Components of Speech

Components of Speech

 "There are only two types of speakers in the world,The nervous one and Liars."

(Mark Twain)

Introduction

Speech(capacity to make use of complex language) or language is a distinctive ability which every human possesses, which makes them different from other animals. Speech enables humans to pass  their accumulated knowledge from generation to generation.

"Speech is power, Speech is to persuade,

to convert, to compel."

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

In simple terms, Speech or Public Speaking is a talk presented in front of a large gathering of people. 

• Speeches are delivered on specific occasions like Anniversary, Inauguration, Thanking Speech, Farewell Speech, Condolence Speech etc…
• Speeches have specific purpose or goal to be fulfilled
• It's general purposes includes to encourage, to appreciate, to congratulate, to influence, to entertain
• It can be Formal as well Informal

Tracing the history of Public speaking denotes its   existence since the dawn of human history. The first known work concerning public speaking was believed to be written over 2500 years ago. Since then, public speaking has evolved to encompass various techniques and technologies. Confucius, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are remarkable figures to develop their own Public Speaking Theories.

What is Public Speaking?

Public speaking is traditionally a form of communication that involves passing a message or information to a live audience in face to face mode. However, due to the evolution in technology, it can be any form of distance speech delivery including Telephonic Conferences, pre-recorded videos, or Live telecast  etc..

According to the Oxford Dictionary, 

“A speech is a formal talk that a Person gives to an audience.”

The best way to define Public speaking is by looking at two key concepts:

• A message
• An audience

This means that every time you go to a meeting, attend a conference call, or present solutions to your boss – you’re engaging in public speaking. It doesn’t matter the number of persons listening to you; it is still defined as public speaking.

Components of Public Speaking

Every good speech is made up with several essential elements which are known as components of Speech. Understanding and incorporating each of those elements into a speech can make a bad speech good, or a good speech great.

Public Speaking is a part of our everyday life in the corporate world where businessmen are supposed to influence others by presenting their ideas, views and knowledge, So, public speaking skill is one of the soft skills needed to excel in today’s labour market. And for that here are Three main components which should be taken into consideration by every Public Speaker.

1. Introduction

Most people don't pay enough attention to the introduction of a speech. The introduction is one of the most important parts of the speech, because if you lose your audience at the beginning, getting them back can be next to impossible. Here's some things that you should have in your introduction. 

Attention: Arguably the most important part of the introduction, you must get your audience's attention. A joke, a quote, a startling statistic, any number of things can serve the purpose well.  A number of techniques, including utilising humour, gestures, and repeated phrases, can enhance a speaker's effectiveness. Try to avoid gimmicks and unnecessary or Irrelevant information. Staying consistent with your speech topic and style of speaking may help to grab the audience's instant attention.

• Use Contrarian Approach
• Ask a series of rhetorical questions
• Make a Startling Assertion
• Provide Historical Reference
• Try to arouse curiosity in Audience's mind
• Make use of Story or anecdotes
• Use quotations differently

"We've all heard that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. But we need to remember that a journey to nowhere also starts with a single step."

"I am not rich enough to buy cheap."

"Purpose/Objective: Why are you speaking to them? What will make listening worth their time? You might present your purpose implicitly rather than explicitly, but you must present it somehow. So, providing a clear and definite purpose of the speech on onset helps to make your introduction more powerful.

Credibility:  Many speakers neglect this part of an introduction, but depending on your topic, it could be very important. Why are  you qualified to talk about the things you are talking about? Don't be arrogant, but be certain that your audience trusts and believes in you and your knowledge. 

Orientation: A speaker needs to put forward any essential background which your audience should definitely know before you get into your speech. 

Women's Rights to Suffrage

2. Body

This is the main content portion of your speech. Here the speaker elaborates more on what they have briefly announced in the introduction of speech. Exactly what you need to include here will depend on the purpose of your speech, but here are a few essential elements. 

Organisation of Thoughts: Presenting your content in a sequence with proper order helps the audience to say with the speaker. Your audience needs to be able to follow you. Be certain that you have some sort of pattern. 

Transitions: Don't just jump from point to point, but smoothly move from one issue to the next. Transitions are the 'bridges' of your speech. Without them, your audience will get disoriented and you might leave them behind.

Development of Ideas: Most of the cases demand theme development well in advance. Usually a good speaker spends 80% of their time on the Body part of Speech.

Your points should build on each other, combining into one grand whole. Gradually develop your ideas from simple to more complex and ending with the most powerful. Connecting the dots also became necessary. Try to provide examples, logical arguments, factual information, statistical data, anecdotes, graphics or visuals as supportive elements to your main theme or objectives.

Climax: At some point, your speech should come to a peak. Everything should come together, your audience's emotions should peak right alongside you, and you should largely fulfil your purpose in giving the speech. Developing a climax can be considered as the hardest part of speech writing (and the most powerful of the basic elements of public speaking). 

3. Conclusion

Here, you should wrap up any loose ends. Summing up is the final and ultimate stage of speech delivery. This is the most complex as well as crucial part where word to word planning is required to make it more effective. This is the final part of your speech, and also  the part which your audience is most likely to remember if you present it in a unique manner. Here are some of the Tips which you follow to make your conclusion more efficient…

• End a speech by making a Call for Action

Example: “We have great challenges and great opportunities, and with your help, we will meet them and make this next year the best year in our history!”

• Ending by providing a brief Summary with certain bullet points to be taken away. What should your audience do now? If you weren't trying to persuade them to do something, what is the most important point that they should take away from your speech? 
• Storytelling
• Laughter is the best Therapy
• Rhythmic Ending has best Retaining Capacity
• Close with Inspiration

References

• http://www.speech-time.com/basic-elements-of-public-speaking.html)

• https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/hook-presentation-audience-30-seconds/

• https://www.briantracy.com/blog/public-speaking/how-to-end-a-speech-the-right-way/