14. How To: Write a Speech -- Education and Careers

>Composing a speech shares many of the most important aspects of preparing a paper<

Steps -(09)-

1. Assess how much time your speech should take. If you don't have a time limit, try to keep your speech brief but informative.
2. Think about your audience and let your perception of the audience shape the tone of your speech as you write it.
3. Begin with an introduction establishing who you are, what your purpose is, what you'll be talking about and how long you're going to take. You may want to include a joke, anecdote or an interesting fact to grab the audience's attention.
4. Organize your information into three to seven main points and prioritize them according importance and effectiveness.
5. Delete points that aren't so crucial to your speech if you have too many for your time frame.
6. Start with your most important point, then go to your least important point and move slowly back, towards the most important. For example, if you have five points with the fifth being the most important and the first being the least important, your presentation order should be: 5, 1, 2, 3, 4.
7. Add support to each point using statistics, facts, examples, anecdotes, quotations, or other supporting material.
8. Link your introduction points and conclusions with smooth transitions.
9. Write a conclusion that summaries each of your points, restates your main purpose and leaves the audience with a lasting impression.



>Tips<

The introduction should make up between 10 and 15 percent of the total speech. The conclusion should make up 5 to 10 percent .

When preparing your speech, make your notes easy to read by writing or printing them in large, clear letters .

Rehearse and time your speech before delivering it.

If you are presenting a great deal of information, consider using handouts or visual aids to help your audience remember your most important points .

^{* Source for some of the info : Scribd.com*}

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