Write a speech in 11 steps

Not all of us are born speakers, and public speaking is often a difficult exercise.

But with a powerful speech that will captivate your audience, the challenge becomes much easier!

Whatever the goal of your speech — to inform, convince, or entertain — here’s how write a speech to be effective in 11 steps!

1. Define the speech context

Before you start writing your speech, begin by defining its context.

The form of the speech

There are several types of presentations. Of course, they can appear within the same speech, but it's important to distinguish their nuances:

The framework of the speech

A speech given after a business lunch will be structured differently than a text read in the morning to an attentive audience!

It is therefore relevant to identify:

2. Adapt your speech to your audience

Next, perfectly target your audienceYou will not address clients, employees, or shareholders in the same way.

This will allow you touse the right level of language and the appropriate toneBut be careful: try to be as explicit as possible, whatever your target audience.

Of course, if you are addressing an audience of experts, you can use technical terms, but keep in mind that the goal of your speech is to be understood by everyone.

As for the tone of your speech, be as appropriate as possible to your audience and the circumstances. While you can include touches of humour for a farewell party, austerity will be required when announcing a layoff plan…

3. Use concrete arguments

If you seek to inform or persuade the audience, you must support your speech with sourced facts and concrete examplesBefore you start writing a speech, it is essential to gather all necessary information and verify its credibility.

You must know your subject perfectly and be able to present all aspects of it, even the negative ones. For example, if you present a new product at a conference, consider directly addressing criticisms in your speech. You will be all the more convincing for it!

4. Structure your ideas

Now that you have defined your objectives and done your research, Write down all your ideasDo not write your text yet; let your thinking run free.

Then keep the most relevant ideas and prioritize them as lists or keywords. Don't go overboard; you probably have many things to say, but focus on one or two main messages.

Beyond that, you risk creating confusion both in your speech and in your audience's mind!

5. Write an effective speech by focusing on substance

After outlining the main points of your speech, it's time to move on to the writing phase!

Draft a relevant outline

Writing an effective speech requires a good structure. Just like an essay, a speech begins with an introduction, one or more sections for the development depending on the context, and a conclusion.

Use logical connectors

To bring fluidity to your speech, remember to link your sections together with transitions.

These can be linking words (moreover, furthermore, however, because...), coordinating conjunctions, or expressions like "firstly".

6. Grab your audience's attention

To hook your audience from the start of your speech you'll need to surprise them, pique their curiosity, grab their attention... In short, find THE hook sentence !

For example:

Throughout your speech, keep your audience in suspense by using techniques of modalization, that is, by expressing your feeling about what you are talking about. To do this, use:

7. Engage the audience

Building an effective speech also means being aware that you are in front of an audience. Don't hesitate to involve your audience so that they feel involved in what you say.

8. Reinforce your speech through repetition

While repetition is not recommended in writing, it has a very different impact when spoken aloud! The more you repeat your message, the more your audience's subconscious will register it.

To persuade, the repetition is a very effective strategy. The technique is used in politics, but also in advertising. Among the stylistic devices most appropriate, use:

9. Enhance your speech with visuals

Visual aids are a valuable help to keep your audience engaged and to better convey your spoken message. Don't hesitate to use presentation videos, project slides, or supplement your speech with graphics.

But beware, your visuals must be a complement to your presentation and not a substitute ! They are only there to reinforce an important point or to make complex elements easier to understand.

Don't forget that if your audience's attention is focused only on the visuals, it means they're no longer listening to you!

10. Conclude your speech with an opening

You're reaching the end of your writing, and the conclusion is like the coffee at the end of a good meal — it's the final touch that will leave an impression!

Make sure your audience leaves with a a good impression of you. If you want to leave a serious impression, conclude with an anecdote that demonstrates your expertise. If you prefer to see your listeners leave smiling, finish with a funny story.

Whatever you decide, always end your speech with an opening. This can be:

11/ Read and reread your speech

You now have all the basics to write a good, relevant, and engaging speech. It would be a shame to botch its proofreading! Here are four tips for this final step :

Our advice

Knowing How to write a speech and Succeed in writing the perfect speech are not always synonymous! Lack of time, lack of writing skills, lack of inspiration… Many reasons can block your writing project. If that's the case, only one solution: entrust this task to our writing experts !