Writing A

Speech
Step 1: KNOW YOUR
PURPOSE
Knowing the objective of your presentation
will help you decide which points to include
in your presentation and which ones to
toss out.
As a result, you will be able to deliver a
focused presentation that will drive home
your key message
To help you identify your
purpose, ask yourself the
these questions:

What do I want my audience
to do, think, and feel after my
speech?

What information does my
audience expect me to
cover?
Step 2: WHOS YOUR
AUDIENCE
Speech is not about the speaker; it is
about the audience.
Presentations and speeches should be
about the value that the speaker can add
to the audiences lives.
Therefore, you should take time
researching who your audience is and how
you can add value to their lives.

It is best to know who your audience
is early on because this information
will help you decide which examples
will be most relevant, how much time
you should spend addressing each
point and what objections and
questions you need to address in
order to persuade your audience.
The following will help you gather information
about your audience:
1. Who will be your audience?
(age/occupation/gender/educational level)
2. How many people will be attending the
presentation?
3. What are they expecting from you?
4. How much knowledge do they have about
your topic?
5. If you are about to persuade them, what
are the possible objections you will face?
Step 3: WRITE YOUR CORE
MESSAGE IN LESS THAT 2O
WORDS
Your core message is the most
essential concept/idea of your speech.
Which one concept/idea do you want
your listeners to understand and
remember?
What one single action do you want
your listeners to take after they have
heard you speech?


If you are delivering a
persuasive speech, what
one point are you trying to
prove?
Step 4: identify your key points
After you have written down
your Core Message, write
down several key points that
you can use to support your
Core Message.
For example:
If you are pitching a new business to
a group of venture-capitalists, they
your key points might be:
1)Theres a lot of demand for this
product
2)Theres very little competition


Arrange your key points
into a logical sequence so
that each point naturally
leads to the next one.
Step 5: Anchor your key points
After deciding on your key
points, you need to tie them
down with an anchor.
An anchor is a tool which will
hook the Point into the
listeners memory.
There are three anchors that you use.
You dont need to use all three, but
make sure that you use at least one
for each point:

1)Anecdote: Tell a story that
illustrates your main point.

1)Activity: If you can create some
sort of quick game/role-play activity
that will solidify your point, then be
sure to include it.
3) Analogy: A comparison of two things based
on their being alike in some way.
Here is an example of an analogy from the
book The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise
Solution by John Gray:
Think of your body as an old-fashioned steam
engine. You need to feed the fire with coal.
When there is no caol available, the stoker
slows down so that all the available fuel is not
consumed. Likewise, your metabolism slows
down for the rest of the day when you dont eat
breakfast. John Gray
Step 6: Create an attention grabbing
opening
The beginning of a presentation is one of
the most important parts of the
presentation due to the primacy effect.
If you do not get the attention of your
audience within the first 30 second of your
opening, they will mentally tune out your
presentation.
Do not begin with Hello, Id like to talk
about... Instead, dive right into your
presentation.
Do not begin with a Ladies and
Gentlemen, good morning. Thank you
for having me... A simple Good morning
and a smile is great, then dive straight into
your speech.
Begin with a Story. Stories are an
effective way to start because they are
inherently interesting.
Begin with a Shocking Statement/
Statistic. If you can surporise people
with a shocking statistic or a statement
that goes against conventional wisdom,
then this will surprise your audience and
increase alertness.
Begin with a Question. Questions are
a very powerful way to begin because
questions get people thinking.
Step 7: craft a powerful call to action
Powerful presenters take their time in
creating powerful endings.
Instead of ending with Thank you for having
me or the horrible And thats the end of my
speech, you should use your conclusion to
re-emphasize your most important points.
They then end with a powerful call to action,
letting the audience what next step they
should take.
When creating your conclusion, think about
what your audience to do as a result of your
speech.
Whats your powerful call to action?
Whats the next thing that you want your
audience to do as a result of listening to your
speech.
The ending of your speech is your
opportunity to leave a lasting impact.
Step 8: Rehearse your speech
After you have written out the
opening and the closing of
your speech, its time to
rehearse the speech.
You can video-tape yourself
while rehearsing
Step 9: Now...Edit!!!
The advantage of writing your speech out is
that you can edit the content until it all flows
smoothly.
However, do not try and memorize your
script word for word because this can lead to
you sounding like a robot.
Step 10: practice, get feedback and
improve
The final step is to practice your
speech in front of a live
audience.

At the end of your speech, ask
for their feedback.
Summary
1) Whats your Purpose?
2) Whos your Audience?
3) Write your Core Message in less than 20
words
4) Identify your Key Points
5) Anchor your Key Points
6) Create an Attention-Grabbing Opening
7) Craft a Powerful Call to Atttention
8) Rehearse your speech
9) Now...Edit!!!
10) Practice, Get Feedback & Improve