The Opening-Body-Conclusion (OBC) method is the most tested approach while preparing a speech. Any well-written speech adheres to this guideline, simply because OBC effectively helps prepare a complete speech. Each of our speeches has a definitive objective –either to Inform, Persuade, Entertain or Inspire. A speech could also be a combination of both – Inform and Persuade, Inform and Inspire etc. For Ex: -

• A speech on ‘Why to Quit Smoking’ could deal with the ill effects of tobacco and provide statistical data of the number of deaths due to lung cancer and associated diseases. The speaker by way of quoting examples or videos could effectively persuade the smokers to’ kick the butt’. An informative speech calls for extensive research, while a persuasive speech needs to have powerful examples and a forceful message to persuade the audience.
• A speech on the life of Mahatma Gandhi could be an informative speech providing the audience with greater knowledge of the trials and tribulations in his life and also inspire the audience to adopt his ideology of ‘Ahimsa’ or non-violence. An effective inspirational speech would prove to be a life changing experience for the listener!

A speaker needs to first define his objective, understand his audience and the prevailing culture of the location. These are the basic pre-requirements to preparing a good speech. Speakers often tend to underestimate their audience or fail to understand their taste. A good speaker is the one who does his homework right!

Once you have a good understanding of your objective and the target audience, it’s time for you to formulate the magic decoction to serve the purpose- Your Speech

Opening: The opening lines are the most vital lines of a speech. This is because a speaker is judged at the first instance. The audience is extremely sharp, sensitive and are selective listeners. Ideally the first 30 sec-1 min is when you ought to grab their attention. If you falter at the first step, your speech fails.

A speaker is mentally judged -his style, confidence levels, posture, language and most importantly the intent of the speech are deciphered by the audience during the first minute. If they disagree or dislike, they mentally disconnect from your speech. An effort to either persuade or inspire the audience could prove to be futile if you have a weak opening, despite having comprehensive material to support your viewpoint. It is prerogative for the speaker to inform the audience of his intent in the Opening-“Tell them what you want to tell them”. Some of the common practices for an effective opening are:

• A puzzling question or an interesting (lesser known) fact that arouses audience attention.
• An appropriate quotation to suit your purpose.
• Display of an object/picture, which creates interest.
• A sudden –unexpected action/display (body movement) that gels with the purpose, arousing audience interest.
• A well-intended (apt) joke to establish a connect. In a formal presentation it’s a nice practice to have humour incorporated at regular intervals of your presentation to prevent monotony and boredom, else the audience would be tired of listening to ‘similar talk’ from all the speakers.

Avoid: Please avoid being apologetic or negative at the beginning of a speech. Any unrelated statement or joke can create a disconnect.

Body: The Body is the main part of the speech, where you substantiate on the viewpoints and ideas you wish to present. In the body of a speech – “Tell them all you want to tell them “. The body of the speech needs to be comprehensive and clear. It could be further sub-divided into 3 smaller parts for simplicity. Every point stated by the speaker needs to be validated. For Ex-

• “Smoking is a killer Disease. An estimated 400, 000 deaths are caused directly by cigarette smoking” – A statement ‘Smoking is a killer disease ‘has been supported with a statistical data.
• “Passive Smoking is equally injurious to health. A good friend of mine, Mr Michael, a non-smoker died of lung cancer due to an overtly exposure to cigarette smoke at workplace. A death caused by others ill behaviour. We all need to be sensitive and avoid smoking in public places or at a gathering “ – The above statement is backed by a personal example and the speaker urges/persuades the audience to be more sensitive to their surroundings.

“Point-Example-Point” is a good method to employ while preparing the Body of the speech. A maximum of 3 points with supportive data / examples is advisable, since the audience have limited attention span and grasping powers. A line in the speech cannot be repeated, unlike a book where you can revisit the previous paragraph!

The supporting materials commonly used in speeches are:

• Statistics- ideally employed to inform the audience.
• Testimony- Used to further substantiate your viewpoint.
• Stories/Anecdotes/Examples- People love stories and are undoubtedly the most effective way of enlightening an audience. A personal experience adds value and effectiveness to a speech and it is always advisable to include them as an integral part of your speech.
• Visual Aids- ‘Seeing is believing’. A picture can convey the message of a thousand words. Based on the topic – pictures, diagrams, charts, drawings, models etc can be used to effectively convey the message.

Conclusion: A befitting conclusion leaves behind an ever-lasting impact in the mind of the listener. The conclusion needs to be –‘short, definitive, reiterative and powerful ‘. In the conclusion “Tell them what you told them “. While concluding a speech you need to summarise your views and ‘Call for Action’ towards attaining the purpose. For Ex:

• “The ill-effects of cigarette smoking have caused over a million deaths in the last decade and as I speak the number is only growing. It’s time for each of us to act, take a step forward and vouch never to smoke again for our well –being and also in the larger interest of humanity. Make a promise, be the difference!” –The conclusion summarises the ill effects of smoking, calls for action and seeks a promise from the audience.

An effective conclusion has the “Take Home Message” embedded in it. A poor or weak conclusion renders the speech ineffective and incomplete. Always conclude on a high note!

Fundamentals Of Speech Writing

Speech and speaking are distinctly different. This is the primary thought a speaker needs to remember while preparing his speech. While you speak, you have ample time and disposition to convey your message, whereas in a speech you need be structured and precise. A speech calls for organisation. A few basics to preparing a good speech are discussed below:

1)    Purpose: A speech needs to have a definite purpose.

a)    What is it that you intend to convey? – This question needs to be answered in a single line.

For Ex: At the end of my speech, my audience need to understand the effects of Climate change in the world.

Climate Change is the General purpose and aids in the construction your speech.

b) When you prod further – What about Climate Change do you wish to enlighten your audience to?

Ans: The current impact of climate change and a call for a reduction in emission in order to save the planet – This provides you with the specific purpose of the speech.

You now have a fair idea of the objective of your speech – A speech on climate change, calling for an action on reducing emission for a safer planet.

2)   Connect to Your Audience:

a) Are you addressing an informed audience or the layman?

Every person in the audience will have a question: ‘ What is in it for me?’

If your addressing a group of climate change activists, you could right-away get into the finer aspects and deal with issues impacting climate change. Whereas, if you’re addressing a layman, he needs to be educated of the impact of climate change, thereby arousing his interest and concern in the subject. The best speakers are those who adapt to an audience; Always remember, “ Audience is king”

3. Language and Style: Speak to Express, Never to Impress

Communication does not call for being sophisticated and using high-end terminology. On the contrary simple and short sentences help build a good speech. A good speaker is one who prepares his speech in a manner that a high-school student would be able to grasp his speech. A well-written speech transcends barriers of age (people of all age groups would relate to it).

4. Value Time:

Speakers need to value their listener’s time and cannot take them for granted. Speakers who adhere to time are more respected by the audience. I have come across some seasoned speakers who had developed a negative reputation of exceeding the allotted time. This can hamper the effectiveness of your speech. On a personal front, I have lost a contest, because I overshot time by 1 sec!

“Value time, else you will never be valued “.

5. Word Count/Pace of Delivery:

The pace of delivery plays a pivotal role in the effectives of your speech. Many people have a natural pace of150-180 words/minute, which others are unable to grasp. The ideal speed needs to be between 100-120 words/minute. An emotional or humorous speech calls for effective pauses at regular intervals in order to elicit an audience response and could be paced at 90-100 words/minute. The thumb rule I follow while preparing a speech is

“ Prepare  a 650-680 words text for a  7-7.30 secs speech  “. It works!

6. Organise Your Speech:

Every speech calls for a distinct Opening that leads into the Body of the speech and a Conclusion, that reiterates your message and calls for action. This is popularly called OBC (Opening, Body and Conclusion). Any speech needs to adhere to an OBC structure. The methods of organising your speech and OBC would be dealt with in detail in my next article in this section called- Organising Your Speech.

You wish to break the ice, seek attention, hope to get noticed and could for hours engage in a conversation (more often gossip) . But when it comes to addressing a little gathering, your legs tremble, jitter, sweat and forget those well rehearsed lines in a matter of seconds. You fail miserably in no time!

I have come across people who have failed on stage and vouched never to step back again. The fear of failure, embarrassment and low-esteem looms large. You do not wish to put yourself through that horrifying experience again!

However, life is a predicament by itself. There are these odd situations in life when you need to speak before an audience at work or in a conference/seminar. The impact of your presentation has a larger influence on your career. Your words are measured, your stance , diction , delivery ,in short-your potential gauged by those few minutes of stage time . It is a test that you need to pass with flying colours  .You either conquer your fear of public speaking or submit to this un-confounded fear that makes you feel worthless. Make your decision now –I believe that a person who reads any further has decided to make a conscious attempt to overcome the fear of public speaking and take a step forward towards achieving the same.

This section of the blog is dedicated to overcoming the greatest fear in life –The fear of public speaking. The section would also deal with the finer aspects of public speaking. Over the days, we would discuss the various aspects of effective communication. I hope to see this section develop into a one-stop shop for all your needs /queries/experiences and apprehensions on public speaking, both for beginners and professionals.

Getting to the basics-

1) How to conquer the fear of stage

“Practice, practice and practice” – is the oft heard answer. Yes, it is only “CORRECT PRACTICE”, that makes a person perfect . However, we all seek a conducive atmosphere to practice and shed our inhibition. The best way to prepare is by practicing your speech before your near and dear ones. It’s the best way to shed your apprehension .Your family could be your first audience , the drawing room- your first stage…make that effort , practice the speech you need to deliver at work before your family . It helps instil a sense of confidence.

Though the practice is not perfect (or anywhere close to it), it helps muster confidence required for a beginner.

Another method is to randomly pick any topic from the daily newspaper and express your views before your little audience at home, everyday for about 5 minutes. If you are able to do this for 7 days continuously, you would get comfortable to a large extent. Anything practiced for 21 days becomes a habit! Once you are comfortable, you need to slowly increase your audience, from family to relatives, friends. This helps gather further confidence and drive away inhibition! Addressing an informal gathering at small parties or occasions further helps your cause.

2) What do I speak about?

For a first timer, the best thing in the world is to speak about YOU. Tell the world who you are, your dreams, desire, love, hatred and all that you wish to express. This helps, because you don’t need to go by a prepared text and also with time you prepare a little bio-data /introduction about yourself. It helps connect with people!

3) What is effective communication?

Effective communication is “Conveying your message”. Does it sound dicey?

To be an effective communicator you do not need good language, diction, body language or a flawless accent .You need to connect with the audience and leave behind a forceful message ( take home ) . Whether you spoke in broken english or with a heavy accent is secondary.” Content is king”. Your message needs to influence the thinking of your listener!

4) Formal Platforms to practice Public Speaking – There are various public speaking societies, debating clubs that meet regularly. I have been a part of an international movement called Toastmasters International, a movement with the objective of making “Oral communication a worldwide reality “. There are toastmaster clubs spread across various cities who meet regularly (   either weekly or fortnightly). All you need to do is to check the club closest to your location in the website http://www.toastmasters.org and attend a meeting as a guest. A toastmaster meeting is more often a life changing experience. I had never spoken on stage, till I got to toastmasters. I have been a member for the last 4 years and I have presently Co-founded a new Toastmaster club called “Banjara Toastmasters “(@ Banjara Academy, 1^st Main, 1^st Block R.T.Nagar, Bangalore -560032) which would be chartered with TMI shortly . Our club is a weekly club. We meet every Saturday between 6.00 pm -7.30 pm. Do drop in, if you stay in Bangalore!

Take the plunge….. it’s a wonderful journey of learning!