How to structure a speech?

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There is more than one way to structure a speech, but every strong speech is well organised. You need an engaging introduction, a compelling body, and a powerful conclusion.

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Organising your ideas and deciding the order in which you present them is essential. A disorganised speech is difficult for an audience to follow and weakens your message.

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Below are key guidelines to help you structure your speech and focus on what matters most in each section.

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Introduction

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A strong introduction is crucial.

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You must grab your audience’s attention immediately. You might open with a quote, a story, a joke, or another idea that connects directly to your topic. This is your opportunity to hook your audience and ensure they stay engaged for the rest of your speech.

Advice from TEDx on writing a strong introduction:

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• Draw your audience in with something they care about.
• If your topic is something people already think about, clearly state your main idea early.
• If your topic is unfamiliar, begin with something your audience does think about and connect it to your idea.
• If your idea is fun but unexpected, open with a surprising or intriguing fact or declaration of relevance (not a statistic).
• If your topic is heavy, start in a calm, honest, and understated way - don’t force emotion.
• Get to your main idea as quickly as possible.
• Avoid focusing too much on yourself.
• Don’t begin with a long list of statistics.

Body

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Once you have your audience’s attention, you need to keep it.

The body of your speech is where you develop your main idea. This is where you present your arguments, explain your reasoning, and introduce evidence or examples that support your message.

Advice from TEDx on structuring the body:
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• List all the evidence you want to use, including what your audience already knows and what they need to be convinced of.
• Order your points from what your audience needs to know first to what is most exciting or impactful.
• Cut anything that doesn’t strengthen your argument.
• Test your ideas with a trusted friend who isn’t an expert in your topic.
• Spend more time on new information and keep reminders of familiar ideas brief.
• Use empirical evidence where possible and limit anecdotal evidence.
• Avoid jargon and complex terminology - speak as clearly and simply as you can.
• Address controversies, counterarguments, or doubts respectfully and directly.

Conclusion

The best conclusions bring everything together and leave your audience with something memorable. This is the final impression you make, so it needs to count.

Advice from TEDx on concluding a speech:

• Find a clear ending that leaves your audience feeling positive about you and your idea.
• Don’t just summarise - show how your idea could affect your audience’s lives.
• Avoid ending with a pitch (no fundraising requests, product plugs, or logos).

At this point, you should have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.

Okay, so now they have an introduction, body and conclusion.

What Next?

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Start writing your script. Write in a way that feels natural to you. Use present tense, strong and engaging verbs, and be concise. Your speech should sound like you, not like an essay.

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