3 Points To Remember When Preparing a Custom Made Speech

A good speech is a speech that manages to capture the audience’s attention. Whilst a generic speech will keep the flow smooth, it may not resonate with the audience causing them to lose interest. This is precisely why your speech has to be tailored to fit the event/occasion/purpose. SO the big question here is, how do you customize your speech? Remember, what you think the audience wants to hear and what the audience actually wants to hear are two different things!

1. First things first, know your goal. What is the purpose of this speech? Is it a competitive speech, a graduation speech, a campaign speech, or a wedding toast? Establishing purpose of speech in the very beginning is important as it lets you identify what the audience should takeaway at the end of your speech. It could be a message, a challenge or a memory.

2. Know your audience. Are they subject matter experts? Are they passionate about what you talk? Do they have prior knowledge of the topic you are about to speak? Are they teens/kids/adults? Understanding the audience population is crucial as it helps set the tone and voice of your speech. When speaking to kids, you have to let loose a little and add in some fun elements. When you speak to subject matter experts, you have to be factual, precise and structured.

3. Know how much time you have. Time constraints will determine how direct or in-depth your speech should be. Do you have time for case studies? How many points can you fit? The content of your speech differs when you have 5 minutes to speak versus half an hour to speak. When you have limited time, you should speak of lesser points structured in a straight forward manner. If you have the luxury of time, you have some time to play around the topic and perhaps, get the audience to be involved in your speech

Ultimately, a tailor-made speech can leave a lasting impression on the audience as they remember you for different elements in your speech or how spot on the content was. We hope this article has given you some sort of direction in preparing custom speeches.