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Here's How to Write a Perfect Speech | Grammarly

Grammarly HomeProductLearnFeaturesProduct DemoTrust & SecurityDownloadDesktopMobileBrowserWorkBy Team SizeEnterpriseTeams & BusinessesIndividualsBy Team FunctionCustomer SupportMarketingITSalesHREducationStudentsInstitutionsPricingResourcesLearnBlogCustomer StoriesBusiness Events & ReportsEducation Events & ReportsSupport CenterToolsAI Writing ToolsGrammar CheckerPlagiarism CheckerParaphrasing ToolContact SalesLog inGet GrammarlyIt's freeGrammarly HomeProductLearnFeaturesProduct DemoTrust & SecurityDownloadDesktopMobileBrowserWorkBy Team SizeEnterpriseTeams & BusinessesIndividualsBy Team FunctionCustomer SupportMarketingITSalesHREducationStudentsInstitutionsPricingResourcesLearnBlogCustomer StoriesBusiness Events & ReportsEducation Events & ReportsSupport CenterToolsAI Writing ToolsGrammar CheckerPlagiarism CheckerParaphrasing ToolGet GrammarlyIt's freeContact SalesLog inGrammarly Blog HomeWritingWriting TipsGrammarStudentsProfessionalsLifestyleProductCompanyGrammarly HomeWritingWriting TipsGrammarStudentsProfessionalsLifestyleProductCompanyGet GrammarlyIt's freeContact SalesLog inIf You Want to Write a Great Speech, Here’s How to Do ItJoanna CutraraUpdated on May 22, 2019Writing TipsWriting a speech isn’t all that different than writing for other mediums. You need to know your audience, the required length, and the purpose or topic. This is true whether your speech is for a business conference, a wedding, a school project, or any other scenario.

But there’s something about speech writing that’s especially nerve-wracking.

If you write and deliver a speech that doesn’t go over well, you’ll get feedback in real time. The people sitting in front of you could lose interest, start talking, doze off, or even wander out of the room. (Don’t worry, only audiences in movies throw tomatoes).

Of course, a poor speech is not the end of the world. You can give plenty of crummy speeches and live to tell the tale.

But we also know that a great speech is capable of changing the world. Or at least sparking an audience’s imagination, catapulting your business into success, earning an A+ on your assignment, or ensuring that the bride and groom are still friends with you after the wedding.

So if you’re feeling stressed over your impending speech writing duties, fret no more! Today we’re breaking down for you the step-by-step process of exactly how to write a great speech.

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines? Grammarly can check your spelling and save you from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It even proofreads your text, so your work is extra polished wherever you write.

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Tips to write (and live) by

Let’s start with the 30,000 foot, big-picture view. These are the tenets that will guide you in your speech writing process (and pretty much anything else you want to write).

Know the purpose: What are you trying to accomplish with your speech? Educate, inspire, entertain, argue a point? Your goals will dictate the tone and structure, and result in dramatically different speeches.

Know your audience: Your speech should be tailored for your audience, both in terms of ideas and language. If you’re speaking at a sound healer convention, you won’t need to explain the concept of energetic blocks. And if you’re speaking to an octogenarians-only quilting circle, you probably shouldn’t drop as many F-bombs as you would with your local biker gang.

Know the length: You don’t want to underwhelm or overwhelm your audience.Ten minutes may be too short for your keynote address, but it’s probably too long for your best man speech. Don’t leave things up to chance. Your writing process will be much easier if you keep your eye on your target length.

Write, revise, practice, revise, practice…: MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech wasn’t written in a day. Give yourself the time you need to practice your material and work through multiple drafts. Don’t expect to nail everything on the first try.

The step-by-step process

Still feeling stressed over how to get started? Here’s how to write your speech from concept to completion.

Step 1: Outline your speech’s structure. What are the main ideas for each section?

Step 2: Flesh out the main ideas in your outline. Don’t worry about finding the perfect words. Just let your creativity flow and get it all out!

Step 3: Edit and polish what you’ve written until you have a cohesive first draft of your speech

Step 4: Practice, practice, practice. The more you practice your speech the more you’ll discover which sections need reworked, which transitions should be improved, and which sentences are hard to say. You’ll also find out how you’re doing on length.

Step 5: Update, practice, and revise your speech until it has a great flow and you feel it’s ready to accomplish its purpose.

The universal structure

Getting hung up on Step 1? Here’s a structure you can follow for any type of speech.

Introduction

Who are you, why are are you giving this speech, what is your main thesis?

The “who” and “why” can be longer or shorter depending on the context. For example, if you’re speaking at a wedding, you’ll want to explain your relationship to the bride and groom and why they mean so much to you. But if you’re presenting to your class at school, you may be able to head straight into your thesis.

If you’re presenting in a business or motivational setting, this is a crucial time to hook your audience’s attention and pique their curiosity. Typically someone else will have already introduced you and your accolades, so use this to your advantage and dive straight in.

“Hi everyone, it’s great to be here! As Kevin just said, I’ve been an urban beet farmer for 30 years, and a couple years back I got this absolutely crazy idea. What if…”

Main message

Idea 1, Idea 2, Idea 3…

The majority of your speech should be spent presenting your thesis and supporting material in a simple, organized way.

Whether you’re giving an inspirational talk or a business presentation, rambling is a sure-fire way to lose your audience’s attention. Don’t try to share absolutely everything you know on your topic, instead pick a few (two to five) key points to present to your audience.

Stick to one point at a time and finish the thought before you move on to the next. Build in clear, logical transitions from idea to idea.

Want to make your speech memorable? Studies have shown our brains are great at remember stories! As much as is appropriate, make your speech personal and include your own anecdotes and thoughts.

We’re also better at remembering big ideas if they’re condensed into a few memorable words, so do your best to sum up your thesis.

“I have a dream.”

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

“Make good art.”

Takeaway

What do you want your audience to walk out of the room remembering?

Wrap everything up and drive home your main idea, whether that’s through providing a few (one to three) key takeaways, or telling one last story that perfectly illustrates your point.

Here are some examples of how your outline might look

As a researcher presenting your findings…

Introduction: Explain the key problem or question of your research.

Main message: Describe the research process, then describe your three key findings.

Takeaway: Present your conclusions and their implications, then your next steps for moving forward.

As the maid of honor giving a speech at your best friend’s wedding…

Introduction: Explain who you are and how you met the bride.

Main message: Recount three funny and heartwarming stories about your decades-long friendship with her, plus your first impressions of the groom.

Takeaway: Wrap things up by expounding on how amazing the bride and groom’s love for each other is, how they’re meant to be together, and how you know their love will last a lifetime. …L’chaim!

What are your favorite tips for writing a great speech?

Here’s a tip: Grammarly’s Citation Generator ensures your essays have flawless citations and no plagiarism. Try it for citing speeches in Chicago, MLA, and APA styles.

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Speech - Wikipedia

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Speech

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AfrikaansالعربيةAragonésAzərbaycancaBân-lâm-gúБеларускаяBikol CentralБългарскиBosanskiCatalàЧӑвашлаČeštinaDeutschEestiΕλληνικάEspañolEsperantoEuskaraفارسیFrançaisGaelgGalegoГӀалгӀай한국어Հայերենहिन्दीHrvatskiIdoBahasa IndonesiaИронIsiXhosaÍslenskaעבריתJawaಕನ್ನಡქართულიҚазақшаKreyòl ayisyenKurdîLadinLatviešuMagyarМакедонскиMaltiمصرىNa Vosa VakavitiNederlands日本語Norsk bokmålNorsk nynorskOccitanOʻzbekcha / ўзбекчаپښتوPolskiPortuguêsRomânăРусскийᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤScotsShqipSicilianuSimple EnglishSlovenčinaSoomaaligaСрпски / srpskiSrpskohrvatski / српскохрватскиSundaSuomiSvenskaTagalogதமிழ்తెలుగుไทยТоҷикӣTürkçeУкраїнськаاردوTiếng Việt吴语ייִדיש粵語中文

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Human vocal communication using spoken language

For the process of speaking to a group of people, see Public speaking. For other uses, see Speech (disambiguation).

Speech production visualized by Real-time MRI

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Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are the same word, e.g., "role" or "hotel"), and using those words in their semantic character as words in the lexicon of a language according to the syntactic constraints that govern lexical words' function in a sentence. In speaking, speakers perform many different intentional speech acts, e.g., informing, declaring, asking, persuading, directing, and can use enunciation, intonation, degrees of loudness, tempo, and other non-representational or paralinguistic aspects of vocalization to convey meaning. In their speech, speakers also unintentionally communicate many aspects of their social position such as sex, age, place of origin (through accent), physical states (alertness and sleepiness, vigor or weakness, health or illness), psychological states (emotions or moods), physico-psychological states (sobriety or drunkenness, normal consciousness and trance states), education or experience, and the like.

Although people ordinarily use speech in dealing with other persons (or animals), when people swear they do not always mean to communicate anything to anyone, and sometimes in expressing urgent emotions or desires they use speech as a quasi-magical cause, as when they encourage a player in a game to do or warn them not to do something. There are also many situations in which people engage in solitary speech. People talk to themselves sometimes in acts that are a development of what some psychologists (e.g., Lev Vygotsky) have maintained is the use of silent speech in an interior monologue to vivify and organize cognition, sometimes in the momentary adoption of a dual persona as self addressing self as though addressing another person. Solo speech can be used to memorize or to test one's memorization of things, and in prayer or in meditation (e.g., the use of a mantra).

Researchers study many different aspects of speech: speech production and speech perception of the sounds used in a language, speech repetition, speech errors, the ability to map heard spoken words onto the vocalizations needed to recreate them, which plays a key role in children's enlargement of their vocabulary, and what different areas of the human brain, such as Broca's area and Wernicke's area, underlie speech. Speech is the subject of study for linguistics, cognitive science, communication studies, psychology, computer science, speech pathology, otolaryngology, and acoustics.

Speech compares with written language,[1] which may differ in its vocabulary, syntax, and phonetics from the spoken language, a situation called diglossia.

The evolutionary origins of speech are unknown and subject to much debate and speculation. While animals also communicate using vocalizations, and trained apes such as Washoe and Kanzi can use simple sign language, no animals' vocalizations are articulated phonemically and syntactically, and do not constitute speech.

Evolution[edit]

Main article: Origin of speech

Although related to the more general problem of the origin of language, the evolution of distinctively human speech capacities has become a distinct and in many ways separate area of scientific research.[2][3][4][5][6] The topic is a separate one because language is not necessarily spoken: it can equally be written or signed. Speech is in this sense optional, although it is the default modality for language.

Places of articulation (passive and active):1. Exo-labial, 2. Endo-labial, 3. Dental, 4. Alveolar, 5. Post-alveolar, 6. Pre-palatal, 7. Palatal, 8. Velar, 9. Uvular, 10. Pharyngeal, 11. Glottal, 12. Epiglottal, 13. Radical, 14. Postero-dorsal, 15. Antero-dorsal, 16. Laminal, 17. Apical, 18. Sub-apical

Monkeys, non-human apes and humans, like many other animals, have evolved specialised mechanisms for producing sound for purposes of social communication.[7] On the other hand, no monkey or ape uses its tongue for such purposes.[8][9] The human species' unprecedented use of the tongue, lips and other moveable parts seems to place speech in a quite separate category, making its evolutionary emergence an intriguing theoretical challenge in the eyes of many scholars.[10]

Determining the timeline of human speech evolution is made additionally challenging by the lack of data in the fossil record. The human vocal tract does not fossilize, and indirect evidence of vocal tract changes in hominid fossils has proven inconclusive.[10]

Production[edit]

Main articles: Speech production and Linguistics

Speech production is an unconscious multi-step process by which thoughts are generated into spoken utterances. Production involves the unconscious mind selecting appropriate words and the appropriate form of those words from the lexicon and morphology, and the organization of those words through the syntax. Then, the phonetic properties of the words are retrieved and the sentence is articulated through the articulations associated with those phonetic properties.[11]

In linguistics, articulatory phonetics is the study of how the tongue, lips, jaw, vocal cords, and other speech organs are used to make sounds. Speech sounds are categorized by manner of articulation and place of articulation. Place of articulation refers to where in the neck or mouth the airstream is constricted. Manner of articulation refers to the manner in which the speech organs interact, such as how closely the air is restricted, what form of airstream is used (e.g. pulmonic, implosive, ejectives, and clicks), whether or not the vocal cords are vibrating, and whether the nasal cavity is opened to the airstream.[12] The concept is primarily used for the production of consonants, but can be used for vowels in qualities such as voicing and nasalization. For any place of articulation, there may be several manners of articulation, and therefore several homorganic consonants.

Normal human speech is pulmonic, produced with pressure from the lungs, which creates phonation in the glottis in the larynx, which is then modified by the vocal tract and mouth into different vowels and consonants. However humans can pronounce words without the use of the lungs and glottis in alaryngeal speech, of which there are three types: esophageal speech, pharyngeal speech and buccal speech (better known as Donald Duck talk).

Errors[edit]

Main article: Speech error

Speech production is a complex activity, and as a consequence errors are common, especially in children. Speech errors come in many forms and are used to provide evidence to support hypotheses about the nature of speech.[13] As a result, speech errors are often used in the construction of models for language production and child language acquisition. For example, the fact that children often make the error of over-regularizing the -ed past tense suffix in English (e.g. saying 'singed' instead of 'sang') shows that the regular forms are acquired earlier.[14][15] Speech errors associated with certain kinds of aphasia have been used to map certain components of speech onto the brain and see the relation between different aspects of production; for example, the difficulty of expressive aphasia patients in producing regular past-tense verbs, but not irregulars like 'sing-sang' has been used to demonstrate that regular inflected forms of a word are not individually stored in the lexicon, but produced from affixation to the base form.[16]

Perception[edit]

Main article: Speech perception

Speech perception refers to the processes by which humans can interpret and understand the sounds used in language. The study of speech perception is closely linked to the fields of phonetics and phonology in linguistics and cognitive psychology and perception in psychology. Research in speech perception seeks to understand how listeners recognize speech sounds and use this information to understand spoken language. Research into speech perception also has applications in building computer systems that can recognize speech, as well as improving speech recognition for hearing- and language-impaired listeners.[17]

Speech perception is categorical, in that people put the sounds they hear into categories rather than perceiving them as a spectrum. People are more likely to be able to hear differences in sounds across categorical boundaries than within them. A good example of this is voice onset time (VOT), one aspect of the phonetic production of consonant sounds. For example, Hebrew speakers, who distinguish voiced /b/ from voiceless /p/, will more easily detect a change in VOT from -10 ( perceived as /b/ ) to 0 ( perceived as /p/ ) than a change in VOT from +10 to +20, or -10 to -20, despite this being an equally large change on the VOT spectrum.[18]

Development[edit]

Main article: Language development

Most human children develop proto-speech babbling behaviors when they are four to six months old. Most will begin saying their first words at some point during the first year of life. Typical children progress through two or three word phrases before three years of age followed by short sentences by four years of age.[19]

Repetition[edit]

Main article: Speech repetition

In speech repetition, speech being heard is quickly turned from sensory input into motor instructions needed for its immediate or delayed vocal imitation (in phonological memory). This type of mapping plays a key role in enabling children to expand their spoken vocabulary. Masur (1995) found that how often children repeat novel words versus those they already have in their lexicon is related to the size of their lexicon later on, with young children who repeat more novel words having a larger lexicon later in development. Speech repetition could help facilitate the acquisition of this larger lexicon.[20]

Problems[edit]

What Is a Speech?

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What Is a Speech?Most people find it difficult to write a speech for themselves. This is because sometimes, whatever is written on print might sound different when said aloud. There’s always the struggle of proper pronunciation and diction, not to mention the fact that delivering a speech can be a a very nerve-racking experience for anyone.

There’s no denying that it’s probably not for everybody. But most of the time, we’re forced to make it anyway. In order for an individual to give an effective speech, one must construct it well and deliver it with confidence.

What Is a Speech?

A speech is a form of verbal or nonverbal communication that is delivered for a given purpose. Good speech communication serves as an important aspect for many professions in terms of promoting proper communication between individuals.

Some speech examples are given during special occasions, such as a wedding speech and a valedictorian speech, while others are made for formal business gatherings.

How to Start a Speech with Power and Confidence

The common misconception about giving a good keynote speech is that it’s a skill that you’re supposedly born with. Obviously, this is not always the case. It’s a skill that you develop overtime through constant practice.

It’s natural to get nervous, everyone does, although it’s not always obvious. This is because it’s all in the mind, if you have a positive mindset then you’re sure to develop the confidence you need. It’s all about believing in yourself, despite all the uncertainties.

Stand straight. Chin up. And look straight at your audience.

This will give you a sense of dominance. Not only that, you would also need to have a certain tone in your voice. When you speak with power, people will want to listen to what you have to say. Whether it’s a motivational speech or a leadership speech, establish your credibility by giving a speech with power and confidence.

Tips for Giving a Killer Speech

Picture everyone in their underwear. Metaphorically speaking, picturing your audience in their underwear would mean to strip them away from how you perceive them, which could probably be a group of monsters who are watching your every move.

Interact with your audience. There’s nothing more interesting than watching a speaker engage the audience into being a part of the conversation.

Observe proper posture. Body language is everything. This will allow you to deliver your speech in word with a high level of confidence.

Avoid dead air. People who are nervous tend to forget the words to say. If this happens, skip this point and come back to it when you remember.

Importance of Speech

A speech examples comes in various forms, all having a specific purpose. The best part about a speech is that it demands to be heard. Whatever a speaker has to say plays a significant purpose for the audience.

It allows the speaker to deliver a message, while the audience listens attentively. Speech in pdf also contributes to human development. It is a continuous learning process that helps develop an individual’s communication skills.

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SPEECH | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

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Meaning of speech in English

speechnoun uk

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/spiːtʃ/ us

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/spiːtʃ/

speech noun

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B1 [ U ] the ability to talk, the activity of talking, or a piece of spoken language: Children usually develop speech in the second year of life. People who suffer a stroke may experience a loss of speech.

[ U ] the way a person talks: His speech was slurred and I thought he was drunk.

B1 [ U ] the language used when talking: Some expressions are used more in speech than in writing.

[ C ] a set of words spoken in a play: Do you know the words to Hamlet's famous speech at the beginning of Act III?

More examplesFewer examplesShe suffers from a speech defect.From her slow, deliberate speech I guessed she must be drunk.Freedom of speech and freedom of thought were both denied under the dictatorship.As a child, she had some speech problems.We use these aids to develop speech in small children.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Informal talking & conversation

a problem shared is a problem halved idiom

bantering

banteringly

bants

bloviate

bull session

buzz

catch

chew the fat idiom

conversation

conversational

gambit

palaver

pass

patter

persiflage

put the world to rights idiom

shoot

take/lead someone on/to one side idiom

tête-à-tête

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speech noun

(FORMAL TALK)

B2 [ C ] a formal talk given usually to a large number of people on a special occasion: I had to give/make a speech at my brother's wedding. The Governor of New York delivered a rousing speech to the national convention. He gave the after-dinner speech (= a talk given after a formal evening meal at which a large number of people are present). Did you hear her acceptance speech at the Oscars ceremony? See also

speak (FORMAL TALK)

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a talktalkShe will give a talk on keeping kids safe on the internet.lectureThe lecture is entitled "War and the Modern American Presidency".presentationWe were given a presentation of progress made to date.speechYou might have to make a speech when you accept the award.addressHe took the oath of office then delivered his inaugural address.orationIt was to become one of the most famous orations in American history.

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More examplesFewer examplesHer speech was received with cheers and a standing ovation.She closed the meeting with a short speech.The vicar's forgetting his lines in the middle of the speech provided some good comedy.Her speech caused outrage among the gay community.She concluded the speech by reminding us of our responsibility.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Lecturing & addressing

call for papers

CFP

co-present

discourse

eunoia

extemporize

floor

hold

jawbone

lead off

maiden speech

monologue

onto

presentation

sermon

sermonize

speak

speaking

speechify

talk at someone

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Grammar

Speech into writingBoth speech and writing can be formal or informal. Whether language is formal or informal depends on who our readers and listeners are, for what purpose we use the language and the situation in which we use it. For example, an official notice would be written in formal English, whereas the same information would be more commonly written informally by an individual in a less public situation: …

(Definition of speech from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

speech | American Dictionary

speechnoun us

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/spitʃ/

speech noun

(TALKING)

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[ U ] the ability to talk, or the activity of talking: People who suffer a stroke may experience a loss of speech.

[ U ] Your speech is also your way of talking: His speech became slurred and indistinct.

[ U ] Speech can also mean the language used when talking: Some expressions are used more in speech than in writing.

speech noun

(FORMAL TALK)

[ C ] a formal talk given usually to a large number of people on a special occasion: an acceptance speech I’m nervous about the speech I’m making tomorrow.

(Definition of speech from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of speech

speech

In political speeches and policy documents the tensions between equity, need and choice are reconciled into a seamless narrative of the move towards modernity.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Political speeches and policy documents offer several different resolutions to this tension.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

His speeches were peppered with reviews of national legislation, along with foreign and imperial affairs.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The substance of his speeches is usually nothing said in schoolboy florid rhetoric.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The versification is mixed, but several long speeches, as well as much of the dialogue, is in octosyllabic couplets.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Although responses on flag burning are significantly correlated with data on protest speeches (r 0.33) and public rallies (r 0.37), the relationships are moderate.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Surprisingly little use is made of the protagonists' own writings and speeches, which should have been the first line of study.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

As the volume approaches the present, more and more space is taken up by lengthy quotations from speeches and documents rather than accounts of them.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Workmen did not always listen in silence ; ' mutinous courses ' and ' contemptuous speeches ' expressed a more ugly mood.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Several speeches at the 1897 congress alluded to the perceived significance of theatre beyond mere entertainment.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Like a poet laureate, this professor often had to write poems and speeches for festive occasions, such as the king's birthday or the university's birthday.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Interviews and press conferences differ from speeches and, even more, from written documents, because one's interlocutors are physically present and are there to ask questions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The bridge was formally opened amid a fanfare of self-congratulation, reinforced by a parade, official speeches, fireworks and massive press coverage.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In reporting speeches, as in reporting the ' hard news ', a commitment to nonpartisan ' newsgathering ' could limit the effectiveness of a particular policy advocacy.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The first layer are those written almost contemporaneously, on the basis of speeches, public documents, and newspaper reports.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of speech

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with speech

speech

These are words often used in combination with speech.Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

after-dinner speechIt might be said that this or that was wrong in somebody's after-dinner speech.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

brief speechHer analysis is rich and eloquently demonstrates the wealth of information that can be extracted from one brief speech event.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

campaign speechHe dropped out of the contest prior to the election, but not before delivering his campaign speech to the convention.

From Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

See all collocations with speech

What is the pronunciation of speech?

B1,B1,B2

Translations of speech

in Chinese (Traditional)

說話, 說話能力, 談話…

in Chinese (Simplified)

说话, 说话能力, 谈话…

in Spanish

habla, discurso, discurso [masculine…

in Portuguese

fala, discurso, discurso [masculine]…

in more languages

in Marathi

in Japanese

in Turkish

in French

in Catalan

in Dutch

in Tamil

in Hindi

in Gujarati

in Danish

in Swedish

in Malay

in German

in Norwegian

in Urdu

in Ukrainian

in Russian

in Telugu

in Arabic

in Bengali

in Czech

in Indonesian

in Thai

in Vietnamese

in Polish

in Korean

in Italian

वाचा, बोलणे, बोलीभाषा…

話す能力, 話し方, スピーチ…

konuşma biçimi, lehçe, ağız…

discours [masculine], langage [masculine], parole…

parla, discurs…

het spreken, taal, spraak…

பேசும் திறன், பேசும் செயல்பாடு அல்லது பேசும் மொழியின் ஒரு பகுதி, ஒரு நபர் பேசும் விதம்…

बोलने की क्षमता, बोलने की गतिविधि, बोली…

બોલવાની ક્ષમતા, બોલવાની ક્રિયા, અથવા બોલાતી ભાષાનો એક ભાગ…

tale, sprog, måde at tale på…

tal, anförande…

bertutur, pertuturan, pertuturann…

die Sprache, das Sprechen, die Rede…

tale [masculine], taleevne [masculine], tale(evne)…

بولنے کے لائق, تقریر, قوتِ گویائی…

мова, мовлення, вимова…

(устная) речь, речь, выступление…

మాటలు, మాట్లాడే విధానం, భాష…

حَديث, خِطاب…

কথা, বক্তব্য, বাকশক্তি…

řeč, způsob řeči, projev…

wicara, perkataan, cara bicara…

การพูด, คำพูด, ลักษณะการพูด…

khả năng, hành động nói, lời nói…

mowa, przemówienie, język…

말, 연설…

parola, modo di parlare, linguaggio…

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speculum

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speculum mirror

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speech

speech act

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speech and language therapist

speech and language therapy

speech bubble

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speech act

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a figure of speech idiom

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/rɪˈspɒns/

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/rɪˈspɑːns/

an answer or reaction

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Contents

English

Noun

speech (SAY WORDS)

speech (FORMAL TALK)

American

Noun

speech (TALKING)

speech (FORMAL TALK)

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3 Ways to Write a Speech - wikiHow

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CategoriesEducation and CommunicationsCommunication SkillsPublic SpeakingSpeechesSpeechwritingHow to Write a Speech

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methods

Sample Speeches

Drafting an Effective Speech

Making Your Speech More Engaging

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Article Summary

Co-authored by

Patrick Muñoz

Last Updated: March 11, 2024

Fact Checked

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This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz. Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association.

There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

This article has been viewed 2,968,373 times.

Giving an original speech for a class, event, or work presentation can be nerve-wracking. However, writing an effective speech can help to bolster your confidence. With careful planning and an eye for detail, you can write a speech that will inform, persuade, motivate, or entertain! Give yourself plenty of time to craft your speech and practice it several times for best results.

Steps

Sample Speeches

Sample Political Speech

Sample Speech Asking for Donations

Sample High School Graduation Speech

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Drafting an Effective Speech

Download Article

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License: Creative Commons<\/a>
\n<\/p>

\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Research your topic well. If you are writing an informative or persuasive speech, then it should be very well researched! This will help to give you credibility and make your points far more convincing. Seek out scholarly sources, such as books, academic journals, newspaper articles, and government websites to find information and support for your claims.[1]

Research source

If you are writing a speech for a class, make sure to check with your teacher to get details about the number and acceptable types of sources.

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/79\/Write-a-Speech-Step-5-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Write-a-Speech-Step-5-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/79\/Write-a-Speech-Step-5-Version-3.jpg\/aid3472-v4-728px-Write-a-Speech-Step-5-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"

License: Creative Commons<\/a>
\n<\/p>

\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Make an outline that includes your main argument and points. Organizing your ideas and research into an outline is a great way to check for completeness and flow before you actually draft the speech.[2]

Expert Source

Patrick MuñozVoice & Speech Coach

Expert Interview. 12 November 2019.