Principles of

Speech Writing
Directions: Try to accomplish the template below showing how
prepared are you in writing your speech.

OBJECTIVES IN WRITING RESPONSE/REPLY

1. What topic you are interested in?
2. What is the purpose of your
speech?
3. What message would you like to
get across?
4. Who is your target audience?
What’s In
Many people assume that professional writers find writing of any genre easy,
that when they sit down at a keyboard, the right words just flow. But in fact, these
writers know that writing is a hard work. They don’t expect to achieve perfection in
one draft or just in one sitting. They regard writing as a series of steps or activities,
known as the writing process. Learning to use this process coupled with the
principles of writing can help you express your ideas well and succeed at writing.
This lesson discusses about the different principles of writing and the writing
process. Specifically, the ideologies of speech writing
Directions: Watch and listen to the full version of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech on
January 20, 1961. Using the chart below, try to scrutinize by honestly giving remarks or
feedbacks to John F. Kennedy’s Speech.

Objectives of the Speech Remarks

1. Is the voice well – modulated making his speech
effectively delivered?
2. Did he create rapport with his audience?
3. Did he add emotional appeal to his well – crafted speech?

4. Do you think the message was delivered

successfully to his audience?
5. If you were to rate John F. Kennedy’s Speech using the
scale of 1-10 where 1 is the lowest and 10 being the highest,
what rate could you give?
The Speech Writing Process
 The Speech Writing Process

• Conducting an audience analysis

• Determining the purpose of the
speech
• Selecting a topic
• Narrowing down a topic
• Gathering Data

• Selecting a speech pattern

• Preparing an outline
• Editing and/ or Revising
• Creating the body of the speech
• Rehearsing
• Preparing the introduction
• Preparing
PRINCIPLES OF SPEECH WRITING
Analyzing the Audience
It entails looking into the profile of your target audience. This is done so
you can tailor- fit your speech content and delivery to your audience.

• Demography ( age range, male-female ratio, educational background

affiliations or degree program taken, nationality, academic or
corporate designations)
• Situation (time, venue, occasion, and size)
• Psychology (values , beliefs , attitudes, preferences, cultural and
racial ideologies, and needs)
Purpose
The purpose for writing and delivering speech can be classified into three-
to inform, to entertain, or to persuade.

• Informative Speech provides the audience with a clear understanding

of the concept or idea presented by the speaker.

• Entertainment Speech provides the audience with amusement.

• Persuasive Speech- provides the audience with well-argued ideas

that can influence their own beliefs and decisions.
General Purpose Specific Purposes
To inform To inform Grade 11 students about the importance of
effective money management

To entertain To entertain Grade 11 students with the success stories of

the people in the community

To persuade To persuade the school administrators to promote

financial literacy among students
Choosing the Topic.

The topic is your focal point of your speech. Which can be determine
once you have decided on your purpose. If you are free to decide on a
topic , choose one that really interest you.

Strategies used in selecting a topic

• Using personal experiences
• Free writing
• Listing
• Asking questions
• Semantic webbing
Data Gathering
This involves seeking out all the available means for finding materials
to support the speech. Good sources are newspapers, magazines, books,
journals, or any reading materials full of useful information.
Narrowing down a topic
Means making your main idea more specific and focused. The strategies
in selecting a topic can also be used when you narrow down a topic.

General Purpose To in form

Specific Purpose To inform Grade 11 students on the importance of effective
money management
Topic Financial literacy or effective money management
Narrowing down a • Effective money management
topic through listing • Effective management of Grade 11 students
• Developing an effective money management of Grade
11 students
• Defining and developing effective money management
skills of Grade 11 students
Writing Patterns
Writing Patterns, in general, are structures that will help you organize the
ideas related to your topic. Examples are biographical, categorical / topical ,
causal, chronological , comparison/ contrast , problem- solving and spatial.
 Pattern Description Examples
Biographical Presents Specific To inform my audience about
descriptions of Purpose my grandfather, the late
your life or of a former President Ramon
person, Magsaysay
famous or not Specific Describing the life and works
Topic of my grandfather, the late
former President Ramon
Magsaysay
 Pattern Description Examples
Categorical/ Presents Specific To persuade the community
Topical related Purpose members to reduce, reuse, and
categories recycle as means of eliminating
supporting garbage and protecting the
the topic environment
Specific Why the community members
Topic should promote reducing,
reusing, and recycling
Pattern Description Examples
Causal Presents Specific To inform my audience on the
cause-effect Purpose effects of overeating
relationships
Specific Explaining the possible effects
Topic of overeating to someone’s
health
 Pattern Description Examples
Chronological Presents the Specific To inform my audience about
idea in time Purpose the significant events in the
order 1986 EDSA Revolution or
People Power
Specific Describing the significant
Topic events before, during and
after the 1986 EDSA
Revolution or People Power
 Pattern Description Examples
Comparison/ Presents Specific To persuade the audience that
Contrast comparison/ Purpose living in the Philippines is
contrast of better than living in Australia
two or three Specific Explaining why the Philippines
points Topic sis more habitable than
Australia.
Pattern Description Examples
Problem- Presents an Specific To persuade the audience to
solution identified Purpose support the educational
problem, its programs of the national
causes, and government
recommended Specific Explaining the reasons for
solutions Topic supporting the governments
educational programs seen
as the primary means of
increasing the literacy rate in
the Philippines
Outline
Is a hierarchical list that shows the relationship of your ideas. Expert in
public speaking state that once your outline is ready, two thirds of your
speech writing is finished. A good outline helps you see that all ideas are
in line with your main idea or message. The elements of an outline
include introduction, body and conclusion. Write your outline based on
how you want your ideas to develop.
 Purpose To persuade
Specific To persuade the community members to reduce, reuse , and
Purpose recycle as means of eliminating garbage and protecting the
environment.
Topic Promoting the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling in
eliminating wastes and protecting the environment
Pattern Problem-Solution
Introduction Share facts on the current situation of the environment
State the message of the speech (specific topic)
Body Discuss how improper waste disposal becomes an
environmental problem.
Explain how reducing, reusing, and recycling would eliminate
wastes and protect the environment
Conclusion State the specific purpose of your speech again.
Call for Action
What’s More
A. Conduct an “Audience Analysis” for a possible speech to be delivered. Be very particular
with the indicators written below

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
Indicators Analysis/Remarks
Age Range
Religious Affiliations
Educational Background
Place of Residence
Language Spoken
Economic Status( Household income
above 30, 000 or below 30,000)
What’s More
B. Prepare an outline for your speech using any of the formats discussed.
General Purpose To persuade
Specific Purpose To persuade the community members to reduce, reuse , and recycle as
means of eliminating garbage and protecting the environment.

Topic Promoting the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling in eliminating

wastes and protecting the environment
Pattern Problem-Solution
Introduction Share facts on the current situation of the environment
State the message of the speech (specific topic)
Body Discuss how improper waste disposal becomes an environmental problem.
Explain how reducing, reusing, and recycling would eliminate wastes and
protect the environment
Conclusion State the specific purpose of your speech again.
Call for Action
Introduction
The introduction is the foundations of your speech. Here, your primary goal is
to get the attention of your audience and present the subject or main idea of
your speech. Your first few words should do so. The following are some
strategies.
• Use a real-life experience and connect that experience to your subject
• Start with familiar or strong quote and explain what it means.
• Use facts or statistics and highlight their importance to your subject
• Tell a personal story to illustrate your point.
The body of the speech
The body of the speech provides explanations, examples, or any details that
can help you deliver your purpose and explain the main idea of your speech.
One major consideration in developing the body of your speech is the focus or
central idea. The body of your speech should only have one central idea.

The following are some strategies to highlight your main idea.

 Present real-life or practical examples
 Show statistics
 Present comparisons
 Share ideas from the experts or practitioners
The body of the speech
The body is everything but the introduction and the conclusion. The
body of a speech is made up of main points.
For a speech, you will need between two to five main points. If you have
only one point in your speech, it will either be quite short, or it will
actually be too complex foe the audience to follow. If you have one long
point in your speech, you’ll need to break that point apart into multiple
points. On the other hand, five points is a lot for a speech and a lot for
the audience to follow. This should be reserved for longer public
speaking engagements or technical topics for a technical audience. In a
speech, you’ll find that most common number of main points is three.
Three seems to be the magic number that the audience able to follow
best.
Conclusion

The conclusion restates the main idea of your speech. Furthermore, it

provides a summary, emphasizes the message, and calls for action. While the
primary goal of the introduction is to get the attention of your audience , the
conclusion aims to leave the audience with a memorable statement.
•Begin your conclusion with restatement of your message
•Use positive examples. Encouraging words, or memorable lines from songs
or stories familiar to your audience.
•Ask question or series of questions that can make your audience reflect or
ponder.
Editing/ Revising
Editing/ Revising your written speech involves correcting errors in mechanics,
such as grammar, punctuation, capitalization, unity, coherence, and others.
 Six Powerful Principles for Editing
•Edit for focus
“So, what’ the point?” What’s the message of the speech?”
Ensure that everything you have written, from the introduction to
conclusion, is related to your central message.
•Edit for Clarity
“I don’t understand the message because the examples or supporting details
were confusing”
Make all ideas in your speech clear by arranging them in logical (e.g., main
idea first then supporting details, or supporting details first then main idea.
 Six Powerful Principles for Editing

•Edit for concision

The speech was all over the place; the speaker kept talking endlessly as if no
one was listening to her/him.”
Keep your speech short, simple and clear by eliminating unrelated stories and
sentences and by using simple words .

•Edit for continuity

The speech was too difficult to follow; I was lost in the middle.”
Keep the flow of your presentation smooth by adding transition words and
phrases.
 Six Powerful Principles for Editing

•Edit for impact and beauty

“There’s nothing really special about the speech.”
Make your speech memorable by using these strategies; surprise the
audience, use vivid descriptive images, well written-crafted and
memorable lines, and use figures of speech.

• Rehearsing gives you an opportunity to identify what works and what

does not work for you and your target audience. Some strategies include
reading your speech aloud, recording for your own analysis or for your
peers or coaches to give feedback on your delivery . The best thing