2. Choosing a Topic
• Is it interesting?
• Will your audience find it interesting?
• Do you know something about it or will you be
able to find enough information and ideas
about the topic?
The topic that is personal to you is often the
best idea so that you feel relaxed and
confident about what you are saying
3. Brainstorming and Planning
• Write down everything you can think of
about your topic:
– Key words and phrases
– Information
– Thoughts and feelings
– Ways to present your content
4. Writing your Speech
• Sort your ideas from brainstorming and planning
- order them
• Work out your beginning, middle and end:
– Beginning - get the audience’s attention e.g. a
rhetorical question, a riddle, a sudden movement
or word. Expression!!
– Middle - your information, give examples, tell a
‘story’, make the audience believe in what you are
saying and try to involve them.
– End - sum up with a conclusion that will leave the
audience thinking. What was the main point of you
speech?
5. Length of your Speech
It should be at least two minutes long and
no longer than three minutes
6. Cue Cards
• Write your speech on cue cards
• Make sure that they are not too much
bigger than your palm
• The best thing to do is to write notes
and reminders on your cue cards rather
than your whole speech
7. Practice
• Practise your speech over and over again
until you feel very confident about saying it.
• Say it in front of your family, friends, pets and
the mirror
• If you can, tape yourself. How do you
sound?
8. Engagement with your
audience
• Try your best to relax and feel confident when
speaking to your audience (this isn’t easy)
• Ensure that you have eye contact with a variety of
members of the audience, not just one or two and not
with the back wall.
• Make your audience feel involved and relaxed with
you too. A good way to do this is by telling a story as
an example of what you are trying to say. When your
audience can relate to what you are saying it makes
them feel involved.
• Humour can often help to relax you and build a
rapport with your audience
9. Delivery
• Remember the way you say your
speech is just as important as what you
say.
• When practising your speech delivery
you need to consider the following skills
– Clarity and volume of voice
– Expression and intonation
– Pace
