As in the case of letter writing, essay writing and story writing, learning how to write a good speech is an essential skill for students of all academic areas and levels to learn. Speech writing is often a required part of coursework and examinations in English language and literature courses, but it can also be pivotal to many other disciplines, such as law, debating, theatre studies, science and religious studies. Also, knowledge of key speech writing skills is likely to be extremely helpful in numerous personal and business situations throughout the writer's life.

Planning your speech

More than for perhaps any other academic type of writing, planning is absolutely essential to writing a good speech. Speeches must be particularly well structured and flow seamlessly as they are usually spoken presentations rather than read, so keeping the audience with you and enabling them to follow your argument is absolutely essential. A good plan lays the foundation for this important structure.

To plan your speech, write a brainstorm showing all the different areas you would like to mention, and around each write down the details and any anecdotes or quotes you want to remember to include. Then work out the logical sequence of your different points.

Structuring your speech

The structure of your speech will change according to the type of occasion it is written for. If it is a social or public speech, you may wish to use a chronological order, exploring events from their beginnings, through interesting periods with anecdotes and details, to the present and even commenting on future possibilities.

For a structural technique to keep the tone light and the audience interested, it is helpful to structure your speech so that serious or meaningful sections are interspersed with jokes and lighter passages.

If it is an academic speech, whether for a debate or an academic essay writing assignment, it is important that your speech structure strongly defines and outlines your argument.

Open with a strong introduction clearly stating your main points, then devote a clear separate section of the speech to expanding on each point, making it clear each time that you are addressing a new idea, and finish with a final passage that reminds the audience of what you have said and brings it neatly together. It is always advisable to try and finish a speech with a punchy or memorable final sentence.

Speech writing: style

The style and tone of a speech will depend upon its occasion andits aim. For a social, light speech such as a wedding or birthday address, it is often a good idea to maintain lots of close repartee with the listeners throughout to keep the listeners with you. This can be achieved through direct address and rhetorical questions.

For an academic essay or a debate speech, it is important to use the style of your speech to prove that you are strongly aware of both your purpose and your audience. It is usually advisable to adopt a formal style of speech, with no abbreviations or colloquialisms. In a debate, it is customary to address the audience as 'ladies and gentlemen' and the chairperson as 'Mr. or Madam Chair'. (If in doubt, check the etiquette of the specific occasion beforehand to be sure).

Taking a tone in speech writing

To show your command of your subject matter and respect for your audience, it is necessary to make sure that you adopt the correct tone when speech writing. This can be shown both by the content of the speech and the sort of language you choose to use. Jokes might be excellent for a conspiratorial tone, or secrets for a confidential tone, but for a formal tone it is best to remain serious and keep your language polite and measured.

Referring politely to the audience is often an excellent way to set the tone and to remind the reader that you are in command of the speech writing medium.

And finally…

Finally remember, a speech must be practised. Whether you will really be delivering it or not, be sure that you practise your speech to somebody out loud and ask for their advice – you will be amazed how much of a difference it can make hearing something spoken out loud rather than simply read.