How to write a speech

To write a speech, decide the one thing you want the room to remember, then build three parts around it. The opening earns attention in the first thirty seconds. The middle makes two or three points, each with a story or an example. The ending says the main thing again and stops. Write it to be heard, not read: short sentences, plain words, and about 130 words for every minute you have.

This page is for any short speech: a work event, a club dinner, a birthday, a leaving do, a school assembly, a few words at a family gathering.

Start with one sentence

Before you write anything else, finish this: "When I sit down, I want them to ..."

• "... know that the volunteers are the reason the club still exists."
• "... feel proud of what the team did this year."
• "... sign up for the summer rota."

If you cannot write that sentence, you are not ready to write the speech. Once you can, it decides everything. Whatever serves it stays, and whatever does not is cut, however good it is.

Then answer three questions about the room. Who are they? What do they already know? How long will they happily listen? Ask the organiser how long you have, and plan to finish a minute early.

The three parts

1. The opening. About a tenth of your time. A short story, a question, or the point itself, said plainly. It should make people want the next sentence.
2. The middle. Most of your time. Two or three points, and no more. Each point is a claim, then a story or example that proves it, then one line on why it matters. Put the strongest last.
3. The ending. The last thirty seconds. Come back to where you started, say your one sentence, and make the ask or raise the glass. Know the final line by heart, and stop when you have said it.

How many words

At an easy speaking pace you say about 130 words a minute.

If your draft is over, cut a whole point. Do not plan to speak faster. Everyone speeds up when nervous, and a rushed speech is the one people stop following.

Finding your material

Stories first. For each point, ask "when did I see this happen?" You want a particular day, a particular person and something that was said. "Our volunteers work hard" is a claim. "Derek marks the pitches at seven every Sunday" is a story, and people remember it.

Talk before you write. Explain the speech to a friend, or into your phone's recorder, for two minutes. What you say without thinking is your first draft, and it already sounds like speech.

Collect more than you need. Six stories, so you can keep the best three.

Use facts you can stand behind. One number is stronger than five. Round it: "about two hundred", not "one hundred and ninety-seven".

Write it for the ear

A listener cannot go back and read a sentence again, so make each one easy the first time.

• One idea to a sentence.
• Words you would use at a kitchen table.
• Say the important phrase more than once. Aloud, repetition is how people keep their place.
• Tell them where you are. "Two things." "First." "Here is why that matters."
• Names, not job titles.
• Cut the warm-up phrases: "I'd just like to say", "without further ado", "as many of you know".

Then read it aloud. Wherever you stumble, the sentence is wrong. Rewrite it until you can say it in one breath.

A worked example

Moira chairs a community football club and is speaking at the end-of-season dinner. Her one sentence: "I want them to know the volunteers are the reason the club still exists."

The opening:

In October the boiler in the clubhouse died. By Saturday there were four people in there with torches, and not one of them was a plumber. One of them was seventy-eight.
That is what I want to talk about tonight: the people with the torches.

One point, with its story:

Every Sunday at seven, before the rest of us are awake, Derek marks the pitches. He has done it for nineteen seasons.
I asked him once why he still does it. He said, "Because otherwise the kids have nowhere to run to." He wasn't making a speech. He was looking for his flask.

The close:

We finished fourth this year. Nobody will remember that. What we will remember is that ninety children had somewhere to run to every Saturday, because of the people in this room.
So thank you. Same time next season. And Derek, the boiler is fixed.

The opening is a picture, not a welcome. The point comes with a name and a quote. The ending goes back to the boiler, says the one sentence, and stops.

What to avoid

• Opening with an apology. "I'm not much of a speaker" tells the room to expect a bad speech.
• Thanking a long list before you begin. Put thanks near the end, and keep them short.
• A joke you found online. If it is not about this room, leave it.
• Too many points. Three is the limit for a short speech. Two is often better.
• Ending twice. "And finally" should be followed by one thing.
• Writing it the night before and never saying it aloud.

Giving it

Script, notes or memory? Use a full script in large type when every word matters, as it does in a eulogy. For other speeches, put a few words for each part on cards. Memorise only the first line and the last.

Rehearse on your feet. Say it aloud, standing up, at least three times, once to another person. Time it.

Arrive early. Stand where you will stand. Test the microphone. Check where your notes and your glass will go.

Before the first word, breathe out slowly and wait for the room to settle. Then say the line you know by heart.

Go slower than feels right, and pause after each point. The pause is where the audience catches up.

Look at people. Pick three friendly faces in different parts of the room and finish a sentence to each in turn.

If you lose your place, stop, look down and find it. To the room, a silence looks like confidence.

If it is one of these

Some speeches have their own rules. There are separate guides to wedding speeches, eulogies and retirement speeches. If you have been asked for only a few words, you want a toast.

Writing it with Hemmingway

The speech generator turns notes into a draft. Give it the occasion, who will be listening, your one sentence, the stories in rough words and the length in minutes. It is told to use only what you give it, so the thinking above still comes first. For a graduation, there is a graduation speech generator.

Read the draft aloud, change what does not sound like you, and check every name and number. A model can get a detail wrong and sound sure of it.

Try HemmingwayDownload the app

Common questions

How do you start a speech?

With something that makes the room want the next sentence: a short story, a question, or your main point said plainly. Skip the apology and the long thanks. Say your name only if people do not know you, and keep it to one line.

How many words is a five-minute speech?

About 650 words at an easy speaking pace of roughly 130 words a minute. If you tend to speak quickly when nervous, write 600 and leave time for pauses and for any laughter.

How do you end a speech?

Return to the image or idea you opened with, say your main point once more in a single sentence, and finish with a thank you, an ask or a toast. Know the last line by heart and stop there.

Should you memorise a speech or read it?

For most speeches, neither. Use cards with a few words for each part, and learn only the first and last lines by heart. Read from a full script when the exact wording matters or when emotion may make you lose your place.

How do you write a speech quickly?

Write the one sentence you want people to remember. Pick two stories that prove it. Say the whole thing aloud into your phone, type up what you said, and cut it to the time you have. An hour is enough for a three-minute speech.