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Public Speaking and Speech Writing: Speech Preparation

This guide will help you learn public speaking foundations and writing the best speeches for your classes.

Speech Preparation

After choosing your speech topic and analyzing your audience you can begin writing your speech. Follow these tips for reseraching for your speech, organizing your speech, and supporting the points you are making.

Researching, Organizing, and Supporting

Support any claims you make or back-up your previous knowledge with evidence. This can include:

  • Statistics
  • Examples
  • Testimony (layman’s, prestige, or expert)

Using a variety of the types of support and evidence described above will:

  • Keep listeners’ interest
  • Build your credibility

To find academic articles or books with information that can be used as supporting evidence, search our databases or catalog for materials. You can also use government or organizational websites like usa.gov or the World Health Organization’s World Health Statistics website to search for statistics that support your claims.

If you are having trouble starting your research, take a look at our Research Survival Guide to learn what types of resources are available and how to search our databases!

Organizing your speech correctly is essential to helping your audience understand your point. Think about what message you want your audience to understand. Prepare an outline that includes a/an:

  • Introduction with an attention-grabbing hook and a thesis statement.
  • Body paragraphs that state the important points you are trying to convey with supporting evidence.
  • Conclusion that summarizes the points and restates the thesis.

Speech Outline

Watch this video to learn more about outlining and balancing the time in your speech. Also, take a look at this sample speech outline from Western Oregon University.

When it comes time to use supporting evidence in your speech, use it well. This guarantees the audience will understand and be convinced of your point.

  • State the point of your speech clearly at the beginning. This allows the audience to draw the correct conclusion you are trying to prove.
  • Use only the evidence that you need to support your thesis/argument.
  • Determine why the audience needs the information to understand your claim.
    • Supporting information usually clarifies, illustrates, or proves your conclusion.
    • Summarize the point or explain the link between the support and the assertion.