Lecture Notes: Structure of Speeches

Overview

• Focus on how to write speeches
• Importance of speech structure
• Types of speeches: informative, demonstrative, persuasive, entertaining

Main Purpose of Speeches

• Regardless of type, primary goal is to inform the audience.

General Structure of All Speeches

1. Greeting
2. Body
3. Concluding Sentence

Greeting

• Address the audience appropriately.
• Options:
  • Standard/non-personal opening
  • Specific to the audience (recommended)
  • Example: Personal greeting establishes audience connection.

Concluding Sentence

• End with a thank you to the audience.
• Avoid abrupt endings to maintain professionalism.

Body Structure by Speech Type

Informative Speeches

• Focus: Clear and logical structure.
• Each paragraph should cover a different idea related to the main topic.
• Example: Teaching how to change a car battery with structured paragraphs.

Demonstrative Speeches

• Focus: Teach how to do something.
• Organize speech around steps in the process.
• Example: Structuring around steps 1, 2, 3 when fixing a car battery.

Persuasive Speeches

• Focus: Persuade while informing.
• Structure borrowed from essay writing:
  1. Introductory paragraph - Overview of issues.
  2. Body - Expands on arguments.
  3. Conclusion - Summarizes main points.
• Importance of structured paragraphs for clarity and logical flow.

Entertaining Speeches

• Focus: Entertain while informing.
• Structure like a narrative:
  1. Beginning
  2. Middle
  3. Climax
  4. Resolution
• Example: Comedic story of an electric shock while changing a car battery.
  • Set the scene, build tension, reach climax, and resolve.

Recap

• Key features: Greeting and Concluding Sentence.
• Body structures vary by speech type:
  • Informative: Clear introduction and structured paragraphs.
  • Demonstrative: Steps in a method.
  • Persuasive: Arguments in separate body paragraphs.
  • Entertaining: Narrative structure with tension and resolution.