Formal Speech: Preparing and Delivering
Chapter Sixty-Four
Syllabus topic 3.2.2, "Formal Speech (Oral & Written)"
Pages 313 to 316 of 406
In one line
A formal speech is prepared in five steps, built in three parts, and delivered by a speaker who has rehearsed aloud, knows the first and last sentences by heart, and is looking at the audience.
What makes a speech formal
Four things, and any question about the difference between formal and informal speech should use them.
The occasion is official. A function, a meeting, a court, a class, a ceremony.
The structure is planned. It has a beginning, a middle and an end that the speaker decided in advance.
The language is more careful. Complete sentences, fewer contractions, no slang, and forms of address appropriate to the audience.
The roles are fixed. One person speaks and the others listen, and interruption is a breach of the occasion rather than a normal part of it.
Preparation, in five steps
Step one: settle the purpose in one sentence. Every speech does one of four things: informs, persuades, marks an occasion, or entertains. Write your purpose down as a sentence beginning "By the end of this speech the audience will..." If you cannot finish that sentence, you are not ready to write.
Step two: analyse the audience. Who are they, how many, what do they already know, what do they want, why are they there, and how long will they sit still? A speech to first-year students, to a bench of judges and to a college's alumni are three different speeches on the same subject.
Step three: gather more material than you need. Facts, examples, a story, a quotation, and figures if they help. Then discard most of it. A speech carries about one idea for every two minutes.
Step four: outline in three parts. Introduction, body, conclusion, dealt with below.
Step five: rehearse aloud and time it. Aloud, standing, at least three times. Timing is the commonest failure: a page of ordinary prose takes about two minutes to speak, and almost every speaker overruns.
The three parts
The introduction, which does four jobs.
- Address the audience. The correct form for the occasion: "Respected Chairperson, honoured guests, members of the faculty and my dear friends."
- Get attention. A question, a striking fact, a short story or a quotation. Not an apology, and not "Today I am going to speak about".
- Say what the speech is about. One sentence.
- Say why it matters to these listeners. One sentence.
The body, which carries the substance.
Two to four main points, no more. Each point is stated, explained, and supported by an example, a fact or a story. Arrange them in an order the audience can follow: by time, by importance, by problem and solution, or by cause and effect.
Signposting is what makes a speech followable. A listener cannot turn back a page, so you must say where you are: "There are three reasons. The first is...", "That is the problem; now the remedy", "Finally, and this is the point I want to leave with you".
Formal Speech: Preparing and Delivering
The conclusion, which does three jobs.
- Signal the end. "Let me close with this."
- Summarise the main points, briefly, in the order given.
- End on a definite last line, prepared and learnt. Never end with "That's all" or by trailing off. A speech that stops rather than ends loses whatever it had built.
Delivery
Voice. Loud enough for the back row, and varied. A speaker who does not vary pitch and pace is not heard for long, whatever the volume.
Pace. Slower than feels natural. Nerves speed everybody up.
Pauses. The most underused tool in speaking. A pause before an important sentence makes the audience listen to it, and a pause after it lets them take it in.
Eyes. Look at the audience, in sections: left, centre, right, and back again, resting on individuals for a few seconds. A speaker who reads a page has given the audience permission to stop listening.
Posture and gesture. Stand still and upright, feet apart, weight even. Gesture with the hands when it means something and keep them still otherwise. Do not hold anything you can fiddle with.
Notes. Cards or a single sheet with headings, never a full text. The exception is a manuscript speech where the exact words matter.
Nerves. Universal, and manageable. The four things that actually work: prepare more than you need, rehearse aloud, learn the first sentence and the last sentence by heart so that the beginning and the end cannot go wrong, and breathe out slowly before you start. Nervousness that is not visible is simply energy.
What goes wrong, and the fix
| The fault | The fix |
|---|---|
| Reading the whole speech | Notes with headings only, and eyes up |
| Overrunning | Time it aloud, and cut a third |
| Apologising at the start | Delete the apology; nobody knew until you told them |
| Too many points | Two to four, and repeat them |
| Inaudible | Speak to the back row, not to the front |
| No signposting | Say the number of points and then count them aloud |
| Trailing off | Learn the last sentence by heart |
| Fiddling | Put down the pen, the paper and the phone |
Special features of speech in a legal setting
Forms of address. A court is addressed by the form its own practice requires, and a student should learn the correct form for the courts in their own jurisdiction before they need it. Getting it wrong is the first thing anybody notices.
Standing. In court, one speaks standing and sits when the opponent or the judge speaks. The convention is a piece of non-verbal communication that keeps a hearing orderly.
Formal Speech: Preparing and Delivering
Interruption. In a court a speaker expects to be interrupted by the judge and must answer the question asked rather than continue the prepared sentence. That is the largest single difference between advocacy and a formal speech, and it is why a speaker who can only recite a memorised text cannot argue a case.
Brevity. Bacon's rule from Module 2 applies to counsel as well as to judges: whatever is above what the occasion needs is too much.
A worked answer
Question. "How would you prepare and deliver a formal speech? Six marks."
A model answer. Preparation runs in five steps. First, settle the purpose in one sentence, since every speech either informs, persuades, marks an occasion or entertains, and a speaker who cannot complete the sentence "by the end of this speech the audience will..." is not ready to write. Second, analyse the audience: who they are, what they already know, why they are present and how long they will sit. Third, gather more material than is needed and then discard most of it, since a speech carries roughly one idea for every two minutes. Fourth, outline in three parts. Fifth, rehearse aloud, standing and timed, because a page of ordinary prose takes about two minutes to speak and nearly every speaker overruns.
The structure has three parts. The introduction addresses the audience in the proper form, gains attention with a question, a fact or a short story, states the subject in one sentence and says why it matters to these listeners. The body carries two to four points, each stated, explained and supported by an example, arranged in an order the audience can follow, and signposted aloud, since a listener cannot turn back a page. The conclusion signals that the end has come, summarises the points briefly, and finishes on a definite last sentence.
Delivery requires a voice loud enough for the back row and varied in pitch and pace, a speed slower than feels natural, deliberate pauses before and after important sentences, eye contact moved in sections across the audience, a still and upright posture with purposeful gesture, and notes carrying headings rather than a full text. Nervousness is managed by over-preparation, rehearsal aloud, and learning the first and last sentences by heart so that the two most dangerous moments are secure.
Why it scores. Five steps, three parts, and a delivery paragraph, each with specific and usable detail rather than general advice.
Quick revision
Formal speech: official occasion, planned structure, careful language, fixed roles.
Five steps: purpose in one sentence; audience analysis; gather and discard; outline; rehearse aloud and time it.
Formal Speech: Preparing and Delivering
Three parts: introduction, which addresses, attracts, states and justifies; body of two to four signposted points; conclusion, which signals, summarises and ends on a prepared line.
Delivery: audible and varied voice, slower pace, pauses, eye contact in sections, still posture, notes not text.
Nerves: over-prepare, rehearse aloud, learn the first and last sentences.
One idea per two minutes; a page of prose is about two minutes.
Test yourself
1. What are the four jobs of an introduction? To address the audience in the proper form, to gain attention with something better than an announcement of the topic, to state the subject in one sentence, and to say why it matters to these particular listeners.
2. Why is signposting necessary in speech and not in writing? Because a listener cannot turn back a page. Saying how many points there are and then counting them aloud is what allows an audience to follow an argument they cannot re-read.
3. How long should a speech be, and how do you know? As long as the occasion allows and no longer. A page of ordinary prose takes about two minutes to speak and a speech carries roughly one idea every two minutes, so the only reliable method is to rehearse aloud with a watch and then cut.
4. Give four things that actually reduce nervousness. Preparing more material than you need; rehearsing aloud and standing; learning the first sentence and the last sentence by heart so the two riskiest moments are secure; and breathing out slowly before beginning.
5. What is the largest difference between a formal speech and an argument in court? Interruption. A speech is delivered to listeners who wait; an argument is delivered to a judge who interrupts, and counsel must answer the question asked rather than continue the prepared sentence. A speaker who can only recite a memorised text cannot argue a case.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.