Writing a speech should make you think. It shouldn’t be something that you rattle off from the top of your head. If it’s a wedding speech, for instance, you should think about how you can enhance the day for the couple with loving words. If you are speaking in a debate, of course, you should think about the points the other side will use and undermine them with your clever rhetoric. If you are speaking at a parent teacher meeting you should consider why parents send their children to that particular school and slant your speech accordingly. Whatever the occasion you should study the audience and what will be relevant to them. It’s no good giving a dynamic speech on nuclear policies to
a group of people who are only interested in sport. That is not to say, though, that you shouldn’t be able to stimulate your audience by making your topic interesting and riveting. So if you can talk about a nuclear plant being built on the local football pitch you could use that topic but from a different angle. So think about your audience, think about how you will approach your speech and think of the standing ovation you will get if you get it right.

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It’s a time when people learn to swim or play soccer the beautiful game in parks or on the beach . It’s a time when the sportsperson of the year is presented with an award or the sponsor of a sport says a few words. It’s a time when a mentor will give a motivational speech before a game or you hear an acceptance of a prize speech from a winner. It’s the season to get walking and get fit or to try and emulate Tiger Woods or Pele. Whatever age or gender you are summer is the time when we realize that sport is for all.

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I don’t sail and know little or nothing about boats so when the Commodore of the local yacht club asked to write a speech I was in a bit of a quandary. He explained that they were going to have a sail pass dinner and that he needed to speak at it. He confessed that no matter how many times he had to speak he still found it hard going. My imagination took flight as I remembered walking by the seashore one balmy evening recently and being entranced by the colours of the sails reflected in the water. He wanted to speak about the youngsters who were the life blood of the club. He spoke proudly of how, when a sudden squall had overturned many of the boats, the children had not panicked but had kept their wits and waited to be rescued. He had the interesting thought that their training at sea would help them deal with the squalls of life later on. With that interesting though I was soon in full flow and his speech, he told me later on, was plain sailing.

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The chairman of the amateur football club wanted me to write a few words for his annual general meeting. Obviously he wanted to praise the work done by his coaches. He wanted to talk about the success of the various teams during the year. He also wanted to point out that some teams were not doing as well as could be expected and he wanted to suggest, tactfully, ways they could improve. He needed to address the general membership about the support they could give the club and about the urgent need for fundraising. He said that, overall, he’d like to speak about the whole ethos of the club, how it had enriched many lives and to lay out the challenges it faced. He wanted to end on a positive note so that everyone would go home proud to be a member of the club and willing to volunteer their services in some way. My challenge was to see that the speech coaxed busy people into believing that they could spare the time to become involved in such a worthwhile organisation. He had sold it to me, now it was my job to sell it to others. I hope I can score with this one.

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Many pupils who don’t shine in the classroom make an impression on the sporting field. That’s why presenting awards for sporting achievements is so important. When you are speaking at such a school prizegiving speak about the benefits sports gives young people. Speak about team spirit and the competitive element. Above all sell the idea that sports people can be a success because of the discipline imposed by training and preparing for sporting fixctures.

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This week I was unexpectedly presented with a sporting award and asked to give a speech. This brings to mind the problems of speaking off the cuff. Unless you are a very accomplished speaker it is wiser to keep it simple and simply say, Thank you I am honoured to be given this award. I shall treasure it.”

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