Why is it scary to give a speech?
When asked to list what they fear the most, surveys have shown that people list public speaking more often than death. What are the reasons that keep us from speaking in public? Below, you find a list of some common concerns.
I don’t know enough about the topic.
What if I forget what I want to say?
Everyone else is probably better at it.
Someone else will probably say what I want to say, so I don’t have to.
Maybe what I have to say is boring.
What will the others think of me?
What if someone criticises what I say?
Most people have thoughts like this, but by being well prepared, and by practicing giving speeches, it will be easier to step up and share your thoughts.
Past – present – future
A simple way to structure a speech is to use a timeline and begin by talking about what has happened before, then about what's going on right now, before moving on to what will or should happen in the future.
Example from a speech about racism in the United States:
In the past, Black people in America experienced a lot of racism, and segregation made life hard. Today, we have equal rights and live side by side, but racism is still an issue. In the future, I hope we will live in a society where nobody cares about the colour of your skin but see you for who you are.
Example from a graduation speech:
Three years ago, when we first came to this school, we were a bit scared: Would we fit in? Would we make friends? Would the teachers be interesting? Would we learn anything? Most of us soon learned that our school was a good school where we were happy, and where we learned a lot. My wish is that in the future, the valedictorian will not have to qualify this statement by saying 'most of us' but will be able to say 'all of us'.
The steps to making a good speech
Think: What is the context, theme and message of the speech?
Invent: find arguments and evidence for what you want to say.
Organise: plan and make a structure.
Phrase: How can you best express what you want to say?
Memorise: learn and remember what you want to say.
Perform: think about how you stand, how you make eye contact, how you gesture with your hands, and so on.
Planning the speech:
Topic
What is the topic for your speech? Do you want to congratulate your grandmother on her 65th birthday? Are you giving a speech trying to get your fellow pupils to go on strike for the climate? Start by writing down the topic of your speech in as few words as possible.
Message
What is your message? Is it that your grandmother is the very best grandmother a child could have and that she deserves nothing but the best on her birthday? Is it that global warming is a threat to the future of every human being? Make sure you reflect on what people should take away from your speech, so that you can make persuasive arguments.
Arguments and evidence
Think about what arguments or evidence would convince you to agree with the message. Would you be most influenced by a speech that appeals to your feelings or by a speech that presents facts?
Audience
Who are you talking to? You have to adapt your speech to your audience. In your speech to your grandmother, she is the most important person to address, so make sure you express yourself in a way she will understand. When talking to your peers, perhaps you can use less formal language? Think about what will appeal to your specific audience, and what is most likely to make them interested in what you have to say.
What is your relationship with the audience? Are they likely to agree with you right away, or do you have to win them over? Will they be friendly or hostile? Starting a speech with a joke in front of a hostile audience is unlikely to garner many laughs, so make sure you tailor your speech to the situation.
Occasion
What is the occasion? Is it formal or informal? Giving a speech at a graduation ceremony and giving a speech at a wedding are very different experiences. Are you speaking to your family or the whole school? You need to adapt your tone to fit the occasion.
Structuring paragraphs in a speech
By including the following elements, you will end up with some well-structured paragraphs in your speech:
Thesis: the claim or message that you want the audience to agree with.
Argument: the reason why the audience should agree. This must be logical and relevant.
Evidence: something that shows or suggests that what you say is true.
Example from a wedding speech:
Thesis: Anne and John are perfect for each other.
Argument: They have a lot in common.
Evidence: Both are kind and funny, and they love children.
Example from a speech about animal rights:
Thesis: We have to recognise that animals have rights.
Argument: It is important to have laws in place to protect animals from pain. Animals are not very different from humans.
Evidence: Animals will remember and try to escape from things that have hurt them in the past. Animals that are let out of the barns in spring, will jump and play. They clearly express joy.
Ethos, logos, and pathos
You have probably heard about ethos, logos, and pathos before. The terms date all the way back to Ancient Greece, and Aristotle is considered to have been the first person to distinguish ethos, logos, and pathos. These are modes of persuasion, also called rhetorical appeals. Including ethos, logos, and pathos in your speech will increase its impact.
Ethos is about establishing your credibility. Why are you the right person to talk about this topic? In the speech to your grandmother, you establish that you have the right to speak about this by presenting yourself as a grandchild. If you want to establish your credentials among your peers, you draw attention to the fact that you are one of them. If you want to convince the audience that you are the right person to talk about animal rights, you may talk about how much you have read about the topic or your experience with working with animals. If the audience does not believe you are qualified to speak about the subject, they will probably not take what you say seriously.
Logos is an appeal to the audience's reason and rationality. It is about using logic, sound reasoning, and factual evidence in your arguments. You can present evidence through quotations, statistics, examples, and comparisons.
Pathos is perhaps the most commonly used mode of persuasion. Pathos is appealing to the audience's feelings. This can for example be done by appealing to their sense of right and wrong, by sharing your feelings, or by telling a personal story.
Some devices that you should consider using in your speech
Repetition:
Repetition is often used in speeches. Repetition is used to create rhythm and to underline a point. Many famous speeches make extensive use of repetition, for example Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream, or Barack Obama's speech Yes, We Can.
Imagery:
Using descriptive language in a speech will help the audience picture what you are talking about, and it will make them more engaged. You may want to vividly describe events or hypotheticals. You may want to use metaphors, similes, symbols, or hyperbole.
Alliteration:
Using many words that start with the same letter can be an effective way to draw attention to a point or to create rhythm in your speech. Example: 'Be bold, be brave, be British.'
Antithesis:
This is a rhetorical device that pairs opposite or contrasting ideas in a parallel structure. This creates a contrast which makes the audience think about what is being said. Example: 'It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us ..'
Rhetorical questions:
Rhetorical questions are questions that are asked without expecting an answer. It may be that the question has no answer, or that the answer is very obvious. Usually, rhetorical questions are asked to make the audience reflect more deeply on a question or to allow the speaker to answer the question themselves.
Example: 'Can anyone look at the record of this presidency and say, "Well done"?'
Tripling:
Things are best remembered in groups of three. Tripling is therefore very common in speeches. Example: 'friends, Romans, countrymen', 'Blood, sweat, and tears', 'a government of the people, for the people, by the people'.
Epigraph:
Having a quotation at the beginning of the speech is one way to grab the reader's attention and create interest in what you have to say.