Level 1: Writing a Speech with Purpose
This is usually your second Pathways speech, and it's where you learn the craft that sits behind every good speech you'll ever give.
What This Project Is About
Writing a Speech with Purpose appears in Level 1 of every Pathways path, normally straight after your Icebreaker. Where the Icebreaker was about introducing yourself, this project is about the writing: choosing a topic worth five minutes of everyone's evening, deciding exactly what you want your audience to take away, and organising your material so it lands.
The idea at its heart is simple. It's perfectly possible to know exactly what* you want to say without ever asking *why you're saying it. This project asks you to answer the why first, in a single sentence, and then let that sentence shape everything else. Along the way you'll practise organising a speech clearly and crafting transitions that carry your audience from one section to the next.
Speech Requirements
- Length: 5 to 7 minutes.
- Topic: anything you like, as long as it's narrow enough to cover properly in the time. The guide's own example: "dogs" is far too broad and would leave your speech shallow, while "young Golden Retrievers" gives you something you can actually do justice to.
- Style: persuasive, humorous, informational, inspirational, or any style that suits your content. There's no prescribed format.
- Purpose*: you must identify a **general purpose** (to inform, to persuade, to entertain, or to inspire, and you pick only one) and express a *specific purpose in a single sentence.
- Delivery: presented at a club meeting and evaluated by a fellow member.
Preparing Your Speech
1. Choose a topic that means something to you. A topic with little meaning to you is unlikely to produce an engaging speech. Start broad, then narrow: if your broad area is "weather", your narrower options might be hurricanes, types of cloud, lightning, or even umbrellas. Brainstorm freely; it doesn't matter if some options sound far-fetched.
2. Define your purpose. Pick your one general purpose, then work out your specific purpose: the one explicit thing you want to achieve. Write it as a single sentence that is worded from the audience's point of view, precise enough that anyone reading it knows exactly what you're aiming for, and realistic to achieve. The guide's example: "The audience will be able to recognise non-threatening fluffy, or cumulus, clouds and identify the difference between those and the more dangerous storm, or cumulonimbus, clouds."
The Speech Topic and Purpose Worksheet walks you through exactly this, from broad topic to narrow options to a ranked list of possible purposes to a final purpose statement. It's the single most useful page in the project, so do fill it in.
3. Answer three questions before you write. What is the most important thing I want to say (choose one thing)? Why does it matter to the audience? What do I want people to hold in their hearts and minds long after my speech? Once those three are answered, your overarching goal is clear and the writing gets much easier.
4. Pick a structure. Your speech needs an introduction, a body with transitions, and a conclusion. For the body, choose the organisational structure that fits your material: chronological (a sequence of events), topical (major concepts broken into subtopics), spatial (organised by geography or physical layout), causal (linking a cause to an effect), comparative (two or more things and their similarities and differences), problem and solution (state the issue, then propose a workable answer), or particular/general/particular (open with a specific example, broaden out, then echo that example at the close).
5. Outline it.* The *Speech Outline Worksheet gives you a fill-in-the-blanks skeleton: greeting, attention-grabber, topic introduction, transition, then up to three main points each with sub-points and supporting evidence, and finally a conclusion that summarises, reviews your main points, and closes with impact.
6. Mind your transitions. These are the bridges that let your audience travel with you, and they belong between the introduction and the body, between thoughts within the body, and between the body and the conclusion. They can be as plain as "First, I'd like to talk about..." or as evocative as describing a new scene. Transitional words such as then*, *finally* and *instead*, or phrases such as *as a result* and *for example, do the job perfectly well.
7. Make choices, then rehearse. Most speakers want to include everything they know. Five to seven minutes will not allow it, so decide deliberately what to keep, cut, or add based on what serves your purpose. Then practise out loud, time yourself, and refine the organisation as you go.
Project Checklist
- Select a topic narrow enough to cover well in 5 to 7 minutes.
- Complete the Speech Topic and Purpose Worksheet to settle your topic and identify your general and specific purposes.
- Schedule your speech with the VP of Education (at Gloucester Speakers, book your slot on EasySpeak and have a word with the VPE).
- Write your speech, focusing on strong content that supports your topic and purpose.
- Use the Speech Outline Worksheet to structure your introduction, main points, transitions, and conclusion.
- Rehearse your speech and time it.
- Share the evaluation form with your evaluator before the meeting, with your speech title and purpose statement filled in, plus anything specific you'd like them to watch for.
- Deliver your speech at a club meeting and receive your evaluation.
- Reflect afterwards on what you learned.
What Your Evaluator Looks For
Your evaluator scores eight areas on a scale from 1 (Developing) to 5 (Exemplary), and gives you a verbal evaluation alongside written comments on what you excelled at, what you may want to work on, and how to challenge yourself next time.
- Clarity: your spoken language is clear and easily understood.
- Vocal variety: you use tone, speed, and volume as tools.
- Eye contact: you use it effectively to engage the audience.
- Gestures: your physical gestures are used effectively.
- Interest and purpose: your content is interesting, well-constructed, and supports your specific purpose.
- Comfort level: you appear comfortable with the audience.
- Specific speech purpose: your specific purpose was clear and supported by the style and organisation of the speech.
- General speech purpose: the speech effectively met the general purpose you expressed.
Notice that four of the eight criteria are about purpose and content rather than delivery. That's the point of this project: give your evaluator a purpose statement to hold you to, and you make their job, and your own, far easier.