The goal of demonstration speeches is to teach an audience to do something specific. They can be long and detailed, or short and simple. Even if you are an expert on the subject, the process of writing a speech can seem difficult. However, once you sit down to write a fabulous speech, you will surely feel more excited than ever about the topic.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Choose a topic
Step 1. Pick a specific topic
It is important to choose a topic that is neither too broad nor too limited. When selecting a topic, determine how long you will have to present your speech. This will help you identify the focus limitation.
- For example, if you want to give a speech about how to do general maintenance on a car, you may need an hour for the presentation, since it is a broad topic. If you only have 15 minutes, limit your speech to a topic like "How to change the car oil."
- If you can't control the amount of time or the topic, you will have to adapt your speech accordingly. If you have a lot of information and little time, don't go into too many details. If you have a lot of time for a simple topic, you can extend the speech with some related stories or facts.
Step 2. Consider your audience
When it comes to giving a speech, your audience will affect how you choose a topic. Think about the kinds of things that will interest him.
- For example, if you want to give a speech to professional pastry chefs, it may not be appropriate to choose the topic “How to bake a cake”. Instead, pick something more interesting to them, like "How to Bake Authentic French-Style Cakes."
- The age of your audience is also important. For example, if you are dealing with young children, you can choose the topic "How to care for a plant" instead of "How to grow perennials".
Step 3. Make sure accurate information is available
Do you have enough knowledge to write the speech? If so, great! If not, make sure there is information available. If you can't find reliable sources, you may have to choose another topic.
- Search the topic online. Other people may have made how-to videos that you can get advice from.
- If you know an expert on the subject, ask them for advice.
- Visit your local library and look for books on the subject in question. Books are excellent sources of information, and are considered reliable sources when conducting research.
Step 4. Evaluate if your topic will make a speech
Not all topics are ideal for a speech. Yours should be something you can reasonably explain in the context of a classroom or conference room.
You should be able to use useful visual aids through PowerPoint presentations or manageable props and examples. So a topic like "How to Replace a Car Transmission" is probably not very good. However, a topic like "How to make a spinach salad" could be simpler
Part 2 of 3: Write the speech
Step 1. Create an outline for your speech
An outline is an ideal tool for organizing the information you want to convey. It should reflect the order of the steps that you will use in your speech.
- The outline should have three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion.
- The body must be divided between different steps in the process.
Step 2. Write the body of the speech
The body of the speech contains all the steps of the process. Divide the process into manageable steps that you can explain, one by one. Put yourself in the audience's shoes to imagine the information they may need.
- When preparing a speech, simply write notes. You don't need to write your speech word for word. Write enough to feel comfortable with the material, but not enough to read everything from the paper.
- Remember how it was for you to learn to do what you want to explain. What are the steps that require more explanation than others?
- Evaluate which steps to divide between smaller steps. For example, it may not be enough to say "Take the saw blade off." Instead, you will have to split the step to have smaller steps like:
- Unplug the saw.
- Find the screw under the blade.
- Turn the screw just enough to loosen the blade.
- Remove the sheet.
- To keep your audience engaged, think about how you can make it part of it. Will you include audience participation? Will the demonstration be practical? Will you tell jokes or ask questions of the audience? These are ideal strategies to keep people engaged and interested.
Step 3. Write a conclusion
The conclusion summarizes the process and its importance. It's also good to include a call to action in the conclusion. This means something that inspires the audience to go home and test what you've explained on their own.
- Your call to action might be something like “By learning how to change your motor oil on your own, you can save money and feel capable and powerful by taking care of your own car” or “French-style pastry is a good addition to any meeting, as you will see when you take it to your next party”.
- Avoid presenting new information in the conclusion. This will only cause confusion in the audience and leave them with unanswered questions.
Step 4. Write the introduction
Now that you've written most of the speech, you can go back and write the introduction. It should get people excited about the topic and should inform what they will be able to learn.
- Writing the introduction at the end is a good idea, since you will have already thought a lot about your speech. Now, you will know everything you need to say in your speech, so you can determine what are the essential things that most excite people.
- To cheer people up, use inspirational words such as "You may never have believed that you could change a flat tire, but in fact, it is very simple!" or "French pastry is one of the treasures of European gastronomy."
- Interesting introductions can include a joke, a funny story from your life, or an impressive fact. For example, you can say "How many people in this room does it take to change a light bulb? I don't know, but I know that after this speech, it will only take one to change a tire" or "My grandmother won my grandfather's heart. baking croissants for him that were tastier than his own French mother. "
- As much as you write the introduction at the end, it will always be the beginning of the speech.
Step 5. Decide what kinds of visual aids are important
Review your speech. What kinds of visual aids will you need? Will you need some support? Do you want to use a simple PowerPoint presentation? Add this information to your outline so you know when you will use each visual aid during your speech.
Make a note of what you want to add to the speech to explain the visual aids. For example, you might say something like "I'm using unbleached flour, but you can use white flour if you want."
Part 3 of 3: Practice Speaking
Step 1. Practice giving the speech alone
You may think the speech writing process will be over once it's written. However, until you have practiced it out loud, you won't be sure if it will work.
- Review your notes as you would before giving the speech to your audience.
- Practice speaking in front of a mirror. Look into your eyes most of the time, instead of looking at your notes.
- Check out the full demo along with the visuals. Otherwise, you may not notice the parts of the demo that don't work the way you wrote them.
Step 2. Make any necessary changes
When giving your speech alone, did you forget a step? Have you been able to pronounce and speak clearly? If you have noticed problems, make the necessary changes in the writing.
- After you make your changes, go back to practicing the speech alone.
- Use visual aids, even if you've already used them once.
Step 3. Give the speech to some friends
Now that you have practiced the speech alone, you can invite a few friends to act as a test audience. This is a good way to see if there is anything you missed while practicing.
Invite some friends who don't know anything about it and some who are experts. This way, you can get different perspectives on how useful your speech is
Step 4. Ask for feedback
This can be scary, but it is the only way you can improve your speech. Ask questions about visual aids. Make sure they work with your speech productively.
- Ask specific questions of your test audience. You can ask people if they have understood the different steps, or if there is something they feel is missing.
- Write the comments these people give you, or ask your friends to write their opinions so you can review them later.
Step 5. Modify the speech based on the feedback you have received
Take some time alone to make any necessary changes to your written speech. Practice the modifications in front of the mirror or in front of a small test audience, if necessary.
It will not always be necessary to incorporate the comments of others. Often times, they won't be helpful or accurate. However, if you receive the same comment from more than one person, it may be worth considering
Advice
- Writing and giving a speech are similar things, but they require different skills. When it's time to give the speech, practice your public speaking skills. Be warm, lively, and clear.
- Watch videos of other people giving demo speeches. See what things you value as good, and what things do not work for you.