Many PR specialists have to make public speeches. Some are writing speeches for their leaders who will be speaking. Some people don’t like this job. Because they can’t figure out how to do this every time. In this article, we will inform our readers about tips for preparing effective speeches. If you work in public relations, it is very important to prepare effective speeches if you plan to take an active part in public life. Each of the reasons listed above requires the ability to persuade people. Persuasion begins with speech. If you are a good speaker, they will listen carefully and agree with what you have to say. They will join your call and follow you.
Many people think that body language is important to be a good speaker. Or you need to use eloquent expressions. Or it is absolutely necessary to have professional diction. It goes without saying that having professional diction and body language habits and effective gestures gives you advantages. But that’s not the point. Your presence on stage is important. But even more important is what you say when you speak. To be a good speaker, you need to plan your speech in advance, structure it, and choose the right sentences.
But to prepare effective public speeches, you need to pay attention to the following points?
In this article, we talk about those points.
1. Define a goal
As with all things, defining the right goals is essential in the process of writing effective speeches. The end always justifies the means. Once you determine the right goal, you can easily choose the means to that goal. Oratory is like this. You need to define for whom you are performing, why you are performing, and what goals you will achieve. In order to be able to compose a speech properly, you must first know who you will be speaking to. Therefore, the first step in preparing effective speeches is to determine the purpose.
A well-defined problem is 50% solved. If the doctor was able to diagnose the patient accurately, it means that he has completed 50% of the treatment. Because the most difficult stage in any work is the precise setting of the problem.
When determining the purpose, you need to answer the following questions:
- Who are the people you will be speaking to?
- What do they know about your speech?
- What is their approach to the subject?
- Where are the pain points?
- What words of yours will make them agree?
- Which of your words will cause them to protest?
- What results do you want to achieve with your speech?
When answering the questions, you should start with the last question. What should they do after you finish your speech? For example, voting, buying shares, taking a picture, donating to a charity, changing behaviour, etc. You should prepare your speech accordingly.
Summarizing the points above, you will see that you have to work on four points.
- informing,
- entertaining,
- convincing,
- call to action.
2. Structure the speech
While structuring the speech, your goals should be taken into account. As with all texts, texts prepared for public speaking should have a plot line. The starting point of the speech, the knotting of events, the climax, the unravelling of the knots and the finale. In works of art, movies, and even computer games, we see a plot line with a single structure. Although all scenarios have a common plot line, it is more effective to use the AIDA model or curved pyramid method, which is more commonly used in marketing, for public speaking texts.
According to the AIDA (Attention, interest, desire, action) model, you should first attract the audience’s attention with your speech. Your first sentences should wake the audience up from their deep slumber and direct their attention to you. How you do this will vary depending on your audience and goals.
When preparing the text of your speech, you should consider that we humans are very selfish beings. The most important topics in the world for each person are topics related to his person, which benefit him or harm him. Our personal standing, health, reputation, and life are the most important things. For this reason, these points should be considered when preparing speeches.
After you have achieved the first component of the AIDA model with your speech – that is, after capturing the audience’s attention, you must touch the heartstrings of each of them in order to achieve their interests. If you tell them that their lives will be more prosperous and comfortable by listening to you, they will not look for the door. Otherwise, people in the audience will either look at the clock frequently or leave the audience at the first opportunity. Because we humans are selfish beings. We don’t want to spend even a minute on things that don’t benefit us personally.
Getting the audience’s attention isn’t the end of the story. From gaining attention, you need to build direction to create interest in your speech. The speaker must be in full control of the topic in order to attract attention and create interest in his speech. When preparing a speech, all facts must be collected, systematized, checked, and then included in the text.
Once you’ve captured your audience’s attention and interest, the next step is to get them interested in the ideas you have to offer. When forming a desire, one still needs to appeal to one’s ego. It should be noted that these ideas serve to improve their lives, not for you.
The last stage in the speech structure is to move the audience. This should reflect your ultimate goal for the speech. The text you prepared is for “ACTION”.
3. The principle of “THREE”
When you pick up paper and pen, if you don’t know how to express your ideas, divide them into several parts. For example, into three parts. The three principles are effective not only in public speaking but in all areas of life. You can make any difficult task even easier by dividing it into three parts. Breaking any difficult problem into three parts is more effective than solving it alone.
When you write your ideas in texts by dividing them into three parts, your thoughts become more systematic rather than chaotic, which in turn makes both writing and speaking easier. When speaking in front of an audience, it is almost impossible to recite your written text by heart. But by keeping the three points in mind, you can deliver your speech orally.
Each of the three blocks is dedicated to a thesis. Each thesis should conclude with a “call to action”. You can also divide all three parts into three parts. Thus, you will be able to build your business in an even more convenient way. It is difficult to collect a cloud of thoughts, put them in writing, and then turn that writing into a speech. But three theses and dividing each into three parts is both convenient and practical. Thus, you will have a total of nine directions.
4. Make announcements
Tell us what you’re going to talk about. Audiences love announcements. He wants to know what will happen. Loves the illusion of control. Do not open all the cards from the beginning. But give hope by creating intrigue.
5. Focus on the beginning
The hardest part is the beginning. Think carefully about the beginning of the speech. Starting is always difficult. The speaker always has difficulty in the beginning. Because he doesn’t know the audience yet. He doesn’t know how to react to her. That’s why he’s worried.
The audience is also always sceptical at the beginning. He also thinks, who is the person who appeared on this stage and what does he want to tell us? Suspicious looks from the audience make the speaker even more difficult. Present yourself well. Show how professional you are so that the audience doesn’t mistrust you. Think of ways to break the ice between you and your audience. Jokes and interesting anecdotes are good tools to melt the ice. But this should be done to the limit.
6. Interesting story and good quote
The best way to get your audience’s attention is to tell a story. We all like to hear other people’s stories. This is why we read novels, watch movies and discuss neighbours. People are not interested in quiet stories either. We love conflict. We are very interested in the story of two lovers who fight mercilessly for the heart of a beautiful girl. Once one of them wins, the story ends and we lose interest. The conflicts in the stories are interesting. You can capture an audience by telling short stories with conflict.
Opening speeches with a good quote is a great spice for any speech. It has two positive aspects:
It stands out as an interesting story,
It brings confidence to the speaker’s speech.
7. There is no truth. there is no mistake
There is no absolute truth in this shame. There is absolutely no lie. There is only popular opinion. People like to have their opinions or beliefs supported. If you oppose an idea that is popular with an audience, you will at best be uninteresting to that audience.
Most people like to listen to things they already believe. If a person is deeply religious, he will listen to topics that strongly present the religion’s positions to him. An atheist, on the other hand, will listen to or spread ideas that support his ideas.
We ourselves only read articles on the Internet that confirm our beliefs. We have little interest in opposing views. Each of us listens to the speeches of the politician who expresses our opinion. We support that politician not because he is really right, but because his views coincide with ours. Those who voice different opinions are simply not interested in us.
Look at the audience you are addressing with this eye as well. If you want to capture their interest and move them, consider the belief factor. Do not express opinions that will be perceived as antagonistic by them.
Of course, this is also a matter of your goal.
