Speech Writing - How to go about it

Even the most talented individual can go weak-kneed when it comes to speech writing. The truth is, communicating an idea effectively in an original way is a hard task. It's difficult to craft a message in a way that forwards a profound insight, at the same time ensure that the audience does not get bored!

If you don't believe that writing a good speech is a challenging feat, just think about the most important, influential, and famous personalities in politics, media, and even entertainment. Almost every congressman, politician, or celebrity has a speech writer! This is because making a speech takes a lot of time, effort, and creativity – and all the help is welcome!

But not everyone can afford a professional speech writer. When invited to grace an event, an ordinary person like you and me can get frustrated in conjuring a good message. That is why to get a good hold of speech writing, consider answering the following questions before jotting your thoughts down:

Why are you making a speech anyway? Simply, the purpose of your speech depends on the nature of the event you are attending. If it's related to any culminating activity – like a high school graduation or a post-graduate event – then the speech is needed for inspiration. If you're invited to talk to about your work or your studies, then the objective may be to provide information and analysis to the listeners. Whatever case it may be, your speech writing must be in accordance to what the event is all about.

What is the main point of the speech? Once you have pinpointed the reason for making a message for a group, ask yourself: what do you want the audience to know? What is that valuable idea that you have discovered for yourself that you can impart to them? The more original and subjective the reason, the easier and faster speech writing can be.

Who will appreciate the message? More often than not, the audience is not homogenous in every event. As much as you would want to please or address everyone, it's impossible to assure that every person will appreciate your insights. Hence, try your best to tailor fit your speech to the majority – or at the very least, your target audience. Such consideration will be beneficial for you when you are preoccupied with speech writing.

What is the best way to communicate the point? Decide whether being comedic, passionate, serious, lively, or a combination of different attitudes will help you get your point across. Once you have decided on how you will talk about your ideas, even your actual speech writing process transforms to accommodate the flavor of the message.

How can you ensure that the speech is effective? Think about and visualize the gimmicks you intend to include in your speech. Do you think that a PowerPoint presentation, an interesting anecdote, or a couple of jokes can aid you in communicating yourself, or will they only hinder the goal as they can distract the audience? Deliberation can aid in the event of writing a speech, so you can include the appropriate story or intermission in the crafting of the message.