Parts of Speech

Hi!

This post will be about the parts of speech. No, I don't mean nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. I mean introduction, opening, body, and conclusion. Each part has an important role to play and they all work together to achieve your goal.

Introduction

The introduction is what is said about the speaker by someone else before the speaker takes the stage. The introduction should be used to establish credibility and provide necessary background information. It is assumed that the "someone else" has credibility with the audience. Perhaps this person is a manager who invited you to present, or the emcee of the event. By having this person "toot your horn," the audience will be more likely to accept you an an expert. If the introduction provides the necessary background information, then the opening can have a greater impact.

Opening

The opening should being with an impact to draw the audience in. This can be done with a great quote, a question, or a bold statement. Choose something appropriate for the topic and use it to ensure that the audience gets engaged right away. The next part of the opening should be to give the audience a preview of your topic. The old saying, "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, then tell 'em what you told 'em" is right on. It may seem repetitive to you, but people remember what they hear several times.

Body

The body is where you get into the details of your main points. Regardless of how long your speech is, you should never have more than a few main points. Longer speeches just have more detail or discussion. Too many main points and you dilute the importance of each. Focus on what's most important to the conclusion you want to draw, or what will be most controversial if you're trying to generate discussion. That which is trivial and/or non-controversial can be mentioned briefly.

Conclusion

The conclusion is where you wrap things up by "telling 'em what you told 'em" and make your call to action. Unless your speech is an oral report, you should always have a call to action. This could be asking for approval or a commitment by others to act in a certain way. If your presentation is part of a larger meeting, ensure the results of the call to action are capture in the meeting minutes.

All four of these parts work together to make your speech and they're like links in a chain. You speech will only as strong as the weakest link...

Thanks,
Matt