How To Write And Deliver A Good Short Speech

The key to a good speech is to make it brief and straight to the point. If you do not take the time to craft a tight, focused presentation for a short talk, you will lose your audience and possibly, your reputation. A common misconception is that one does not need to practise a five-minute talk because it is just a short speech, but this is the wrong mentality. Here are some guidelines on how to write a good, short speech:

1. The writing for short speeches has to be better than for long ones. You have less time to get your critical message across.

2. You must make sure the audience gets the central core theme of your message - right away

3. You have no luxury of warming up your audience as you sometimes can do in a longer talk or a seminar. You must make the first impression the best.

4. Do not wander around the subject. Go off on a tangent and in a flash, and your time will be up. And when you return to your seat, your audience will be wondering what you just said.

5. Be organised. Otherwise you will trail past your alloted time, and no one likes that - not the audience, the organizer or other speakers, and you end up creating a bad impression of having poor time management.

6. If you do not want to blend in anonymously with all the other speakers before and after you, create an impactful moment. A clever quote, a great joke or surprising statistics will help you stand out, be memorable, and make your point.

7. The logical flow of your talk must be tighter than in a longer talk, or your audience will perceive you as a five-minute blatherer.

8. Memorise your talk well. You will have no time to develop it as you go or use audience interaction or other speech devices to help you remember your material.

9. Be different from the previous speaker so you get your audience's attention quickly. If your style is the same as what they have just heard, they may tune out easily. Therefore, if possible, try to find out as much as you can about the speaker before you.

10. Know what you want to achieve with your audience and aim for it.

Remember to keep your message to the point, on target and focused. Do not attempt to try to tell your audience everything because that is impossible in a short speech. Pick the most important points always.

Good tips! Preparation for speaking in public is key. I've often found the following steps to be helpful in preparing speeches:

Six steps to prepare for a speech:
1.Select and narrow the subject
Select a topic you know well and that your audience can relate to
Don’t use too many details with might bore your audience
Keep it simple
2.Determine the purpose
There are different reasons to give a speech: to inform, to educate, to entertain, to inspire, and to convince
Delivery, structure, and topics will all be determined by the purpose
3.Analyze the audience and occasion
Your speech should address the needs and level of understanding of your audience
Contact someone if you know nothing about your audience
4.Gather materials
Start in advance so that you’ll have plenty of time to get what you need
Get things from unusual sources if you want to add interest
Have a wide variety of sources
5.Arrange and outline points
Arrange the points in a logical sequence which can easily be followed
Organize the content so the listeners can sort it out as they receive it
Use transition statements to link one point to another
Include personal stories to engage emotions and jokes if appropriate
6.Practice the speech out loud
Always practice your speech so that it does not sound awkward when you give it
Practice all parts equally so that you are familiar with the entire speech
Ask others for feedback to make sure you’re on the right track
Practice in front of a mirror to notice any distractions, and tape record yourself to concentrate on your speed and tone and listen for verbal clutter

Thank you! Short speaches are one of my downfalls. At least some of the tuts in the tut section are worth posting!

Thanks, Sam.