Speak Like a Leader: How to Write a Speech in English
Margaret Thatcher, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Steve Jobs. Do you know what all of those people have in common?
They managed to capture the public’s attention with the power of their words only. Jobs, Roosevelt, Thatcher, and Churchill were among the most powerful speakers in history. Their speeches are the example of how to manage the art of public speaking in order to captivate the audience. Want to learn to give the best speech or presentation ever? Keep reading. Today we’re going to talk about the main components of a successful presentation, which you can apply not only at college or university but in your adult life as well. Googling writing speeches online is the best option if you have already neglected the deadline and need the speech quick. In all other cases, you can totally manage it yourself.
So, do you need some help with your own presentation? Are you nervous? Then, we can help you. Here’s what you have to do.
How to Compose a Speech to Sound Naturally
The main aim of any presentation or speech is not about being unique or look clever. The main goal is to sound natural and interesting for the audience.
When you have to do a scary speech or presentation, all you need is a couple of useful tips and tricks, which can make even the worst speaker sound like a leader. Why do you need that? If you’re a freshman you have to prepare yourself to make speeches every year or even semester at college or university. The same way is with your adult life. The art of mastering your speaking skills will help you a lot with your work and business in the future. So, don’t neglect a chance to become a great speaker when you’re still at college. How? Let’s have a look.
How to Write a Speech
First of all, let’s make it clear that you can’t create a great speech without knowing your topic well. So, when you pick a topic for a presentation, make sure you’ve done a research on it to gather the materials to build your future presentation on. Only after that, you can go to the actual process of writing a speech, dividing it into the following components:
- Introduction;
- Body;
- Conclusion.
Each of those sections is of a different length. How to determine the exact timeframe for each of them? Just analyze how long your speech is supposed to be. Usually, the introductory part is about 2-3 minutes only if we’re doing a speech of 9-10 minutes. The conclusion should be the shortest part, which is only a minute. And the longest part is the body, which consists of three different sections or paragraphs. You can make your introduction a little bit longer. But never make the concluding part as long as the introduction. A couple of sentences is more than enough.
Before the actual writing process, master the knowledge of the topic you have. Even if you already know a lot about the subject, which you’re going to present to the audience, look for some interesting, newer facts to complete it even more. You have to be 100% sure that you’ve covered the topic well. There is no absolutely correct way to write a great speech. So, the more you research to find some interesting facts to complement your presentation, the better. Then, think about the language and vocabulary for your presentation. Pick vivid and simple words. To make everyone engaged and interested in your speech, use universal vocabulary.
Organize all the information you have in a logical order accordingly to the structure presented above – a brief introduction and a full body part. Take an hour or two to write a speech without making too long breaks or distracting to something else. Be focused and determined. Don’t edit anything while writing. Just express your ideas and thoughts on paper. Imagine that you’re talking to your friend, describing the topic of the speech. Write in a natural way. Don’t worry about the length and the mistakes for now. Leave it for later. Then, read what you’ve already written, trying to make your speech more advanced, adding additional information. Avoid repetitions. Then, edit your speech and ask someone to evaluate it from a critical point of view. Read your speech aloud one more time. What can you add or eliminate?
Delivering a speech is one of the most interesting assignments you can get at college if you know how to do it right. So, take some time and master your own speaking skills now to get benefit from them later.
