Public Speaking - Structuring Your Speech

No matter what the reason is for delivering your speech, to inform, entertain, or persuade, there is a basic structure for all speeches that allows the organization of information to come together in a logical manner enabling the audience to follow along as you speak.

As you begin to research and organize ideas you would like to include in your presentation, it is logical to arrange the ideas into an outline format. With this outline, you are able to see your speech come together in a layout that allows you to verbalize your ideas. In essence, a speech outline provides a way to organize your ideas clearly so that when you deliver your speech, it will be in a logical, structured manner. T

here are only three basic parts of a speech outline, however, the more detailed you are, the better your speech will be, and the better your speech is, the more interested your audience is likely to be.

The first component of the speech outline is the introduction in which you state the topic of your speech (remember: your topic statement) and introduce your audience to the main points of your speech. The introduction should last about 1 minute, containing rich language that will win your audience or convince your audience that you have the authority to speak about the given topic, perhaps with humor. Use this time to lay a solid foundation so that the audience is grounded into your topic and explain ways in which the audience is connected to your topic.

Once your audience is connected, it is time to move onto the body of your speech. In the body, you should pick 3-4 main points that you want the audience to remember and develop these during your speech. The body of your speech should only last 20 minutes to ensure that the audience does not become bored with what you have to say. During the body presentation of your speech, be sure to thoroughly discuss your topic and if necessary provide pros and cons along with possible solutions. Always remember to present you own evaluation to your audience so that they can have a unique perspective on the topic so that the people in whom you are presenting can make educated opinions based on your speech. This is also the time to prove what you are saying is accurate.  You can provide statistics, diagrams, or pictures that portray the trustworthiness of your character as a speaker.

Once you have completed the body, a proper conclusion is in order to complete your speech. In the conclusion phase of your speech, it is imperative that you remind the audience of the main points that you want them to remember.

Because you have thoroughly explained each main point, the audience may have forgotten the exact main points. Therefore, it is up to you, the speaker, to provide a subtle reminder of the purpose of your speech by restating the main points. It is also extremely important to restate exactly what you want your audience to know as an outcome of listening to your speech. Typically, people remember the first 8 minutes of a speech and the very last statement that you make. Therefore, not only is your topic statement important, but your concluding statement will be the main aspect that your audience will remember.

Structuring your speech into an introduction, body, and conclusion will make certain that your audience is able to follow your speech easily in order to really absorb what you are saying.

Below is the basic structure for all speeches complete with questions to help you write and deliver an effective speech in which the audience will learn more about any topic that you choose to present.
Introduction

· What is the overall topic of your speech?
· Why should the audience listen to your speech?
· What will your 3-4 main points be?

Body
· What are your individual main points?
· What information are you going to present to support you main points?

Conclusion
· What were the 3-4 main points of your speech?
· Specifically, what do you want the audience to remember?

With any speech, it is important to create a basic structure in which the audience can easily follow. By using the basic speech structure provided above, your speeches are certain to achieve any purpose, to inform, to persuade, or to entertain.
Giving The Speech - Delivering a Successful and Effective Public Speech