How to Write a Speech?

A speech is simply an official verbal presentation that is

meant to achieve a certain goal. The aim of making a
speech or even writing one, is to convince your
audience to buy into your idea or pay attention to your
subject of discussion.

In an exam setup, an examiner might ask you to write a

speech on a particular topic, or you could be asked to
imagine yourself as someone else and giving a speech
to a different audience.

1. Introduce yourself: The first thing to do in any

speech you write, is to introduce yourself. If you’ve
seen footage of historic speeches, the speaker
might skip over the formality of introducing
themselves, or they might be introduced by
someone before they take the stage. In fact, your
introduction is an opportunity. An opportunity to
show your examiners that you can adapt to
introduce yourself to any audience. Here’s two
examples of different audiences and how you could
introduce yourself appropriately:

 You’re giving a speech to your teachers

Because you’re talking to your teachers, in this

example, your introduction would need to be
more formal. For instance; “Hello, and thank you
for taking the time to listen. My name is
Lawrence Smart, and I’m here today to talk to
you about…”
 Notice how the speech writer in this example
uses their full name and is very polite to his
audience.

 You’re making a speech to your classmates

In this example, your language can be more

casual. Your classmates already know who you
are, so you could say; “Hi everyone. Most of you
know me already know me - my name’s Shanice.
I’m the one who always sits at the back of the
class.”

This speech writer is far less formal, but that’s

perfect for her audience. She is speaking to her
equals, and she can connect with them far more
effectively by using the language they would
usually use with each other.

Remember - your introduction is an opportunity. Be

creative and introduce yourself to your audience
with the tone you mean to go on with.

2. Make a great opening statement

Now the audience know who you are, it’s time to

make them pay attention.

You should always begin writing your speech in a

way that is catchy. You want to craft an introduction
that will captivate your target audience. A good
opening statement is fairly brief, but uses language
techniques to make an immediate impact.

To begin your speech, try using some of the

following language techniques:

 A rhetorical question

Rhetorical questions are questions that you

don’t expect your audience to answer. So why
use them? Because they make your audience
think.

When you ask a question that your audience

wants to know the answer to, they will pay
attention. If you then provide an answer to your
own question, your audience will be hooked.

Example:

“I’m here to talk to you about what ordinary

people can do to fight against climate change.
Why? Because we’re running out of time to act.”
 A surprising statement

Surprise is a powerful tool in any speech. It

makes your audience sit up and pay attention.

Think of the most surprising opinion or fact you

want to convey in your speech. Now, use it right
at the beginning.

 A famous quote
 Take a look at a list of famous quotes .

The quote itself won’t get you marks. But, if you

can remember one which is relevant to your
speech topic, use it. It will demonstrate your
creativity and flair.

 Example:

“As a wiser woman than me once wrote: ‘It is our

choices, that show what we truly are, far more
than our abilities.’”

Think about how these different techniques

effectively grab your attention, and remember that
you can do the same with your speech.

3. Structure your speech

To structure your speech and make it easy for your

audience to understand your point, split it into three
sections: Introduction, main body, and conclusion. In
each section you’re trying to achieve a different aim:

 In the Introduction, your aim is to tell your

audience who you are and what you’re talking
about. Then, you want to grab their attention.
  The main body of your speech is where you
make your arguments. Divide this main body into
2-3 points, and separate each point into
different paragraphs.
 At the end, comes the conclusion. A good
conclusion takes everything you said and sums
it up.

4. Begin every paragraph with a topic sentence. Because

you’re dividing your speech into separate
paragraphs, it’s important to make it clear what each
section is about. To do that, ensure that you have
topic sentences for each paragraph.

For example: “Jellyfish are the second thing I want

to put into Room 101, and for good reason.”

5. Use very good English

Good English is essential for your examiner to give

you good marks.

But don’t worry, if you’re not confident, there are

couple of tricks you can use to avoid making
mistakes:

 Avoid long sentences. Write short sentences

instead. By keeping things short, you limit the
amount of complex punctuation you need to
use. However, bear in mind that for the top
marks, examiners are looking for a range of
sentence structures and punctuation.
  Practice. It’s a simple tip but it’s the best one I
can give you. Trying anything for the first time
takes your attention away from your grammar
and spelling, and that can lead to mistakes.
Practice makes perfect, and it also makes you
more confident.

6. Express your opinion

The most common mistake students make when
writing a speech is that they don’t express an
opinion.

Opinions are the element that make a speech

interesting. Whatever you are writing a speech
about, express yourself. Don’t just write about your
topic, write what you think about it.

What if you don’t have a strong opinion on the

subject? Imagine you do, and write from that
perspective. The examiner won’t care about your
opinion, or whether they agree with it. What they will
care about is that you are expressing an opinion in a
persuasive, engaging way.

7. Write from the 1st person and engage your

audience
When writing your speech, always ensure that you
write using the 1st person. This means, use “I” as you
write. By doing this, your audience will recognise
that what you’re saying is your opinion.
You should also address your audience directly as if
you were actually talking to them. Use “we” and
“you” in your writing. For example: “I’m sure you’d all
agree that...”, or “As a community, we need to…”.

Using the 3rd person makes each of your audience

members sit up and listen. It makes them think about
how your topic and argument applies to them.

8. Use personal details and anecdotes

Every good speech writer aims to make the audience
relate to them. If your audience relates to you, they
are far more likely to agree with what you’re saying.

One of the best ways to do that is to tell a short

story about yourself, or provide short personal
details. You don’t want to spend too much time
talking about yourself and not about your argument,
but small details will bring your speech to life.

Here’s some examples:

 In a speech about bullying, you might say: “Like it

is for so many young people, bullying is a subject
that is close to my heart. When I was at primary
school, I was bullied and I now know how harmful it
can be.”
 For a speech about music, you could say: “Ever
since the day I first heard Kanye West’s Runaway, I
knew I’d be a lifelong fan.”
  If you were talking about sport, you might say: “I
was never a good rugby player. But, football? My
school’s muddy, overgrown football field is where I
found my true calling.”
9. Use rhetorical questions
Use rhetorical questions throughout your speech,
just like I suggested you should do in your opening.
Remember: rhetorical questions grab your
audience’s (and your examiner’s) attention.

But, don’t use too many questions, or you’ll begin to

sound like you don’t know what you’re talking about!
A good rule of thumb is to use 2-3 rhetorical
questions in throughout your speech, each in
different paragraphs.

10. Use emotive language

Emotive language is one of the most basic, but most
effective tools a speech writer can use.

In your speech, things shouldn’t simply be described

just as “good” or “bad”. They should be “fantastic” or
“horrible”, “pure” or “corrupted”, “exciting” or
“disappointing”. Notice how these example words
express more than just “good” or “bad”, they also
add other flavours to your description.

But, be careful not to over-use emotive language. If you

go go over the top it can reduce the effectiveness of all
of your words. Use emotive words sparingly throughout
your speech.

11. Use figurative language

As with emotive language, this shouldn’t be over-
used. But, used sparingly, figurative language
creates powerful images in your audience’s mind.
There are many types of figurative language, but
these are the main ones you should focus on using in
your speech:

 Simile - Describing something to be like

something else. For instance, “She has eyes like
a hawk ”, “He’s thin as a twig ”, or “They’re
fighting like cats and dogs ”.
 Metaphor - Describing something by using a
word that isn’t literally relevant. For example,
“It’s raining men”, “I’m feeling blue ”, or “The
weather was bitterly cold”.
 Imagery - Using words to make you imagine
how they would affect your senses. For
example; “A sweet apple”, “A sharp pin”, or “The
lion roared ”.

12. Use contrast

Contrast is a powerful technique. It highlights your
point because of the clash of imagery it creates in
the audience’s mind.
You can exploit this by using contrasting words and
phrases in your sentences. For instance; “I love
writing, but I hate writing essays”.

You can also bring added flavour to your figurative

language, by using contrasting imagery. For
example, you could describe one person as a “fiery
and passionate” and another as “cold-hearted”.

13. Use repetition

Repetition is for emphasis. Repetition is memorable.
Repetition is one of many persuasive techniques which
will help you get a good grade.

As I’ve just done, starting consecutive sentences with

the same word is a very effective technique.

Repetition can also be used for key phrases in your

introduction and conclusion to bring your speech full
circle. For instance, if you started your speech by
saying “The pen is mightier than the sword”, repeat that
phrase in the conclusion to your speech.

14. Use the list of three

We don’t know exactly why, but the human brain
easily remembers things in threes. Use this to your
advantage.

When you’re using a list of adjectives to describe

something, use three. When you’re

A very common technique is to combine repetition

with the list of three. By repeating a word three
times in consecutive sentences, you can make a very
compelling point .

15. Focus on the topic

When writing a speech in an English exam, always
stay focused on the topic you have been asked to
write about. Never derail from the subject of the
speech you are writing. This will make you lose
marks.

This is why it is so important to plan your speech

before you begin writing it. Think through the
structure you are going to use and stick to it. That
way, you’ll stay on topic and your argument will be
focused.

Writing a good speech is fairly simple, all you need is

practice, practice and more practice before sitting
for your GCSE English Exam. And if you have any
questions, ask me in the comments.

The following acronym might help you remember

some of the points we have discussed and help you
score highly in your English exam.

P-ersonal anecdotes to bring your speech to life

E-motive language to persuade your audience.
R-hetorical questions to make your audience
listen.
F-igurative language such as metaphors and
similes.
E-mphasis through repetition and the rule of three.
C-omparison and contrast to make your points
clear.
T-one of voice that is relevant and persuasive for
your specific audience.