Writing Successful Speeches

Name: Writing Successful Speeches
Rating: 4.1 (10 reviews)

A step-by-step approach to researching and composing a memorable speech for yourself or someone else.

Created bySteve Cropper

Last updated 3/2016

English

What you'll learn

Write successful speeches like a professional for yourself or someone else that will engage and motivate audiences.
Discover how to plan out a speech, considering the situation, the objectives and the audience.
Develop writing skills for the spoken word rather than the written word.
Learn how to format a speech and make it user-friendly for the speaker.
Gain confidence in your speech writing and handling the speech venue.

Course content

4 sections • 19 lectures • 46m total length

Introduction3:10
Welcome to Writing Successful Speeches - A step-by-step approach to researching, compiling and delivering powerful speeches for yourself or someone else like a real pro.

This course delivers all the skills and tools you need to write compelling, engaging and persuasive speeches for yourself or someone else. It's a collection of the best techniques and experience of professional speech writers the world over in politics and government, business, sports and the not-for-profit sector.

Tactics and Timing3:55
There is a full transcript of this lecture in the download section.

A tactical checklist is also included.

Tactics are the means by which we deliver key messages to an audience. The speaker, the format and style are important tactics when developing a speech. In this lecture we check in with the speaker as part of our preparation.
Speech Plan - Overview1:15
There is a written summary of this lecture in the download section.

In the next five lectures we go through development of a Speech Plan, which is the road map for the writing of our successful speech. The essential ingredients of the Speech Plan are introduced in this lecture.
Speech Plan - Situation Analysis3:07
There is a written summary of this lecture in the download section.

A template for the Situation Analysis is also provided.

This lecture describes the first step in developing a Speech Plan. At the end of this lecture, you will know how to assess a speaker opportunity and give the speaker (if it is someone else) a background briefing for the speech and the issues surrounding it.
Speech Plan - Objectives2:58
There is a written summary of this lecture in the download section.

A template for Objectives is also provided.

Especially in business or government, but on all occasions, successful speeches get results. This lecture is about setting objectives for the speech. You will discover how to set goals for the speech you will write, that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Speech Plan - Priority Audience3:12
A key to successful speeches is being clear on exactly who are the most important audiences, because sometimes there are more than one. We call the most important audience, Priority Audience. And sometimes, they might not even be present during the speech. This lecture gives guidelines to help you identify the key stakeholders of a speech.
Speech Plan - Persuasion Strategy and Messages3:44
In this lecture we will examine crafting messages that will reach the audiences in ways that are relevant, interesting and, where appropriate, persuasive to them. This is where all the elements we have explored come together in your Speech Plan.
A Review of Section 10:49
Let's review the Speech planning process.
Section 1 - Planning

Overview1:09
In the Writing Section, we'll look at writing for the ear. Audiences cannot see the script. They rely on the speaker to take them through the content. So we must write a speech in a style that keeps this in mind. We'll also present a very simple, yet powerful speech structure. By the end of this section, you will have everything you need to write your speech text.
Speech duration1:58
How long should a speech last? Now that is a good question. The trend is towards shorter speeches. In this lecture you will learn a technique for calculating how long a speech will last just by doing a word count. And you will have new ideas about fixing the best duration for your speech.
Writing for the Ear4:23
There is a big difference in how we actually talk and how we sometimes write. Typically, a speech is not read by the audience. It is heard. In this lecture, you'll discover the best way to write a speech based on choice of words, length of sentences and more.
Structure4:40
Some people might want to just start writing down thoughts as they come to mind. But the best speech writers set out the speech in a sequence that delivers the message to the audience is the most meaningful and memorable way. This lecture presents a successful structure for successful speeches.
A Review of Section 20:57
Section 2 - Writing

Overview0:48
Welcome to Section 3. Now we're at the stage when we deliver the speech script to the speaker. We'll describe options for the layout of the speech on the page, prepare the speaker to answer some likely questions and make sure that everything is working properly at the venue for the speech.
Speech layout3:31
It's a classic mistake by beginners. They deliver the speech written in little print that covers the entire page - like an essay. In this lecture, you will discover the ideal layout of the text on the page including font size, spacing and other layout skills. It will make your speech much easier for the speaker and help deliver a better result from the speech.
Q&A2:08
Not all speeches involve a Q&A. But if you are writing a speech for yourself or someone else that is likely to involve questions from the audience, some ideas are presented in this lecture that can help anticipate likely questions and formulate the best responses.
Advancing the site1:54
In this lecture, we talk about making sure that the speaker arrives cool and calm at the speech venue, that everything is in good working order, and we all the bases covered.
A Review of Section 31:50
Section 3 - Delivery
Congratulations on completing the course.0:53
So you have reached the end of the course. Well done. The downloadable materials will act as a prompt when you are developing your next speech. And you can always come back here and revisit any of the lectures.

Your Certificate of Completion is available for you. Click on the trophy icon.

Need some help? Our consultants are available to plan, draft, edit and deliver speeches for you any time.

Contact us through the website.

Requirements

No prior knowledge is assumed on the part of the learner. Indeed, speech writers of any skill level will benefit from this course.
When taking the course, it is useful to have a real-live speech in mind, because this course will give you a framework for developing it to a finished product.

Description

Have you ever had to write a speech for someone, like your boss or a colleague? Have you ever had to give a speech yourself and spent ages staring at a blank piece of paper, unsure where to start? If so, here's some good news. Writing Successful Speeches gives you a plan and tools to write speeches that will get results.

This course is really about effective communication, in this case, in the form of a speech. Short videos, speech templates and written materials are provided to help the speech writer develop a persuasive and memorable speech for themselves or someone else.

Writing Successful Speeches takes the learner through the whole process of developing a successful speech in a series of modules: from setting goals with the speaker, identifying the wants-and-needs of the audience, structuring the speech, anticipating likely questions, a user-friendly format for the speech that helps the speaker - and much more besides.

Who this course is for:

Successful Speeches is for people with little or no experience in writing professional speeches.
People with some speech writing experience, who want to develop their skills will also benefit.
It is suitable for people in business large and small, government and the not-for-profit sector.
People who need to write a speech for a social occasion will also benefit.
People who need to write a speech for a social occasion, such as a sporting group or other gathering, will find useful content and skills to plan a successful speech.

Writing Successful Speeches

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction1 lecture • 3min

The Speech Planning Process7 lectures • 19min

Writing5 lectures • 13min

Delivery6 lectures • 11min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: