The Making of a Great Professional Speech Writer

Making an original speech for an event, class, or work can be intimidating.

However, writing down your speech before the D-day could help improve your confidence.

When you are sited in an audience enjoying a great speech, all the words of the speaker seem to make lots of sense. The speech is convincing, engaging, logical, with a nice flow, and entertaining.

There is only one key reason for this.

The writing is the only reason why the speech sends a buzz amidst the listeners.

A great speech comes from intelligent, diligent, and sophisticated speech-writing.

A speech writer needs to master appropriate strategies for ensuring that the speech is excellent.

The principal objective of a speaker is to transfer into the listeners’ minds an extraordinary gift, a strange and beautiful object called an idea.

An idea could be described as a passionate and artistic piece of information that helps you understand and navigate the world.

An idea could be complicated and analytical, or it could also be ecstatic and straightforward.

Ideas matter and they must, therefore, be carefully linked together.

If ideas are appropriately communicated, they are capable of completely changing how your audience thinks about the world, and most importantly, shaping their present and future actions.

So as a speech writer, if you accept that your number one task is to build an idea into the minds of your audiences, then you are a step closer to being a great professional speech writer.

Guidelines That All Speech Writers MUST Follow

Before preparing a speech, a great speech writer must follow the four instructions listed below:

1. Focus on Just One Main Idea

Limit your talk to just one main idea.

Ideas are complex things, and you, therefore, need to slash back your content so that you could focus on the single idea you are most passionate about and give yourself a chance to explain that one thing correctly.

You must give context, share examples, and make your idea vivid.

So pick one idea and make it the through-line throughout your entire talk.

2. Give your Listeners a Reason to Care

Before you can start building things in the minds of your audience, you have to get that permission to welcome you in, and the primary tool to achieve that is through Curiosity.

Use intriguing and provocative questions to identify why something doesn’t make sense and needs explaining.

If you can reveal a disconnection in someone’s world-view, they will feel the need to bridge the knowledge gap.

Once you spot the desire to bridge the knowledge gap, it will be so much easier to start building your idea.

3. Build your Idea Piece by Piece with Familiar Concepts

You use the power of language to weave together concepts that already exist in your listeners’ minds.

Start with their language, that is, the language that they understand.

Metaphors can play a crucial role in showing how the pieces fit together because they reveal the desired shape of the pattern based on an idea that the listener already understands.

4. Make your Idea Seem Worth Sharing

Ask yourself the question, who does this idea benefit?

You have to honest with your answer.

If the idea benefits you or your organization, that idea is probably not worth sharing.

However, if you believe that your idea has the potential to brighten up someone else’s day, or change someone else’s perspective for the better, or inspire someone else into doing something differently, then you have the core ingredient to a truly great talk.

Tips For Great Speech writing

1. Think about your audience, not your Subject

We all know too much about what we do on a day-to-day basis, too much about the detail, and too much about the processes that we go through.

When you are writing a speech that is really going to hit into the nerves of your audience, you must understand what your audience knows and what they want to hear.

The best way to doing this is by putting yourself in the room and imagine you are listening to the speech.

2. Work Backwards

Imagine a member of your audience waking up tomorrow morning and asking what they remember about your speech.

If you are lucky, they will remember one thing, and that’s the thing you need to build your speech around: that’s the message or, in other words, the takeaway.

3. Think more about the Structure and not the Detail

You’ve already decided on your main message; you now need to ensure that the points flow seamlessly against each other.

It is only after you’ve dealt with the flow that you can deal with the details of the points.

4. Brevity

You are likely to know more about your Subject more than most people on earth.

The biggest risk is using too much and suffocating your audience with detail.

Go back to your structure, pick out one or utmost two points that really bring your argument alive.

You will be better if you use one point in a creative and relevant manner than swamping your speech with too much detail.

5. You are Writing for a Speech, not an Email

Write to the spoken word. Write in short, punchy sentences.

Underline keywords that require emphasis.

Write in a way that you want the speech to be heard, and it is only through that way that you will connect with your audience as your content will not frustrate you during delivery.

What Do Most Successful Speech Writers have in Common?

1. They spend lots of time reading books, journals, and video tutorials on speech writing.

2. They take some time and enroll for speech writing classes

3. They have a well-rounded vocabulary that they acquire through extensive reading and listening to other people’s speeches.

4. They can write on a wide variety of topics or subjects.

5. They have a career in journalism and writing

6. They have and maintain a unique voice or sound.

7. Interact with successful speech writers for mentoring

8. They start small, offering free services

9. They have amazing research skills

10. They always have an opinion and can provide equal weight to different opinions

Challenges of a Speech Writer

1. Timing

Most speech writers get requests for speech preparation when it is too late.

Besides, speech writing requires the presence of the speaker, who is mostly not always available. This makes it hard to prepare a perfect speech in due time.

2. The fact that you are writing a speech for someone else is a challenge by itself.

You have to get into their heads, and you have to be creative and within the confines of the brief.

3. Pressure

Speech writers have the pressure to make the audience happy and buzz with positive emotions.

4. Speech writers, also, must be good listeners.

A speech writer must be attentive.

They have to be able to put themselves in the shoes of the speaker so that the speaker can sound like they have written the speech themselves.

Also, speech writers must listen to the reaction of the audience. This is the most complicated part. They have to make sure that the reaction of the audience is a positive one even before the speech is relayed.

Reasons why you should choose us for Speech Writing

1. Our speech writers have mastered the art of storytelling

We understand the fact that most audiences get bored with speeches that are given for more than 60 minutes.

However, the incorporation of stories in a speech help in reinforcing information and facts to the memories of your audience.

2. Our Speech writers only prepare conversational speeches

As mentioned earlier, a speech is meant for the spoken word.

We, therefore, ensure that the content will not let down your delivery.

We ensure that the speech is engaging, and most importantly, intriguing.

3. Teamwork

Our speech writers work closely with our clients, and we value your ideas and all other sorts of input.

It is from your inputs that we can amplify your speech and produce amazing results for your audience.

The ideas that you share with our speech writers will meet your requirements, such as:

The type of audience that you intend to address. We can know this if you acquaint us with information such as the gender and age group of your audience.
The required length of your speech.
The speech topic.
The tone of your speech. Should your speech be humorous, serious, sober, or a mixture?

4. We will use your Voice

Our speech writers ensure that your speech sounds like you.

Through teamwork and your contributions, the audience will believe that you solely wrote the speech.

5. Revisions

our speech writers are on standby waiting for your call and inputs so that they can perfect your speech.

In case you are not impressed, we assign the speech to the best writers or the writers that you prefer.

6. Fast Turnaround Time

We understand the urgency needed.

We know that you also need the time to revise and prepare for the speech.

Our writers will ensure that you have the speech in time, and, in addition, assist in preparing you for presentation.

Types of Speeches that our Writers Are Proficient in

Our speech writers can provide you with a speech for occasions, including but not limited to:

Informative Speech
Entertaining Speech
Demonstrative Speech
Retirement Speech
Anniversaries
Persuasive Speech
Special Occasion Speech
CEO Remarks
Award presentations
Committee speech
Motivational Speech
Oratorical Speech
Political Campaign Speech
Explanatory Speech
Inspirational speech
Debate Speech
Startup business pitches
Keynote Speech
Impromptu Speech
TED and TEDx Talks
Forensic Speech
Funeral Speech
Academic speech
Pitch Speech
Best man, maid of honor, father/mother of the bride wedding toasts
Farewell Speech
Government policy speech

Speech Examples

Informative Speech on Drug Addiction

Drug Addiction

For a long time now, drugs have been part of our society. Numerous scholars have differently defined “drug abuse,” but they all relate to the use, misuse or excessive use of drugs for any purpose other than for therapy or medical. Many people die each year due to drug abuse. A significant number of people use an illegal drug at least once in their lifetime. Some of these people use the drugs regularly. Because of drug addiction, some people result in stealing to get money to buy more of the drug. Moreover, individuals under the influence of drugs are usually vulnerable to risky sexual behaviors. This explains the high number of sexually transmitted diseases among drug addicts. Furthermore, most people’s thinking is usually impaired when they are under the influence of drugs. In such cases, these people may commit crimes they would not have committed when they are sober. Whereas some of the drug addicts lack sleep, some exhibit abnormally slow movements. A substantial number of drug abusers experience severe body weight changes. We should try to avoid the influence of drug addiction by all means. In my speech today, I will assess the types of drug addiction and the various methods of treatment in the world today.

The two types of drug addiction are physical and psychological. Physical drug addiction refers to the incidences whereby an individual is dependent on a certain drug. Their body fails to function normally unless they use the drug. Initially, such body system disturbances were seen as some form of psychological disorders resulting from moral weakness (Jaffe, 1975). On the other hand, psychological drug addiction is evidenced by an individual’s strong desire to use a certain drug. Some scholars have pointed out that it is relatively easier to control the physical addiction than the psychological addiction. Nonetheless, both of these types of addiction have adverse effects on human beings. One may wonder why someone uses drugs yet they know the adverse consequences that are associated with them. Well, the reasons are many. It is not just to gain happiness when they are bored, but the reasons range from family problems, a history of family addiction, peer pressure, untreated physical pain and worse still, mental illness (Crabbe, 2002). It is the worst case scenario because such individuals are not in a position to realize that the drugs are negatively affecting them and thus they may not stop using the drugs. Also, such people lack the opportunity to gain knowledge about the adverse effects of the drugs they use.

Drugs can be categorized into socially accepted drugs, medicinal drugs, and drugs of abuse. The socially accepted drugs include coffee, alcohol, and caffeine. All the drugs used in the treatment of different ailments belong to the medicinal category. For instance, aspirin, paracetamol, and penicillin. Under the drugs of abuse, we have the stimulant drugs, inhalants, depressants, hallucinogenic drugs and the opiates. This type of drugs can either depress or stimulate the nervous system. Hence they are harmful to the body if used in excess. There are many organizations in the world today assisting drug addicts in their quest to stop their addiction. For a drug addict to successfully heal, there is need to embrace a comprehensive, individualized, and integrated approach. In this way, the individual will utilize numerous methods to achieve the healing (Glasscote et al., 1972). Some people may recover after treatment, some with the help of a self-help group, and some on their own. An organization like the Central Narcotics Bureau enable drug abusers to acquire useful skills. The key requirements for any drug addict who wishes to stop their addiction include honesty with oneself such that one does not use the drugs while trying to halt the habit; patience is vital during the recovery period; healthy diets enhances the process of recovery; seeking support from the relevant people and authorities (Hubbard et al., 1989). The modern society faces the perennial problem of drugs. Gradually, drug addiction has become even worse.

Most drug addicts undergo a lot of challenges as a result of their addiction. For example, family problems, health problems, and poverty. Although most governments and societies across the globe have tried to eradicate this menace from their cultures, their attempts have been futile because some people are not aware of the dangers posed by drug addiction (Mosby 2002). Similarly, various members of the society are increasingly sensitizing people about the adverse effects of drug addiction. This is evident in the way medical practitioners address the issue. Instead of referring to it as a personal problem, most doctors view drug addiction as a problem affecting both the culture and the society. Various media platforms depict drug use and drug addiction as harmful and problematic. Due to the harmful nature of the illegal drugs, it is only safe that they remain illegal and never be legalized. I am of the view that a drug-free world is achievable. Kindly help me in my fight against drug addiction. Together we can prevent drug abuse and ultimately drug addiction.

References

Crabbe, J. C. (2002). “Genetic Contributions to Addiction,” Annual Review of

Psychology, 435+

Glasscote, R.M., Sussex, J.N., Jaffe, J.H., Ball, J., Brill, L. (1972). The Treatment of

Drug Abuse: Programs, Problems, Prospects. Washington, D.C.: Joint Information

Service of the American Psychiatric Association and the National Association for Mental Health.

Hubbard, R. L., Marsden, M. E., Rachal, J. V., Harwood, H. J., Cavanaugh, E. R., & Ginzburg,

H. M. (1989). Drug abuse treatment: A national study of effectiveness. University of North Carolina Press.

Jaffe, J.H. (1975). Drug addiction and drug abuse. In L.S. Goodman & A. Gilman (Eds.) The

pharmacological basis of therapeutics(5th ed.). New York: MacMillan. pp. 284 – 324.

Mosby. (2002). Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary. Sixth Edition. Drug

abuse definition, p. 552. Nursing diagnoses, p. 2109