Fast Results E-Zine
When you sign up, you'll get instant access to my article archives, exclusive content and other freebies. Plus, we will never sell, rent or share your information so sign up today.
Search
Bookmark this Page
Blog Carnivals
Blogroll
Resources
Categories
- 10 Things (2)
- Blog Carnival (8)
- Bullying (3)
- Career (51)
- Communicators in the news (20)
- events (1)
- General (15)
- Goal Setting (20)
- Health (1)
- Inspiration (21)
- Interpersonal Communication (30)
- Job Interview (25)
- Leadership (5)
- Learning (2)
- Motivation (47)
- Networking (16)
- Online Success (6)
- Personal (5)
- Politics (20)
- Public Speaking (121)
- Quick Tip (7)
- Review (2)
- success (4)
- Time Management (5)
- Toastmasters (27)
- Video of the Week (14)
- Writing (5)
Archives
- March 2010 (6)
- February 2010 (12)
- January 2010 (6)
- December 2009 (7)
- November 2009 (12)
- October 2009 (12)
- September 2009 (3)
- August 2009 (6)
- July 2009 (11)
- June 2009 (16)
- May 2009 (8)
- April 2009 (7)
- March 2009 (10)
- February 2009 (7)
- January 2009 (8)
- December 2008 (5)
- November 2008 (3)
- October 2008 (7)
- September 2008 (11)
- August 2008 (9)
- July 2008 (18)
- June 2008 (9)
- May 2008 (14)
- April 2008 (14)
- March 2008 (11)
- February 2008 (10)
- January 2008 (13)
- December 2007 (13)
- November 2007 (2)
- October 2007 (4)
- September 2007 (3)
- August 2007 (4)
- July 2007 (3)
- June 2007 (4)
- April 2007 (1)
- February 2007 (2)
- January 2007 (3)
- December 2006 (2)
- November 2006 (7)
- October 2006 (6)
- September 2006 (12)
Writing a speech can sometimes be as nerve-racking as giving the speech. Where do you begin? What format should you use? Will you need props?
The list of potential questions is endless, but getting started is a lot easier than you think. Assuming you’ve chosen your topic and done some preliminary research, you’re ready to sit down and write.
Now some folks prefer the free write approach. They simply start writing their speech out word for word and once they’ve gotten to the end, they simply make a few edits and they’re done. If that doesn’t work for you, then try creating an outline.
Before you can start your outline, it’s important to understand the three main parts of the speech. If you’ve ever taken a writing class, you’re probably already familiar with them and they don’t differ tremendously from their written counterparts.
The introduction is the first part – this is where you introduce your topic to the audience and provide a brief overview of what you’ll be talking about. You may even choose to list out your main points.
The body is meat of your speech. It contains your main points (I recommend two to five, depending on the length of your talk) as well as supporting evidence for each of your main points. This is the part of your speech that is of most value to your audience.
The final part of the speech is the conclusion. In this part, you sum up your main points and then end with a call to action.
So you’re sitting down at your desk, armed with either pencil and paper or word processor, and ready to write. I find it helpful to start with writing “introduction,” “body” and “conclusion” so I’m not staring a blank document. I then list my main points under each section – in the introduction, they get listed under the phrase “we’ll discuss:” and in the conclusion, “we’ve covered:”
Then I take another pass where I’ll add a sentence or two to the introduction and conclusion and then list out my sub-points for each of my main points in the body. I’ll then make several more passes through the outline, filling in more information with each pass.
I usually don’t write out my speeches word for word because that’s not my speaking style. I come across more natural and sound less rehearsed when I work from an outline. So I’ll generally continue this process until I get to the point where I’m at the level of granularity that I desire – in some cases, a fully written out speech.
Everyone has a different writing style, so it’s important to find the technique that works best for you. You might also find that different situations call for different techniques. The key is to experiment and note what works and what doesn’t.
We’ll continue this discussion in future posts.
Check out these Related posts:
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Powerful Conclusion for Your Speech The conclusion is another often overlooked part of a...
- Public Speaking Success: How to Give a Great Speech Nothing strikes fear into the heart of someone more...
- Can You Really Write a Book in Three Hours? There’s a piece of advice that I’ve seen floating...
- Public Speaking Success: The 80/20 Rule of Speech Preparation You’re probably familiar with the 80/20 rule– it seems...
- The Speech Introduction When people who speak hear the phrase “speech introduction,”...
- Public Speaking Success: Three Mistakes to Avoid When Preparing a Speech If the mere thought of having to give a...
- Having them before “Hello” – Effective Speech introductions Many speakers make the mistake of not creating an...




(No Ratings Yet)calendar
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Mar | May » | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | ||||
Recent Posts
Popular Articles
- Interview Question: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- How to Answer the Strengths and Weaknesses Job Interview Question
- Public Speaking Success: How to Get Ideas for Speech Topics
- Hannah Montana Takes “Racy” Photos
- 25 Illegal Interview Questions
- A Fast Way to Improve Your Articulation
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Powerful Conclusion for Your Speech
- Have a Communication Fear? Here’s What To Do About it
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Speech - Part 1: Your Speech Outline
- Job Interview Questions: Where Do You Expect to Be in Five Years?
- Public Speaking Success: Three Ways to Make a Speech More Interesting
Recent Comments
- Don’t Let BlackBerry Addiction Ruin Your Presentation | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development
on The Speech Introduction - Don’t Let BlackBerry Addiction Ruin Your Presentation | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development
on Public Speaking Success: How to Create a Presentation for Work - Don’t Let BlackBerry Addiction Ruin Your Presentation | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development
on Career Success: 10 Tips for Productive Meetings - Xamuel
on 20 Revealing Interview Questions - 20 Revealing Interview Questions | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development
on 25 Illegal Interview Questions - Marketing 101 – Logic, Emotion, Needs and Wants « @rtstrategy
on Why We Feel Inadequate - Richard Garber
on Why We Feel Inadequate - Why We Feel Inadequate | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development
on Public Speaking Myths: You Must Immediately Capture Your Audience’s Attention
recent entries
- Don’t Let BlackBerry Addiction Ruin Your Presentation
- 20 Revealing Interview Questions
- Why We Feel Inadequate
- How to Exit a Conversation
- Interview Questions – Why did you Leave Your Last Job?
- February Blog Carnivals
- Illegal Job Interview Questions: How to Answer Them
- An Ingredient to Spice Up Your Presentation
- 25 Illegal Interview Questions
- 5 Social Media Mistakes That Can Prevent You from Getting a Job
Wordpress theme by Wordpress Themes & made free by Internet Marketing Center
© 2006-2008 James Feudo All Rights Reserved.



3 users commented on " Public Speaking: How to Write a Speech – Part 1: Your Speech Outline "
May 15 2008
[...] Create an outline and keep your notes handy. [...]
July 6 2008
[...] Completing your speech outline. [...]
June 11 2009
Interesting article.