___ smooth transition to body

Body

___ main points clear

___ points supported with examples, analogies, etc.

___ organization

___ sources cited

___ language appropriate and vivid

___ transitions effective

___ adapted speech to audience

Conclusion

___ transition to conclusion smooth

___ reinforced central idea

___ reviewed main points

___ effective concluding statement

3. Reading

Reading 20.1.

Before you read discuss the following questions:

1. How many themes should the speech be based on?

2.Should the speech be written in the same way as an article? Why or why not?

3.A speaker usually delivers a speech at the rate of

Read the text and check your answers:

Speech Writing

Basic Points of Speech Writing

Public relations practitioners frequently are called on to write speeches for their employers or clients. Whatever the assignment, here are basic points for the speech-writer to keep in mind:

1.A speech should say something of lasting value. Even a talk intended to entertain, full of fluffy humor, should be built around a significant point.

2.A speech should concentrate on one, or at most two, main themes.

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3.A speech needs facts. The information must be accurate. The writer’s skill as a researcher is put to the test, to dig up information that will illustrate and emphasize the speaker’s theme.

4.The type of audience should influence the style and content of the speech.

5.Clarity in speech-writing is essential. If the listeners don’t understand what the speaker is saying, everyone’s time is wasted. This happens when the speech contains complicated sentences, technical information that the speaker fails to explain in terms the audience can comprehend, and excessive jargon or “inside” talk. The speech-writer’s challenge is to simplify the message, while keeping its significance.

A speech is built in blocks, joined by transitions. The following pattern for assembling the blocks provides an all-purpose outline on which most speeches can be built:

1.Introduction (establishment of contact with audience)

2.Statement of main purpose of speech

3.Development of theme – with examples, facts, and anecdotes

4.Statement of secondary theme, if there is one

5.Enunciation of principal point to which speaker has been building – the heart of speech

6.A pause at this plateau, with an anecdote or two. This is a soft place while audience absorbs principal point just made

7.Restatement of theme in summary form

8.Brief, brisk conclusion

Speech-writing Techniques

The first principle in writing words to be spoken is to make them flow in the way a person usually talks. Writing intended for the ear must be simpler in construction and more casual in form than writing meant for the eye.

Short, straightforward sentences are best. To provide variety, an occasional long sentence is acceptable if its structure is simple. A spoken sentence is heard only once. Thus a speaker should repeat key points of the speech, couching them if possible in slightly different form.

Studies indicate that the average person listens four times as rapidly as the average person speaks. Holding the listeners’ undivided attention is difficult; recapitulation of main points helps the listener retain at least the main thrust of the speech.

A speaker normally delivers a text at the rate of about 150 words a minute. So when preparing a 20-minute speech, the writer must produce about 3000 words.

Staging a speech

Even a brilliantly written speech can fail if it is delivered poorly. Thus for a speech to be effective, it has to be rehearsed and prepared. Organizations frequently rely upon a practitioner’s understanding of potential audiences to ensure that a speaking engagement helps the organization to

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get a positive message across. And to create a pool of talented speakers, some organizations establish training programs.

Helping the speaker present the speech

At the scene of the speech, the public relations representative should take several actions. The microphone and other apparatus should be tested. The audiovisual equipment should be set up and checked and the slide projector focused. It is necessary to bring along extra copies of the speech. They can be distributed to the news media and to listeners who request a copy. The speech should be recorded on tape. The tape can be used to settle any disputes over what speaker said, to provide “actuality” excerpts for local radio stations, and to assemble material for a postmortem session between speaker and writer analyzing the performance.

Two other steps can be taken to obtain additional exposure for an important speech: (1) copies can be mailed to a selected list of opinion leaders, and (2) the speech can be rewritten as an article for a company publication or submitted to a suitable trade magazine.

(Wilcox, Dennis L., et al. Essentials of Public Relations. New York: Longman., 2001. P. 404-410)

Choose the best alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question:

1.Which one of the following is a basic point that a speechwriter should NOT follow?

a.concentrating on one, more than two, main themes

b.selecting style and content based on the audience

c.using appropriate jargon to give the subject color

d.stressing facts to emphasize a theme

e.building in something of lasting value

2.Which one of the following is NOT a building block of a speech?

a.introduction of the topic to be discussed

b.the rationale for this speaker’s discussion of the topic

c.development of a theme

d.enunciation of the principal point

e.conclusion

3.A person delivering a 20-minute speech requires a manuscript of about

a.six thousand words

b.three thousand words

c.fifteen thousand words

d.twenty thousand words

e.twenty-four thousand words

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4.At the scene of the speech the public relations practitioner should do all of the following EXCEPT

a.set up the audiovisual equipment

b.test the microphone

c.give extra copies of the speech to the news media

d.introduce the speaker to the audience

e.record the speech on tape

Find the word or phrase in the text which means the same as:

1.a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

2.language of a trade or profession

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

3.words, phrases, or sentences connecting one part of a speech to another

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

4.a draft

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

5.expressing

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

6.keeping the audience interested

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

7.summary

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

8.public talk is presented

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

9.has to be practiced and perfected

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

10.to communicate an idea successfully

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

11.segments from the news

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

12.individuals whose ideas and behavior serve as a model to others

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

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