Every once in a while, I’m asked to give a speech. Sometimes it’s 15 minutes, and sometimes it’s 2 minutes. Regardless, I write out my speeches in advance.
I know some people like to wing it, but I’m an introvert with anxiety, so winging it means I tend to ramble, use “um” a lot, and forget to make points I’d gone over in my head. My hands shake and my mouth dries out, so writing things out means I can worry about having a heart attack instead of worrying about what to say.
I write better than I speak, so I take advantage of it to make myself seem like a better writer.
Last week, I was asked to briefly speak at a media launch for the inaugural Little Lethbridge Library, a municipality-backed Little Free Library. While writing my short speech, I realized that there were 6 tools I used whenever I write a speech, and I thought I’d share them with you.
1. Find a central theme.
I know most speeches have a subject matter, but I mean something more in-depth when I refer to a central theme. Pick a key message that runs throughout the speech. For this speech, for example, I found that theme in one of the objectives of the Council of Lethbridge Neighbourhoods:
One of the objectives of the Council of Lethbridge Neighbourhoods is sharing ideas between neighbourhoods. Little Lethbridge Libraries clearly encapsulate that objective.
The message of idea sharing is what stood out to me, and it was what I built each of my points on.
2. Use parallelism.
When comparing or contrasting points in your speech, use parallelism for added effect. Consider this example:
They could be ideas that made them laugh, ideas that altered their views, and perhaps even ideas that changed their lives.
Notice the common pattern of “ideas that [verb] their [noun]”. The first occurrence of the pattern differs slightly, but it still works.
Parallelism helps make your points memorable and drive them home to the audience.
3. Repeat ideas.
I’m not referring to simply repeating text you already said. Refer to it by expanding it or altering it somehow. Here’s an example of repeating ideas from the example I used in tip #2.
By leaving such books in the Little Lethbridge Libraries, they hope that someone else might laugh, that someone else’s views might be altered, and that someone else’s life might be changed.
By repeating the ideas through expansion or alteration, you help the audience remember your points.
4. Use the rule of three.
The rule of three is to use elements in groups of three. This helps with humour, emotion, and inspiration. The examples I used in tips #2 and #3 use the rule of three. Here’s another example (which happens to use it twice):
In addition to the sharing of printed ideas, Little Lethbridge Libraries can also serve as a gathering space, where people who come to donate, borrow, or return books can visit with each other, perhaps recommending books in the library, catching up with old friends, or discussing current events.
My long-time friend Andrew Dlugan (@6minutes) wrote a comprehensive article about using the rule of three in speechwriting.
5. Appeal to emotions.
You can’t inspire if you speak only of the mediocre. Talk about what could be. Don’t just say your project or subject is great; tell people why it’s great.
In tip #2, I used the phrase “ideas that changed their lives”. That may have been pushing it a bit, but that’s kind of the point. Whether or not any of the books in the library changed the life of the person who left it isn’t as important as the possibility that one of those books might change the life of someone listening at the event.
What’s more emotional than one’s life changing?
6. Tie it to the familiar.
Typically, we finish speeches by summarizing. That’s great to do, especially if you covered a numerical list in your speech. To make your final words stand out, however, you need more than just restating. Try tying it into a slogan or perhaps a mission.
Little Lethbridge Libraries are a great example of ways to break down barriers, build communities, and get us beyond our front doors.
Here’s how I ended my speech. I used the rule of three and parallelism for effect, but the key to making this stick out was the phrase “beyond our front doors”.
There’s a local initiative of the City of Lethbridge devoted to getting residents to build community in their neighbourhoods, and it’s called Beyond Your Front Door. In fact, Beyond Your Front Door was one of the driving forced behind Little Lethbridge Libraries becoming a reality. By using the phrase “beyond our front doors”, it ties it back to that initiative and all the work they’re doing.
Do you write speeches? What do you think of my 6 tips? Do you have any of your own to add? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts.
