminders and to ensure that they do not omit any important information. For this reason, we recommend writing a short phrase speaking outline on 5×7 notecards to use when you deliver your speech.

In the next section, we will explore more fully how to create preparation and speaking outlines.

Outline Structure

Because an outline is used to arrange all of the elements of your speech, it makes sense that the outline itself has an organizational hierarchy and a common format. Although there are a variety of outline styles, generally they follow the same pattern. Main ideas are preceded by Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.). Sub-points are preceded by capital letters (A, B, C, etc.), then Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.), and finally lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.). Each level of subordination is also differentiated from its predecessor by indenting a few spaces. Indenting makes it easy to find your main points, sub-points, and the supporting points and examples below them. Since there are three sections to your speech— introduction, body, and conclusion— your outline needs to include all of them. Each of these sections is titled and the main points start with Roman numeral I.

OUTLINE FORMATTING GUIDE

Title: Organizing Your Public Speech

Topic: Organizing public speeches

Specific Purpose Statement: To inform my audience about the various ways in which they can organize their public speeches.

Thesis Statement: A variety of organizational styles can used to organize public speeches.

Introduction Paragraph that gets the attention of the audience, establishes goodwill with the audience, states the purpose of the speech, and previews the speech and its structure.

(Transition)

I. Main point

A. Sub-point B. Sub-point C. Sub-point

1. Supporting point 2. Supporting point

Conclusion Paragraph that prepares the audience for the end of the speech, presents any final appeals, and summarizes and wraps up the speech.

Bibliography

In addition to these formatting suggestions, there are some additional elements that should be included at the beginning of your outline: the title, topic, specific purpose statement, and thesis statement. These elements are helpful to you, the speechwriter, since they remind you what, specifically, you are trying to accomplish in your speech. They are also helpful to anyone reading and assessing your outline since knowing what you want to accomplish will determine how they perceive the elements included in your outline. Additionally, you should write out the transitional statements that you will use to alert audiences that you are moving from one point to another. These are included in parentheses between main points. At the end of the outlines, you should include bibliographic information for any outside resources you mention during the speech. These should be cited using whatever citations style your professor requires. The textbox entitled “Outline Formatting Guide” above provides an example of the appropriate outline format.

Preparation Outline Examples

This book contains the preparation outline for an informative speech the author gave about making guacamole (see third section). In this example, the title, specific purpose, and thesis precedes the speech. Depending on your instructor’s requirements, you may need to include these details plus additional information (like visual aids). It is also a good idea to keep these details at the top of your document as you write the speech since they will help keep you on track to developing an organized speech that is in line with your specific purpose and helps prove your thesis. At the end of this text, in Part 3, you will find full-length examples of Preparation (Full Sentence) Outlines, written by students just like you!

Using the Speaking Outline

“TAG speaks of others first” by Texas Military Forces. CC-BY-ND .

A speaking outline is the outline you will prepare for use when delivering the speech. The speaking outline is much more succinct than the preparation outline and includes brief phrases or words that remind the speakers of the points they need to make, plus supporting material and signposts. [2] The words or phrases used on the speaking outline should briefly encapsulate all of the information needed to prompt the speaker to accurately deliver the speech. Although some cases call for reading a speech verbatim from the full-sentence outline, in most cases speakers will simply refer to their speaking outline for quick reminders and to ensure that they do not omit any important information. Because it uses just words or short phrases, and not full sentences, the speaking outline can easily be transferred to index cards that can be referenced during a speech.

Speaking instructors often have requirements for how you should format the speaking outline. When formatting your speaking outline, here are a few tips:

First, write large enough so that you do not have to bring the cards close to your eyes to read them. Second, make sure you have the cards in the correct order and bound together in some way so that they do not get out of order. Third, just in case your cards do get out of order (this happens too often!), be sure that you number each in the top right corner so you can quickly and easily get things organized. Fourth, try not to fiddle with the cards when you are speaking. It is best to lay them down if you have a podium or table in front of you. If not, practice reading from them in front of a mirror. You should be able to look down quickly, read the text, and then return to your gaze to the audience.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. – Albert Einstein

McCroskey, J. C., Wrench, J. S., & Richmond, V. P., (2003). Principles of public speaking . Indianapolis, IN: The College Network.
Beebe, S. A. & Beebe, S. J. (2003). The public speaking handbook (5th edition). Boston: Pearson. ↵

LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS

Cc licensed content, shared previously.

Stand up, Speak out by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Chapter 8 Outlining Your Speech. Authored by : Joshua Trey Barnett. Provided by : University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : The Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
TAG speaks of others first. Authored by : Texas Military Forces. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmilitaryforces/5560449970/ . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives

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Organizing and Outlining

Outlining your speech.

Most speakers and audience members would agree that an organized speech is both easier to present as well as more persuasive. Public speaking teachers especially believe in the power of organizing your speech, which is why they encourage (and often require) that you create an outline for your speech. Outlines , or textual arrangements of all the various elements of a speech, are a very common way of organizing a speech before it is delivered. Most extemporaneous speakers keep their outlines with them during the speech as a way to ensure that they do not leave out any important elements and to keep them on track. Writing an outline is also important to the speechwriting process since doing so forces the speakers to think about the main points and sub-points, the examples they wish to include, and the ways in which these elements correspond to one another. In short, the outline functions both as an organization tool and as a reference for delivering a speech.

Outline Types

“Alpena Mayor Carol Shafto Speaks at 2011 Michigan Municipal League Convention” by Michigan Municipal League. CC-BY-ND .

There are two types of outlines. The first outline you will write is called the preparation outline . Also called a working, practice, or rough outline, the preparation outline is used to work through the various components of your speech in an inventive format. Stephen E. Lucas [1] put it simply: “The preparation outline is just what its name implies—an outline that helps you prepare the speech” (p. 248). When writing the preparation outline, you should focus on finalizing the purpose and thesis statements, logically ordering your main points, deciding where supporting material should be included, and refining the overall organizational pattern of your speech. As you write the preparation outline, you may find it necessary to rearrange your points or to add or subtract supporting material. You may also realize that some of your main points are sufficiently supported while others are lacking. The final draft of your preparation outline should include full sentences, making up a complete script of your entire speech. In most cases, however, the preparation outline is reserved for planning purposes only and is translated into a speaking outline before you deliver the speech.

Outline Structure

Outline Formatting Guide

Title: Organizing Your Public Speech

Topic: Organizing public speeches

Specific Purpose Statement: To inform listeners about the various ways in which they can organize their public speeches.

Thesis Statement: A variety of organizational styles can used to organize public speeches.

Introduction Paragraph that gets the attention of the audience, establishes goodwill with the audience, states the purpose of the speech, and previews the speech and its structure.

(Transition)

I. Main point

A. Sub-point B. Sub-point C. Sub-point

1. Supporting point 2. Supporting point

Conclusion Paragraph that prepares the audience for the end of the speech, presents any final appeals, and summarizes and wraps up the speech.

Bibliography

In addition to these formatting suggestions, there are some additional elements that should be included at the beginning of your outline: the title, topic, specific purpose statement, and thesis statement. These elements are helpful to you, the speechwriter, since they remind you what, specifically, you are trying to accomplish in your speech. They are also helpful to anyone reading and assessing your outline since knowing what you want to accomplish will determine how they perceive the elements included in your outline. Additionally, you should write out the transitional statements that you will use to alert audiences that you are moving from one point to another. These are included in parentheses between main points. At the end of the outlines, you should include bibliographic information for any outside resources you mention during the speech. These should be cited using whatever citations style your professor requires. The textbox entitled “Outline Formatting Guide” provides an example of the appropriate outline format.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – Lao Tzu

Preparation Outline

This chapter contains the preparation and speaking outlines for a short speech the author of this chapter gave about how small organizations can work on issues related to climate change (see appendices). In this example, the title, specific purpose, thesis, and list of visual aids precedes the speech. Depending on your instructor’s requirements, you may need to include these details plus additional information. It is also a good idea to keep these details at the top of your document as you write the speech since they will help keep you on track to developing an organized speech that is in line with your specific purpose and helps prove your thesis. At the end of the chapter, in Appendix A, you can find a full length example of a Preparation (Full Sentence) Outline.

Speaking Outline

In Appendix B, the Preparation Outline is condensed into just a few short key words or phrases that will remind speakers to include all of their main points and supporting information. The introduction and conclusion are not included since they will simply be inserted from the Preparation Outline. It is easy to forget your catchy attention-getter or final thoughts you have prepared for your audience, so it is best to include the full sentence versions even in your speaking outline.

Using the Speaking Outline

“TAG speaks of others first” by Texas Military Forces. CC-BY-ND .

Once you have prepared the outline and are almost ready to give your speech, you should decide how you want to format your outline for presentation. Many speakers like to carry a stack of papers with them when they speak, but others are more comfortable with a smaller stack of index cards with the outline copied onto them. Moreover, speaking instructors often have requirements for how you should format the speaking outline. Whether you decide to use index cards or the printed outline, here are a few tips. First, write large enough so that you do not have to bring the cards or pages close to your eyes to read them. Second, make sure you have the cards/pages in the correct order and bound together in some way so that they do not get out of order. Third, just in case the cards/pages do get out of order (this happens too often!), be sure that you number each in the top right corner so you can quickly and easily get things organized. Fourth, try not to fiddle with the cards/pages when you are speaking. It is best to lay them down if you have a podium or table in front of you. If not, practice reading from them in front of a mirror. You should be able to look down quickly, read the text, and then return to your gaze to the audience.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. – Albert Einstein

Lucas, Stephen E. (2004). The art of public speaking (8th edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. ↵
Beebe, S. A. & Beebe, S. J. (2003). The public speaking handbook (5th edition). Boston: Pearson. ↵
Chapter 8 Outlining Your Speech. Authored by : Joshua Trey Barnett. Provided by : University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : The Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Alpena Mayor Carol Shafto Speaks at 2011 Michigan Municipal League Convention. Authored by : Michigan Municipal League. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/aunJMR . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives
TAG speaks of others first. Authored by : Texas Military Forces. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmilitaryforces/5560449970/ . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

107 Outlining Your Speech

Outline Types

“Alpena Mayor Carol Shafto Speaks at 2011 Michigan Municipal League Convention” by Michigan Municipal League. CC-BY-ND .

Outline Structure

OUTLINE FORMATTING GUIDE

Title: Organizing Your Public Speech

Topic: Organizing public speeches

Specific Purpose Statement: To inform listeners about the various ways in which they can organize their public speeches.

Thesis Statement: A variety of organizational styles can used to organize public speeches.

Introduction Paragraph that gets the attention of the audience, establishes goodwill with the audience, states the purpose of the speech, and previews the speech and its structure.

(Transition)

I. Main point

A. Sub-point B. Sub-point C. Sub-point

1. Supporting point 2. Supporting point

Conclusion Paragraph that prepares the audience for the end of the speech, presents any final appeals, and summarizes and wraps up the speech.

Bibliography

In addition to these formatting suggestions, there are some additional elements that should be included at the beginning of your outline: the title, topic, specific purpose statement, and thesis statement. These elements are helpful to you, the speechwriter, since they remind you what, specifically, you are trying to accomplish in your speech. They are also helpful to anyone reading and assessing your outline since knowing what you want to accomplish will determine how they perceive the elements included in your outline. Additionally, you should write out the transitional statements that you will use to alert audiences that you are moving from one point to another. These are included in parentheses between main points. At the end of the outlines, you should include bibliographic information for any outside resources you mention during the speech. These should be cited using whatever citations style your professor requires. The textbox entitled “Outline Formatting Guide” provides an example of the appropriate outline format.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – Lao Tzu

Preparation Outline

Speaking Outline

Using the Speaking Outline

“TAG speaks of others first” by Texas Military Forces. CC-BY-ND .

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. – Albert Einstein

Lucas, Stephen E. (2004). The art of public speaking (8th edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. ↵
Beebe, S. A. & Beebe, S. J. (2003). The public speaking handbook (5th edition). Boston: Pearson. ↵
Chapter 8 Outlining Your Speech. Authored by : Joshua Trey Barnett. Provided by : University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : The Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Alpena Mayor Carol Shafto Speaks at 2011 Michigan Municipal League Convention. Authored by : Michigan Municipal League. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/aunJMR . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives
TAG speaks of others first. Authored by : Texas Military Forces. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmilitaryforces/5560449970/ . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives

Outlining Your Speech Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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8.1 Why Are Organizing and Outlining Important?

Introduction to Organizing and Outlining

Giving a speech or presentation can be a daunting task for anyone, especially inexperienced public speakers or students in introductory speech courses. Speaking to an audience can also be a rewarding experience for speakers who are willing to put in the extra effort needed to craft rhetorical masterpieces. Indeed, speeches and presentations must be crafted. Such a design requires that speakers do a great deal of preparatory work, like selecting a specific topic and deciding on a particular purpose for their speech.

Once the topic and purpose have been decided on, a thesis statement, or central idea, can be prepared. After these things are established, speakers must select the main points of their speech, which should be organized in a way that illuminates the speaker’s perspective, or approach to their speech. In a nutshell, effective public speeches are focused on particular topics and contain main points that are relevant to both the topic and the audience. For all of these components to come together convincingly, organizing and outlining must be done prior to giving a speech.

This chapter addresses a variety of strategies needed to craft the body of speeches. The chapter begins at the initial stages of speechwriting— selecting an important and relevant topic for your audience. The more difficult task of formulating a purpose statement is discussed next. A purpose statement drives the organization of the speech since different purposes (e.g., informative or persuasive) necessitate different types of evidence and presentation styles. Next, the chapter offers a variety of organizational strategies for the body of your speech. Not every strategy will be appropriate for every speech, so the strengths and weaknesses of the organizational styles are also addressed. The chapter then discusses ways to connect your main points and to draw links between your main points and the purpose you have chosen. In the final section of this chapter, one of the most important steps in speechwriting, outlining your speech, is discussed. The chapter provides the correct format for outlines as well as information on how to write a preparation outline and a speaking outline.

It’s About Them: Public Speaking in the 21st Century Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Rice Speechwriting

Mastering speech outlines: tips & examples, crafting a speech outline: tips & examples.

Crafting a speech can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. A well-crafted speech outline can make all the difference in helping you deliver your message effectively. In this blog, we’ll go over why a speech outline is so important and how to prepare for creating one. We’ll also provide a step-by-step guide on how to craft a compelling speech outline. From choosing a topic that resonates with your audience to constructing a strong thesis statement and developing engaging hooks, we’ve got you covered. Additionally, we’ll share tips on perfecting your speech outline and enhancing your delivery with visual aids. Whether you’re preparing for a business presentation or giving a keynote address , this blog will provide you with all the tools you need to deliver an impactful speech that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Understanding the Importance of a Speech Outline

Crafting a speech outline is crucial for effective public speaking. It ensures a clear, logical flow of ideas and helps in organizing the content of your public speech. By providing a roadmap for the entire speech, a preparation outline ensures that the main points are communicated clearly, helping you to stay focused and on track during your public speaking engagement. The part of your speech outline also serves as a visual aid, further enhancing the structuring of your thoughts and ideas, making it an essential part of your public speaking preparation.

Benefits of a Well-Crafted Speech Outline

Crafting a well-structured speech outline is essential for delivering a compelling public speech. It ensures a clear organizational pattern, aiding in capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention throughout the speech. By logically ordering the content, a well-crafted speech outline facilitates smooth transitions between key points, supporting subpoints, and transitional statements, thus enhancing the overall coherence of the speech. Moreover, it serves as a valuable organization tool, assisting in preparing a structured and impactful public speaking presentation. Therefore, dedicating time to the preparation outline is an integral part of any successful public speech, providing a roadmap for the seamless delivery of the content.

Structuring Thoughts and Ideas

Crafting a speech outline contributes to the seamless delivery of key points in public speaking. It aids in the preparation of the body of your speech, ensuring a coherent flow of ideas and serves as a preparation outline for each part of your speech. By effectively structuring the speech topic, the public speech outline ensures the logical organization of the main points and supports the overall organization and preparation of the speech’s content. The outline facilitates a well-structured and engaging presentation to the audience, enhancing the overall impact of your public speech.

Preparing to Craft a Speech Outline

Researching the topic thoroughly is paramount for preparing a comprehensive speech outline, enabling a well-structured and informative public speech. Determining the length of the speech is essential in deciding the depth and breadth of the preparation outline, ensuring that all key points are effectively covered. Recognizing the different types of speech outlines is integral to cater to the specific requirements and expectations of the audience. Considering the instructor’s guidelines is crucial in crafting a preparation outline that aligns with the given parameters. The process of preparing a speech outline involves strategically deciding on the overall organizational pattern of the speech, ensuring a logical flow and coherence throughout the presentation.

Researching Your Topic

Thoroughly researching the topic is crucial for crafting a well-structured speech outline. It enables the identification of key points and ensures the inclusion of accurate and credible information. Familiarity with the topic is essential for preparing a comprehensive outline, part of your speech preparation. Conducting extensive research is an integral part of gathering relevant information to form the foundation of a well-crafted public speech. By understanding the significance of in-depth research, you can ensure that your public speaking content is well-prepared and effectively delivered.

Deciding on the Length of Your Speech

When crafting a speech outline, one must consider the length of the speech as a crucial factor. The chosen length not only determines the overall organization of the outline but also influences its depth and structure. It plays a significant role in decision-making regarding the content to be included. Additionally, considering the attention span of the audience members is essential in determining the ideal length of the speech. The preparation outline needs to align with the selected length to ensure that the content is tailored appropriately for the intended duration.

Recognizing Different Types of Speech Outlines

Understanding the various options in organizing a public speech is crucial for delivering an impactful presentation. Identifying the most suitable outline for your topic is key, as it influences the entire preparation process and organization of the content. Becoming familiar with different types of public speaking outlines, such as a preparation outline or a speaking outline, enables you to structure your thoughts effectively. Selecting the right type of outline, such as preparation outline or speaking outline, ensures that each part of your speech, from the introduction to the conclusion, is well-organized and cohesive. This thoughtful consideration of different types of outlines ultimately enhances the overall delivery and reception of your public speech.

Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Speech Outline

Crafting a speech outline begins with selecting a captivating topic, followed by formulating a strong thesis statement. Integrating the speech topic’s keywords is essential, and the initial outline draft should encompass the main talking points. Moreover, organizing supporting points and subpoints is crucial in the preparation outline. Each of these steps contributes to the coherent structuring of thoughts and ideas for the public speech. Embracing this process as part of your speech preparation ensures that each segment becomes a seamless part of your speech. Through this careful planning, you can align your speech with your audience, whether it’s a presentation, a social media post, or a public speaking event.

Choosing a Compelling Topic

Selecting an engaging subject ensures sustained audience interest and involvement during the public speech. The preparation outline process commences with the choice of a captivating speech topic that resonates with the audience. A compelling topic facilitates the overall structure of the public speaking outline, ensuring coherence and relevance. The topic’s significance to the audience directly influences the preparation of the public speech outline, guiding the inclusion of impactful content. Crafting a well-organized public speech outline initiates with the deliberate selection of a topic that appeals to the audience

Constructing a Strong Thesis Statement

Constructing a strong thesis statement is essential for providing clear direction to the preparation outline of a speech. It forms the foundation of logical organization, encompassing the main point and guiding the arrangement of the speech outline. A well-constructed thesis statement ensures that the speech outline effectively captures the main ideas and supporting points, making it an integral part of any public speaking engagement. This process involves careful consideration of the audience’s interests and the overall relevance of the topic to ensure a comprehensive and engaging public speech. Incorporating the NLP terms “public speaking” and “preparation outline” enhances the development of a captivating thesis statement, making it a crucial part of constructing an effective speech outline.

Developing Engaging Hooks

Crafting a captivating speech outline begins with capturing the audience’s attention using engaging hooks. Anecdotes or props can be effectively utilized to create a compelling speech introduction that instantly grabs the audience’s interest. Moreover, incorporating key words and phrases strategically within the introduction can further pique the audience’s curiosity. It’s crucial that the first thing the audience hears is attention-grabbing, setting the tone for the entire speech. These engaging hooks are essential in ensuring the audience’s undivided attention right from the start, creating a strong foundation for the rest of the speech.

Building the Body of Your Speech

To keep the audience engaged, ensure the body of your speech is well-organized in a logical order. Smoothly transition between supporting points using transitional statements. Structuring main points effectively can be done by including subpoints and bullet points. Remember, the speaker’s body language is vital for maintaining the audience’s attention. Convey the topic effectively by including main points, supporting points, and subpoints in the body of your speech. Public speaking requires a well-structured body to effectively deliver the part of your speech that contains key information and ideas. At the end of the speech, it is important to summarize and wrap up the main points to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Successful public speeches on platforms like Facebook stem from thorough preparation outlines and a well-organized body.

Perfecting Your Speech Outline

Crafting a preparation outline is a crucial part of your speech writing process. The first outline you will write is called the preparation outline, also known as a working, practice, or rough outline. The preparation outline is used to work through the various components of your speech in an inventive format. When constructing a speaking outline, it’s important to adhere to the instructor’s requirements and include a thesis statement as the main point. Start with a rough outline to establish the overall organizational pattern before refining it. Your speech writing template should consist of full sentences that guide seamless delivery during public speaking. This preparation outline will serve as a roadmap for every part of your speech, making it easier to deliver a compelling and well-structured public speech.

Reviewing and Refining Your Outline

After completing the speechwriting process, it is crucial to meticulously review and refine the outline to ensure coherence and effectiveness. The entire outline should be crafted in a way that best conveys the speech topic to the audience. This involves refining the rough outline to capture and maintain the audience’s attention throughout. During the review, special attention should be given to the thesis statement, supporting points, and subpoints to effectively refine the speech outline. It is vital to ensure that the chosen type of outline optimally organizes the key points of the speech for seamless delivery and maximum impact. Embracing this reviewing and refining stage ensures that the speech outline is primed for successful public speaking engagements.

Practicing Your Speech

Practicing your speech is essential for perfecting the delivery, including eye contact and body language, during public speaking engagements. It reinforces the main point of the preparation outline and helps emphasize key points effectively to the audience. The conclusion should also be practiced to ensure a strong and impactful end to your public speech. By practicing the speech delivery, you can maintain the audience’s attention and ensure that your message is effectively conveyed. This step is crucial in ensuring that your public speech is engaging and leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

Tips to Enhance Your Speech Delivery

Incorporating visual aids and props during public speaking can effectively enhance the delivery of your public speech, making it more engaging for the audience. Anecdotes are an impactful way to illustrate key points, capturing the audience’s attention and enhancing the overall delivery of your speech. Establishing consistent eye contact with the audience members is crucial as it helps in creating a strong connection during the delivery of your public speech. The second aspect of your speech outline should primarily focus on the best ways to deliver your speech to the audience members, ensuring that it resonates effectively. By integrating anecdotes, props, and visual aids, you can significantly enhance the delivery of your public speech, making it more compelling and impactful.

How Can Visual Aids Improve Your Speech?

Incorporating visual aids in your speech can greatly enhance its impact. Visual aids reinforce key points, clarify complex information, and capture the audience’s attention. They create a visual impact and contribute to a memorable delivery. Utilizing visual aids effectively can take your speech to the next level.

In conclusion, crafting a well-structured speech outline is crucial for delivering a successful and impactful speech. It helps you organize your thoughts, develop a strong thesis statement, and engage your audience with compelling hooks. By structuring your speech into an introduction, body, and conclusion, you can effectively convey your message and maintain a flow of ideas. Additionally, reviewing and refining your outline, as well as practicing your speech, will contribute to your confidence and delivery on the day of the speech. Don’t forget to utilize visual aids to enhance your presentation and make it more memorable for your audience. With these tips and examples, you’ll be well-equipped to create an effective speech outline and deliver a memorable speech.

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M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida
B.A., History, University of Florida

Writing speeches for graduation, class assignments, or other purposes consists of a lot more than finding a few inspirational quotes and possibly a funny story or two. The key to writing good speeches lies in using a theme. If you always refer back to this theme, the audience will respond positively and remember your words. This does not mean that inspirational quotes are not important, but they should be integrated into your speech in a way that makes sense.

Choosing a Theme

The first task that a public speaker needs to focus on before they do any actual writing is the message they are trying to convey. My inspiration for this idea came from the speeches of John F. Kennedy . In his Inaugural Speech , he chose to focus on freedom. He addressed many different topics, but always came back to this idea of liberty.

When asked to be the guest speaker at a National Honor Society induction recently, I decided to focus on how an individual's daily decisions add up to reveal that person's true character. We can not cheat in the small things and expect these blemishes to never surface. When the real tests in life occur, our character will not be able to withstand the pressure because we have not chosen the harder path all along. Why did I choose this as my theme? My audience consisted of Juniors and Seniors at the top of their respective classes. They had to meet stringent requirements in the areas of scholarship, community service, leadership, and character in order to be accepted into the organization. I wanted to leave them with one idea that might make them think twice.

How does this relate to you? First, you must decide who will make up your audience. In a graduation speech, you are addressing your fellow classmates. However, parents, grandparents, teachers and administrators will also be present. While you will be focusing on people your age, what you say must be in line with the dignity of the ceremony itself. Remembering that, think of the ONE thought with which you want to leave your audience. Why only one idea? Mainly because if you reinforce a single point instead of focusing on a number of different ideas, your audience will have a greater tendency to remember it. A speech does not lend itself to having many themes. Stick with one really good theme, and use each point you make, your theme reinforcers, to bring that idea home.

If you would like some ideas for possible themes, look at the world around you. What are people concerned about? If you are speaking about the state of education, find one central idea that you feel strongly about. Then return to that idea with each point you make. Write your individual points to reinforce your idea. To return to the graduation speech, check out these top ten themes to use when writing your speech.

Utilizing Theme Reinforcers

Theme reinforcers are simply the points that a speechwriter uses throughout his or her speech to "reinforce" the central idea they are trying to get across. In Winston Churchill's famous commencement address to Westminster College in 1946, we find him emphasizing over and over again the need for cooperation against tyranny and war. His speech covered serious problems with which the post-war world was faced, including what he termed as the "iron curtain" that had descended across the European continent. Many say that this speech was the beginning of the " cold war ." What we can learn from his address is the importance of continually reiterating one idea. The effect that this speech had on the world is almost incalculable.

On a more local note, I used the four requirements necessary to become a member of NHS as my four points. When I discussed scholarship, I returned to my idea of daily decisions and said that a student's attitude towards learning is increased positively with each personal decision to focus on the task at hand. If a student enters a class with the attitude that they want to learn what is being taught, then their efforts will shine forth in true learning. I continued in this vein for each of the other three requirements. Of course, this does not mean that throughout the speech the same words are repeated over and over. The hardest part of writing any speech is to approach the main theme from many different angles.

Wrapping it All Together

Once you've picked your theme and chosen the points you want to emphasize, putting the speech together is fairly simple. You can organize it first in outline form, remembering to return at the end of each point to the theme you are trying to get across. Numbering your points sometimes helps the audience remember where you are and how far you have left to travel before the climax of your speech. This climax is the most important part. It should be the last paragraph, and leave everyone with something to think about. One great way to bring your ideas home is to find a quote which aptly embodies your theme. As Jean Rostand said, "Certain brief sentences are peerless in their ability to give one the feeling that nothing remains to be said."

Quotes, Resources and an Unconventional Idea

Find great quotations and other speech writing resources . The tips found on many of these pages are awesome, especially the strategies for giving the speeches themselves. There are also many unconventional ideas that can be incorporated into speeches. A great example of this occurred during a graduation speech by a Valedictorian which incorporated music throughout. She picked three different songs to represent the students' elementary, middle, and high school years and played them softly while she went through memories for the class. Her theme was a celebration of life as it was, is, and will be. She ended with a song of hope and left students with the idea that there was a lot to look forward to in the future.

Speech writing is all about knowing your audience and addressing their concerns. Leave your audience with something about which to think. Include humor and inspirational quotes. But make sure that each of these are integrated into the whole. Study the great speeches of the past to find inspiration. The joy that you will feel when you have given a speech that has inspired people is amazing and worth the effort. Good luck!

Inspiring Speech Example

The following speech was delivered during an induction to the National Honor Society.

Good Evening.

I am both honored and flattered to have been asked to speak for this wonderful occasion.

I congratulate each of you and your parents.

Your achievements in the realms of Scholarship, Leadership, Community Service, and Character are being honored here tonight by your induction into this prestigious society.

An honor such as this is a wonderful way for the school and community to recognize and celebrate the choices, and sometimes the sacrifices, you have made.

But I believe that what should make you and your parents the most proud is not the actual honor itself, but what you had to do to get it. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." Any recognition is just the icing on the cake, not to be expected but definitely to be enjoyed.

However, I challenge you not to rest on your laurels but to continue to strive towards even loftier goals.

The four requirements for membership in which you have excelled: scholarship, leadership, community service, and character were not chosen at random. They are the core of a fulfilled and fulfilling life.

The most important thing to remember is that each of these characteristics are the sum of many individual decisions. They embody a positive attitude backed by purpose. The only way to achieve your purpose is to take small actions everyday. In the end, they all add up. My hope for you is that you will cultivate this attitude backed by purpose in your own life.

Scholarship is much more than just getting straight A's. It is a life-long love of learning. In the end it is a sum of small choices. Each time you decide you WANT to learn something, the experience will be so rewarding that the next time becomes easier.

Soon learning becomes a habit. At that point, your desire to learn makes getting A's easier while taking the focus off of grades. The knowledge can still be hard to gain, but knowing you've mastered a difficult subject is an awesome reward. Suddenly the world around you becomes richer, full of learning opportunities.

Leadership is not about being elected or appointed to an office. The office does not teach someone how to be a leader. Leadership is an attitude cultivated over time.

Are you one to stand up for what you believe in and 'face the music' even when that music happens to be unpleasant? Do you have a purpose and follow that purpose to get the ends you desire? Do you have a vision? These are all questions that true leaders answer in the affirmative. But how do you become a leader?

Each small decision you make takes you one step closer. Remember the goal is not to get power, but to get your vision and your purpose across. Leaders without visions can be likened to driving in a strange town without a road map: you are going to wind up somewhere, it just might not be in the best part of town.

Many see community service as a means to an end. Some might see it as a way to get service points while socializing, while others may view it as an unfortunate (and often inconvenient) necessity of high school life. But is that true community service?

Once again true community service is an attitude. Are you doing it for the right reasons? I'm not saying there won't be Saturday mornings when you would rather sleep your heart out than paint your heart out.

What I'm talking about is that in the end, when it is all done, and you are once again well-rested, you can look back and realize that you did something worthwhile. That you helped your fellow man in some way. Remember as John Donne said, "No man is an island entire of himself."

Finally, character.

If there is any one thing that is evidenced by your daily choices it is your character.

I truly believe what Thomas Macaulay said, "The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out."

What do you do when no one's around? The teacher steps out of the room for a moment while you are taking a test after school. You know exactly where in your notes the answer to question 23 is. Do you look? Minimal chance of being caught!

The answer to this question is the key to your true character.

For while being honest and honorable when others are watching is important, being true to yourself is tantamount.

And in the end, these private day-to-day decisions will eventually reveal your true character to the world.

All in all, are making the tough choices worth it?

While it would be easier to slide through life without a purpose, without a code, it would not be fulfilling. Only by setting difficult goals and achieving them can we find true self-worth.

One final thing, each person's goals are different, and what comes easy to one may be difficult for another. Therefore, do not squash others' dreams. This is a surefire way to know that you aren't working towards fulfilling your own.

In conclusion, I congratulate you for this honor. You are truly the best of the best. Enjoy yourself, and remember as Mother Teresa said, "Life is a promise; fulfill it."

Memorable Graduation Speech Themes
How to Give an Impromptu Speech
5 Tips on How to Write a Speech Essay
How to Write and Structure a Persuasive Speech
How to Write a Graduation Speech as Valedictorian
Give a Speech People Remember
Inspirational Quotes from Mother Teresa
50 Topics for Impromptu Student Speeches
Audience Analysis in Speech and Composition
Awesome Quotes by Famous People
Ted Sorensen on the Kennedy Style of Speech-Writing
Definition and Examples of Linguistic Accommodation
Focusing in Composition
How to Speak Shakespearean Verse
Topic In Composition and Speech
How to Create a Free Video Blog

The General Steps in the Speechwriting Process

First Online: 15 March 2019

Cite this chapter

Jens E. Kjeldsen 7 ,
Amos Kiewe 8 ,
Marie Lund 9 &
Jette Barnholdt Hansen

Part of the book series: Rhetoric, Politics and Society ((RPS))

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In this chapter, we outline the general steps speechwriters ought to follow in the process of writing speeches for others. These guidelines are flexible and allow for comfortable adaptation given the varied implementation of speechwriting practices as well as the different approaches in the European and American systems. Our model follows the classical perspective that focuses on topic selection, the speaker-speechwriter negotiation of rhetorical constraints of context and audience as well as determining the fitting style and delivery. The chapter also develops a master rhetorical plan that can be used as a prompt or an outline for speechwriters when drafting a speech, covering the key variables of speech, situation, audience, and a suitable mode of communication.

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Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

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Kjeldsen, J.E., Kiewe, A., Lund, M., Barnholdt Hansen, J. (2019). The General Steps in the Speechwriting Process. In: Speechwriting in Theory and Practice. Rhetoric, Politics and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03685-0_13

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Holly Blum

The word whisperer 917.538.9300.

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Apr 29, 2018

Why Your Speech Has To Have Purpose

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve attended a special occasion and listened as the speaker rambled on and on, jumping from thought to thought without ever getting to the point. I often look around the room to see if other people are struggling to connect the dots, sometimes even making a game out of counting the confused looks, the eyebrow raises and cringing expressions. When there are more bewildered faces than smiling ones, it’s a sure sign that the speechgiver has failed to make his/her point.

One of the most important rules of speechwriting is that you must have a clear purpose. Defining your purpose will not only help you stay focused when you write and deliver your speech, but it will help you forge a stronger connection with your audience. When it comes to most special occasion speeches, there are two main purposes: to inform and to entertain. While you may ultimately achieve a mix of the two, focusing on one will help make sure that your main points hit the right notes.

Inform If your main goal is to inform your audience, keep in mind that relaying pertinent and appropriate information is key. For example, if you’re the father of the bride, focus on 2-3 key anecdotes that paint a picture of your daughter and new son-in-law. You don’t have to bring the audience up to date on every moment of the couple’s lives, from birth to present. If you’re toasting your parents on their golden anniversary, focus on giving your guests the flavor of your parent’s relationship, not a laundry list of the top 10 moments.

Bottom line:

Informing means sharing information that will be relevant and interesting to the audience, regardless of age, culture, or gender. Pick and choose wisely.

Entertain If your goal is to be more entertaining, think about the type of humor you wish to incorporate. But remember, being entertaining isn’t the same thing as roasting. For example, if you’re the best man it’s completely fine to poke fun at the groom so long as the ultra embarrassing stories and inside jokes don’t get lip service. And when it comes to talking about the bride, remember that your job is to make her (and the groom) look good. You can share funny memories of the couple without making anyone feel uncomfortable.

Being entertaining can still mean being tasteful and complimentary.

When further defining the more specific purpose of your speech, try asking yourself these questions:

Why am I here?

What can I do to impact my audience?

What does my audience not know?

What do I want to share with my audience?

How do I want my audience to remember me and my words?

One of my favorite quotes is, “A good speech is like a pencil. It has to have a point.” I hope this post will inspire you to find yours in time for your next speech.

#professionalspeechwriter #speechwriting #whatsyourpurpose #speechpurpose #weddingspeech #BarBatMitzvahspeechwriter

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Speechwriting in Perspective: A Brief Guide to Effective and Persuasive Communication

February 25, 1998 – April 12, 2007 98-170

The frequent delivery of public remarks by Senators and Representatives is an important element of their roles as community leaders, spokespersons, and freely elected legislators. Congressional staff are often called on to help prepare draft remarks for such purposes.

Writing for the spoken word is a special discipline; it requires that congressional speechwriters’ products be written primarily, although not exclusively, to be heard, not read. Speeches are better cast in simple, direct, and often short sentences that can be easily understood by listeners. Rhetorical devices such as repetition, variation, cadence, and balance are available to, and should be used by, the speechwriter.

It is important for speechwriters to analyze audiences according to factors such as age; gender; culture; profession; size of audience; political affiliation, if any; and the occasion for, and purpose of, the speech. Most effective speeches do not exceed 20 minutes in length.

After researching a topic, speechwriters should prepare an outline from which the speech will be developed. They should strive to maintain a clear theme throughout the speech. Most speeches will have a three-part structure consisting of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

The accepted style of contemporary American public address is natural, direct, low key, casual, and conversational. This puts listeners at ease and promotes a sense of community between audience and speaker.

Punctuation should reflect the sound structure of the speech, reinforcing the rhythm and pace of actual speech. Clarity of expression is as important a consideration in speech grammar as rigid adherence to rules for written language.

Effective delivery can greatly improve a speech. Congressional speechwriters should make every effort to become familiar with the speaking style of the Member for whom they are writing, and adjust their drafts accordingly.

A wide range of speechwriting resources are available for congressional staff from the Congressional Research Service and other sources.

Topic areas

Domestic Social Policy

Introduction

Writing For The Spoken Word: The Distinctive Task of The Speechwriter

Repetition and variation, cadence and balance, rhythmic triads, parallelism, alliteration, sentence variation, rhetorical questions, sentence fragments, inverted order, suspension for climax, use of conjunctions, audience analysis, demographics, audience size, degree of political affiliation, occasion and purpose, information, entertainment, time and length, time of day, how many words, speech research, speechwriting resources, policy resources, additional resources, speech preparation, building blocks: suggested principles, the speech outline, thematic clarity, three-part structure, techniques of persuasion, attention-problem-solution, this or nothing, contemporary style and tone, pitfalls to be avoided, punctuation, grammar and syntax, speech presentation, analysis of lincoln's farewell to his neighbors, general observations.

Writing for the spoken word is a special discipline; it requires that congressional speechwriters' products be written primarily, although not exclusively, to be heard, not read. Speeches are better cast in simple, direct, and often short sentences that can be easily understood by listeners. Rhetorical devices such as repetition, variation, cadence, and balance are available to, and should be used by, the speechwriter.

Introduction 1

"Rhetoric," wrote Aristotle, "is the power of determining in a particular case what are the available means of persuasion." This report reviews some effective means for the rhetoric of persuasive communication in speeches written by congressional staff for Senators and Representatives. By speeches, this report means draft statements prepared for oral delivery by Members. Such speeches are often prepared under the pressure of deadlines that leave minimal time for extensive revision. Moreover, they must often be drafted in whole or part for Members who may have little opportunity to edit and amend them. The burdens of public office (as well as of campaigning) and the insistent demand for speeches of every kind for a variety of occasions require some degree of reliance on speechwriters, a reliance that is heightened by the limitations of time and the urgencies of the media.

A speech thus "ghostwritten" should nevertheless reflect the intention and even the style of the speaker. The best ghostwriters are properly invisible; they subordinate themselves to the speaker in such a way that the final product is effectively personalized in the process of actual communication. The only ways to achieve or even approach this ideal are practice and experience. This report seeks to provide some guidance for congressional staff on the principles and practice of speechwriting. The suggestions offered herein, when combined with practice, attention to audience and occasion, and, most importantly, the Member's attitudes, convictions, and style, can help create a speech that can be a "seamless garment" when delivered by the Member.

Writing effective speeches requires a constant awareness of the distinction between the written and the spoken word: the speechwriter must learn to "write aloud." While the best speeches read as well as they sound, the novice speechwriter should give priority to the ear and not the eye. His or her speech must be written to be heard, not read.

This means that easy intelligibility should be a paramount concern, so that the listening span is not strained. One of the first rules of the speechwriting profession is that a sentence written to be heard should be simple, direct, and short. When the speechwriter "writes aloud," George Orwell's advice to cut out any word that can possibly be cut is helpful, so long as the resulting effect is clarity, and not verbal shorthand. 2 Ciceronian oratory on the one hand and Dick-and-Jane simplicity on the other are extremes to be avoided. The speechwriter thus faces the challenge of crafting words that convey the speaker's meaning clearly, but that also draw on the rich nuance and texture of spoken English.

The average spoken sentence runs from eight to 16 words; anything longer is considered more difficult for listeners to follow by ear, and according to one expert, may be too long for the average listener to absorb and analyze quickly. 3 By comparison, written sentences of up to 30 words are easily understood by average readers. 4 Given these generally accepted limitations, what devices are available to the writer to make more complex sentences and speech wording accessible to the listener? Complex sentences can be clarified by repeating key words and using simple connections. By numerous rhetorical techniques, the speaker states, restates, and states again in different ways, the central themes of the speech.

Repetition with variation is a basic speechwriting tool used by many of the greatest speakers to emphasize key elements while avoiding monotony. Some examples follow.

Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was a striking example of this technique, using that phrase to introduce a series of his visions for a better future.
Lincoln at Gettysburg emphasized the significance of the day's events by restating the solemnity of the occasion in not fewer than three variations: "We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground, ..."
Similarly, Winston Churchill's World War II speeches used repetition with variation to build a powerful climax: "We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on the beaches and landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills, ... we shall never surrender."
Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1937 "One third of a Nation" speech imparted a sense of urgency by his deliberate repetition of a "here are" construction to describe conditions in the country, followed again and again with "now":

Here is one-third of a nation ill-nourished, ill-clad, ill-housed—NOW.

Here are thousands upon thousands of farmers wondering whether next year's prices will meet their mortgage interest—NOW.

Here are thousands upon thousands of men and women laboring for long hours in factories for inadequate pay—NOW.

Another venerable rhetorical device is the use of cadence and balance in the spoken word. This is a part of speechwriting where the speaker and the writer need cooperation to ensure success. The tradition of public speaking in the English language owes much to the poetic tradition, which was originally an oral tradition. As one observer noted, "the language of the speech should also be poetic —replete with alliteration, metaphor, and other figures of speech. Such adornments, far from being superfluous, enhance meaning and emphasize relationships among ideas." 5 As difficult to define as to achieve, cadence and balance impart movement and harmonious effect to any speech. Essentially a matter of ordering groups of words (and ideas) into rhythmic patterns, cadence and balance can be attained by such classical rhetorical devices as the ones described below. Do not be put off by the classic Greek names of some of these rhetorical devices; in practice we use them naturally in conversation and writing every day.

The grouping of words into patterns of three can lead to a memorable effect, provided the device is not overused. Some notable examples from classic oratory include " Veni, vidi, vici "; "Never ... was so much owed by so many to so few"; "The kingdom, the power, and the glory ..."; "I have not sought, I do not seek, I repudiate the support of ..."; "one third of a nation ill-clad, ill-nourished, ill-housed...."

The linkage of similar words or ideas in a balanced construction that repeatedly uses the same grammatical form to convey parallel or coordinated ideas: "Bigotry has no head and cannot think; no heart and cannot feel;" "Charity beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

The repetition of initial sounds in a series of words to give emphasis. For instance, "We need to return to that old-fashioned notion of competition—where substance, not subsidies, determines the winner," or, "... the nattering nabobs of negativism...."

This is the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. Churchill's famous defiance of Hitler, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds ...," which has been previously cited, is one of the most famous examples.

A common form of parallel structure comparing and contrasting dissimilar elements. For instance, "... give me liberty, or give me death."; "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."; "To some generations much is given; from others, much is demanded ..."; "A great empire and little minds go ill together."; "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of folly."; "If Puritanism was not the godfather to Capitalism, then it was godson."

This technique involves more than alternating longer sentences with short ones. The writer may employ either periodic sentences, that is, those in which the main clause comes at the end, or loose sentences, in which the main clause is presented at or near the beginning, to be followed by other main or subordinate clauses. Sentence variation also includes the use of such devices as those described below.

"Is peace a rash system?" "Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" The speaker leads the audience to the conclusion he hopes they will draw by asking a question that makes his point, and that he intends to answer himself, either immediately, with a flourish, or at greater length during his remarks, through patient exposition.

"Dear money. Lower credit. Less enterprise in business and manufacture. A reduced home demand. Therefore, reduced output to meet it." The speaker dramatizes the situation by reducing it to a stark declaration, which he renders more striking by pausing to let the facts sink in after each sentence fragment.

"With what dignity and courage they perished in that day." This classic rhetorical practice, once more widely used, seeks to embellish the general flow of words, much like an ornament or a musical flourish. It also helps give a particular sentence special emphasis by causing it to stand out from others by its unusual form.

With this device, the speaker comes to a complete stop in his remarks, using the ensuing moment of silence to concentrate the listeners' attention on his next phrase. "My obligation as President is historic; it is clear; yes, it is inescapable." Even periodic sentences, if used with care, repeating the "suspended" subject or verb before modifying phrases or clauses can contribute to the effect: "Thus did he prove to be a leader who—victorious in battle, magnanimous in victory, skilled in the arts of peace—was able, in the face of his most determined foes ..."

Repeating key words and using simple connective conjunctions ( and , for , because , but ) can make many complex sentences more easily intelligible to the ear by breaking them up into "bite size" segments. For instance, "Be a craftsmen in speech that thou mayest be strong, for the strength of one is the tongue, and speech is mightier than all fighting."

No speech will sound fresh and vivid if it is not animated by imaginative imagery, by metaphor in its many forms: "the hatred of entrenched greed"; "America will always stand for liberty"; "Democracy is the healthful lifeblood which circulates through the veins and arteries of society ..."; "Whether in chains or in laurels, liberty knows nothing but victories."

Extended metaphors or analogies, comparing similarities in different things, should be used with care so that the principal subject will not be lost in the image. Two or more metaphors in a single sentence or thought can be safely ventured only by the most experienced writers—"To take arms against a sea of troubles"—without incurring ridicule (as in the famous—and perhaps apocryphal—example attributed to the newspaper Pravda , the onetime propaganda organ of the Soviet Communist Party: "The fascist octopus has sung its swan-song").

Above all, in the spoken word there must be an element of identity and rapport with the listener, whether the speaker uses a "natural" conversational tone or a more oratorical style. Effective speechwriting for Congress is not a branch of "creative writing." Its "rules" are meant to foster clarity of expression, whatever the occasion and purpose of any given speech. Mere clarity is not enough for persuasive rhetoric, however. Indeed, there are times when clarity, brevity, and the like are not appropriate. The issues, because of their import and complexity, may preclude such treatment; similarly, the gravity or delicate political nature of the occasion may call for some measure of deliberate ambiguity. The best speechwriter will take into account the context of the speech and the speaker's personality, the image that is projected—that is, the speaker whom the audience sees and hears. The section on speech analysis in this report attempts a closer look at Lincoln's great Farewell Address at Springfield, illustrating many of the principles considered in this report.

What Jefferson Bates called "audience analysis" is probably the single most important factor to be considered in writing every speech: know your listeners, and you will have a much better chance of connecting with them. 6

Bates and others list a number of criteria useful in audience analysis, including, among others: age; gender; culture; education; profession ; size of the audience; and affiliation. 7 Age is obviously an important factor; high school students, young parents, and senior citizens have different levels of life experience, different interests reflecting the challenges they face at their particular stages of life, and, to some extent, they even speak different languages. Although gender differences in societal roles are less pronounced than a generation ago, some believe that certain persistent disparities of viewpoint between many men and women on some topics persist. With respect to "culture," William Wiethoff, in Writing the Speech , states that it "has escaped a standard or preferred definition. Speechwriters, however, may envision culture as the race, customs, and religion shared by members of an audience." 8 The factors of education, profession, and income level can be a pitfall for the unwary speechwriter. Never confuse education with intelligence, or professional status and worldly success with moral superiority or virtue, or modest means and educational attainment with the opposite.

The writer must be sensitive to these varying frames of reference found in an audience. Draft remarks should be familiar, sympathetic, and topical, without being condescending. They must, as always, be phrased in a way that is natural for the Member; it is painfully obvious to an audience if a Member is not comfortable in his role or with his words.

The size of an audience is another important factor in preparing a speech. A large audience and a formal occasion usually call for greater formality in language and delivery, lengthier remarks, and greater reliance on some of the classical rhetorical practices cited in this report. By comparison, many Members will require only talking points for a town meeting, and will almost certainly speak extemporaneously in still more intimate gatherings. In the age of cable and satellite television, and Webcasts, the Member is often asked to address what may appear to be a very small group of listeners physically present at the broadcast venue; at the same time, however, many others, perhaps thousands, may be viewing from other locations, or from their homes. It is the writer's task to craft remarks that simultaneously take into consideration the people physically present in the studio or location, and those who may be watching from home or other locations.

Speechwriters must also condition their words to the degree of political affiliation, or lack thereof, in the intended audience. A gathering of the party faithful is usually ready for some "red meat." An audience consisting of a non-partisan citizen's group, such as the League of Women Voters, is almost certainly not. The writer must also always remember that, while the Member is affiliated with one political party, and comes from a particular part of the state or district, he or she represents all the people, and gives due attention and respect to the legitimate views and aspirations of all constituents.

Another of the speechwriter's tasks is to assess the occasion at which the Member has been asked to speak and tailor the remarks accordingly. In contemporary society, the delivery of remarks by public figures is an expected element in almost every secular public ceremony, and at many religious services. The speechwriter must ensure that the occasion and the speech agree with one another, in both tone and content.

For instance, Veterans' Day and Memorial Day are among the most solemn public holidays in the calendar. For these two events, the speechwriter should focus on themes of commemoration, service, and sacrifice. The atmosphere should appropriately be both somber, and hopeful: "their sacrifice led to a better, more secure life for those who followed them." High school and college commencements are of a different genre altogether. The occasion may demand inspirational remarks, but as one observer noted, "I've heard speakers ... deliver a tedious, solemn policy address at graduation ceremonies in which the graduates and families just want to hit the exits and have a good time." 9 Conversely, a formal address to a learned society will differ dramatically from friendly remarks at a neighborhood picnic, town meeting, or retirement home. Simply put, the writer should exercise common sense in preparing remarks appropriate in tone and content to both the audience and the occasion.

Another useful consideration for congressional staff is to plan the delivery of substantive remarks on substantive occasions. If the Member is scheduled to announce a major policy statement or initiative, it should be delivered in commensurate surroundings, and on occasions when media coverage will be adequate. Timing is also a serious factor; speeches delivered at mid-morning, at lunchtime, or early afternoon at the latest, are far more likely to be covered that same day by local TV news.

The purpose of a speech and the occasion at which it will be delivered are closely related. Most frequently, the latter will govern the former. William E. Wiethoff suggests a "purpose" template for speechwriters in Writing the Speech . 10 In it he establishes three categories of purpose: information , persuasion , and entertainment .

These speeches seek to convey facts or information to the audience. The speaker first identifies the information that is about to be presented, seeking to link the new facts with others the listeners may already be aware of. Next, the speaker elaborates on the details of the information just conveyed, while avoiding a level of complexity and detail that would confuse the audience. Finally, the speaker draws together the facts and ideas related earlier, ideally recapitulating the main points in order to fix them in the listener's memory.

The persuasive speech is a two-edged sword: it can seek to instill in the listeners either the acceptance of, or at least a more favorable opinion toward, a particular condition, fact, or concept. This variant is described as advocacy . Conversely, a speech may also attempt to change an audience's impressions, opinions, or most ambitiously, their convictions. Wiethoff calls this dissent , and asserts that it is more difficult than advocacy, since the speaker faces the burden of proving to the listeners that what they have heretofore accepted should be modified or rejected. 11 In both cases, the writer must marshal the arguments that will convince the audience.

Wiethoff's third category of speech purpose is entertainment. A great percentage, perhaps a majority, of Member speeches will fall into this category. The choice of title for this group may be misleading, however. These are not necessarily frivolous occasions, and they are not unimportant to the life and people of a town or village, students at a school, or members of a club who constitute the audience for such remarks. Speeches in this category serve the vital function of reinforcing the common ties and experiences that bind communities together and help reinforce the vitality of civic life in America. As Wiethoff notes:

These speeches are delivered during ceremonies or rituals that are significant in themselves. They do not need clarification in order to be understood. They do not need proof of their importance. Instead, on these occasions people share an expectation of what will happen, and they are dissatisfied if the events do not take place as expected. 12

"Entertainment" speeches may be solemn in nature, such as a Memorial Day address, or celebratory, such as remarks at the opening of a new school, library, or child-care facility. They remind citizens of their joint identity as members of a community; these events, seemingly everyday, or even trite, are actually vital expressions of civic life. The Member's role as a community leader and spokesperson on these occasions should not be underestimated; it is a great honor for him or her to deliver remarks at these community rites, and a congressional speechwriter should devote talent and originality to them.

Obviously, the three purpose categories cited here are not necessarily mutually exclusive; in order to convince an audience, a speaker often needs to combine persuasion with information. Similarly, while some types of remarks are intended purely for entertainment, such as a celebrity roast, the careful speechwriter will always seek to entertain audiences in order to capture and retain their attention.

How long should a Member speak? The answer to this fundamental question of speechwriting, like so many others, depends on a wide range of factors. Audience analysis and occasion have been previously noted, but the habits and attitudes of the speaker must also be taken into consideration.

The natural inclinations of the Member must be examined. Is the Member a person of few words, or is he or she a good talker? Does the Member stick to the text, or lay it aside to share anecdotes, personal reminiscences, or even humor, with the audience? These and other related questions can be answered only through experience on the part of the congressional speechwriter. Learning the Member's style and preferences will result in a better product that communicates more effectively.

Time of day should be considered by the writer. In the morning, people are relatively fresh, and are generally better prepared physically to listen attentively. By late afternoon, or after a luncheon, however, the audience may need to be stimulated, either by coffee or by lively remarks. Finally, lengthy after-dinner remarks should almost never be inflicted, especially on a paying audience. The potential auditors are full, tired, and ready to go home. It's best to give them their wish as quickly as possible.

Finally comes the classic question: how many words should the speechwriter prepare? Once again, the factors of audience, occasion, Member preference, and time of day should be considered. The question of length of time, however, must be dealt with at some point. A number of classic speech authorities suggest that in most cases 20 minutes should be the upward limit. Conventional wisdom often holds that most listeners tune out, perceptibly or not, after that period. 13 Ritual or pro forma speeches, such as occasional remarks at schools, churches, or public functions where the Member is a guest, but not the main attraction, benefit from brevity, perhaps being limited to five to 10 minutes. Although substantive public policy speeches may merit greater length, in modern America, only presidential inaugural and State of the Union messages seem to exceed the 20-minute limit regularly, with the latter often weighing in at over an hour.

The question of pace is also important; is the Member a fast talker? Different speakers exhibit considerable variety in pace, ranging from 115 to 175 words a minute. Once again, the speechwriter will factor these personal differences into his work. As a benchmark, however, an often-cited rule-of-thumb is that the average 20-minute speech contains about 2,600 words, or, about 130 per minute. Most word processing programs will provide a total document word count as part of their spell check feature. 14

Having a fixed time stimulates careful preparation. Both a time limit and notes or text help guard against logorrhea , or excessive verbiage. Time limits also encourage speakers not to be overly comprehensive, saying everything there is to be said on the speech topic. This is a temptation difficult to resist, but a speech is, by nature, a precis or digest. Excessive complexity or verbiage are capable of transforming an effective speech into something ponderous and exhausting. Jefferson's sharp judgment of 1824 applies today with equal force: "Amplification is the vice of modern oratory.... Speeches measured by the hour die with the hour."

Theme, audience, time, place, occasion and purpose—once these are settled, the speechwriter's next concern is to gather ideas, facts, examples, illustrations, quotations, and humor, in short, whatever is needed to give substance, character, and interest to the speech. There is no shortcut for researching a speech, although a number of resources can speed the process.

Congressional speechwriters often consult the Congressional Research Service first when preparing a draft statement or an address for a Member. CRS offers a range of speechwriting resources for the use of congressional staff, many of which are available from the CRS Home Page, at http://www.crs.gov .

To find this report and other speechwriting resources, go to the CRS Home Page and click on the tab on the right, "Reference Desk" http://www.crs.gov/ reference/ general/ reference.shtml . On the left side of the page you will find a link to "Speechwriting & Holidays/Commemorative Events" http://www.crs.gov/ reference/ general/ speechwriting.shtml . This page provides links to commemorative speech materials, many of them focusing on major holidays, such as the Fourth of July and Labor Day, and month-long celebrations like Black History Month and Native American Heritage Month. Information is provided on the history of and related facts about the holiday or celebration. The speechwriting page also accesses sources providing practical tips for writing a speech, quotations, the full text of selected speeches and United States historical documents and writing guides.

Other sources of information on public policy, reference resources, appropriations information, legal resources and many external links conveniently organized by topic are also available on the CRS Home Page. From the "Reference Desk," you can access "Basic Resources for Daily Work in Congressional Offices": government directories, encyclopedias, statistical sources, dictionaries, grammar guides, maps, and other online reference links. There is also a "Legislative Reference Source" page with links to facts about Congress including information on membership, committees, rules and schedules.

Providing timely, accurate, and unbiased information and analysis on current policy questions is the most important function of the Congressional Research Service. The congressional speechwriter can access the CRS Home Page to garner analysis on current policy issues. The page links to the Current Legislative Issues, such as the Economy, Homeland Security, Internet/Telecom, and Iraq. These are further divided into subcategories, with links to the full text of CRS reports, containing comprehensive and multi-disciplinary analysis and information. They are available exclusively to congressional staff from the CRS Home Page and provide a ready resource to the congressional speechwriter.

In addition to the Current Legislative Issues on the CRS Home page, on the left side of the page is a link to "Featured Products." The first Featured Product link is entitled "Floor Agenda: CRS Products." For a speechwriter who wishes to write about recent bills scheduled for floor action, this is an invaluable resource. This link accesses CRS reports about legislation that is scheduled for floor action that week. The link to the "Appropriations Status Table" accesses the latest status of and links to appropriation bills, as well as committee and CRS reports.

Congressional staff who wish to discuss any policy-related issue with the appropriate CRS analyst can call the Inquiry Section at [phone number scrubbed], to place a request or to ask for a briefing by an analyst. Alternatively, to find out how to contact a CRS expert from the Home Page, click on the "Contact Expert" tab. A request for analysis or research assistance may also be faxed to the Inquiry Section at [phone number scrubbed] or may be placed from the CRS Home Page by clicking on the "Place a Request" tab.

The CRS Hotline at [phone number scrubbed] is available for immediate ready reference requests, such as questions about presidential quotes on the virtues of the Constitution or perhaps variations in the Consumer Price Index for the past five years. In addition, the LaFollette Congressional Reading Room (LM-204, James Madison Memorial Building, the Library of Congress), Rayburn Research Center (B-335, Rayburn House of Representatives Office Building), and Senate Research Center (SR-B07, Russell Senate Office Building) provide a full range of in-person assistance, including many standard reference sources and CRS products. They are staffed full-time by information professionals available to assist you.

Legislative information is also available from commercial publications such as CQ Weekly , the annual Congressional Quarterly Almanac , and the same publisher's eight-volume history of major legislation and national issues since 1945, Congress and the Nation. A journal of similar content but with greater emphasis on executive branch activities is National Journal , which appears weekly.

There are sites on the Web that may be helpful to the speechwriter.

American Rhetoric http://www.americanrhetoric.com/ index.htm This is an Index to an expanding database of over 5000 full text, audio and video versions of public speeches, debates and interviews. This site has a useful set of communication links and is updated every two weeks.

Speechwriter.com http://wwwthespeechwriter.com This website contains many links to research sites, statistics, encyclopedias, business links, current events, anecdotes, quotes, speeches, toasts and biographies.

The Advanced Public Speaking Institute http://wwwpublic-speaking.org/ public-speaking-articles.htm This website has 43 articles on the use of humor in a speech.

Additional helpful resources may include books on speechwriting. Writing Great Speeches: Professional Techniques You Can Use ( Essence of Public Speaking Series ), by Alan M. Pearlman, has endorsements from two public speaking groups, the National Speakers Association and Toastmasters International. You may also wish to consult a work by Richard Dowis, The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write One—How to Deliver It . The author, a former journalist and public relations executive, discusses the content, the memorability, rule of three, and other speechwriting methods. Finally, Choosing Powerful Words: Eloquence that Works ( Essence of Public Speaking Series ), was written by Ronald H. Carpenter, a professor of English and communications. These books may be requested from the Loan Division of the Library of Congress, telephone 707-5441.

There are other basic materials with which every speechwriter should be familiar. These include a good standard dictionary (spell check is not foolproof, and has a rather limited vocabulary). The preferable dictionary is prescriptive as well as descriptive, that is, it prescribes or recommends usage in addition to providing descriptions or definitions. A thesaurus, such as Roget ' s , published in numerous editions since 1852, or J.I. Rodale's Synonym Finder , various editions since 1961, is useful in finding the right word and generally superior to the thesaurus feature offered with most word processing programs. For quotations, consult the standard Bartlett ' s Familiar Quotations in any one of its many editions, or Respectfully Quoted , a quotation dictionary compiled by the Congressional Research Service. Annual almanacs, such as the Information Please Almanac and the World Almanac , are often essential for quick reference.

Literary and religious sources include the works of Shakespeare in any readable edition and the English Bible, especially the King James or Authorized Version. Aside from its obvious spiritual aspects, the King James Bible is important for both its literary quality and its tremendous influence on spoken and written English.

Access to some standard encyclopedia, such as Americana , World Book or Britannica, is also helpful for fact checking and general information. Chase ' s Calendar of Events is a useful annual guide to special observances throughout the nation. A wealth of facts, statistics, and data useful in speech preparation can be found in the annual U.S. Government publication Statistical Abstract of the United States , published annually. For sample speeches on many topics of contemporary interest, the speechwriter may wish to consult Vital Speeches of the Day , published twice monthly, available through EBSCO Host and other Internet sources. It provides examples of speeches delivered by recognized public figures on topical questions and major issues and events of the day, and is annually indexed by author and topic. All these sources are available in the La Follette Congressional Reading Room, and most are also available in House and Senate office building reference centers.

Daily newspapers are a familiar, if neglected, resource for speeches; a dedicated speechwriter will read or skim several each day, noting and saving background items that may prove to be useful later. Both national and hometown papers should be included. Other useful sources include weekly news magazines and more specialized journals that cover public policy issues. Here, again, the advent of the Internet provides new sources of information valuable to the congressional speechwriter: home district newspaper web sites may be regularly scanned for local news on issues and events of interest to the Member. These are usually posted online the day they are published, and almost always well in advance of postal delivery of the printed product.

Certain general principles may be useful to guide the congressional speechwriter in choice of content and style:

Quotations and humorous anecdotes or remarks are like spices, and should be used with discrimination, mindful of good taste and effectiveness. Speeches overloaded with quotations and anecdotes can sink from their own weight.
Pseudo-quotations should be avoided. Never use a quotation that cannot be verified in an authoritative source.
Unless a writer is gifted with lightness of touch, self-deprecating or gentle humor is usually more effective than satire or ridicule.
Jokes aimed at people's personal lives or at religious and ethnic groups are invariably offensive, regardless of the speaker's motives. Avoid them.
Statistics should be used with care and moderation. Like the points in an outline, they are better alluded to in context than cited in tedious detail. A speech filled with statistics becomes a statistical abstract, not a speech.
When selecting material, the responsible speechwriter will take great care to quote accurately and give full credit for whatever is borrowed outright. Plagiarism is often illegal and always unethical . On the other hand, it is entirely proper to adapt existing materials to one's own purpose in preparing a new speech for any occasion. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in response to accusations that he had plagiarized parts of the Declaration of Independence from other works, "I did not consider it as any part of my charge to invent new ideas altogether and to offer no sentiment which had ever been expressed before." Straining after originality, which has been defined by an anonymous wit as "imitation not yet detected," can ruin the best of speeches.
Finally, the seasoned speechwriter soon learns to recycle the best parts of previous efforts, to save time and effort, and also to preserve a particularly fine turn of phrase.

The task of actually writing the speech, once the preliminaries are completed, will be greatly facilitated in most cases by the use of an outline. The novice speechwriter may be tempted to dispense with this device, on the grounds that it adds a time consuming extra step to a process that is often constrained by tight deadlines. On the other hand, it forces the writer to plan and organize his thoughts, to determine in advance what he intends to say, and to begin at the beginning.

A speech outline generally is not nearly as detailed as an outline for an academic work, such as a journal article, or even a research paper. The outline serves as a skeleton, a framework to carry the flesh and blood of the fully developed speech. At the same time, this skeleton should eventually be invisible, clothed in delivery with ideas and emotions, and as simple as possible; beware of explicitly enumerating too many points or topics. Outlines may be written in topics, or key sentences, or in complete thoughts, so long as there is an orderly sequence.

The frugal writer will retain speech outlines, since they can easily be reworked for future efforts. In whole or in parts, these can be placed in folders in a word processing program, or written out into a looseleaf notebook binder or even on index cards. From any of these media, the outlines can be quickly cut, rearranged, or added to as future occasions may require. President Ronald Reagan, for example, was legendary for his expert use and reuse of note cards that included facts and themes he sought to emphasize in various speeches.

Throughout the speech, the writer ought to be constantly asking: "What is it I am trying to say?" and, after it is written: "Have I, in fact, said it clearly, succinctly, and well?" Every speech seeks in some way to move an audience, to win support, to motivate, to convince, perhaps to inspire, or simply to entertain. Adhere to the central theme or idea while addressing it in different ways, much in the manner that good sentences are constructed for a paragraph.

The arrangement of ideas and themes should follow a logical progression. Each fact establishes a certain point, which leads to the speaker's next point, and so forth, ultimately climaxing with the thematic conclusion. While it is more dramatic to gain an audience's attention by opening a speech with a grand conclusion, be sure that the initial dramatic assertion is followed up by the essential process of weaving the argument the Member seeks to make.

Do not try to say too much, particularly when the speech is intended as the vehicle for a major announcement or initiative. The most memorable presidential inaugural addresses have been those that set a single theme, or coherent group of related themes. 15 Stick to no more than three major points, rather than attempting to say a little something about everything. Anything more risks running afoul of Churchill's famous comment concerning a bland dessert: "This pudding has no theme."

Nearly every speech will have a basic three-part structure of introduction, body, and conclusion. An arresting introduction should lead into an emphatic statement of the main theme or themes. The argument that follows seeks to elaborate and develop the theme convincingly and effectively—that is, without too much detail. The central theme is restated in the closing peroration. One helpful approach for overcoming the feeling of word fright (what can I say and how?) is to write the speech in reverse: begin with the conclusion, which should summarize the central message, while abridging and restating whatever goes before. If the introduction sets the tone and establishes initial appeal or rapport, the closing communicates the final effect and is more likely to be remembered. Working backward is one way of imparting unity, coherence, and emphasis to the speech as a whole.

There are many techniques available for the actual writing of a speech. Almost all speeches delivered by, or on behalf of, Members of Congress, even those for ceremonial or pro forma occasions, will have a certain political character because of the Member's representative function, and also because of the way in which his or her office is perceived. In the rhetorical context, political means persuasive, including the expression of personal interest and concern, assuring and reassuring, conveying the Member's identity with each audience, and so creating a community of interest and trust. Three kinds of persuasive techniques are usually distinguished:

the appeal to reasonableness: "Surely Democrats and Republicans alike can agree that there is no excuse today for hunger in the world's richest nation...."
the appeal to emotion: "Can we, as a nation, close our eyes to the spectacle of millions of children going to bed hungry every night...?"
the ethical appeal (that is, to the character of the audience): "our historic traditions of decency and generosity demand that we face squarely the question of hunger in America...."

All three approaches may be used in any given speech.

One popular option for developing a speech is the "attention-problem-solution" method, especially for longer speeches of a non-partisan character. Useful for many different occasions, this method begins by stimulating the interest of the audience, usually with attention-grabbing examples of a problem that needs to be recognized and confronted. The speaker then moves to define the "problem" situation, and concludes with the proposed "best" solution, presented so as to win listener support.

Another option, the "this-or-nothing" method, advocates a policy mainly by presenting and refuting proposed alternatives as inadequate or worse. It lends itself well to partisan occasions or to stirring those already convinced. In every case the speaker seeks to reinforce and strengthen his principal ideas as they are unfolded in the speech. Prior audience analysis and subject preparation will often help the speech "write itself."

No speaker should ever apologize for his or her presence, or for the content of the speech. If it truly deserves apologies, it is better left unsaid. Further, a prudent speaker, rightly wary of the impulse to speak "off-the-cuff," will make certain that "extemporaneous" or "impromptu" remarks are not unprepared. For most speakers it is also better not to memorize a speech (unless one has a gift for it), since memory is fallible and elusive at best.

The congressional speechwriter should not shrink from commonly accepted contemporary usage: the all-day speeches and obscure classical allusions of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay make wonderful reading, but they are history. The development of public address systems, radio, and, finally, the "cool" medium of television, and the perhaps even more intimate medium of the webcast have combined with other social changes to turn down the volume, both in decibels and emotions, of public speaking in the United States, for better or worse eliminating its more histrionic qualities.

The accepted style of contemporary oratory is generally low key, casual without being offensively familiar, and delivered directly to the audience in a conversational tone and volume. It puts the audience at ease and helps promote psychological bonding between listeners and speaker. The speaker is perceived as a neighbor or friend, as well as an elected official. This is, of course, what every Senator and Representative strives to be. Perhaps the first, and certainly one of the most effective, practitioners of this art was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his radio "fireside chats." His calm, reassuring voice and homey language revolutionized the bond of communication between the American people and their Presidents. It could be said that FDR spoke "with," rather than "to," the people, a standard to which Members can honestly aspire today. Once again, certain exceptions are allowed, but these are generally reserved largely to the President, or for only the most formal occasions.

Use natural words and phrases in a speech; let the sentences flow conversationally. It is helpful for some writers, time permitting, to prepare a first draft in longhand, shaping the sentences slowly, speaking aloud the phrases they intend to use.

The first person is perfectly acceptable in modern public discourse, and when combined with other personal pronouns—remember to avoid "I" strain—it can help connect listener to speaker and create a sense of community within the audience. While the first person singular is sometimes deprecated, it is its excessive use that should be avoided. Conversely, speakers should avoid referring to themselves in the first person plural (we) or the third person singular (he or she). The former has been reserved to monarchs, and is considered archaic in modern speech. The latter too often conveys a sense of excessive self importance to listeners. For instance, a Member should think twice before referring to himself or herself in the third person singular: "Dave (or Mary) Smith thinks the problem of hunger is the greatest challenge facing America today."

Writers should generally use simple, declarative sentences, preferably in active voice, when making important statements of fact, assertion, or opinion. Use of the passive voice should not be dismissed out of hand, however; it is sometimes the more desirable form, and can lend grace and variety to the speaker's flow of words that stimulates the listener. It is excessive use that should be avoided. Similarly, exclusive use of the active voice can impart a choppy, juvenile cadence to even a content-rich speech.

Just as there are points to emphasize in every speech, serving as clear transitions or aural signposts for paragraphs ("secondly," "nevertheless," "finally," "accordingly," "as a result," "in spite of," "as I have said," etc.), so there are things to avoid, and they are more numerous. While they are discussed in full in many reference works, they include:

jargon and trendy neologisms: "impact" used as a verb, "stakeholders," "incentivize," "outside the box," et al .;
redundancy resulting from excess verbiage, not deliberate restatement;
mannerisms that may distract the listener, and trite phrases or cliches, with the exception previously mentioned, monotony of style or pace, and, in general, language inappropriate to the audience and occasion.

Punctuation is crucial to an effective speech; it helps to clarify the delivery of the spoken word. Good punctuation in English, apart from a few basic elements, is less a matter of inflexible rules than of purpose and style, particularly where speeches are concerned. Historically there have been two broad traditions of punctuation: syntactical—that is, guided by syntax or grammatical construction; and elocutionary—deriving from the rhythm and pace of actual speech. One writer has further distinguished three methods of punctuating:

by structure or logic to indicate the sense of what is being said;
by the rhythm of word order and intended meaning—a subtle use best avoided by novice speech writers;
and by respiration—that is, by the physical ease of natural speech, which assumes that what is read is really spoken. 16

This last method, essentially the same as the elocutionary style, is the most widely used and certainly the most appropriate for speeches. In short, punctuate according to the ear and not the eye. This also means punctuating for the lungs: give the Member time to breathe! A long and convoluted sentence (something to be avoided in general) can leave the Member literally gasping for breath as he or she concludes it. A useful practice for congressional speechwriters is to declaim aloud (speak aloud, not in a conversational tone, but as if one were speaking to an audience) any lengthy sentence intended for the Member. If the writer finds it taxing on the lungs, then so will the Member; in such cases, it is advisable either to fashion shorter sentences, or to repunctuate the original, using such obvious "time out" devices as the colon and semi-colon, both of which are described in the next paragraph.

Commas and dashes are useful to the speaker and listeners alike as guideposts to what lies ahead in a speech. They also provide pauses where the speaker can let the import of the previous sentence sink in, or simply catch his or her breath. Opinion is divided on colons and semicolons; some consider them as serving the same functions as commas and dashes, while others suggest that they are more emphatic, demanding a full stop in the flow of remarks, rather than a short pause. They are also sometimes criticized as leading to long compound sentences that are difficult for audiences to process, and that are better replaced by shorter declarative ones. In the final analysis, the Member's personal preferences and style should be the congressional speechwriter's guide.

Correct grammar and syntax in the context of speechwriting and delivery mean using a level of English usage that is appropriate to the occasion. While it is highly desirable, the formal grammar of the written language is not an end in itself; it exists to further the clarity of expression. Far more important than the grammarian's rules is the communication of personality by which a speech, as opposed to a lecture, is clothed with emotion and enthusiasm, so that the speaker is perceived to be sincere and trustworthy, neither "talking over people's heads" nor "talking down" to them. While this may belong more to the presentation or delivery, the writer should strive for it in speech preparation as well.

Effective delivery can transform a weak speech and make it sound very good. Poor delivery can ruin the best-prepared speeches, and sometimes does. Although delivery is not the concern of the speechwriter as such, it must be always in mind as a speech is actually written. The speaker's pace, his or her style, mannerisms, tendencies (such as departing from a text), peculiarities, or special difficulties (words to avoid)—these are elements with which the writer should be well acquainted before preparing any speech. Knowing how a Member speaks is essential in preparing a draft that is both useful and realistic.

Ideally, a speech draft ought to be reviewed three times—by the writer, by the prospective speaker, and by a disinterested third party. Of these three, priority should ordinarily be given to the speaker. The revised product is likely to be more effective. With speeches, as with food, however, too many cooks are undesirable. Moreover, time seldom permits this much critical evaluation and rewriting. It may even be easier to provide for some appraisal of the speech's impact and audience reaction after delivery. For example, it is said that Senator Robert F. Kennedy's speech writers would follow his delivery of a speech word by word, noting those phrases or ideas that were well received, or others that created problems.

An effective political speech is defined not by rules of rhetoric, but by the character of response it evokes. The speaker, then, is always concerned to measure that response and to elicit "positive feedback." This means a network of contacts that can report on the opinions and reactions of the audience, and evaluate the interest generated and evident a week or more after the event. It requires an awareness of media coverage and subsequent treatment from constituents, the sponsoring organization, and others. In short, it means adding a political relevance to the familiar phrase, "keeping in touch."

Although there are substantial distinctions between legislative and non-legislative speeches, the basic principles of preparation and presentation are identical for both. Good writing is nurtured by wide reading, which in turn fosters a sense of style, enriched vocabulary, accuracy in grammar, and a feeling for English syntax. The best speechwriters will, through regular daily reading, bring an ever more abundant background to their work. Everything is grist for the speechwriter's mill. Moreover, nothing is surer in speechwriting than that "practice makes perfect." The more one writes, the easier the task becomes, and the smoother and more conversational the flow of the Member's remarks.

As with so many aspects of speechwriting and delivery, the physical form of a speech is a matter of personal preference. Some speakers prefer to work from a completely polished text, one that may include carefully tailored "spontaneous" anecdotes and jokes at appropriate places, and may even incorporate hints on speech delivery or effective body language in the text. Others prefer to speak from notes derived from such a text, proceed from a series of "talking points," or simply extemporize. Whichever method is used, preparatory notes or an outline are recommended, with the cautionary warning that dependence on a manuscript can deaden the delivery, just as the excessive use of notes or cards can stimulate verbosity.

President-elect Lincoln's farewell speech at Springfield, Illinois on February 11, 1861 is arguably the shortest great speech ever delivered from the back of a train. Its railway car setting recalls to mind the now-vanished connection between political events and the railroad, including the whistle-stop campaigns of most presidential candidates from William Jennings Bryan to Dwight Eisenhower. What Jacques Barzun called Lincoln's "workaday style [would become] the American style par excellence," undermining the monopoly exercised by purveyors of "literary plush." 17 The Springfield speech illustrates with extraordinary brevity—it is only a 15 line paragraph—the Lincolnian qualities of precision, vernacular ease, rhythmic virtuosity, and elegance.

The sense of right order and emphasis throughout culminates in the closing sentence—"one of the greatest cadences in English speech." 18 The effect is achieved by the simple yet artful devices of parallelism, the balancing of similar and antithetical words phrases, and ideas, evoking rich Biblical overtones among his hearers. Lincoln's style is rooted in the "speaking intonations" and "humanly simple vernacular" of everyday speech, heightened by form and rhythm, the distinctively American tradition seen at its best in such writers as Emerson and Frost. 19 Although some hold that today there is no place for rhetorical eloquence, arguing that "bluntness and clarity" and simplistic thoughts are the norm, 20 others assert that the craft of speechmaking, the impact of skilled political rhetoric is as significant as ever in our history. 21 Lincoln's mastery of that craft remains a formidable example.

My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell. 22

The rise and, indeed, the virtual triumph in American political speaking of "the popular conversational idiom," with its emphasis on simplicity, brevity, and terseness, has tended to encourage "simplistic language together with slogans or catch words ...," influenced perhaps by the techniques of mass media advertising and particularly television. 23 "Repetition and retention of a few simple ideas are stressed more than a complex concept." 24 In consequence, some have noted a growing trend toward what some have characterized as a numbing mediocrity: "Since the 1920s more political speakers have addressed larger audiences on a wider range of topics than at any time in history. Yet so marked is the decline in the quality of style that the majority of speeches are pedestrian, prosaic, and impotent." 25 This last may be an excessively pessimistic evaluation of the state of contemporary political speech. Few, moreover, would advocate a return to the florid style of public speaking that prevailed as recently as the 1920s.

The remedy, in part, may be the cultivation of style. "Time should be devoted," writes L. Patrick Devlin, "to using impressive language," which he defines as "the most vivid, clear, concise, and meaningful style." 26 It will be most effective if it bears the personal stamp of the speaker. "The process of persuasion is ... more a matter of communicating values than logical information." 27 In essence, good speechwriting requires that the speaker assume a role: to some extent, he or she must be able to impart confidence and to sense the character of an audience. We need not agree with Talleyrand's cynical observation that "speech was given to man to disguise his thoughts" to recognize that effective persuasion calls for the ability to win the hearts and minds of listeners. To seem natural is not easy; as George Fluharty and Harold Ross wrote in Public Speaking :

The speaker is estimating his audience and his audience is estimating him. His ethics, his integrity, understanding, and humanity are strong forces for good and also strong components of his "ethos" or personal effect upon not only his present but also his future audiences. The speaker should therefore make sure that the actual situation permits him to use a given persuasive device. 28

Once again, the words of Abraham Lincoln, himself no mean practitioner of the public speaker's art, may serve to summarize the speechwriter's ultimate goal:

When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim that "a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall." So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great high-road to his reason, and which, when once gained, you will find but little trouble convincing his judgment of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause really is a good one. 29

9 Reasons Why Writing A Speech Is Important

Hrideep barot.

Speech Writing

So, you have to deliver a speech in the next couple of days or so. As you start preparing yourself for the big day, one question that will definitely pop up in your mind is: do I need to write down my speech?

Generally, people fall into two broad categories: those that are firm believers in the virtue of writing down a speech, and those that would prefer winging it. Of course, these distinctions are by no means fixed.

Some people might not write down their entire speech but only outline the important points. Others might prefer jotting down every single thing they’re going to say and do on the big day.

Yet others might simply scribble sections that they find problematic or difficult to remember. And then, of course, come the people who don’t write anything at all.

But, whatever your preferences when it comes to writing a speech, there are many reasons why simply winging it on the big day with zero planning whatsoever is not the greatest idea.

Writing down a speech is important as it helps you better understand the topic, better organizes your thoughts, prevents any mistakes in your speech helping you become more familiar with it, and boosts its overall quality.

We’ve elaborated on these points below. But first, let’s get the basics out of the way.

What Is Speechwriting?

Before we get into the logistics of what is speechwriting, let’s understand what a speech is.

Going by what the dictionary says, “A speech is a formal talk which someone gives to an audience.”

Expanding on the above definition, we can better understand what speechwriting is: “Speech writing is the art of conveying a message to the audience through words. “

Now that we’ve gotten all the dictionary definitions out of the way, let’s delve a little more deeply into the concept of speech-writing.

There are many reasons why people write and deliver speeches. Speeches can be written to inform people. Say, for example, a speech on environmental degradation. Or, they might be written to persuade someone. Speeches delivered by politicians can be an example of persuasive speeches. Another reason would be to commemorate an event, say like, independence day.

However, whatever the overall purpose of your speech, almost every speech follows a set pattern. We’ve elaborated on it in the section below.

How To Write A Speech?

What is the format of a speech? As we mentioned above, almost all speeches have a format. Most speeches are divided into three sections. They are:

Introduction

The first part of the speech is called the introduction. The opening of your speech varies according to the type of speech you’re delivering. However, one thing that’s common to most speech opening is that they need to be attention-grabbing.

That is, they need to be interesting enough to hook your audience’s attention. Unless and until your speech opening is gripping, it doesn’t matter how interesting your content or research is. You’re going to lose your audience before you reach the next section, which is…

The body of your speech is its heart. It contains all the information that you wish to share with your audience. It makes for the bulk of your speech , and for good reason.

However, no matter the length of your body, one thing to keep in mind is to follow a chronological pattern while writing it. That is, don’t just randomly arrange your information in any sequence that you feel like.

For the audience to understand what you’re saying, you need to organize the content of your body into something that is easily comprehensible.

The ending of your speech is where you wrap up all your points and end your speech. We know you’re tired. However, don’t just end your speech with an abrupt ‘thank-you’.

Instead, a better way to conclude your speech would be to quickly provide a summary of your main points and then end with a call-to-action. Provide the audience with something that stays with them after your speech is done.

That is how they will remember you.

Why Should I Write A Speech?

Now that you know what speech-writing is and how to go about doing it, the next question is: why should you invest your precious time in writing down a speech before the big day?

Well, here are a few reasons why preparing your speech is better than simply winging it:

1 . Helps You Better Understand The Topic

But…isn’t that the entire point of ‘research’? To glean a better understanding of what you’re going to be talking about?

While it’s certainly true that researching your topic helps you glean more knowledge about it, actually writing down your speech gives you a clearer understanding of the information you’ve gathered .

This is because while during research you’re simply collecting data when you write down a speech, you also draw upon your own knowledge, experiences, and beliefs. By combining these personal factors with the assimilated information, you gain a deeper understanding of what the topic actually means to you.

All of this will, ultimately, give an added boost to your speech.

2. Helps Organize Your Ideas

Another reason why writing down a speech is important is because it helps organize your thoughts and ideas into something that can be better understood by another person.

While you might have a lot of expertise about a particular topic, chances are that your knowledge would be scattered. So, when you draw upon this knowledge source on the day of your speech, your points might end up being disorganized.

This will confuse your audience. Even if you make a great point, they might not understand its relevance or what it means. Because, say, you totally skipped an important tidbit of information that is essential to understand your point.

Writing down a speech avoids such scenarios, and leaves the audience with a better impression of you.

3. Helps Remember The Speech

Writing down your speech in advance also helps facilitate your memory. This is because writing something down itself is a great way to store the information in your brain. Probably why we got so much homework in high school, right?

Also, by writing your speech down, you also organize it in a logical sequence or pattern, which ultimately makes it easier to recall information.

4. Helps You Stay On Track

The last thing your audience wants to hear is a long story about a vacation you took in the Maldives in the middle of a speech about, say, an alien invasion (unless, of course, that’s where the invasion occurred).

A good way to avoid your thoughts derailing in the middle of your speech is by organizing them beforehand. And what better way to organize something as abstract as your thoughts than by having them on a piece of paper–or a laptop screen–in front of you?

5. Helps Time Your Speech

Another reason why writing down your speech beforehand is a great idea is because it helps you time how long your speech is going to be.

Time constraints are a common factor in almost all public speaking engagements. It is especially important during speaking engagements where there are multiple speakers.

One fallback of going impromptu with your speeches is that it’s harder to keep track of time when you’re delivering them.

Writing down your speech beforehand means that you can also time your speech before the big day. This means that you will be able to finish it without having a time-keeper shoot you evil looks while simultaneously banging their fist on the table the moment you cross your five-minute mark.

6. Helps Filter Out Filler Words

Filler words meaningless words or sounds that we use to fill the pauses that happen when we’re trying to decide what to say next. For example, ‘ um ‘ is a commonly used filler word. ‘ And ‘ is another one.

One simple way of avoiding filler words is by deciding what you want to say beforehand instead of figuring it out on the spot. That is, by writing down your speech, you can eliminate any filler words that might eat into your speech otherwise.

7. Helps Make Adjustments

Another reason why writing down your speech beforehand is a great idea is because it helps you figure out if your speech needs any major adjustments or little tweaks.

So, for instance, if you’ve missed out on any major point, then writing down your speech will remind you that you need to include it in your talk. Or, if you find yourself using any inappropriate word, then having the text in front of you will help you filter that out.

8. Makes It Easier To Practice

There is a reason why the proverb ‘Practice makes perfect’ has survived the test of time. Granted, practice doesn’t necessarily guarantee perfection. However, it goes without saying that proper practice does enhance your performance.

Writing down your speech beforehand is a form of practice itself. As you make little tweaks and changes in your speech, read it out loud to see what it sounds like. This will not only improve the quality of your speech but also sneak in some extra practice while delivering it.

Finding it difficult to smoothly read out your speech? Check out our article on 9 Tips To Making A Speech Easier To Read for some help.

9. Improves The Overall Quality Of Your Speech

By taking into account all the above-mentioned factors, it’s easy to understand why writing down your speech will help you boost the overall quality of your speech.

While how you deliver your speech is an essential component of the success of your talk, the content of your speech is just as important for your success.

By investing some extra time in writing down your speech, you improve the quality of your speech, which will ultimately make it more likely that your audience will want to hear you speak again.

5 Things To Keep In Mind While Speech-writing

1. Have A Killer Opening–And Closing

While it’s true that the main body of your speech contains the most amount of information, this doesn’t mean that you should neglect the opening and closing of your speech.

Remember that it is the opening that will determine whether your audience will actually pay attention to the main part of your speech.

And also, it is how you end your speech that will determine whether your audience is going to remember you–or if they forget about your speech the moment you stop talking.

There are many ways of writing a speech opening line. You could open with a ‘What If’ scenario, for instance.

For example, what if a meteor hit earth right now? This gets your audience thinking and piques their attention (unless, of course, the meteor actually hits, in which case attention might get focused elsewhere).

Another way to open a speech would be by telling a story. However, make sure that you don’t ramble on for too long, and that your story is relevant to the topic. If you’re speaking about animal rights, maybe a short anecdote on your pet–or a moving visit to the zoo.

For more speech openings, check out our article on 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How To Create Your Own) .

Similarly, there are many ways of ending a speech.

One of the best ways to end a speech is by employing a call to action. This instigates your audience to do something. For example: I have given you all you need to move forward! Now, it’s time for YOU to take the next step.

Another way to end a speech would be by telling a joke. After all, who doesn’t want to end on a happy note?

Check out our article on 15 Powerful speech Ending Lines (And Tips To Create Your Own) for some more inspiration.

2. Keep Your Audience’s Attention Span In Mind

While human attention span is certainly higher than that of a butterfly, this doesn’t mean that humans have unlimited attention, either.

The point is, don’t drag on your speech for a diabolical amount of time, no matter how important your topic is or how much information you feel you can successfully squeeze into your given time frame. Keep in mind your audience’s attention span, and make your speech no longer than is necessary.

3. Incorporate Humor & Storytelling

Don’t make your speech an information dump. While it might make you sound intelligent, just delivering a lot of information without adding other–more personal–elements makes it more difficult for your audience to connect with you.

To prevent this, try incorporating a few jokes or a handful of anecdotes in your speech. Don’t just say them one after the other, though. Sprinkle them out throughout your speech. Also, make sure they’re relevant to your speech and not simply extras added just for the sake of it.

4. Use Simple Language

Just because you love browsing through a dictionary in your free time doesn’t mean it’s your audience’s favorite pass time too.

If you wish for your audience to connect with you, then complicated jargon is not the way to go. Instead, swap complex or difficult words with simple ones. This will broaden your reach with the audience, and improve how much you manage to resonate with them.

5. Be True To Yourself

What makes you unique as a person? How are your thoughts, feelings, and opinions different from–or similar to–the topic you’re speaking about? How do you really feel about the topic? Is there anything about it that you disagree with or feel could’ve been improved?

Before you begin writing your speech, these are a few questions that you must ask yourself. Don’t just conclude your research and then immediately jump into writing your speech, even if you don’t agree with half the things you’ve found.

Instead, stay true to yourself. Incorporate your own thoughts and feelings into your speech. This will not only increase your authenticity as a speaker but also make you stand out as a unique one.

Bonus: The Most Important Thing In Speech Writing

What is the most important element of any public speaking engagement?

The answer: You audience.

And that is precisely the most important thing which you need to keep in mind while writing your speech. After all, you’re going to be delivering your speech to the audience. So, it’s absolutely imperative to keep your audience in mind while delivering your speech.

That is why it’s so essential to research your audience beforehand. The content of your speech is going to vary greatly depending on what kind of audience is going to hear it.

For instance, if your audience consists mostly of beginners, then you will need to write your speech in such a way that it’s comprehensible to them. Otherwise, they could end up confused. Likewise, if your audience consists of experts, then dwelling too much on the basics might bore them.

So, make sure to look up your audience before you sit down for any speech-writing.

To sum up, speech-writing is a must before any speech that you plan on delivering. There are many reasons for this, with all of them eventually leading to one main point: writing down a speech before you speak will enhance the overall quality of your speech, as well as the audience’s experience of it.

So, before your next public speaking engagement, take out some extra time and jot down your speech.

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8.2: The Topic, Purpose and Thesis

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Joshua Trey Barnett@Indiana University
Millersville University via Public Speaking Project

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Before any work can be done on crafting the body of your speech or presentation, you must first do some prep work—selecting a topic, formulating a purpose statement, and crafting a thesis statement. In doing so, you lay the foundation for your speech by making important decisions about what you will speak about and for what purpose you will speak. These decisions will influence and guide the entire speechwriting process, so it is wise to think carefully and critically during these beginning stages.

I think reading is important in any form. I think a person who's trying to learn to like reading should start off reading about a topic they are interested in, or a person they are interested in. ~ Ice Cube

Selecting a Topic

Generally, speakers focus on one or more interrelated topics—relatively broad concepts, ideas, or problems that are relevant for particular audiences. The most common way that speakers discover topics is by simply observing what is happening around them—at their school, in their local government, or around the world. This is because all speeches are brought into existence as a result of circumstances, the multiplicity of activities going on at any one given moment in a particular place. For instance, presidential candidates craft short policy speeches that can be employed during debates, interviews, or town hall meetings during campaign seasons. When one of the candidates realizes he or she will not be successful, the particular circumstances change and the person must craft different kinds of speeches—a concession speech, for example. In other words, their campaign for presidency, and its many related events, necessitates the creation of various speeches. Rhetorical theorist Lloyd Bitzer (1968) describes this as the rhetorical situation. Put simply, the rhetorical situation is the combination of factors that make speeches and other discourse meaningful and a useful way to change the way something is. Student government leaders, for example, speak or write to other students when their campus is facing tuition or fee increases, or when students have achieved something spectacular, like lobbying campus administrators for lower student fees and succeeding. In either case, it is the situation that makes their speeches appropriate and useful for their audience of students and university employees. More importantly, they speak when there is an opportunity to change a university policy or to alter the way students think or behave in relation to a particular event on campus.

There are other questions you might ask yourself, too, but these should lead you to at least a few topical choices. The most important work that these questions do is to locate topics within your pre-existing sphere of knowledge and interest. David Zarefsky (2010) also identifies brainstorming as a way to develop speech topics, a strategy that can be helpful if the questions listed in the textbox did not yield an appropriate or interesting topic.

Starting with a topic you are already interested in will likely make writing and presenting your speech a more enjoyable and meaningful experience. It means that your entire speechwriting process will focus on something you find important and that you can present this information to people who stand to benefit from your speech.

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formulating the purpose statements

By honing in on a very specific topic, you begin the work of formulating your purpose statement . In short, a purpose statement clearly states what it is you would like to achieve. Purpose statements are especially helpful for guiding you as you prepare your speech. When deciding which main points, facts, and examples to include, you should simply ask yourself whether they are relevant not only to the topic you have selected, but also whether they support the goal you outlined in your purpose statement. The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to inspire, to celebrate, to mourn, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein (2004), a specific purpose statement “expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives you hope to achieve” (p. 111). For instance, the bog turtle habitat activist might write the following specific purpose statement: At the end of my speech, the Clarke County Zoning Commission will understand that locating businesses in bog turtle habitat is a poor choice with a range of negative consequences. In short, the general purpose statement lays out the broader goal of the speech while the specific purpose statement describes precisely what the speech is intended to do.

Success demands singleness of purpose. ~ Vince Lombardi

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Once you have answered these questions and narrowed your responses, you are still not done selecting your topic. For instance, you might have decided that you really care about conserving habitat for bog turtles. This is a very broad topic and could easily lead to a dozen different speeches. To resolve this problem, speakers must also consider the audience to whom they will speak, the scope of their presentation, and the outcome they wish to achieve. If the bog turtle enthusiast knows that she will be talking to a local zoning board and that she hopes to stop them from allowing businesses to locate on important bog turtle habitat, her topic can easily morph into something more specific. Now, her speech topic is two-pronged: bog turtle habitat and zoning rules.

Writing the thesis statement

The specific purpose statement is a tool that you will use as you write your talk, but it is unlikely that it will appear verbatim in your speech. Instead, you will want to convert the specific purpose statement into a thesis statement that you will share with your audience. A thesis statement encapsulates the main points of a speech in just a sentence or two, and it is designed to give audiences a quick preview of what the entire speech will be about. The thesis statement for a speech, like the thesis of a research- based essay, should be easily identifiable and ought to very succinctly sum up the main points you will present. Moreover, the thesis statement should reflect the general purpose of your speech; if your purpose is to persuade or educate, for instance, the thesis should alert audience members to this goal. The bog turtle enthusiast might prepare the following thesis statement based on her specific purpose statement: Bog turtle habitats are sensitive to a variety of activities, but land development is particularly harmful to unstable habitats. The Clarke County Zoning Commission should protect bog turtle habitats by choosing to prohibit business from locating in these habitats. In this example, the thesis statement outlines the main points and implies that the speaker will be arguing for certain zoning practices.

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writing the body of your speech

Good design is making something intelligible and memorable. Great design is making something memorable and meaningful. ~ Dieter Rams

The main points of any speech are the key pieces of information or arguments contained within the talk or presentation. In other words, the main points are what your audience should remember from your talk. Unlike facts or examples, main points are broad and can be encapsulated in just a sentence or two and represent the big ideas you want to convey to your audience. In general, speeches contain two to seven main points (Bower, 1990) that collectively lead to some understanding by the end of the speech. For informative speeches, main points might include historical details that advance a particular understanding of an event. For a persuasive speech, however, your main points may be your separate arguments that, when combined, help to make your case. When writing your main points, you may want to do so in parallel structure. Parallel structure refers to main points that are worded using the same structure, perhaps by starting with a common introductory clause (Verderber, Verderber, & Sellnow, 2008). Main points do not stand alone; instead, speakers must substantiate their main points by offering up examples, statistics, facts, anecdotes, or other information that contribute to the audience’s understanding of the main points. All of these things make up the sub-points , which are used to help prove the main points. This is where all of your research and supporting information comes into play.

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COMMENTS

The Topic, Purpose, and Thesis
The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to inspire, to celebrate, to mourn, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O'Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein, a specific purpose statement "expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose ...
8.2 The Topic, General Purpose, Specific Purpose, and Thesis
Purpose statements are especially helpful for guiding you as you prepare your speech. When deciding which main points, facts, and examples to include, you should simply ask yourself whether they are relevant not only to the topic you have selected, but also whether they support the goal you outlined in your purpose statement. The general ...
Purpose and Thesis
As with essay writing, the early work of speechwriting follows familiar steps: brainstorming, research, pre-writing, thesis, and so on. This chapter focuses on techniques that are unique to speechwriting. As a spoken form, speeches must be clear about the purpose and main idea or "takeaway.". Planned redundancy means that you will be ...
7.2 The Topic, General Purpose, Specific Purpose, and Thesis
The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to celebrate, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O'Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein, a specific purpose statement "expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in ...
7.2: The Topic, Purpose and Thesis
The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to inspire, to celebrate, to mourn, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O'Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein (2004), a specific purpose statement "expresses both the topic and the general speech ...
Speeches
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.
Chapter Eleven
Writing an outline is also important to the speechwriting process since doing so forces speakers to think about the main points and sub-points, the examples they wish to include, and the ways in which these elements correspond to one another. ... topic, specific purpose statement, and thesis statement. These elements are helpful to you, the ...
Organizing and Outlining
The chapter begins at the initial stages of speechwriting— selecting an important and relevant topic for your audience. The more difficult task of formulating a purpose statement is discussed next. A purpose statement drives the organization of the speech since different purposes (e.g., informational or persuasive) necessitate different types ...
PDF Speechwriting in Perspective: A Brief Guide to Effective and Persuasive
the occasion for, and purpose of, the speech. Most effective speeches do not exceed 20 minutes in length. After researching a topic, speechwrite rs should prepare an outline from which the speech will be developed. They should strive to maintain a clear theme throughout the speech. Most speeches will ha ve a three-part structure consisting of
Outlining Your Speech
Thesis Statement: A variety of organizational styles can used to organize public speeches. Introduction Paragraph that gets the attention of the audience, establishes goodwill with the audience, states the purpose of the speech, and previews the speech and its structure. (Transition) Body. I. Main point. A. Sub-point B. Sub-point C. Sub-point. 1.
Outlining Your Speech
Thesis Statement: A variety of organizational styles can used to organize public speeches. Introduction Paragraph that gets the attention of the audience, establishes goodwill with the audience, states the purpose of the speech, and previews the speech and its structure. (Transition) Body. I. Main point. A. Sub-point B. Sub-point C. Sub-point. 1.
8.1 Why Are Organizing and Outlining Important?
The chapter begins at the initial stages of speechwriting— selecting an important and relevant topic for your audience. The more difficult task of formulating a purpose statement is discussed next. A purpose statement drives the organization of the speech since different purposes (e.g., informative or persuasive) necessitate different types ...
8.3: The Topic, General Purpose, Specific Purpose, and Thesis
The specific purpose is a combination of the general purpose and the topic and helps the speaker to focus in on what can be achieved in a short speech. The specific purpose expresses the general purpose and topic in terms of a specific objective you hope to achieve. To go back to the topic of a dog breed, the general purpose might be to inform ...
Mastering Speech Outlines: Tips & Examples
Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Speech Outline. Crafting a speech outline begins with selecting a captivating topic, followed by formulating a strong thesis statement. Integrating the speech topic's keywords is essential, and the initial outline draft should encompass the main talking points. Moreover, organizing supporting points and ...
Effective Speech Writing, Inspirational Public Speaking
Speech writing is all about knowing your audience and addressing their concerns. Leave your audience with something about which to think. Include humor and inspirational quotes. But make sure that each of these are integrated into the whole. Study the great speeches of the past to find inspiration.
The General Steps in the Speechwriting Process
Determining the appropriate style and delivery for the audience and setting. 7. Determining the key points and outlining the speech. 8. Drafting the speech and generating feedback. 9. Completing and, if operative, submitting speech text to the speaker. 10. Feedback, editing, and approval of the speech.
Why Your Speech Has To Have Purpose
Defining your purpose will not only help you stay focused when you write and deliver your speech, but it will help you forge a stronger connection with your audience. When it comes to most special occasion speeches, there are two main purposes: to inform and to entertain. While you may ultimately achieve a mix of the two, focusing on one will ...
Why is the purpose statement an important aspect of speechwriting? A
The purpose statement is an important aspect of speechwriting because: 1. It conveys the speaker's goal for the speech: The purpose statement clearly outlines what the speaker intends to achieve through their speech. It helps in focusing the content and structure of the speech towards achieving that goal. 2.
Welcome to the Purdue Online Writing Lab
Mission. The Purdue On-Campus Writing Lab and Purdue Online Writing Lab assist clients in their development as writers—no matter what their skill level—with on-campus consultations, online participation, and community engagement. The Purdue Writing Lab serves the Purdue, West Lafayette, campus and coordinates with local literacy initiatives.
Why is the purpose statement an important aspect of speechwriting
The purpose statement is vital in speechwriting as it defines the objective, ensures content relevance, and maintains audience engagement. It guides the organization of the speech and helps craft a focused and compelling presentation. Explanation: Importance of the Purpose Statement in Speechwriting. The purpose statement plays a crucial role ...
Speechwriting in Perspective: A Brief Guide to ...
Another venerable rhetorical device is the use of cadence and balance in the spoken word. This is a part of speechwriting where the speaker and the writer need cooperation to ensure success. The tradition of public speaking in the English language owes much to the poetic tradition, which was originally an oral tradition.
9 Reasons Why Writing A Speech Is Important
2. Helps Organize Your Ideas. Another reason why writing down a speech is important is because it helps organize your thoughts and ideas into something that can be better understood by another person. While you might have a lot of expertise about a particular topic, chances are that your knowledge would be scattered.
8.2: The Topic, Purpose and Thesis
A thesis statement encapsulates the main points of a speech in just a sentence or two, and it is designed to give audiences a quick preview of what the entire speech will be about. The thesis statement for a speech, like the thesis of a research- based essay, should be easily identifiable and ought to very succinctly sum up the main points you ...
Why is the purpose statement an important aspect of speechwriting? A
The purpose statement is an important aspect of speechwriting because it conveys the speaker's goal for the speech.Option C is correct.Explanation:The purpose statement is a clear, concise statement that explains the goal of the speech. It is important because it helps the speaker to stay focused and on track.