Types of speech

Before preparing, why even before accepting for delivering a speech, please understand the purpose, occasion and audience. Your speech should fit in well for the occasion, purpose and more so audience. If any mistake is done in this, you can’t be comfortable, successful and happy in delivering your speech.

If you are one among many speakers in a function you have to take extra care. Usually the first few speakers will take more than the prescribed time (many chair persons are not strict) and time compression will be requested for the fag end speakers (closing time may not be compressed since transport for the audience might be a constraint or lunch / dinner would become cold.)

Also it is not enough if you go with hectic preparation. You should listen to you previous speakers attentively till you get your turn. Relate your speech to some of the points spoken by the previous speakers. If you do not agree to their points doesn’t attack the person point black. You should give respect to the individual and intelligently inject your view by giving reasons and examples in a polished way. Never create scenes.

As far as the types of speeches concerned we can categorize them into four types.

1.       Motivating speech

2.       Informative or knowledge sharing speech

3.       Speech for recognition or honor

4.       Farewell speech

Improve your vocabulary

Like adding money to your account, add newer and newer words to the stock in your memory bank. This is a very simple way to improve your vocabulary. You should also retrieve them and project them in your oral as well as written communication. To start the process some words and their meanings are given below.

Savvy = very much liking, e.g., He is a science savvy person

Bolster = give support to strengthen something

Extortion = make others give you something by threatening them

Wimp = person not strong or brave or confident

Extol = praise highly and enthusiastically

Perpetrate = to commit a crime or evil

Discomfiture = uneasy or embarrassed

Infuriate = making somebody extremely angry

Outrage = strong feeling or shock

Mitigate = to make less severe or rigorous

Bullion = gold and silver in bars

Ignominy = shame, humiliation, stigma

Articulate = able to speak with power to express thoughts clearly

Carnage = a mass killing of people (massacre)

Panacea = a remedy for all diseases and ills

Purpose of the speech

There is a wide spread joke in the speech circle. Once there was a speaker who utterly failed in all angles from the beginning. The irate and boiling audience waited for more than half an hour. Somebody from the audience whose blood boiled and mind simmered took his pistol from the pouch, went to the stage and approached the speaker. The speaker could understand the wild anger of that person and in a fit of fear pleaded to that person “please do not harm me; I will end my speech right now”. But the person with the pistol told him politely “sir, I am not angry at you at all since you are our guest. I will not harm you. I am searching for the person who fixed you and called you to speak, who cannot be pardoned.

Though this is a blatant exaggeration, the essence of this joke gives a powerful message that dull, insipid and boring speeches create adverse reactions the audience and the steam are let out. The speaker should get bouquets and not brickbats.

If the speech is well prepared and well delivered, there will be a good applause at the end. The intensity and the duration of the applause is a measure of the speech. If the speech is not at all good, there may be a long applause in the midway of the speech itself.

Occasion of the speech

Generally in any speech, audiences curiously watch and wait to decide whether the speech is worth listening or not. Good silence will prevail. The initial few minute becomes a crucial test for the speaker. If the starting is OK then the speech will takes a smooth take off and can fly high and land smooth.

In one function, the principal speaker started his speech and continued to speak about the elegance of the auditorium, the seats etc., where the function was going on. More than 15 sentences and for more than three minutes made audience to look to faces. They got bored and became restless.

If the exercise of understanding the audience, occasion and purpose of the speech is not done, the speaker will not get the expected result but only face consequences. The reaction of the audience will gradually increase in magnitude and intensity as follows.

• Impatience of the audience mounts
• Murmurs among the audience
• Low noise to the extent of not disturbing the speaker
• Audience resort to hissing and hooting
• Noise of the audience subduing the voice of the speaker
• The organizers feel more embarrassed than the speaker
• Speech becomes forced shut.

Understanding the audience

If you are invited by an organization or a forum, whatever may be the expertise in you in giving speeches, kindly try to understand and ascertain many points and analyze it. Please do not accept just casually thinking it as an honor for you. Some guidelines you have to ask and seek clarifications from the organizers.

1.       Approximate size of the audience.

2.       The literacy level of the audience.

3.       Duration of the speech and whether it is flexible or rigid.

4.       Age group of the audience – whether similar age group or age group with wide variation.

5.       Whether the audience will be only gentle men or ladies or mixed.

6.       Whether public address system is available and if available whether cordless mike is available which can give you freedom of mobility while speaking.

7.       Whether you are solo speaker or you are one among many speakers.

8.       Audio visual aids like overhead projector, multimedia projector, needed by you are available.

9.       Power supply position especially with stand-by power supply.

10.   The existing knowledge of most of the participants on the proposed subject.

11.   Whether any brief reading material on the subject is to be given to each one of the audience at the end.

The anatomy of a good speech

Many speakers immediately after facing the audience start speaking on the topic. The right way is to establish good eye contact with the audience and with the smile mixed enthusiasm give brief salutations and do some ice breaking. Ask the audience what they expect from you and tell why the topic is more important for the audience.

The above information for a few minute prepares the audience to listen enthusiastically to you. In the same way does not end the speech abruptly. The three broad steps to be followed are:

1.       Tell what you want to tell the audience

2.       Tell

3.       Tell what you have told

A good speech will have

1.       Introduction

2.       Body

3.       Conclusion

Depending upon the topic, situation and audience, use any one of the following type to evoke desired response.

1.       Show what is wrong, show how to rectify it, appeal for action

2.       Present the problem, present all the solutions; present the final solution, appeal for action

3.       State facts, argue from them, appeal for action

4.       What is the problem, why it is so, how to rectify it

5.       Arouse interest, persuade the audience about the merits of your proposition, and appeal for action.