SPEECHES

What is a speech?

Have you ever made a public speech? If you had, how did you feel it was your first time?

Mention five things people would fear if they are giving a speech for the first time;

a)    ___________________________ b  ) __________________________

c)     ___________________________ d) ___________________________

e)     ___________________________

Preparing a speech

Preparing and delivering your first public speech can be a frightening affair. You may find it difficult deciding on what to say, how to say it, or perhaps the thought of speaking before an audience scares you.

But what about the clothes you are wearing? It`s true that people are naturally talented at public speaking, but the good news is that with some helpful guidance, anyone can write and deliver a successful speech that will be remembered for a long time to come.

How to address people

The first thing to do when drafting or giving a speech is to mention people who are present in terms of their positions starting with the highest and ending with the lowest. Examples:

a)      Your Excellency, Mr. President, distinguished guest, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen….

b)      The headmaster/headmistress, second master, class teachers, and my fellow students.

c)      Dear fellow students…..

d)       Guest of honour, Mr. Supersub,   Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen…

e)       Dear Parents, Teachers, students, Ladies and Gentlemen ….

f)        Your Majesty…Your highness” Judge …

g)       The director/The Secretary …

h)       Honorable Minister, Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen …

Note, use:

        i)            Excellencies              with     Presidents

      ii)            Honorable               with     Ministers

    iii)            Lordship                 with     Bishops and Archbishops

    iv)            Highness                 with     Kings and Judges

      v)            Eminence               with      Cardinals.

Opening expressions

After you have addressed those who are present, start your speech using good expressions as shown below:

a)      Dear fellow students:

b)      May I take this opportunity to …..

c)      I am pleased to …

d)      It gives me such pleasure to …

e)      I feel honored to be here …

f)        I feel highly privileged to stand before you …

g)       May you allow me to ….

h)       Let me begin by thanking you …

i)        Allow me to say a few words as regards ...

j)        On behalf of …..

k)      May I take this opportunity to…

l)        I am pleased to …

l)        It gives me much pleasure to ….

how to write a speech

The contents of your speech, and how you deliver it, are based on three important factors:

a)    The occasion

b)    The Audience

c)      The purpose of your speech.

1.   The occasion

The nature of occasion will obviously have a great bearing on your speech.  The occasion will dictate not only the content of your speech, but also the duration, the tone, and the expectations of your audience. For example, humour and jokes may be appropriate during a weeding speech, graduations, or a sports event.

2.    The Audience.

Your speech must always be targeted at your audience. You must know who your audiences are in order to best decide how to affect your message upon them.   

Are they primary students, secondary students, university students, farmers, soldiers or teacher? Such knowledge will help you choose appropriate content, language and proper examples.

3.    structure.

A good speech has  a beginning, middle (body), and an end.

i)        The beginning.

The first thirty seconds of your speech are probably the most important. In that period of time you must grab the attention of the audience, and engage their interest in what you are going to present.

This can be achieved in several ways, for example you could raise a thought provoking question, make an interesting or controversial statement, recite a relevant quotation or even recount a joke. Once you have won the attention of the audience, your speech should move seamlessly to the middle of your speech

b)      The body

This is the largest part of your speech. The best way to set out the body of your speech is by formulating a series of points that you would like to raise. The points should be organized so that related points follow one another, so that each point builds upon the previous one. This will also give your speech a more logical progression.

d)    Closing

Like your opening, the closing of your speech must contain some of your strongest material. In this stage, it is very important time to summarize the main points of your speech, provide some further food for thought for your listeners, leave your audience with positive memories of your speech.

Speech delivery tips

        i)            Make sure that your appearance is good; do not overdress or underdressed!

      ii)            Speak clearly, and adjust your voice so that everyone can hear you.

    iii)            It is common to speak rapidly when nervous, try to take your time when speaking.

    iv)            Effectively used, a pause in your speech can be used to emphasize a point, or to allow the audience to react to a fact or joke.

      v)            Make eye contact with your audience. This helps to build trust and a relationship between the speaker and the listener.

    vi)            Do not keep your hands in your pockets. Use hand gestures effectively.

List your points; say: my first point is, secondly, thirdly, finally etc.

  vii)            Do not imitate others.

Exercise

 The headmaster has asked you to prepare a speech for him/her which s/he will deliver during Form Four Graduation. Use the skills you have already learnt on how to write a speech, prepare a one page graduation speech.