SPEECH STRUCTURE 

Types: To Inform

                        To Persuade / Inspire / Motivate

                        To Entertain

Parts:              Opening =      Tell them what you are going to say (the purpose)

                       Body =            Tell them

                       Closing =        Tell them what you said

Opening

Should contain:

Acknowledgement of audience eg Mr MC, Ladies & Gentlemen.

An Attention Grabber.

The purpose of the speech ie the point of it all, this has to be clearly understood by the audience from the word go.

The Acknowledgement can be before the attention grabber or said after it ie for impact. 

The objective of the Attention Grabber is to catch immediate attention and arouse the audience’s interest in your speech subject.  An Attention Grabber needs to be short, sharp and to the point.  Examples of Attention Grabber’s are:

A startling question, rhetorical question or a challenging statement.

A display of an object or visual.

A quotation, illustration, or story.

An attention-getting generalisation that relates to the speech subject.

 

AVOID

An apologetic statement.

A commonplace observation delivered in a commonplace manner.

An unrelated story or joke.

A non-startling question such as “Did you ever stop to think…?”.

A long slow-moving statement or story.

A rhetorical question Attention Grabber could be for example “who would like to make a million dollars in the next year ?”, this is more effective than “I have a good idea to make money”.  It can be a quote eg “you’re going for the ride of your life” (Malcolm Blight – ex St Kilda Football Club coach, pre 2001 season), this is more effective than “I think you (the supporters) can look forward to a few good years”.

Body

 

It’s what you want to tell them ie the body of the speech.

 

There should be a few main points (select MUST KNOW points first), avoid having too many and make them strictly relevant to the purpose of the speech.  A 5 to 7 minute speech should only have 3 or 4 main points.  Perhaps one main point per minute.

 

If the purpose is to persuade include a point that refutes possible arguments against your argument.  This shows you have considered the possible arguments against your argument which will give the speech more credibility.

 

The main points should be in a logical order eg Speech is titled “I play golf for Relaxation”.  Main points are:

Length of time played.

Easy access as there are many golf courses.

No reliance on others as can play by oneself.

Examples when it has relieved stress.

Argument against others who think golf is expensive by favorably comparing cost with other popular sports.

If you are speaking about something deadly serious, lighten it up (not frivolously) by including one lighter main point.

Main Point / Sub-Points

 

You can adopt the 2 sub-points to each main point method:

i)                    State the main point  (main point)

ii)                  Explain the main point  (1^st sub-point)

iii)                Give an example or anecdote or state statistics to highlight / reinforce / substantiate main point and to give the audience a clearer picture of the main point.  Always provide source of statistics for credibility purposes. (2^nd sub-point) 

(you may want to have a 3^rd sub-point which would be to state the main point once more to be clearly understood)

Joining Phrase

You can start each main point by using a Joining Phrase which states the purpose of the speech eg for a speech with the purpose to inform that the speaker’s next holiday will be to go to Rome:

Main Point 1 - I’m going to Rome (for my next holiday) because I love the ambiance…

Main Point 2 - I am going to Rome because it’s not expensive…  

Main Point 3 - I’m going to Rome because I want to practice my Italian, e vero (it’s true)…

Main Point 4 - People will say I am wasting 2 days travel time by going to Rome, however… (Joining Phrase is used in the body of the sentence on this occasion)

The use of the joining phrase:

Keeps the speaker on track as to the purpose.

Keeps the audience on track as to the purpose.

Makes the audience aware that a new main point is being introduced.

Has strong speech impact ie the repeating of the point of the speech over and over.

Lends itself to vocal variety ie the joining phrase can be said in an assertive manner with more volume.

Makes preparing and remembering a speech easier.  It is particularly useful when not having a lot of time to prepare a speech.

 

Closing

Has 3 parts ie a summary, a call to action (for “to persuade” speeches) and a memorable statement.

Summary = Tell them what you have told them in one or two sentences.  Don’t introduce new material.

Call to Action = only applicable in a speech “to persuade” eg for a speech encouraging people to become real estate agents - “get on the phone tomorrow and enroll in a course to learn to sell real estate!”

Memorable Statement = eg for a speech to inform about going to Rome for your next holidays -  “I work hard, I deserve my holidays, I’m off to Rome, arriverderci!” 

A Memorable Statement can be a rhetorical question, a story, a quotation or illustration that emphasises the purpose of the speech.  It’s important that the speech has a strong finish.

 

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