How to write a helluva speech, yourself

And my job as a writing trainer is to guide you to come up with your own great words. So, fears and phobias notwithstanding, here are the first two of five easy ways to plan, structure and write a helluva speech. Delivery? Good luck with that.

Step 1: Identify the single key message, in one sentence only.

At the heart of every speech is a message. Your job as a public speaker is to pass that message to your audience and in so doing, convey a theme, evoke an emotion, elicit a response (emotional or otherwise), or achieve some combination of the three.

Remember: It's not just about what you want to say; it's also about what your audience needs to know and how best to present it to them. Please don't get up there, blather on, cover all of your points and then sit down again. No matter how nervous you are. If a group of people is giving you their attention, the least you can do is make it interesting. Preparedness also does wonders for the confidence.

The first step is to identify the single most important idea, point or message you want to send in your speech. This message will be informed by the public speaking occasion and should be summarisable in one sentence: 'My speech is intended to...'

Let's have an example. If you've identified the occasion as the retirement of much-loved life-long company man whose grandson has just joined the company, and the message as 'My speech is intended to honour the outgoing retiree while welcoming his grandson to the company', some potential themes that you identify may include:

• Family (grandson and grandfather; the greater 'company family')
  
• Continuity
  
• Gratitude
  
• The future
  
• Growth

Once you have identified three to five potential themes, it's time to decide which will be the dominant one. Again, there is no right or wrong answer. It's your speech; pick the theme that resonates most with you and that you think has the most 'legs'.

Using our example, let's take Growth. Some sub-themes of our speech could be strong roots, solid branches, protective bark (i.e. the old man); nourishment, nurturing, room to grow (i.e. the company itself); and green shoots, expansive canopies, blossoms, fruit, shade (i.e. the potential of the new recruit). It helps to think quite literally (growth = tree) and then to use more figurative thinking to derive real-world 'pictures' you can use to make the speech visual, compelling and catchy.

Tip: It's important to keep in mind that the themes that are not selected as your primary theme/s can still play a part in your speech, so don't discard them just yet.

Step 2: Use a basic skeleton structure to organise your speech.

Most good writing, we are told, must have structure. A good speech is no exception. By providing your speech with a beginning, a middle and an ending, you will lay the foundations for a successful speech that ultimately fulfills all of your aspirations. (It sounds very primary school, I know, but it's one of those things that just works.)

Opening

The first 30 seconds of your speech are the most important. In that period of time you must grab the attention of the audience, engage their interest in what you have to say and sustain it until the end. If you miss this opportunity, it may not come again. And you'll just stand up there while everyone plays games on their Blackberrys.

A catchy start can be achieved in several ways. You could raise a thought-provoking question (Have you ever hugged a tree?), make a controversial statement (Almost 80% of grandfathers can't list their grandsons in age order), recite a relevant quotation or even recount a joke. (We'll talk about humour a bit further down...)

Then, once you've won the audience's attention, move seamlessly to the middle.

Body

The body of your speech will always be the largest part. Your audience will have been introduced to you and your subject (as set out in your opening) and will, hopefully, be ready to hear your thoughts, ideas or ramblings. They're a fertile field, open before you, just waiting for your worthy seeds to be sown. Or something.

And the best way to set out this section is to formulate a series of points you would like to raise. In the context of your speech, a "point" could be a statement about a product, a joke about a bridegroom or a memory of a colleague. If we go back to our grandfather/grandson/growth example, your points could look something like this:

1. Overview of grandfather's achievements ('This is the man who...')
   
2. Brief recognition of grandfather's personality, qualities and strengths
   
3. Mention of his leaving to pursue a quiet life on the golf course
   
4. Segue into grandson's arrival, with reference to skills and expertise
   
5. Link grandfather to grandson in terms of character traits/habits
   
6. Refer to potential of grandson as carrier of grandfather's legacy
   
7. Raise a toast to both parties and to the future of the company at large
   

Note: We're not using our theme just yet. The above is just a structure of 'what to mention when' and you'll use your theme to tie everything together creatively.

The points should be organised so that related points follow one another, and so that each point builds on the previous one. This will also give your speech a more logical progression, and make the listener's job easier. However, they are not cast in stone.

Tip: Don't try to overwhelm your audience with countless points. It is better to make a small number of points well, than to have too many points made unsatisfactorily.

Closing

Like your opening, the closing of your speech must contain some of your strongest, most memorable, most mushy material. You should view it as an opportunity to:

• Summarise the main points of your speech.
  
• Leave your audience with positive memories.
  
• End with a final emotion (e.g. with admiration for winners at an awards ceremony).
  
• Refer back to your theme to wrap it all up.

Please don't use your conclusion to add in any new information. It should be a nice, obvious, sharp turn towards the end and your audience should be able to start relaxing their vigilance with a drop in concentration. In short, if the intro is about telling your audience what you're going to say and the middle is about saying it, then the end is about re-stating what you've said. But with a compelling twist.

Tip: Please don't fall into the common and deeply lazy habit of stopping, or using a lame quote to bow out of the limelight. Say something real, something thought-provoking or something sentimental, or end off with a good, strong story.

You'll find Steps 3, 4 and 5 in next week's sequel to this article.