READY TO GO SPEECHES ANNIVERSARY  ·  ARMED FORCES  ·  Bar & Bat Mitzvah  ·  Birthdays  ·  Business  ·  Eulogies  ·  Graduation Informative Speeches  ·  Motivational  ·  Persuasive  ·  Retirement  ·  Weddings  ·   Wedding Anniversaries

It’s unlikely that you will persuade most ordinary audiences to climb Mouth Everest. So if you are giving a speech where you hope to motivate people you should choose as a topic something that will help them improve their own lives. You might speak to them about helping to improve their concentration for instance. You could encourage them to learn to breathe properly by doing yoga. You could suggest that they think outside the box, to be an original. You might show them how to be customers who are assertive and not aggressive. You might make them think if you suggested they ate brain foods or took out in the open the fact that they are jealous and that they could deal with this. All of us have our failing and most of us would be happy to have some sound advice on how to deal with them. So go on make your speech an action speech and help them to help themselves.

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Most of us would feel proud if someone told us that they thought we had leadership qualities. It is a quality, of course, that we expect army officers and business executives to possess. Community leadership is very important and good leaders can make a huge difference in the communities they serve. There is nothing magical about it. Leadership doesn’t have to be an innate quality. It can be an acquired skill and it can be taught. A speech that tells your audience how to develop the confidence necessary for a leadership role will be of interest to most listeners. Such skills can be developed in everyday life but if you can develop your leadership skills in the office you will certainly benefit and probably make a name for yourself.

So it doesn’t matter if your audience consists of high powered executives or a local group. Your speech can make them feel better about themselves and show them how to develop the necessary qualities of a Lee, a Nelson or a Lincoln.

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Summer time is coming and the living may be easy. It is certainly, though, a time for fairs and fetes. Someone has to declare them open and that person could be you. So you should start by welcoming the guests and speak about what the fair or fete means to the local community. You speak about the attractions at the fair and how it is a time for enjoyment and fun and maybe time to bag a bargain. You speak of the reason for it and thank the committee for the hard work that went into preparing it. Your speech should say something about the reason you are having the fete and what will be done with the funds raised. Overall your speech should make people feel good about themselves and good about supporting such a worthwhile cause. If it does your speech will be a success and hopefully, the funds raised will reflect this.

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Whether you are giving a graduation speech, a wedding speech or a persuasive speech you should always speak with sincerity. You must believe in what you are saying. So if you cannot say the bride’s mother has been caring you might, with truth, be able to mention the fact that she had an excellent eye for colour or was a great cook, talents which her daughter has obviously inherited. If you believe that graduates are in for a tough time because of an economic recession you should not say everything in the garden looks rosy. Instead your speech as a Dean should offer suggestions on how to overcome the recession. If you are giving a persuasive speech you should choose a topic in which you believe. If you are anti abortion for instance that should shine through your speech.

So be honest and be sincere and your audience will respect you for it.

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How do you choose a speech to suit your audience? It’s quite easy if you have been asked to talk to engineers about town planning. Obviously your speech will be technical and geared towards that particular audience and you’ll probably be an expert anyhow. If, however, your audience is more general and you are not an expert you should choose a subject that is common to all. Health is always a good idea because it affects us all. So you might speak about Diabetes, Asthma or another ailment such as Acne. Other subjects might be something we all do such as sleep or dream. In that way you will capture the attention of your audience and hopefully, you won’t send them to sleep!

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Obviously the first thing you should consider when writing a speech is your subject choice. You may, of course, be overwhelmed by the thought of speaking at all but a well chosen subject will attract your audience. Your subject will, of course, depend upon the occasion and most importantly, it will depend upon the audience. You may have a choice in subject matter or you may not. In some respects I think being given a choice makes it harder.

Whatever you choose I recommend that you write your speech about something that you know about. The reason for this is simple. It will make it easier to find something interesting to say about a subject that you enjoy. Secondly your passion and enthusiasm will communicate itself with your audience.

If you have been given a subject that you consider boring, you will write and give a boring speech unless you can tackle that subject from an unusual angle. If you have to talk about bees, for instance, maybe you could do your speech as though it were written by an overworked Queen Bee. If you are talking about music perhaps you could talk about students who have stumbled their scales on your keys. Stimulate your audience by making their imagination work. It’s the secret of a good speech.

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Giving a good speech helps your self confidence and self esteem. It is a valuable skill to have. The more speeches you give the more likely you are to be less nervous. The better prepared your speech the more confidence you will have and the easier it will be to speak..

The first thing to consider when giving a speech is the topic. What subject are you going to talk about? That will depend upon the occasion and most importantly, it will depend upon the audience. You may have a choice in subject matter or you may not. In some respects I think being given a choice can make it harder to choose.

It is important that you know your subject. Don’t speak about conquering outer space if you know absolutely nothing about it. It is much easier to speak about a subject you enjoy. You might, for instance, speak of your love of horse-riding. Your passion and enthusiasm will communicate itself with your audience.

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It is an astounding fact that many people say the fear of public speaking is worse than death. Giving a speech certainly is a nerve wracking experience. Some of those nerves are necessary. Many of the worries about giving a speech are in fact about the content of that speech. If you have written your speech well or have had one written by an expert, you will be comfortable with what you are going to say.

If you are sharing information that is interesting and relevant, people will be more interested in your speech. That enthusiasm will connect with the audience and make your job easier. If your speech is well written and informative, no matter what kind of speech it is, it will be a pleasure to listen to.

You may never be asked to speak at a Senate commission or on nationwide television… You may, though be asked to speak at a birthday or on an anniversary. A good speech can help in class and help you socially. It will help you in your career and even one day perhaps when you win an award or say farewell to a colleague. Whatever the occasion a few well chosen words will help make the occasion special.

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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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