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.

Check out our sample speeches