Communication is a vital part of day-to-day life – both professional development and education require not only a set of skills and knowledge, but the ability to present them in a convincing form, thus, making one more than likely to ask him/herself at some point the question of how to give a speech. Giving a speech may seem both an easy and a complicated task, depending on the social skills of the speaker, however, it should not seem impossible with the required preparations. While is may seem so, a speech is not an act of spontaneous communication and requires certain steps to be taken prior to its presentation. Thus, it would be more that reasonable to attempt to assess the main ideas of how to give a speech.
Speech as a Form of Communication
While the definition of speech may be obvious at first, it is not that simple in the context of giving a speech in the form of a presentation – it is a one-sided vocal communication, in which the speaker attempts to deliver a certain message to a numerous audience. The process of giving a speech divides it from other forms of communications in a number of ways. A speech is one-sided, it does not involve a conversation. In a speech, the communicator may seek not only to deliver a bold set of data, but also to convince the listeners to take a certain position and/or action towards the discussed issue. However, what distinguishes a speech from other forms of communication the most is the fact that it is not spontaneous – in most cases, a speech is a predefined act of communication that provides already processed information, which was gathered, analyzed, and organized prior to the act of communication. In other words, despite its oral nature, usually, a speech is firstly created in written form.
Types of Speech
A speech can take a number of forms depending on the topic, field of study or practice, and the speaker’s idea or objective. A speech can be persuasive – have the aim to convince the audience in taking a certain position or action. A speech can be informative – provide raw data, and allow the audience to make their own decisions. A speech can also take the form of a report or presentation.
Speech Preparations
In order for the speech to be effective, the communicator has to organize it in a written form. It is important to structure a speech in a form of an essay. The speech has to be interesting, it should start out with a hook to catch the attention of the audience, and a definite thesis, designed to maintain it throughout the speech. It is important for the speech not to be too long or too short. A balance between the speech’s informative values and length is key in order to maintain the audience’s attention. It is important for the author to morally prepare him/herself for the speech, because one can reveal him/herself to become quite nervous when speaking in public. Whether the speech aims to inform or persuade, its effectiveness may have the potential to prove that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.