Speeches

It’s all about the audience

When we speak to just one or two people, we know what we want to say, and we just say it. But when we have to speak to larger numbers, this spontaneous thoughts-into-words thing can disappear.

Instead, all sorts of other things creep in. We may be aware that we have a lot to say, and some of it may be sensitive stuff that needs to come out in the right way. We may want to make some kind of important and serious point, but we want to do it in a kind of pre-planned way. We can get put off by the audience. Are they listening? Is this stuff really interesting to them?

The best speeches will let you say what you want to say in some style, as well as managing to present an element of spontaneity. In fact, the trend towards podcasts and the informal style of some of the TED Talks or indeed YouTube presentations has meant that speeches too have ‘dressed down’ in some ways. At the same time, there are classic techniques that every successful speech will put into use, whatever the tone or tempo of the delivery.

What it boils down to is this: whether you want to sock it to an audience of hundreds with a conference keynote speech, or create the ambience of a fireside chat with just a few dozen listeners (and even get them to laugh) Editorial Parkside will be able to help.

The speechwriting process starts with a conversation. If writing from scratch, it is important we are familiar with the speaker’s tone of voice, cadences and turns of phrase. And if we’re editing, we need to know about the backstory behind the words already written. We need to know what the speech is for, and who will listen to it.

Get in touch via our contact page to start that conversation. We’ll help you all the way through – including, if you want – practicing with delivery.