PREPARING A SPEECH

By DR. Noha Sami

Learning about and practicing public speaking fosters transferable skills that will help you
organize your thoughts, outline information, do research, adapt to various audiences, and
utilize and understand persuasive techniques.

Audience analysis is vital for a speaker to achieve his or her speech objectives. One of the
first questions you should ask yourself is “Who is my audience?” While there are some
generalizations you can make about an audience, a competent speaker always assumes
there is a diversity of opinion and background among his or her listeners.

You can’t assume from looking that everyone in your audience is the same age, race, sexual
orientation, religion, or many other factors. Even if you did have a fairly homogenous
audience, with only one or two people who don’t match up, you should still consider those
one or two people.
The first step in choosing a topic for your speech is brainstorming. Brainstorming Process
of quickly generating ideas without prejudging them. involves generating many potential
topic ideas in a fast-paced and nonjudgmental manner. Brainstorming can take place
multiple times as you narrow your topic. For example, you may begin by brainstorming a
list of your personal interests that can then be narrowed down to a speech topic. It makes
sense that you will enjoy speaking about something that you care about or find interesting.
The research and writing will be more interesting, and the delivery will be easier since you
won’t have to fake enthusiasm for your topic. Speaking about something you’re familiar
with and interested in can also help you manage speaking anxiety.
While it’s good to start with your personal interests, some speakers may get stuck here if
they don’t feel like they can make their interests relevant to the audience. In that case,
you can look around for ideas. If your topic is something that’s being discussed in
newspapers, on television, in the lounge of your dorm, or around your family’s dinner table,
then it’s likely to be of interest and be relevant since it’s current.
Writing your speech:
Writing the Specific Purpose of the Speech:
Once you have brainstormed, narrowed, and chosen your topic, you can begin to draft your
specific purpose statement. Your specific purpose A one-sentence statement that is
audience centered and includes the objective a speaker wants to accomplish in his or her
speech. is a one-sentence statement that includes the objective you want to accomplish in
your speech.
You do not speak aloud your specific purpose during your speech; you use it to guide your
researching, organizing, and writing. A good specific purpose statement is audience
centered, agrees with the general purpose, addresses one main idea, and is realistic.
An audience-centered specific purpose statement usually contains an explicit reference to
the audience—for example, “my audience” or “the audience.” Since a speaker may want to
see if he or she effectively met his or her specific purpose, the objective should be written in
such a way that it could be measured or assessed, and since a speaker actually wants to
achieve his or her speech goal, the specific purpose should also be realistic.
Finding Supporting Material:
Depending on how familiar you are with a topic, you will need to do more or less
background research before you actually start incorporating sources to support your
speech. Background research is just a review of summaries available for your topic that
helps refresh or create your knowledge about the subject. It is not the more focused and
academic research that you will actually use to support and verbally cite in your speech.
Organizing the Body of Your Speech:
Writing the body of your speech takes the most time in the speech-writing process. Your
specific purpose and thesis statements should guide the initial development of the body,
which will then be more informed by your research process. You will determine main points
that help achieve your purpose and match your thesis.

You will then fill information into your main points by incorporating the various types of
supporting material discussed previously. Before you move on to your introduction and
conclusion, you will connect the main points together with transitions and other signposts.
Deciding Your Main Points:
Think of each main point as a miniature speech within your larger speech. Each main point
Division of the body of a speech that has a central idea, meets some part of the specific
purpose, and includes supporting material from research related to the thesis. will have a
central idea, meet some part of your specific purpose, and include supporting material from
your research that relates to your thesis. Reviewing the draft of your thesis and specific
purpose statements can lead you to research materials.

As you review your research, take notes on and/or highlight key ideas that stick out to you
as useful, effective, relevant, and interesting. It is likely that these key ideas will become the
central ideas of your main points, or at least sub-points.

Once you’ve researched your speech enough to achieve your specific purpose, support your
thesis, and meet the research guidelines set forth by your instructor, boss, or project
guidelines, you can distill the research down to a series of central ideas.
As you draft these central ideas, use parallel wording Similar wording among key organizing
signposts and main points that helps structure a speech., which is similar wording among
key organizing signposts and main points that helps structure a speech.
Using parallel wording in your central idea statement for each main point will also help you
write parallel key signposts like the preview statement in the introduction, transitions
between main points, and the review statement in the conclusion.
After distilling your research materials down, you may have several central idea statements.
You will likely have two to five main points, depending on what your instructor prefers, time
constraints, or the organizational pattern you choose.
All the central ideas may not get converted into main points; some may end up becoming
sub-points and some may be discarded. Once you get your series of central ideas drafted,
you will then want to consider how you might organize them, which will help you narrow
your list down to what may actually end up becoming the body of your speech.
Organizing Your Main Points:
There are several ways you can organize your main points, and some patterns correspond
well to a particular subject area or speech type. Determining which pattern you will use
helps filter through your list of central ideas generated from your research and allows you to
move on to the next step of inserting supporting material into your speech.

For example:

Chronological Pattern:
A chronological pattern Organizing a speech based on time or sequence. helps structure
your speech based on time or sequence. If you order a speech based on time, you may trace
the development of an idea, product, or event.
Things to avoid as a Spokesperson
Anyone who has ever cringed while watching a TV interview could likely tell you what went
wrong. Here’s how to avoid a communication car crash:

-Never lie
-Never say “no comment”
-Never take things personally
-Don't get angry or defensive
-Never say ‘off the record’
-Don't speculate
-Don’t make assumptions
-Don't try to argue with or embarrass journalists
Never lie
If you don’t know something, it’s OK to say so. Lying, in Spokesmanship, is a cardinal sin. In
the internet age it is too easy to fact check. As a Spokesperson, it’s in your interest not to
contribute to some of the more toxic communication strategies out there. But more
importantly; telling the truth is the right thing to do.
Never say "no comment"
When you stonewall a reporter with “no comment”, or actively avoid questions it looks fishy
at best and hostile at worst. Instead, give the real reasons you cannot answer something;
like you don’t know, or you aren’t the right person to answer that question.
Never take things personally
A journalist, like you, is just trying to do their job. The questions they ask are directed at the
company, not you. Equally, If your stories are being passed over, do not take this personally,
it might just be a bad fit at that time. Being able to separate your personal and professional
personas will help you be more effective.
Don't get angry or defensive
Sometimes conversations will get heated, but it’s vital for you to always keep your cool. Your
company reputation is at stake. Staying calm during conflict is what separates a master
communicator from a jerk starting fights in a supermarket parking lot.
Never say 'off the record'
In the modern day there is no such thing as ‘off the record’. If you are having to say that, it
probably means you should not be saying it in the first place. It’s also worth remembering
that if an interview is over, chances are the mic is still recording, so stop talking.
A bad hypothesis could come back to haunt you, never say anything that you cannot be
100% sure about.
Don't speculate
Make sure you clarify key points in the conversations when speaking to the media, it will
help you understand each other better. A study of the 500 most common English words gave
an average of 28 definitions per word- that’s a lot of scope for misinterpretation.
Don't make assumptions
By the same token, don’t assume a journalist always has it right, journalists are not immune
to human error. If a reporter says something a little off-key say “I’d have to verify that before
I could respond to it”
Don't try to argue with or embarrass journalists
Trying to make a journalist look silly, or being antagonistic with them won’t do your image
any favors. When you keep it classy and respectful, you are much more likely to get your
message across.
Besides:
Don't repeat negative comments
Negative comments can easily be turned into a soundbite and taken out of context.
Repeating them breathes life into the statement. Try reframing the comment by using
positive action verbs, or bridging back to your key messages.

Don’t be too demanding

When a journalist agrees to write a story about you, they are doing you a favor by giving you
the opportunity to help tell it. Demanding that every one of your comments are edited, or
that they don’t interview the competition, or even writing to a publication to insist on a
particular reporter is a sure-fire way to ruin a good relationship.

Don’t blame others

Passing the buck, especially when it's the competition, will lose your trust with your
audience. It shows a lack of responsibility and pettiness, which harms your credibility.
How to navigate different interview formats

Whilst your key messages should always be the same, you will have to adapt your approach slightly
depending on the format. In interviews, strong pre-existing relationships with journalists will really
shine through.

There are some general rules you should observe before an interview, whatever the format:
- Find out who will do the interview
- Agree on the subjects beforehand
- Set limits on time if necessary
- Ask who else has already been interviewed on the subject (or will be)
- Make sure you know the goal of the interview

Here are some pointers for different formats:

TELEPHONE
- Make sure you know when you are being recorded (assume the whole thing is recorded)
- Ask for feedback from journalists to see that they understand
- Double-check who is on the other end of the line
- Double-check where and when the info is being used
RADIO
- Try to avoid saying things like ‘ummm, ahhh, kinda, you know” (practice speaking without
these words in role play)
- Stick to your key messages- radio tends to be less in-depth than print
- Use some intonation here- without body language, you will need to express yourself with
just your voice. Avoid speaking in monotone, it will send the listener to sleep.

TELEVISION
- Try not to look at yourself in the monitor (see if you can practice on a set beforehand)
- Look at the reporter, not the camera (unless they tell you otherwise)
- Ask for a chair with no wheels/ that does not swivel
- As explained above, speak in sound bites (10-20 seconds)
- Pause after long answers
- Don’t do weird things with your arms
- Do an earphone check and ask what to do if it falls out
Identifying hard news vs. soft news
Even though it is a tough job since all stories fall into more than one category, news stories
are mainly classified into two broad categories- Hard News and Soft News.

Hard news refers to the news stories that have a big impact at the society as a whole and
need to be reported urgently. They are factual stories with data, concerning events that are
potentially available to analysis. Examples include news on politics, crime, economics,
international affairs, natural calamities, riots etc.

Soft news on the other hand refers to the stories that provide other background information
about world events, human interest stories or entertainment news. Since these do not deal
with serious subjects, they are labelled as “soft”. Examples include sports news, celebrity
news, or human interest stories that deal with emotions.
The writing styles for both of these differ significantly, as the hard news stories are
supposed to be strictly objective- the journalist need not give his or her opinion on the
story, but should provide facts as they are. The hard news stories also ideally follow the
Inverted Pyramid structure of writing.
Soft stories can be, and are editorialized. They can be subjective, and do not follow the
Inverted Pyramid.
This distinction is not straightjacket; sometimes it becomes very difficult to distinguish
between the two. For example, where do we classify a story done on the personal lives of
politicians?
Another key difference is about the deadlines provided to the journalists. A reporter
covering a hard news story is given a much tighter deadline, owing to the urgency of the
coverage. Soft news can also be a timeless feature- for example an article on “The Benefits
of Chocolate”, “Tips To Loose Weight”, etc. can be published at any given point of time. The
writing style here is much more flexible.
 What Is Proactive Media Relations?
Media relations is a component of public relations that focuses on activities between a
business and media outlets -- newspapers, television and radio stations, magazines, and
online outlets. A business that invests in proactive media relations makes relationships with
these outlets a priority and an ongoing effort. This helps to forestall having to react to media
coverage that is inaccurate or damaging. The consequences of not being proactive in your
media relations can reverberate throughout your company and can cause long-term
damage.
Media List
Your first step in proactive media relations is developing a media list. This involves more
than just pulling names from a directory and loading them into a database; first, you need to
make sure the outlet is relevant and that it covers your industry. Then you need to read,
listen or view the outlet so you are familiar with how it covers news. Find out whether it’s
fair and balanced or if biases exist. Research the reporters and identify the ones most
appropriate for your business. Look at what they have covered in the past so you are
familiar with their work.
Press Release
The press release is often your first step in proactive media relations, detailing a
newsworthy event about your business that you send to media representatives on your list.
Provide just the details: who, what, when, where and why. Put the key messages -- the most
important points about your business -- into every press release so they get placed in the
outlets every time. Follow up with reporters and editors to cultivate the relationship; let
them know you are available for any questions.

Events
Events are also part of proactive media relations. They can be serious, news-oriented events
like press conferences, or more social events like an open house to give reporters a chance
to meet a new company executive. By being forthcoming with business news and remaining
approachable, you build a rapport with your media representatives that supports your
proactive approach.
Pitching and Placements
Pitching a story idea to reporters and editors or asking to write an opinion piece or column
are effective, proactive media relations tools. For example, if you surveyed your customers
about how a newly passed law will affect them, pitch the idea of writing about the results to
a newspaper reporter. Write letters to the editor on issues affecting your industry, as well.

Crisis Management
The test of your proactive media relations comes in the wake of a crisis. Every business will
experience one, whether large or small. It could be an employee involved in an illegal
activity, or a natural disaster at a satellite office. By having your media list ready, building
your media relationships, and establishing your credibility, you are poised to minimize
possible damage because you already have a positive reputation that you have spent time
building.
References
Rayude, C.S. and Rao, S.B. Nageswara – Mass Media Laws and Regulations (Himalaya
Publishing House, Mumbai-400 004), 3rd Edn. 2005.

Russell, Thomes and Verrill,Glenn. – Otto Kleppners Advertising Procedures (Prentice-Hall,

Inc. Englewood, Cliffes, NJ 07632), 9th Ed. 1986.

Thomas, C.O’Guinn., Chris, T. Allen and Richard, J. Semenik – Advertising (Published by

South-Western College Publising – A Division of International Thomson Publishing Inc. USA –
2000).

Harper, Douglas. "Communication". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2013-

06-23.

Mehrabian, A. (1972). Nonverbal communication. Transaction Publishers..

References

Xin Li. "Complexity Theory – the Holy Grail of 21st Century". Lane Dept of CSEE, West
Virginia University.

Communication". The office of superintendent of Public Instruction. Washington.

Heyman, Richard. Why Didn't You Say That in the First Place? How to Be Understood at
Work.

Robbins, S., Judge, T., Millett, B., & Boyle, M. (2011). Organizational Behavior. 6th ed.
Pearson, French's Forest, NSW p315-317