Speech Basics

All parts of a speech have to work together: structure, content, and delivery.

You’ll delve into these aspects more fully in other sections of this text; this page presents a brief overview of speech basics.

Speech Structure

Speeches need to have clear, logical structures so that your audience can follow and understand what you’re saying.  Overall speech structure is obvious – you need an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

The introduction needs to introduce both the topic and you as speaker.

You can introduce your topic through your title, which should make the focus of your speech clear.  You can also introduce your topic by directly stating that you’ll be talking about [fill in the blank].  If appropriate, you can quickly review the main ideas you’ll be talking about to let your audience know what to expect.  You can also introduce your topic by asking a rhetorical question, using a visual aid, or using a metaphor as a “hook” to gain your audience’s interest.  Know that there’s no one, consistent way of introducing your topic – it all depends on your speech’s purpose, audience, context, and the tone you want to set.

Also remember to introduce yourself as speaker.  In addition to providing your name, you may choose to briefly state your role in the company, your reason for speaking, your qualifications – anything that addresses who you are, appropriate to your particular audience and context for that speech.  Even though your introduction of yourself will be brief, it’s a chance to establish your role and credibility as a speaker, and will help your audience engage with what you have to say.

Body

The body of a speech has its own structure.  The body includes sections with main ideas that you want to offer to your audience, and those section can be arranged in different orders.

You might use chronological order for a process that you’re speaking about.  You could use a “side one/side two” order if you’re comparing two things.  You could use an order that goes from your least to your most unusual idea if you need to persuade a skeptical audience.

As with your introduction, there’s no one, consistent way of creating the body of your speech.  It depends on your speech’s purpose, content, context, and audience. The important thing to remember about the body of a speech, though, is that you need to have a reason for presenting certain information in a certain order. The body of a speech needs its own logical structure.

One important thing to remember is that however you structure the body of your speech, you need to use transition words to move from part to part.  Transition words such as “first,” “next,” “on the other hand,” “in conclusion,” act as verbal cues to let your audience know you’re moving to the next part.

Lynn Meade’s online text, Advanced Public Speaking, has a useful page on Transitions: Bridging Ideas for a Seamless Presentation (opens in a new window).

Conclusion

The conclusion should always summarize your main points and thank your audience for listening.

Speech Content

The content of your speech depends on your purpose, audience, and context. For example, in an informative speech on the importance of e-mail security, you’d very likely offer different information to a group of co-workers than to a group of new internet users at your local library.

But no matter what the speaking situation, you still want your content to be clear, direct, and just lengthy enough to fulfill your purpose in a way that makes sense to your audience.

Speech Delivery

Decide on how you are going to present your speech.  Even though you may have written it out, you do not want to read, since the language that you use in writing is going to be different – usually more complicated and more formal – than the language you use in speaking.  So a suggestion is to use an outline or list of major points, so that you have a reference, but still are speaking naturally in “spoken language.”

Delivery also involves more than just remembering content. Work on your tone of voice when you work on delivery.  A speaker who is engaged in their topic will foster engagement in their audience.  Make sure you’re speaking at an appropriate volume, with a conversational tone, as you would if you were speaking to a group of friends.  And work on eye contact, no matter if your speech is for a physical or virtual audience.  You want your audience to engage with you as a speaker, as much as you want them to engage with your message.

Speech Practice

Practicing your speech – the speech basic that links all of the others – is important.  Listen to Communication Coach Alex Lyon’s tips about practicing your speech.