Tips for writing an Effective Speech

Learning Targets:

• To convey ideas and thoughts to a large gathering of people effectively.

• To convince listeners about one’s point of view.

• To communicate information precisely.

• To express an opinion, share a point of view, experience, or observation.

TIPS TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE SPEECH

• Read the question carefully.

• Focus on the issue that needs to be addressed.

• Interpret any data given.

• Use a conversational style of writing.

• Do not use SLANG.

• Use polite, grammatically accurate language.

• Avoid repetition of any facts or figures.

• Add variety to your vocabulary and expression.

FORMAT

Provide a catchy title that sets the tone of the speech.

• PARA 1: Introduction 

- You should start by greeting Chief Guest, fellow speakers, and the audience.

- Specify the occasion of the speech.

- Announce the topic of your speech.

- You could start with a striking quotation, pre-speech note to interest your audience.

- It is a good idea to refer to some recent issue that affects the audience, an anecdote or a story or historical reference could give you a good beginning.

• PARA 2: Exposition of the Topic

- Build up a sequence of ideas.

- To support your ideas, look for more relevant examples, evidence or data. 

- Draw up arguments for and against the topic, advantages / disadvantages.

• PARA 3: Suggestions / Solutions

- Present your evidence in an interesting way.

- Paint verbal pictures, personalize it or dramatize it.

- Ways and means leading to improvement

- Involvement of public, government, media, social organizations etc.

• PARA 4: Summing up / Conclusion

- Summarise the most important points in your speech but DO NOT REPEAT THEM.

- Depending on the purpose of your speech, conclude with a call for action, an appeal, a warning, a request or an expression of thanks.

• A VOTE OF THANKS TO THE AUDIENCE MUST BE DELIVERED AT THE END.

SAMPLE:

Q1. As a result of a sedentary lifestyle, obesity among children is on the rise. Deliver a speech in the morning assembly of your school on the importance of regular exercise. You are Gaurav Goyal.

Answer

BE ACTIVE, BE SMART

“A healthy Mind resides in a healthy body”. “Health is Wealth”. We hear these common sayings quite often but how many of us really follow these maxims?

A very good morning to our  Principal, teachers and my dear friends. Today on the occasion of the ‘World Health Day’, I, Gaurav Goyal, am going to deliver a speech on the importance of regular exercise.

People need to be active to be healthy. Our modern lifestyle and all the conveniences we have become used to, have turned us into Couch potatoes- and that’s dangerous for our health. Sitting in front of the TV or the computer, riding in the car for even a short trip to the store, and using elevators instead of stairs, all contribute to our inactivity.

Physical inactivity is dangerous to our health! Add up your activities during the day in periods of at least 10 minutes each. Start slowly….and build up. If you are already doing some light activities, move up to more moderate ones. A little is good, but more is better if you want to achieve health benefits. Scientists say that you should accumulate 60 minutes of physical activity every day to stay healthy or improve your health. The time needed depends on the effort- as you progress to moderate activities, you can cut down to thirty minutes, four days a week.

Physical activity does not have to be strenuous to improve your health. This goal can be reached by building physical activities into your daily routine. Just take a walk in the morning to begin with. After three months of regular walking, you will notice a difference.

People often say getting started is the hardest part. So friends, start today and don’t give up.

Thank You

Q2. It is “Better to have a brain than beauty”. Write a speech to be delivered in the morning assembly of your school. You are Gaurav Goyal.

Answer

BRAIN MAKETH A MAN

“Beauty is short lived but the Brain sustains a Man”. A very good morning to our Principal Maam,  teachers and my friends. I, Gaurav Goyal, sand before you to express my views on the topic ‘Better to have a brain than beauty’. 

The entire fabric of mankind, which we call society, does not work with beauty but with the help of brains. Intelligent people make laws and regulations which everyone living in the society obeys. It is the brain of a man which has made impossible things possible.

How easy and comfortable our lives have become! There are automobiles of different kinds that one can buy according to one’s pocket. T.V. sets in our homes have ensured that does not need to go out for entertainment. One can listen to music, watch a movie, or even browse the internet while traveling in a car, a bus, a train, or an airplane, one can even talk to anyone and anywhere anytime.

Now, let us talk about beauty. Some believe it is about appearance, that it is only skin deep, they believe that it turns into ugliness with the passage of time. For others, beauty is something much more than the physical appearance. They believe it is deeper than the skin and that it is the sum total of all the good qualities of a person.  

The fact of the matter is that beauty and brains compliment and complement each other. Beauty without brains is ugly while a brain without beauty is dumb. Hence, beauty stands nowhere, unless it is accompanied by intelligence and the same can be said of intelligence. 

Thank you for being such a patient audience. Have a wonderful day!

Q3. A large number of advertisers are using children to sell their products. You are against the concept of children being used in advertisements. Write a speech to put forward your views. You are Dinesh / Divya of Model School, Karnal.

Answer

ADVERTISEMENTS - A BANE

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have to buy something they don’t need”

Respected Principal, respected teachers and my dear friends, a very pleasant good morning to all present here. Today, I, Dinesh / Divya stand before you to share my views on the topic, “Should we use children to advertise goods?” I strongly condemn as unethical all those advertisements that use children to target other children for marketing their products. There are two reasons for this. One is the fact that children are more vulnerable. Advertisers show teenagers jumping from the bridge to pick up a bottle of a popular brand of soft drink or performing daredevil acts on motorcycles. Children try to emulate these models and often get hurt, worse still, even lose their lives.

The second reason is that it violates the right of informed choice. They do not have access to information so when their favourite actor says, ‘Yehi hai right choice, baby!’, they are ready to accept it as the right choice. Kids love a particular brand of juice because the girl in the advertisement says, ‘I love you, juice’. It becomes the favoured drink though it does not have any nutritive value as it is not fruit-based. Monosodium Glutamate, an essential ingredient of a popular brand of instant noodles, is known to cause brain damage and obesity. But the advertisements are so powerful that the children will eat no other brand.

I feel that advertisers are exploiting children by using them in advertisements. They realize kids have ‘pester power’. They pester their parents till they buy them the Nike or Adidas shoes or Levi’s jeans that they have seen children wearing in advertisements and the manufacturers laugh all the way to the bank. 

The Advertising Standards Council of India lays down the code for advertising as follows, ‘Advertisements addressed to children shall not contain anything, whether in illustration or otherwise, which might result in their physical, mental or moral harm or which exploits their vulnerability’. But, friends, don’t you agree with me when I say that this code is being flouted openly? I feel there should be a committee to review all advertisements using children.

Thank you so much for being such a patient audience. Have a great day!