Hungry for some speech writing tips? We have a gourmet meal prepared just for you that makes public speaking a piece of cake! Eye Level Ambassador Sofia Patel, who has won the Oratacular Public Speaking Competition at her Eye Level center two years in a row and won Silver in the 2021 North American final round, is here to share her secret ingredients to writing the perfect speech. Giving a speech is easy but giving a good speech…is as easy as pie!

The Appetizer: Introduction

Sofia describes the first course of the meal, the tasty appetizer:

“When writing a speech, you need to have an engaging start to grab your listeners attention. You need to introduce your topic and tell what your speech is all about. This is like serving your appetizer, which gets your customer, or in this case, your listener, excited. The appetizer gives your audience the first taste of what your meal, or speech, will be like. Start with a question, fun fact or a short story.”

Sofia is right—­your appetizer is your hook. Having strong and fluent vocabulary in your speech gives you the opportunity to impress your audience and allows you to communicate effectively. Creating an introduction that will grasp the listeners attention is what keeps them interested and focused on your speech. The introduction acts as an opening to your main point, and by asking a question or telling a joke you can easily catch someone’s appetite…we mean attention.

The Main Courses: Body

Next is your main course. Sofia explains how the most important part of your speech is like the most delicious part of your meal:

“You need to give them your supporting statements and evidence to support your topic. This is like your second, third, and fourth courses: the main dishes. Be sure to use facts, statistics, and concrete examples.”

Having a tasty appetizer means nothing if you don’t have a delicious main course, the body of your speech is where you get to convey your most powerful statements, so make sure they’re simple and clear. Focus on the subject— it’s easy to trail off topic and lose your train of thought especially if your delivery is mouthwatering and tasty.

As the most crucial part of a speech, your main points should be held up by a solid foundation and lots of spices. Your statements should be supported with information that pertains to your topic; this is important because you don’t want to lose your listeners in the yumminess of your speech. By using examples, statistics, and evidence, you can reinforce and reiterate your clams…we mean claims.

The Dessert: Conclusion

And served last is dessert—the best part of any meal. The conclusion of your speech should be as sweet as sugar:

“You need to summarize your thoughts, just like a dessert, sweet and short, leaving your customers satisfied and full.”

The conclusion is everyone’s favorite part of a meal; it’s the most delectable! Be sure to gather all your points, reiterate, and serve them up in a way that your listener can understand. If you've left your audience hungry for more then you’ve done a good job cooking…we mean speaking.

Once you’ve got these speechwriting tips down, join our public speaking competition at your local Eye Level center. 

Watch Sofia's video on Instagram and follow us for more tips!

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