It took me six years to become a public speaker and much longer to become a speech-writer.

Like most people I rarely had occasion to speak in public. Occasionally, when I was at school meetings I would have liked to have asked a question but was too shy. I hated myself for that but, usually, someone else asked the question anyhow. When I was asked to give a report on some parish work I had done I didn’t really consider it as public speaking. I had enjoyed the work and I knew everyone in the room for years. Yet when I stood up my confidence vanished. I stuttered and stammered. My hands shook so much I dropped my notes and to my huge embarrassment, I started to cry. My friends were very nice and understanding but I swore that would never happen to me again. I would, however long it took, become a public speaker.

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Having made your points you come to the conclusion, which is summing up the points. you have made. If you are speaking about a bride and groom you will end by saying that though Mary and John have individual talents and skills it is as a couple they will dazzle the world and then you toast them. You are summing up the message of how marvellous they are.. If you are ending with a toast do make sure it is appropriate to the occasion and, if you can at all, make it personal to the recipient.

A speech is over in minutes. Yet the work and the preparation that goes into it should take hours. Think about how long it takes to read a book. It might take hours or days .Yet that book or even a movie will have taken years of hard work and preparation. Research your topic, find out the facts, open with interest and make enlightening and interesting points. Build in a summary and conclusion and you will have a speech that will impress. Now all you have to do is to stand up there and say it! You never know, you might even enjoy it and if you have done your homework your audience will.

Above all remember that content is better than length. Don’t bore people by going on too long.

Instead

Make those guests very happy
With a speech that’s short and snappy.

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Having an interesting opening is vital, but the body of the speech is also essential. Make a list of all the points that you wish to make. Let us say that your speech is on the benefits of having a healthy diet… You will astound you audience with a fact or statistic about the number of people who suffer obesity or illness through an unhealthy diet. Alternatively, say how much it is costing the health service to treat people who are obese. The body of your speech can be broken down into the various benefits of eating well. Here, through you research; you will expand your speech to cover the main points.

Back up every point you make with a fact. You will cite your references at the bottom of the speech. Imagine that a good speech flows smoothly like a river. You want to present a seamless piece of work that sounds relaxed and effortless. This can happen but you must prepare your speech by underlining each point and then backing it up. This applies to all types of speeches. Your speech may be one to celebrate a friend’s birthday. In this case you might not just say what a fabulous person your friend is, but why. Your audience will believe you and it will be more interesting if you mention something that illustrates why you think this, or know it to be true. All humans love stories and a speech is really just another type of story. If you illustrate your speech with human anecdotes, your audience will listen that bit more closely. Dry facts are one thing, but a speech is far more than a list of facts. It’s fact and opinion moulded into one entertaining whole.

In my next blog I will tell you how to put an end to it.

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